New Chair appointed at Scottish Handball Association
The Scottish Handball Association (SHA) are delighted to announce the recent appointment of a new Chair during our most recent AGM.
Following a robust recruitment process, Dr David Watt OBE FIoD has been appointed as the new Chair of the SHA.
Having started his career in teaching sport, Dr Watt has since gone on to hold a number of different roles including senior positions within the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. He is particularly well known for his leadership at the Institute of Directors where he was CEO for a number of years, as well as his array of Board and Chair roles within various sporting bodies as well as the Education sector. He is a recognised expert in both corporate governance and leadership, especially within sporting environments, and is the author of two well-recognised books on the subject.
Dr Watt has also been actively involved in sports throughout his life – from playing and teaching through to coaching and developing others, he has a real love of most sports. He continues to remain active in sport, particularly around some of Scotland’s better known golf courses. He was first introduced to Handball many years ago and has retained a keen interest in the development of our sport in Scotland.
He said: “I know many of those responsible for developing Handball to where it has got to in Scotland over the years. I have seen some of the more recent work of the SHA from a distance and was inspired to join and help the team navigate the next phase of their journey. Handball in Scotland has clearly made huge progress in recent times but is still very much a sleeping giant. I believe that we can collectively keep growing to make a very significant difference to the Scottish sporting landscape, and therefore make a very big difference to the lives of many thousands of people of all ages across all of our communities. I really look forward to getting involved, and to meeting all of our clubs, players and volunteers in the coming weeks and months to learn even more about this fabulous sport. I’m delighted to bring the energy and experience that I have to help the team to deliver our aims.”
Interim Chair of the SHA, Ross Kirkwood said: “We are very pleased that David has agreed to join us. We have made strong progress as a Board in recent months, and with his experience and expertise, we are very confident David can continue to help guide the SHA towards the ambitious goals that we have set for ourselves. In addition, David has already shown the positive impact of the calm, experienced approach he will bring to the role. Myself, and the rest of the Board at the SHA, are all excited to be working with David and we warmly welcome him to the SHA. I also look forward to working with David in my ongoing role as Vice-Chair of the SHA, building upon my recent time getting to know and spending some time with members across our community”.
CEO of the SHA, Ewan Hunter, said: “It’s fantastic for all of us that David has accepted the position of Chair following an extensive and robust recruitment process. He brings enormous relevant experience and expertise to the role, and I look forward to be working with him and the rest of the Board as we continue to work hard to achieve our ambitious, but achievable, aims for Handball here in Scotland.
As we work towards finalising our new strategy, David joins us at a great moment where I know we will all benefit from his insight, wisdom and experience. We have also continued to assemble a first-class Executive team, alongside our outstanding and committed volunteers (coaches, team managers, referees and officials). As we have said in the past, we believe that Handball has a very bright future in Scotland and we remain keen to see Scotland play an increasing part in the development of Handball across Europe.
I know the rest of the Executive team at the SHA, and our partners at SportScotland, the EHF and IHF as well as our other Partners, will be excited to also get to know David more in the coming weeks and months as we all work together to deliver on our strategic objectives.”
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Notes for Editors: Originally founded in 1972, the Scottish Handball Association employs 4.5 people and was announced as Sport Governing Body of the Year 2022 at the Scottish Sports Awards ceremony in December 2022. Working closely with SportScotland, the European Handball Federation (EHF), the International Handball Federation (IHF), the SHA enables thousands of children and young people to play Handball across Scotland. We also deliver training to many young sports leaders across Scotland. There are many primary and secondary School Handball Festivals as a result; and we see many young athletes continue their Handball journey by joining their local clubs. A number have gone on to play professionally with European clubs, as well as representing Scotland and Team GB in international competition. We have vibrant domestic league and cup competitions. The current highlight of the domestic season is the season-ending British Handball Super Cup – where the top two teams from Scotland (Women and Men) play against the top two teams from England. The NorDan British Handball Super Cup was broadcast live on BBC Sport in May 2022 and May 2024, and was broadcast live on other streaming platforms in 2023.