Liz Nicholl

Elizabeth Mary Nicholl CBE (née Daley; born August 1952) is a British sports administrator and former netball player who has been chief executive of UK Sport since 2010. She has been called "the most powerful woman" in British sport.[1]

Early life and education

Nicholl was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, the sixth of seven children. Her father was a schoolteacher and coached his school's football and cricket teams. She played various sports growing up and tried to compete with the boys on her father's teams. She began playing netball competitively and played at university. One of her coaches at university was Sue Campbell, now Baroness Campbell, who also served as Chair of UK Sport.[2][3] Nicholl represented Wales in international netball competition including two world championships ,[4] with 22 caps between 1975 and 1979. She played as a centre and wing attack.[5]

Nicholl earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Nottingham and a Master's of Science in Recreation Management at Loughborough University.[3]

Career

Nicholl served as chief executive of the All England Netball Association from 1980 to 1982 and 1986 to 1999, and was director of the 1995 World Netball Championships held in Birmingham. Nicholl joined UK Sport in 1999 as the Director of Elite Sport overseeing the Performance Directorate. After 10 years in this role, she was appointed chief operating officer (COO) in 2009. In 2010, she was named chief executive officer.[4]

During her time at UK Sport, the United Kingdom has improved significantly in international sporting events. The UK finished just 36th in the medal table at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, but improved its performance at each successive Olympic Games. In 2016, the UK finished second in the medal count and made history as the first country to increase its medal count at both the Olympics and the Paralympics immediately after hosting the Games.[6] Nicholl has been called the architect of the organisation's strict "all or nothing" funding system, which has faced criticism due to its focus on medal count and budget cuts in sports that perform poorly.[1][7][8]

Honours

Nicholl was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours, for services to netball.[9] She was appointed an Officer of the same order (OBE) in 2006,[10] and appointed a Commander (CBE) in 2015,[11] both for services to sport.[4][12]

In 2016, Nicholls was awarded the Sports Journalists' Association (SJA) Gold Medal for services to elite sport.[13]

Personal life

She married Andrew Nicholl in 1980. They have two adult children. She and her husband, a retired sports management consultant, live in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.[14][4][1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hubbard, Alan (11 May 2014). "Liz Nicholl: No time (or money) for losers, however plucky they may be". The Independent. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. ↑ ""Don't let anything stand in your way" – Liz Nicholl". UK Sport. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Interview: Liz Nicholl". Female Coaching Network. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Liz Nicholl recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours". UK Sport. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Welsh Netball International Player's Numbers" (PDF). Welsh Netball.
  6. ↑ Prenderville, Paul (24 August 2016). "Analysing the reasons behind Team GB's success at Rio Olympics 2016". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "UK Sport: Funding policy could be reconsidered". BBC Sport. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Gibson, Owen (19 March 2015). "UK Sport's future funding could depend on Rio medal count". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "No. 55710". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1999. p. 28.
  10. ↑ "No. 58014". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2006. p. 12.
  11. ↑ "No. 61256". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2015. p. B10.
  12. ↑ "Queen's birthday honours list 2015: GCB, DBE and CBE". The Guardian. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "UK Sport CEO honoured with SJA Gold Medal for services to elite sport". UK Sport. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  14. ↑ Yousif, Layth (26 August 2016). "After Hitchin hero's return from the Rio Olympics, get stuck in to sport with HockeyFest in Letchworth". The Comet. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
John Steele		 CEO of UK Sport
September 2010–present		 Incumbent
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