28 Feb 2024
After more than 8 years with Scottish Archery, we are bidding a fond farewell to our Head of Pathways, Alan Martin. Alan will be heading to pastures new at the end of March, taking on the role as Chief Operating Officer with Scottish Fencing.
Alan has been a key driving force behind many positive organisational and structural changes during his time with Scottish Archery. He has supported Scottish Archery to achieve the highest level of investment from sportscotland, and further strengthened the partnership between AGB. This has included accessing substantial funding contributions for staff, which has grown the staff workforce from a team of two to a team of five.
As well as contributing a great deal to two strategic cycles and the development and implementation of those plans, Alan has supported key volunteers across Scottish Archery through the subgroup structure to enhance and develop key areas of the business. Alan has also created and implemented the pathway programme, with a focus on developing key athlete behaviours.
Most recently Alan has been pivotal in the implementation of our new digital membership system, Just Go, which will transform the way we communicate with members.
We asked Alan what his highlights have been over the past 8 years.
"Working with so many great people on multiple projects has definitely been the highlight. To name a few, working with the Tournament Organiser’s group to get the Scottish Tour off the ground and the indoor weekend has been a huge highlight. The time and effort the volunteers put in, especially Fiona and Curtis, is inspiring.
Working with Richard and the rest of the U21 management team to establish the U21 pathway academy has been fantastic. Seeing the newly refreshed records group take ownership of the records is great, and well done to Robyn, Joshua, Alastair, Linda and Mike for stepping forward to be part of this subgroup.
Coaching has moved on a lot during my time in the sport and this is due to the great work by Moira when she was on the board. Recently the support Euan is receiving from Bill and Iain has been really important to continue the great work developing coaching in Scotland.
There's some fantastic work going on at club level, which is amazing to see. Working with really passionate people who give up their time to drive clubs forward has been a real highlight. There are many volunteers out there doing amazing work; Michael at Glasgow Archers, Andrew at Moray, Alison at Wee County, Caroline at Bannockburn, Alison at East Kilbride and Frank at Largs to name a few.
It’s also been great to see the successes of Nathan and Cameron. I'll definitely continue to follow their journey. Last but not least a highlight has been working with a great board and staff team which has made my time with archery really enjoyable."
We would like to thank Alan for his hard work and dedication over the past 8 years, and we wish him all the best in his new role.