Tim Hollingsworth - A restrospective look back at being British Paralympic Association leader

AFTER seven years as British Paralympic Association chief executive Tim Hollingsworth leaves the organisation to become Sport England’s CEO in November. Here he looks back on his BPA journey…

How do you reflect on your seven years in the role?

It has been a real privilege to be involved with the BPA and Paralympic movement in the period that has gone into, and out of, the impact of London 2012. The way that movement has been transformed and galvanised has been incredible. It’s a great organisation and a fantastic movement, and with the athletes performing as they have been, it’s been inspirational to be involved. The most gratifying thing is the way that the Paralympic movement is starting to move on to a new phase of growth and development. That is being manifested not just in increasingly competitive performances at Games time but the depth of field, the number of nations competing and the way in which more and more nations are bringing athletes to the fore. That’s not to say that it is anywhere near where it can be, nor is it to suggest that hasn’t been without challenges. But overall it has been a transformational period for the movement.

How has the BPA changed and evolved during that time?

Hugely. It’s grown in terms of personnel although we remain a lean organisation. I would argue that we now have a structure of people in the BPA to deliver across all our responsibilities in a world class way. I’m intensely proud of the team here and the leadership shown by my colleagues in various areas. We’ve grown commercially – the budgets now at Games time are unrecognisable from those before London. We’ve also grown hugely in terms of media attention, but most of all I think we’ve grown in terms of our expectations of how we deliver. We are a far more competitive nation on the field of play and we have played our part in that in terms of our preparations. The higher purpose in our view is ‘through sport, inspire a better world for disabled people’. That includes finding ways to use the inspirational power of our athletes to challenge and change perceptions of disability in society.

And your proudest achievements?

I can take pride in the achievement of others in this role. When Menna Fitzpatrick and Jen Kehoe won their gold on the last day in Pyeongchang this year that was the 280th medal ParalympicsGB had won while I was chief executive, and the 100th gold. There’s a symmetry to that and I am very proud of that because we do so much of what we do to allow medal success and for athletes to fulfil their potential. It’s how we do that which has made me most proud. We have a fantastic values-driven approach to sport, we have great engagement with the athletes through their experience as a member of ParalympicsGB and their experiences in the village. But how we have sought to translate that into a positive agenda around disability and a view of what’s possible has been key.

What’s the future for Paralympic sport in the UK and further afield?

In a bizarre way I’m very envious of my successor. That’s not because I haven’t left them with any challenges. There will be lots of management and leadership challenges within the BPA because that’s the nature of growth and ambition. But I think the Paralympic movement and para sport generally still has a huge amount of potential to grow, develop and make a difference at every level in people’s lives.