Skateboard GB is the National Governing Body for skateboarding in England and the home of Olympic skateboarding in Great Britain.
The organisation exists to give skateboarders the opportunity to “Skate More, Skate Better" ensuring they are skater-focused in everything that they do; aiming to lead, support, empower and facilitate.
Skateboard GB celebrate and champion everything that is positive about Skateboarding’s heritage and culture and work with the Skateboarding community to develop more opportunities and better environments to skate, inspiring future generations of skateboarders as a result of success on the world stage.
We work closely with Skateboard Scotland and Skateboard NI for grassroots skateboarding in these countries and a soon to be formed Welsh Governing body.
Our team vision within the organisation encompasses:
- Trust & Respect
- Learning, Collaboration & Ideas
- Supporting & Caring (for each other)
- True Values, Culture & Purpose (of skateboarding)
Run by skateboarders, for skateboarders.
Meet the Team
Lucy Adams - Progression Project Lead
One of the most high profile female skateboarders in the UK, Lucy has driven various grass roots projects and has been an ambassador for female skateboarding for over 20 years.
Working with the skateboarding community, Lucy is creating the structure and environment for talented skaters to thrive and reach their potential in a way that complements the culture of skateboarding.
Chris Lawton - Community Development Officer
Chris champions discussions on using skateboarding to transform the UK’s towns. Helping get 3 skateparks funded in his hometown and leading discussions at the Pushing Boarders events.
Chris’ role focuses on working with the skateboard community, landowners and local authorities to manage and deliver the provision of a number of skateable spaces. This is in addition to creating resources and initiatives to support skateparks, coaches and the wider community.
Darren Pearcy - Performance Manager
A midlands skateboarder and ex-team manager at Rollersnakes, Unabomber and Heathen. Known for the best smith grinds and feeble fakies around, Darren has been involved in countless UK skateboard related projects and events over the last 15 years.
Darren’s role includes supporting Skateboard GB skateboarders for global competitions and training throughout the year. As the Team Manager he lead skateboarding efforts for Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Neil Ellis - Head of Engagement
Originally from Worksop; skating with Carl Shipman and Mark Baines back in the day. Now residing in Sheffield and responsible for the inner city skate architecture 'Marioland' and still skating slappy curbs (badly).
Neil oversees all communication, press and media for Skateboard GB, as well as management of the MySkate App and organisation of the National Championships.
Lara Hayward - Head of Safeguarding
Lara has been skateboarding for over 2 years, after a couple of sessions with Lynsey McClaren's Neighbourhood Skate Club and the London Girls Surf Club, and being inspired by the increasing number of women and girls taking up the sport. .
Lara will take responsibility for safeguarding within Skateboard GB and developing policies and processes to support good safeguarding practices
Jake Powell - Digital Content Manager
Based in the North-West of England and close to the scenes in Blackpool and Manchester, Jake is an experienced videographer within the skateboard industry and has created content for the likes of Red Bull, Stance, Vans and Graystone to name a few.
Jakes's role includes the generation of content and assets, as well as the management of Skateboard GB’s digital channels and driving the social media to benefit the skateboard community.
Claire Foster - Team Support
Originally from Manchester Claire relocated to Sheffield after university. With over 15 years training, admin and PA experience, Claire provides admin support to the team and manages the Get Rolling Coaching Course programme. Outside of work, her young family keeps her busy, with her two children showing interest in learning to skate.
James Hope-Gill - CEO
A skateboarding advocate and a member of the team since the inception of Skateboard GB (and previously Skateboard England) back in 2016, James has driven the multiple projects to ensure the development of skateboarding in the UK.
James is responsible on a strategic level to ensure that skateboarding is rightly represented, meets criteria for government investment and is funded properly.
Richard Gowers - Competition & Events Manager
Based in Devon, Richard has a passion for board sports. Having owned his own skate shop, he saw the importance of supporting local riders and facilities. During this time he started running and being involved in competitions which has led to him dealing with sports bodies at an international level.
Richard’s role is to build and lead an effective competition structure in the UK, including the National Championships and regional events for the Olympic skateboarding disciplines of Street and Park, as well as supporting other and existing events & competitions in the UK.
Jonny Paterson - Scotland Hub & Operations Lead
Jonny has been skateboarding for over 20 years, with 7 years working at @tansgression skatepark in Edinburgh, alongside coaching for over 10 years and stints at @focus skate shop and Route One. More recently Jonny has been leading the hub and operations at @loadingbay skatepark in Glasgow.
Jonny will join the team on a part-time basis to create, shape and lead an effective pathway in the Olympic skateboarding disciplines of Street and Park. His role will help identify, develop, inspire, and support talented Scottish skaters, with a focus on encouraging a development environment for long-term success.
Essi Aittasalo - Performance Administrator
Originally from Finland, Essi moved to the UK to study sport sciences and grew a passion for sport and athlete development. She now has years of experience in various administrative, operational, and athlete support roles within sport organisations such as the International Olympic Committee, International Ice Hockey Federation, and British Universities Ice Hockey Association.
As a performance administrator, Essi is supporting the performance team in organising and preparing for international competitions, growing the elite program, and supporting the development of athlete wellbeing.
Amber Edmondson - Coach Development Lead
Amber has been involved with various skateboard projects throughout her career, including Free Movement Skateboarding and Skateistan, plus founded and manages New Wave Skate UK running inclusive skate sessions for marginalised genders and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Amber leads Skateboard GB’s coaching offer and deveopment of the coaching programme and awards.
Joanne Ringrose - Finance, HR and Governance Manager
Now residing in Derbyshire, Joanne is originally from Liverpool, and has worked in Operations and Finance for more years than she cares to remember. With a background in both the public and private sectors, Joanne relishes the challenge of helping small organisations to grow and flourish.
Her role leads on Finance, HR and Governance ensuring that SBGB meets all its requirements internally and externally, and aims to support its development into both a great place to work and a successful, exciting and progressive organisation.
Sam Beckett - Performance Development Coach
Sam is a well-recognized name in the UK skateboard community with over 10 years, as a high-profile skateboarder in both the vert and park disciplines. Sam was the first British skateboarder to win an X-Games skateboarding event and competed for the Skateboard GB team on the road to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Sam will help to identify, develop, inspire, and support talented British skateboarders who are working towards future success.
Sam Horler - Wales Hub & Operations Manager
Growing up in the Welsh valleys, Sam has been skateboarding for over 20 years and has a background of working with children and young people. Since 2020 Sam has been full-time running Skateboard Academy UK; providing lessons and workshops for individuals, schools, councils and his local communities.
Sam’s role is to help identify, develop, inspire, and support talented Welsh skaters by encouraging a development environment that focuses on long-term success and as well as organising events & competitions to support the talented skateboarders.
Board of Directors
Alex Jordan – Chair
Alex is the founder of The Skateparks Project, a non-profit organisation that works with councils and communities across the UK to help them get great skateparks. He launched an online skate shop in 2003 and has been involved with numerous skateboarding projects since. He was a director of Skateboard England, later serving as Chair before joining Skateboard GB.
Alex is a specialist in digital strategy. He founded the digital agency Hyperlink and now manages the digital marketing for a national retailer. He has served on various commercial and charity boards, has an MBA with distinction from Durham University, CISL Certificate from University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of the RSA. Alex is also a member of the Finance and Risk and Nominations Sub Committees.
John-Paul Matthew - Northern Ireland Representative
JP has skated for nearly 30 years and was sponsored for a time by Counter Culture and Circa Shoes, travelling around Europe with them and entering comps. He was also sponsored by his local skate/snow shop and worked there whilst he studied at university.
He has been coaching for many years, giving 1-2-1 lessons and has plenty of experience in that area. He was one of 5 Directors of Belfast Urban Sports, and they worked together with the council over 5 years to bring Belfast's first outdoor concrete skatepark in the centre of town under a rail bridge. JP also worked with the lead designers of the contract to get the best design, whilst running an indoor skatepark for 2 years at the same time. More recently JP has been involved in advising multiple local councils on park design via C.I.C Skateboard:NI of which he is chairman, based on his experience of local parks and those around the world and in Europe. Skateboard:NI is a dedicated team that promotes skateboarding in Northern Ireland and puts on an annual jam or some ad hoc events to encourage and enthuse current and future generations of skaters in the country.
Hamish McKnight - Scotland Representative
Beginning his career as a professional snowboarder, Hamish remains to this day a time served and committed skater. Throughout an extremely successful career as Team GB Head Coach in Snowboard Park and Pipe he has led our national team program and athletes to numerous medals in Olympic Games, X-Games and many other world class competitions. Currently working on a Masters in Sporting Directorship through Manchester Met University he’s able to bring a wealth of action sports knowledge and experience in performance sport at the highest level to the board of Skateboard GB.
Claire Alleaume - England Representative
Claire has been actively involved in skateboarding for 20 years, as a sponsored skater, consultant, event organizer, writer and editor. A dual British and French citizen, she competed extensively throughout Europe in the 00’s, and ran a communication and consulting agency specialised in skateboarding and urban sports, working for public bodies and exploring the integration of skateboarding in the city in terms of sustainable development. Today, Claire consults on a voluntary basis on skatepark and skateable-space projects and runs Two Set magazine. Alongside skateboarding, Claire is an experienced business strategist and marketer, having spent the last 10 years working for fast-growing global tech businesses in the worlds of connected car, new mobility and insurtech. Clare is also our EDI Board Champion.
Jamie Burton - England Representative
Jamie started skating socially in the late 1980s and with the nearest skatepark meaning an 80-mile roundtrip. Through work Jamie has helped developed 7 skate parks, supporting the development of local community skate groups. He has advised local authorities on skateboarding development to help shape the offer more widely. As secretary for Skate Southampton Jamie has helped develop and focus the group to ensure a bigger presence in the city, connecting with other organisations and stakeholders, advocating for the inclusion of skateboarding. He has helped organise and deliver the ‘Slamma Skate jam take over’ in the city and the takeover of the cities arts quarter, including the art gallery and mini conference with the aim of challenging traditional views of skateboarding and tackling anti skateboarding sentiment. Jamie is also Chair of the England Advisory Group, a member of the Nominations Sub Committee and our Anti-Doping, and Safeguarding, Safety and Welfare Board Champion.
Will Jones - England Representative
Will is a lifelong skateboarder based in London and was elected to the Skateboard GB Board in May 2022.
A qualified and practising lawyer, Will has worked in dispute resolution and commercial litigation for over 10 years. He is also a founding member, and presiding chair, of his law firm’s international Pro Bono Committee. In this role Will has worked with charities, not-for-profits, and universities to increase access to justice for marginalised groups in the UK and across Asia; having lived, worked, and skated in Singapore for two years.
Will has a developed interest in the laws and regulations that govern skateboarding in the UK and drawn on this interest through his membership of the England Advisory Group to Skateboard GB. Will is also a member of the England Advisory Group.
In his personal life, Will is dad to a soon-to-be-skateboarding toddler.
David Ascott Senior Independent Non–executive Director
David is a Chartered Accountant and MBA with over 30 years City experience in Corporate Finance and Private Equity. He was a Partner at Grant Thornton for almost 20 years where he was responsible for both leading over 50 Corporate deals and developing the talent and performance of the professional Advisory team. David also has extensive experience as a NED in Senior financial and governance roles in the Private Equity and Professional services environment.
Outside of work David is passionate about Sport and the benefits it can bring particularly to the lives of young people and is a Trustee of a Skateboarding charity. David is also Chair of the Finance and Risk, Nominations and Remuneration Sub Committees.
Clive Bawden – Independent Non-Executive Director
Clive is an Independent Non-Executive Director with specific responsibility for Finance & Risk. Appointed to the Board following an open search process in February 2017, Clive is also Senior Non Independent Director at Skateboard England. A chartered accountant and chartered marketer, Clive has an extensive background in professional services, industry and commerce. These include roles at KPMG, Inchcape plc and Saint-Gobain as well as voluntary roles as Trustee for Finance at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and a Non-Executive Director of the Warwickshire Cricket Board between where he held specific responsibility for the development of Women & Girls cricket. Clive is also a member of the Finance and Risk Sub Committee.
Sarah Hunter- Independent Non-Executive Director
Sarah is the Director of Global Public Policy at X (formerly Google X) where she helps engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs invent and launch new technologies to solve big problems in the world today. Before joining Google, Sarah was Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Senior Policy Adviser on Culture, Media and Sport in Downing Street. She is on a Trustee of NESTA and a part time lecturer at Stanford University in California.
Jake Jones – Independent Non-Executive Director
Jake has over two decades’ experience in commercial marketing, 14 years of which he spent in the oil and gas sector. This included two years in the role of Sponsorship Strategy Manager at BP, where he managed athlete relationships during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For the last six years Jake has been working as a Lead Consultant and Head of Coaching at Two Circles, the data-driven sports marketing agency that is a disruptive force in the sports industry. Jake’s specific experience comes in enabling sports rights-holders to deliver commercial returns by building strategies that reach target audiences through both direct and indirect marketing channels. Outside of work Jake has three young boys all learning to skateboard – so he’s invested in a longboard to try and keep up. Jake is a member of the Remuneration and Nominations Sub Committees.
James Hope-Gill - Chief Executive Officer
James is a very well connected and committed business & sports professional with extensive knowledge of football as well as other national sporting structures and organisations, having worked within the sports sector and governing bodies for over 20 years. He was Chief Executive of a regional Football Association in England for 12 years until starting his own sports consultancy company in 2012. James is also a member of the Finance and Risk and Nominations Sub Committees.