Skateboard England celebrates Lucy Adams’ contribution, as she steps down as chair to focus on family commitments

Photo: Jenna Selby

Lucy Adams will be stepping down as chair from the Skateboard England and Skateboard GB Board’s at the end of July to spend more time with her family, as she eagerly awaits the birth of her first child.

Lucy has been on the Board of Directors for almost 5 years, joining at Skateboard England’s inception in 2015. During that time, she has worked tirelessly on a voluntary basis to support the development of skateboarding in the UK through creating partnerships, promoting skateboarding activity, developing a coaching programme, establishing the governing body and driving the organisation to where it is today.

Two months ago, Lucy announced her joy of becoming a mum for the first time later in the year, bringing her to make the tough decision to step down and focus on her family life, along with the demands of being a professional skateboarder and working in a full time job.

Lucy said ‘It has been an incredible opportunity to grow skateboarding and I’m so proud of what we have achieved in the last 5 years, establishing a new NGB and supporting the community. I had hoped to still be involved as Chair at the Olympics, but the Tokyo delay due to coronavirus means that's no longer feasible. I now need to focus on the next stage of my life, in supporting my partner and spending time with our baby’. ‘ I will however still be involved with the governing body for the foreseeable future’.

Alex Jordan, current Vice-Chair, has been elected into the role of Chair for both Skateboard England and Skateboard GB. Alex has worked in the skateboard industry for many years, creating “The Skateparks Project” (a website which maps all 1,500 skateparks across the UK) as well as supporting various groups and campaigning for over 50 new skateparks throughout the UK.

James Hope-Gill, CEO at Skateboard England and Skateboard GB, said ‘Lucy has done some fantastic work engaging stakeholders, partners and the skateboarding community. We wouldn't be in this position pre-Tokyo and achieving government support without her. This is due to her dedication and the respect she has both within the skateboarding community and in the wider sports sector. It will be a hard act to follow, but Alex will do a great job and we have total confidence in him. We're excited about this next phase in skateboarding's development in the UK’.

Lucy will continue to work with Skateboard GB to help shape its direction by being involved in strategic planning over the next few months.

The governing body will be soon be making an announcement about a skateparks guidance they have been working on. They are also hoping to propose a new date for the National Championships later in the year, which will be the UK qualifying event for the Olympic Games in 2021. Follow the website for updates.