The first meeting of UK Athletics Athletes’ Commission saw Hannah England elected as Chair of the Commission by her fellow members.

Formed with the purpose of ensuring athletes voices are heard by UK Athletics’ Performance Oversight Committee and the UKA Board, the Commission is populated by current and former athletes from a wide range of athletics disciplines, each of whom have competed for British Athletics in the last six years.

A silver medallist over 1500m at the 2011 world championships, England will serve as Chair of the Commission for an initial term of four years, while she will also become a member of the UK Members Council as a representative of GB & NI athletes.

Two Vice Chairs were also selected – Ultra Distance runner John Pares and 400m hurdles specialist Richard Yates – by the Commission members present.

Speaking on her election to the position, England said: 

“It is a real honour to have been elected as chair of the Athletes’ Commission. The commission is packed with enthusiasm and drive to ensure the views of our athletes are both heard and understood throughout UK Athletics, and it’s fantastic that British Athletics has formed the commission; this commitment to optimising communication between athletes and our governing body creates a great platform for productive enterprise.”

“As a group we have many areas that we are passionate about addressing, and we look forward to sharing these over the next few months. The commission is also keen to have a strong dialogue with the British athletes; we want our agenda to be in line with current matters and give a comprehensive voice to our community.”

Adding his thoughts, UK Athletics President Jason Gardener said:

“I’d like to congratulate Hannah on her election to Chair of the Commission; she is an athlete who is extremely experienced, and I’ve no doubts that the knowledge and expertise she will bring as Chair will be invaluable when it comes to the Commission being impactful in the long-term.”

The Terms of Reference for the Athletes’ Commission can be found here. 

The Athletes’ Commission is contactable via athletescommission@britishathletics.org.uk 

More information relating to the Commission can be found here.