1 September 2008

UK Athletics (UKA) today announced that it will not renew the contract of Performance Director Dave Collins. Collins, whose contract expires in March 2009, will leave to pursue other interests with immediate effect. An announcement on his successor is expected shortly. 

Chief Executive of UK Athletics Niels de Vos said: “I would like to place on record my thanks to Dave for his contribution to the sport over the last four years. He has led a radical overhaul of our performance systems which will provide solid foundations on which we can now build to ensure athletics fully meets the challenges of 2012 and beyond.

“Our planning for this next Olympic cycle got underway several months ago and this decision and any subsequent appointment is the culmination of this detailed process. It certainly is not a negative reflection on what has gone before, on the contrary there is no doubt we have made progress since 2004. However we now need to take the next step on the performance ladder and give ourselves and British athletes the very best chance of success at a home Games in 2012.

Chairman of UK Athletics Ed Warner said: “Dave will leave a valuable and lasting legacy to elite athletics in the UK having created a new professional culture based around High Performance Centres. I and the UKA Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Dave and wish him well for the future.”

Dave Collins added: “I am proud of what has been achieved in such a short space of time, due to some effective and committed teamwork. We now have the majority of our athletes operating out of four High Performance Centres surrounded by high quality and dedicated support teams and this will enable the sport to move towards greater success in 2012.”