Dave Edwards, CEO Of British Ski And Snowboard, To Stand Down After Olympic Winter Games

The Chief Executive of British Ski and Snowboard, Dave Edwards, who has been at the forefront of the transformation of British snowsports, has announced that he will stand down shortly after the Olympic Winter Games that will take place in February next year.  Edwards took on a “short term” assignment in February 2010 to look after the British ski and snowboard athletes and officials who faced uncertainty after their previous governing body collapsed one week before the start of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  He has remained at the helm since then and the eight years under his leadership have seen a step change in the results of Britain’s elite snowsports athletes.

Edwards and Lord Colin Moynihan formed British Ski and Snowboard (BSS) in the spring of 2010 and secured both sponsorship and private donations to run development programmes for some of the athletes showing maximum potential including current World Cup stars Dave Ryding and Alex Tilley.  In 2012, when the International Olympic Committee included Ski and Snowboard Slopestyle in the line-up for the 2014 Sochi Games, BSS persuaded UK Sport to provide funding which was used to support athletes including Olympic medalist Jenny Jones.  UK Sport and National Lottery support has increased since 2014 and BSS is now able to support a range of athletes across multiple snowsport disciplines, many of whom now challenge for World Cup medals on a regular basis.

Edwards, who will step down as soon as his successor is able to take up post, said: “I have been extremely fortunate to work with some fantastic athletes, coaches and volunteers over the last eight years and I am very proud of what we have accomplished together.  We have recently announced an ambitious Vision to be a top five Olympic Ski and Snowboard Nation by 2030.  The ideal time for my successor to take up post will be shortly after the Olympic Games next year.  By announcing my departure now, it allows our Chairman, Rory Tapner, and Performance Director, Dan Hunt, time to find my successor.  I wish them and all of our athletes and coaches continued and greater success as they travel on this exciting journey together.”    

Rory Tapner said: “The Board of BSS are hugely grateful to Dave Edwards for his commitment and relentless drive to deliver a transformed national sports governing body. Nothing was easy in the early years of his tenure, and yet as he announces his retirement from BSS he does so with the organisation in a vastly improved position, ready now to challenge for Olympic success. Dave has matured BSS from the despair of a failed organisation to one which can rightly hold its head high in international snowsport circles.

UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl said: “Dave Edwards took over the running of the sports’ governing body at a challenging time and leaves the organisation in strong health with a multi-medal ambition for PyeongChang 2018. We wish him well for the future and thank him for all he has done in British snowsport.”