Some thoughts on British Cycling at the start of 2023

Let’s get straight to the point. Things are not going well at the moment for British Cycling, the country’s officially-recognised national governing body for the sport and pastime. Many members old and new, and many other longstanding stakeholders in the organisation, now feel that it is failing its membership, and failing the sport. Sadly, this has become a widespread view, and if you’re interested enough to be reading this, then I am sure that you are aware of it. What’s gone wrong?

I must first say two things. Firstly, of course British Cycling has never been a completely perfect organisation – few large, complex, national bodies are. And I have no doubt that during the 17 years that I was President and Chair of the Board (from 1996 to 2013) we got some things wrong. It’s in the nature of governing bodies for sport that people who have a passionate interest in that sport will disagree from time to time about issues affecting that sport and pastime. They certainly let me know if and when they did, during and after my time there - and as President of the international body, the UCI (2013 to 2017). But this is not about the past, it’s about the current situation. So, if you are interested in my time at either organisation, please feel free to have a look at the relevant pages elsewhere on my website www.briancookson.com.

The second thing to say is that there are many excellent people working very hard for British Cycling, both in the staff and amongst the many, many volunteers. I know and respect many of them. They work with passion and commitment and they deserve to be supported. I’m sure that we can get this right. This can be fixed.

But right now, British Cycling is clearly at a crisis point. Of course all sports have taken a hit from Covid and the cost of living crisis, but membership numbers are a good indicator - in British Cycling’s current strategy, the target is to grow from 150,000 members in 2021 to 250,000 by the end of 2024. Currently, in fact, numbers are about 2% down on the baseline at the start of 2022. To gain 100,000 members in two years is going to be a huge challenge, so the organisation is going to have to be absolutely fit for purpose in every respect. Plus the strategy and prioritisation of the organisation needs to be targeted in the right places.

Everyone involved, particularly those who lead the organisation, needs to acknowledge that and find a new way forward. First though, we need to understand how we have got here. What are the key factors that have led to this situation and how can we change them? What’s been going on and what can we do about it?

Well, here’s my analysis of those key factors. And this is urgent. Why? Because once again, right now, British Cycling is hiring a new Chief Executive Officer, the top paid official of the national governing body. This one will be the third in less than six years – quite some turnover in this important position, given that the previous three CEOs served a total of 28 years!

Apparently the shortlisting has been carried out – by recruitment consultants – and an interview panel has been established. I say “apparently” because all of this is being carried out in confidence and, as I no longer hold any position in British Cycling other than Past President, I am not privy to any inside information on this, or indeed any other aspect of what goes on in the governance or management of the organisation these days.

The main challenge that the new Chief Executive, whoever he or she may be, will have to face is how to deal with this multi-rooted crisis of confidence in the organisation. A crisis that has developed over time and is now abundantly clear to many, inside and outside of the organisation. And this is why the interview panel of the Board of British Cycling, who will no doubt be advised by key stakeholders like UK Sport and Sport England, must ensure that the right person is appointed. So let’s have a look at some of the issues here.

You will probably be aware that there have been a number of controversies over recent months including, but not limited to, Shell sponsorship, transgender policies, advice not to ride on the day of the Queen’s funeral, and so on. I’m not here expressing an opinion on any of those specifically, what is concerning me is how and why these and other controversies arose and how they have been handled.  

Further issues have clearly arisen in the last few weeks within and between British Cycling’s governance and senior management. First there was the departure (after less than two years) of the CEO Brian Facer. Then it was announced that the interim CEO, Danielle Every, is also to leave the organisation in Spring 2023. Dani has held the position of Cycling Delivery Director for four years, itself obviously a key critical position in the organisation, so she will also be a huge loss. 

There are also rumours of further imminent departures from the organisation. In the last year or so, BC will have parted company with a Finance Director, a Company Secretary, a CEO, and a Delivery Director/Acting CEO. Almost a full house of the Executive Leadership Team! 

To that number, in the last four years of the current Chair’s tenure, can also be added a Corporate Services Director, a Commercial Director, a Cycle Sport Director, and of course the last-but-one CEO, Julie Harrington. Of course, organisations need to renew from time to time, people move on in their careers and so on, but this is a rather worrying trend, I think you’ll agree.

The last year or so has also seen the departure of several of the most senior and experienced coaching staff from within the Great Britain Cycling Team element of the organisation. Successes have continued on the world stage, which is reassuring, but the key element here is that the pathways that identify, support and develop talented young athletes must be continually maintained and refreshed. That will need major continuing investment and sound management support.

What has happened that has led to all this senior staff turnover, and why? Let’s look at this a little more closely. I’m not going to beat about the bush. It’s time for straight talking.

In my view, the continued “brain drain” and hollowing-out of the organisation since 2016 has been little short of disastrous, and the impact is clearly beginning to show, for instance in the dramatic fall in the number of cycling events scheduled for 2023, which I understand is 28% down on 2022, across all disciplines. These events are of course largely organised by volunteers in cycling clubs of all types around the country, and it is here where the demoralisation of those people and their commitment to British Cycling is most obviously and seriously failing. Add to that, of course, the disruption that all these management changes in culture, strategy, objectives, etc, have undoubtedly caused to staff morale.

The problem, in my view, starts at the top. The widespread view, which I share, is that British Cycling has been damaged by people who have been parachuted into the organisation with no real knowledge of, or commitment to, the sport and pastime, and have no empathy with the people who participate and make cycling happen.

This is largely the result of the constitutional changes that were, in effect, forced on British Cycling by UK Sport and Sport England in the aftermath of the problems that arose in 2016. Of course those bodies have a duty to ensure that the huge amounts of funding they continue to channel into British Cycling are properly handled. And I welcome their involvement, now and in the past. The huge amounts of Lottery and other funding have helped to transform the organisation and bring about its successes. But, after 2016, in order to continue to receive that funding, British Cycling had to accept certain changes, in line with the then newly-introduced UK Governance Code for Sport.

There is a lot of good stuff in that Code. It was needed, not just for cycling but for all sports. But there is one element that has, in part, contributed to the problems noted above, in my view. Despite it not being a mandatory requirement, those bodies nevertheless insisted upon an unelected appointed Independent Chair of the Board.  This was alongside the mandatory requirement for a number of unelected appointed Independent Directors, together with a cohort of Directors elected (via various routes) by the members. In theory, the numbers still favour the elected Board Members, but it seems clear that the end result is that the Board has been, in effect, dominated by the unelected Independent Chair and those unelected Independent Directors.

I have no problem with bringing in outside expertise at Board level. On the contrary, I welcome it and it is something we began in my time as President and Chair of the Board. The root of the problem, in my view, is that with an unelected Independent Chair at the head of the organisation, the balance of power has shifted too far away from those people who have a total commitment to the sport and pastime that they are governing. That factor is at the heart of the damaging situation that we now face.

The damage has to be repaired. Two vital factors must now be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Here is the first. As noted above, the closing date for the recruitment of the new CEO passed recently. As it happens, I am aware in confidence of a number of potentially excellent candidates who, alongside the other necessary qualifications and experience, have a good background in, and understanding of, the sport and pastime of cycling – something that has been conspicuously lacking from recent senior appointments. The single most important thing that the current Board, supported and advised by UK Sport, Sport England and their recruitment consultants, could do at this point is to ensure that the new CEO is someone who can fully demonstrate that element of their capabilities. With the challenges they will face, it is clear that the overall strategy and the prioritisation of investment of financial and human resources into the sport needs to be targeted in the right places. To achieve that, they will have to have a strong empathy for the sport and pastime.

The selection panel must understand the importance of this issue, and the panel itself must include a majority of people who have a solid background in the sport. Under the current Constitution, British Cycling’s President, Bob Howden, elected by the members and a man with a lifetime’s experience of and total commitment to the sport and pastime, has no seat on the Board and is therefore unlikely to be a member of the interview panel. In my view that would be a mistake. The President, the most senior elected representative of the members, should be on the selection panel for the CEO, the leader of the paid staff.

And this leads me directly to the second vital factor. The position of Chair of the Board must revert from an appointed Independent position to an elected position. The Board needs to be led, as it has been for most of the 63 years of its existence, by a person elected from within the ranks of the people who make the sport and pastime happen – the members. That way there would again be direct accountability for the leader of the governance of the organisation, to those members.

British Cycling’s structure at the moment is closer to a quango (Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation) than it is to the democratic membership organisation that it had been until 2016. Changing the status of the Chair of the Board to an elected position would be a key improvement in that situation. It could be done, with the correct preparation and procedure  through an Emergency General Meeting. And it wouldn’t mean that British Cycling was non-compliant with the UK Governance Code for Sport, because an appointed Independent Chair is not a mandatory requirement anyway!

This is a critical moment in the history of British Cycling. Morale of volunteers, members, and indeed the many excellent staff who are still in post, needs to be hugely improved and strengthened at this difficult time. I am sure that this also applies to the riders on the Olympic and Paralympic elite and development programmes, where our future Olympic, Paralympic and World Championship successes will come from. 

There are other important issues which need attention, I have views about them too of course, and plan to write more in the coming weeks, but these two factors are key. The Constitutional changes to the Board may take some time, there will have to be discussion and negotiation with key stakeholders, but recruitment of a new CEO is underway right now. The appointment of someone highly competent who, alongside the other elements of the person specification, is knowledgeable and committed to cycling in all its forms is absolutely vital.

In writing and publishing this blog, I am hoping to stimulate debate and discussion. I hope everyone who reads this understands the seriousness of the situation and can help do something about it.

To be clear, I am not looking to take on any of the roles in British Cycling mentioned above. I have served 17 years as President and Chair of the Board, from 1996 to 2013, and I am happily retired. But I will not stand by and see the organisation that many people worked hard to build up over many years damaged, diminished or destroyed by a situation that can be changed by a few radical actions now.

© Brian Cookson 2 January 2023