New Chair and Non-Executive Director elected at England Touch Association

Ahead of the 2023 domestic season, the England Touch Association has announced the elections of a new Chair and Non-Executive Director at its recent Annual General Meeting.

Tim Loveridge is the Association’s new Chair, following the departure of Mark Croston to the Federation of International Touch in September and Justin Conway’s interim period at the helm.

Loveridge brings considerable business experience into the role, having been Group Operations Director at the BWB Group of Companies since 2003, helping the group build its turnover to c.£30m.

A Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Loveridge has had varied responsibilities ranging from leading technical and project teams, managing specific divisions and/or regional offices, directing multi-million pound development and infrastructure projects for clients, as well as having Board responsibility for human resources, legal and commercial, business systems, health and safety, Group operational performance and contributing to Group business strategy and implementation. Loveridge is also the Board champion for equity, diversity and inclusion.

On the sporting front, Loveridge has been involved in community rugby for a decade, as a committee member of Nottingham Corsairs RFC since 2015, and as a Non-Executive Director of Nottingham Rugby Football Club Limited since March 2022.

His experience with Touch comes as a parent, with three of his children actively playing the sport and two having represented England at the Junior Touch Championships. His daughter, Ella, was also in the England squad at the 2022 European Touch Championships. And it is this experience which underpins his belief that the England Touch Association has the potential to lead Touch into being one of the country’s leading participation sports.

“I am honoured to be elected as the Chair of the England Touch Association,” he says. “This is a really exciting time for Touch with the recent successful completion of the first BUCS University Touch Series and the forthcoming Touch World Cup being held in England for the first time in 2024.

“A massive thank you to Mark Croston and, more recently, Justin Conway, for their hard work in chairing the Board in recent years. There is a really strong foundation in place for us to build on in the years to come.

“I’m really looking forward to working with the Board, our fantastic staff and volunteers and all our stakeholders in driving Touch forward and achieving our ambitious goals.”

Also elected to the Board is Emi Beredugo, who was also voted as a Non-Executive Director by the England Touch Association’s membership.

Beredugo brings a successful track record of devising and implementing operational and functional transformations in commercial and not-for-profit sectors.

In particular, Beredugo developed and implemented a multi-year resourcing strategy to support Save the Children UK’s quality and diversity hiring aspirations. With the England Touch Association having put Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as one of its key pillars, this experience will be crucial in supporting the Association’s ambitions in this area.

She has been a keen Touch player for almost 10 years, especially in the Middle East, where her club leadership duties included helping increase gender diversity by encouraging more females at all ages to play.

“Joining the England Touch Association in a Non-Executive Director role allows me to combine my professional experience with my passion for Touch Rugby,” she says. 

“While I am interested in promoting the sport and increasing participation in England, I am particularly interested in the ETA’s plans to increase diversity in the sport and reach out to the community.  

“This role will also continue to keep me connected to a sport that I truly love. It is the sport that brought me a whole new community of friends when I lived in Dubai and I’m hoping that it will do the same now that I have returned back to the UK after more than a decade away.”