Mel Marshall To Help Lead UK Sport Program Aiming To Increase Female Coaches

UK Sport has launched a program with the objective of improving gender diversity across elite sport, and swim coach Mel Marshall will be among those leading the charge.

The leadership program, officially launched Thursday, is part of UK Sport’s plan to “more than double” the representation of female coaches in Olympic and Paralympic high-performance sports by the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Marshall, a two-time British Olympic swimmer who currently leads the elite program at the Loughborough National Swimming Centre, will be among six coaches “providing key support and development opportunities for the next aspiring generation of elite coaches”.

Currently, 10% of coaching positions across UK Sport-funded Olympic and Paralympic programs are held by women. The government agency aims to see that number increase to 25% over the next four years.

Marshall, the longtime coach of Olympic champion Adam Peaty, thinks the project is a big step in the right direction.

“It’s important that people see what is possible and I am honoured to be part of this project with UK Sport and with a group of extremely successful female coaches from across the Olympic and Paralympic environment,” Marshall told UK Sport. “We have to talk about opportunities for women in high-performance coaching and we shouldn’t be afraid to have those conversations, talk about our ambitions and challenge those not supporting them.

“UK Sport are leading the way on this through their ambition and I am extremely excited to be a part of the project and am looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with up-and-coming coaches as well as everyone else involved.”

Now 38, Marshall represented Great Britain at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, owns three World Championship medals and is a two-time European champion.

In speaking with BBC Sport, she also mentioned how female coaches bring a different dynamic than their male counterparts.

“It’s important those more feminine traits – like listening, empathy, kindness and affection – can be brought to the table, but also to bring in what are traditionally masculine traits, like making decisions, providing direction and being strict,” she said.

“Once you throw a mix of male and female personalities then it changes the conversation and that balance of gender can have a massive effect on performance.”

Paula Dunn (para athletics), Kate Howey (judo), Bex Milnes (para triathlon) and Tracy Whittaker-Smith (trampolining) will join Marshall as the coaches helping guide others over a six-month period, while former Great Britain and England Hockey coach Karen Brown will act as a mentor.

“UK Sport is determined to see greater diversity across the high-performance community and this programme will focus on seeing more women at the top end of high performance,” said Sally Munday, CEO at UK Sport. “Coaches, alongside athletes, are at the heart of our high-performance community and we firmly believe that a more diverse cohort of highly skilled coaches will help more of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes realise their potential.

“There are currently far too few female coaches operating at the highest level of performance and we are committed to addressing this reality and, working with our stakeholders, driving the change we want to see.”

In order to be apart of the program, coaches will receive nominations as UK Sport works with Performance Directors, Coach Developers and Talent Pathway Managers within the high-performance community, along with UK Coaching. UK Sport plans to have the list of coaches finalized by the end of 2020.