Charlie Beauchamp Access Sport Founder Expand Sports marketer Charlie Beauchamp founded Access Sport in 2004 with the help of former England Rugby Captain Phil de Glanville and full-back Jon Callard. Their goal was to encourage grass-roots youth participation in sport through the existing network of clubs, in partnership with major corporations wanting to align their brands with (and invest in) community sport. The focus was to help the army of volunteers to grow participation through selecting clubs that had the ambition and ability to grow. Following a pilot scheme at three clubs Bude FC, Stoke on Trent RC & Old Albanians which produced fantastic results, Access Sport was able to continue its success and now works with 65 amateur sports clubs across the UK. Charlie now runs his own sports based companies Run Joy Ltd and Pulse Sport Ltd. - both businesses that have enabling participation at their core.
Fraser Hardie Access Sport Founding Patron Expand Founder and Senior Partner, Blue Rubicon. Fraser established Blue Rubicon 16 years ago on a kitchen table in South London going on to build it into one of the most respected and awarded reputation advisory firms in the world. Previously he worked in senior communications roles in two FTSE100 companies. Fraser was Head of Communications for PowerGen PLC and Global Media Spokesman for Rio Tinto. In 2015 Fraser was voted Agency Professional of the Decade at the CorpComms Awards. Fraser has been involved with Access Sport since the very early days and is a regular table host at the ‘A Question of Access Sport’ Annual Dinner.
Grace Clancey Honorary Patron Expand Grace has 20 years’ experience working in the sport and leisure sector in a variety of different roles. After several enjoyable years working at Sport England, in 2001 Grace co-founded leading leisure consultancy business, Continuum Sport and Leisure Ltd – where Grace currently acts as the Company Director. Grace specialises in working with clients on insight gathering, strategy and policy development, grant funding and facilities planning. She has notable experience of working with National Governing Bodies of sport, clubs, the education sector, local authorities, charities, and the private sector. Grace was a Trustee of Access Sport from 2012 - 2020 and is also a Trustee of Goalball UK. Grace Clancey, Linkedin
John Clark Honorary Patron Expand John Clark is a leading executive within the global video games industry. Currently Vice President of Partnerships at Chinese technology and entertainment company Tencent, John was previously Executive Vice President of Publishing at SEGA Europe. John advises Access Sport on its partnerships with the video games sector – click here for more information, and is a member of the Income Generation Committee.
Matthew Dawson Honorary Patron Expand Matthew is an IT Director and a father of two young children. In his spare time he is an endurance athlete and has supported Access Sport since 2013 when he first raised money completing his English Channel solo swim. Matthew truly believes that sport can change lives and that it should be a basic right for everyone from all backgrounds. The work Access Sport does to provide the opportunity to get disadvantaged children active and involved in sport, as well as working with local communities to build sustainable clubs is exactly what is needed to help combat many of the social problems of today. In July 2017 Matt was invited to be an Honorary Patron of Access Sport to recognise and celebrate his incredible support.
Mark Hardie CEO Emeritus Expand Mark served as Chief Executive of Access Sport from 2010 to 2021, having previously joined the charity as a volunteer in 2008. During his tenure he led the charity through a period of sustained growth during which time we won a wide range of awards for excellence in delivery, including the BT Sports Industry Award for Best Community Sport Project in 2015 and the Sports Business Awards Charity of the Year in 2017. Previously Mark worked for 15 years as a lawyer specialising in advocacy, crime and human rights. Mark has a BA from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, an MA in International Sports Law from Anglia Ruskin University and has represented his native Scotland in athletics.
Tim Jones Honorary Patron Expand Tim is a former managing partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, also working as HRH Prince Charles’ Ambassador for ‘Responsible Business in London’, between 2010 – 2012. Tim was also the former legal adviser to London 2012 and General Counsel to England 2015 for the Rugby World Cup. Tim works as a Trustee for a selection of charities, aiming to improve opportunities and increase safety across London - in our case this is through sport. Tim served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for Access Sport from 2016 until 2020, overseeing significant growth and enhancements to the charity’s governance; having completed his trustee term in Spring 2020 he continues to support the charity as an Honorary Patron. Tim Jones, Linkedin
John Sarsby Honorary Patron Expand John is a retired Chartered Accountant having worked with the Charity since it's inception and became a Trustee in 2009. John is the Trustee Treasurer and is responsible for overseeing the Charity's finances.
Greg Searle MBE Honorary Patron Expand Winning gold in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and Bronze in London 2012, Greg is a globaly recognised British Olympic rower. He also holds one World Championship gold, three silver and three bronze. In addition to Greg’s sporting accolades, he is the author of ‘If Not Now, When?’ and regularly takes the stage as an inspirational speaker. His involvement with charities extends far beyond sport, as he delves into areas such as medical research to help prevent illness in children. Greg is Access Sport’s head Ambassador and was made an Honorary Patron in 2018 due to his support and commitment to changing the lives of disadvantaged young people through sport. He has been working directly with team members on development and fundraising.Furthermore, Greg regularly leads our annual dinner 'A Question of Access Sport'. “I support Access Sport because it sits close to my personal values. I was fortunate to have access to great sports facilities as a kid. My parents were great role models for me and I met many great people through sport. I now try to give my own kids the same opportunities but I know many young people aren’t so lucky. By supporting Access Sport I hope I can do something to help.” Greg Searle Greg Searle, Linkedin
Keith Wishart Honorary Patron Expand Keith is currently a consultant for Lane4 having previously been International Managing Director for Thomas International. He plays a key role on the Access Sport Dinner Committee as well as being on the Income Generation team. Keith Wishart, Linkedin