David Parsons joins England Netball as Performance Director
After a 12-year tenure with the England and Wales Cricket Board, the 52-year-old will take over from Sara Symington at England Netball after she left to join British Athletics
Friday 20 November 2020 15:23, UK
David Parsons has been appointed as England Netball's new performance director, he joins from a 12-year tenure with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
His appointment comes after a competitive and lengthy international recruitment process and he replaces Sara Symington, who left to join British Athletics.
In Parsons' previous role with the ECB he was responsible for developing the systems, programmes, people and pathways which identified, and prepared players, for the England team.
During his time as performance director, the England team won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the 2010 World T20 competition, and were ranked No 1 in the world at all formats of the game.
Parsons has also worked as a high-performance consultant for UK Sport, British Canoeing, and British Weightlifting.
"It is a real honour to be asked to join the team at England Netball at such an exciting time for the sport in this country," he said.
"We've all seen in recent times the impact that a successful Vitality Roses team can have, and we made great progress during Sara's time as performance director.
"I look forward to working with England Netball and the wider netball community to build on those successes in the years to come."
When he arrives in role with England Netball, Parsons will be working closely with Vitality Roses head coach Jess Thirlby and Vitality Netball Superleague clubs to continue to build on the successes of recent years and support the development of world-leading performance environments for the sport.
"I am delighted to welcome David to England Netball," Fran Connolly, CEO of England Netball, said.
"He has vast experience and knowledge of this sector, and a proven track record of success at the ECB.
"David has a clear vision for netball and is determined to ensure that we build on recent momentum following the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup.
"We were searching for a world-class performance director to help lead netball into a new era and I believe we have found that in David."
Parsons will join England Netball officially in January 2021 as the Vitality Roses prepare for a home series against the Jamaica Sunshine Girls, which will be live on Sky Sports.
Netball eligible for Sport Winter Survival Package
Netball is one of 11 sports eligible to receive assistance from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) 'Sport Winter Survival Package'.
There is £2m available towards England Netball activities and £2m in support of the Vitality Netball Superleague, after netball has faced significant financial pressure in 2020. The overall support package is reported as a mixture of both grant and loan funding.
"It is a huge relief to hear that England Netball has been named amongst the beneficiaries eligible for this funding," CEO Connolly, said.
"I'd like to thank Government and DCMS colleagues for recognising the challenges faced by our sport and for stepping in with this much-needed survival package.
"We are passionate about playing our part in protecting the incredible progress made by female sports over the past couple of years and building on the momentum from the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup.
"This survival package has come at a crucial time for England Netball and the Vitality Netball Superleague. We look forward to working through the next steps of the process to release these vital funds that will benefit the grassroots and elite levels of our sport."
Each of the 11 sports named in the survival package will now need to go through an application process to access the support they are eligible for.
