Following the region’s recent annual general meeting (AGM), Richard Mostyn-Jones, chair of Yorkshire’s regional committee has begun work on next year’s vision for the Yorkshire region.

“The plan at the moment is to create a vision for Yorkshire and we will document a strategy. I’m also looking to interact with other regions around the country to understand what has been working for them,” said Mostyn-Jones.

“I also want to look at the roles and responsibilities of the committee members, get to know them and what they’re passionate about. We want to ensure that we are working as one team and collectively come up with a vision that is based on feedback that we get both from chairs across the county and from clubs and individuals.”

This collective approach is also being applied to the Leeds Triathlon Centre, Mostyn-Jones said: “Whilst of course we are county-wide, the centre of excellence is in Leeds, so I have been in conversation with people there to dovetail their vision and strategy into the strategy for Yorkshire.”

One of the main functions of the AGM was to establish who will sit on the committee for 2020/2021. Now, with that task complete, Mostyn-Jones hopes to foster a collaborative environment amongst both the committee and members in the region.

“One of the challenges that we have is actually improving our communication and setting out clear goals and objectives that are in line with the aspirations of all of our clubs,” said Mostyn-Jones.

“One of our committee members, James McCormack, is the club coordinator and one of our strategic plans will be looking at how we interact with our clubs and how we make sure that we are working effectively for them.”

Other committee members include vice chair, Paul Whitehurst, treasurer David Heels, secretary Katherine Megson, welfare officer Fiona Hoare, disability and inclusion officer Bret Crossley, coach coordinator Mikey Wallis, Technical Official coordinator Gaenor Coy, Motorcycle Official coordinator Steve Annakin, regional team manager Stuart Jeffries, Junior and Senior Series coordinator John Levick, club representative Jim Lafferty and regional academy head coach Sinan Osman.

Mostyn-Jones commented: “Everyone on the committee is a volunteer, so they are there because they are passionate about the sport and that’s a great starting block.”

2020 has been a difficult year for following through with proposed initiatives due to Covid-19 disruption to both events and training. However, Mostyn-Jones sees the current situation as a chance to take a step back and draw up plans for the spring.

“I look at Covid-19 as the perfect opportunity for us to work on these plans and prepare for when spring comes and training and competition starts up again. So, whilst people aren’t able to get out and about as much as they would want to, now is the time to write those plans and get excited about the future,” said Mostyn-Jones.

He emphasises how the committee would love to hear from people in the region about their ideas for both the future of Yorkshire and multisport in general, saying: “We are open to everyone’s views and we welcome feedback. We want to encourage people to contact us and drop the committee emails of their thoughts for the region and for triathlon as a whole.

“I’m very excited. I think we have a duty to get more people involved in the sport and we as individuals need to do our best to support it.”