Special Olympics Great Britain has appointed 16 experts from grassroots sport to drive forward its competition, training and coach development programmes in its most popular participation sports*.
The new National Sports Advisors (NSA) are individuals actively involved in their sport as a senior coach, athlete, volunteer or professional working inside a governing body. The 16 NSAs, who are all volunteers, join their sport’s respective summer or winter sport working group. They will also meet regularly with Special Olympics GB’s Sport for Development team to help devise growth plans for each of the eight sports.
The 16 appointed NSAs are:
Alpine Skiing
- Liam de Vanney, Special Olympics South East Ski Group
- Bob Thow, Special Olympics Grampian
Aquatics (swimming)
- Dave Harman
- Emma Inglis, Blackpool Polar Bears
- Anna Lavan, Special Olympics North Staffordshire
Badminton
- Clint Gardner, Special Olympics Plymouth & District
- James Wyatt, Special Olympics Derbyshire
Basketball
- Jazz Owen, Special Olympics Sheffield
- Jon Stonebridge, Special Olympics Leicestershire & Rutland
Gymnastics
- Artistic – Alex Row, Special Olympics Suffolk
- Rhythmic – Caitlin Duff, Special Olympics Cheshire East
Table Tennis
- Dennis Beach, Special Olympics Cheshire North & West
Tennis
- Matt Chilvers, Special Olympics Leicestershire & Rutland
- Paul Singleton, Special Olympics Lincolnshire
- Mel Whitehead
Chris Smith, Head of Sport for Development at Special Olympics GB, said: “All 16 NSAs are vastly experienced, and their expertise will play a big role in developing these tier one sports.
Our new tiering system, for the 27 sports, ensures that we invest more resource into the sports that most athletes play. The NSA appointments form a key part of this, helping us to identify more opportunities for our coaches and create an even stronger training programme. Additionally, they will support the development of our competition programme and ensure that there is a clear pathway for our competing athletes to follow, from local event to a Special Olympics World Games.
“In the coming months, we hope to expand the NSA network to include more sports and develop more opportunities for our athletes.”
* Special Olympics GB’s has categorised its 27 active sports into three tiers, based on athlete participation numbers from the 2023 Census.
National Sports Advisor Biographies
ALPINE SKIING
Liam de Vanney – Special Olympics South East Ski Group
Liam has skied since the age of nine and boasts 44 years of experience as a Ski Instructor. Having spent 10 winter seasons working as an instructor in multiple French Ski Resorts, Liam has been Head Coach for Special Olympics South East Ski Group for 18 years, where he has led 12 residential ski race camps in France. He was Team Special Olympics GB’s Alpine Skiing Head Coach for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in 2009 and 2018 and was part of the organising team for our National Winter Games in 2012.
Bob Thow – Special Olympics Grampian
Bob has been a qualified ski instructor for more than 40 years and a Special Olympics Grampian coach since 2009, taking on the Head Coach role at the club in 2018. Here he has supported multiple athletes on their journeys to National and Special Olympics World Winter Games. Appointed as Head Coach for Alpine Skiing for the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025, Bob was also Alpine Skiing Race Director at the Folgaria 2024 Special Olympics GB National Winter Games, and the previous National Ski Competition in Crans Montana (Switzerland) in 2020, where he oversaw competition at novice, intermediate and advanced levels.
AQUATICS (SWIMMING)
Anna Lavan – Special Olympics North Staffordshire
Anna is a qualified swimming teacher who has been involved within disability sport for more than 40 years. She was previously Head Coach for West Midlands Disability Swimming Club in Birmingham and was Swim England’s Talent Development Officer for several years, before becoming National Swimming Officer at Cerebral Palsy Sport.
Dave Harman
Dave was previously Special Olympics GB’s Swimming Technical Adviser and has supported at several National Summer Games, in addition to being a Technical Delegate for the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles (2015) and Berlin (2023). He has been involved in swimming for more than 50 years, as a teacher, lifeguard and water polo player. As a technical official and qualified referee, Dave has officiated at several major events, including the London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Dave has also been the Director of Swimming for Virtus since 2015, delivering major swimming events in Australia, Ecuador, Mexico, Poland and France.
Emma Inglis – Blackpool Polar Bears
Having been involved in swimming for more than 25 years, Emma has been Head Coach at Blackpool Polar Bears for almost 20 years, where she has supported athletes at local, regional, national and international competitions. She has been part of Team Special Olympics GB’s coaching team for the last three Special Olympics World Summer Games, including the Swimming Head Coach role for Abu Dhabi 2019 and Berlin 2023. Coaching swimming is in Emma’s blood and her passion for the sport is clearly visible through the work she does and the organisation of regional events, including the annual swimming gala in Blackpool. Emma was also competition manager for Special Olympics GB’s 40th Anniversary Games in Stirling in 2018.
BADMINTON
Clint Gardner – Special Olympics Plymouth & District
Based on the Isle of Wight, Clint is a Special Olympics GB athlete who started playing badminton as a 13-year-old. Now aged 35, he has been one of the leading players in Learning Disability competitions across the country for several years and recently participated in a training camp in Malaysia with former World No. 2 player Ismale Saman and his team. Clint is a qualified Level 1 badminton coach and is incredibly passionate about developing the sport within Special Olympics GB.
James Wyatt – Special Olympics Derbyshire
James joined the Special Olympics GB movement in 2010 and, after participating in several sports at regional and national level. He chose badminton as his preferred sport and was selected for the Abu Dhabi 2019 Special Olympics World Games where he won a bronze medal. He subsequently qualified as a badminton coach and formed the Derbyshire Allstars club, which provides weekly playing opportunities. James joined the Athlete Leadership Team at the start of last year and, when he is not playing Badminton, he can often be found running, having taken up the sport two years ago. To date he has completed the TCS London Marathon, the AJ Bell Great North Run twice and several other half marathon and 10K events.
BASKETBALL
Jazz Owen – Special Olympics Sheffield
Jazz has been a qualified basketball coach and match official for more than 15 years, and a Special Olympics Sheffield coach for almost 20 years, taking on the Head Coach role at Sheffield Lynx Basketball club in 2017. Here she has supported multiple athletes on their journeys to National and Special Olympics World Summer Games, alongside running the 2014 National Basketball Competition and various other national development competitions. Jazz was also Head Coach for Men's Basketball at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, Head Coach for Women's Basketball in Abu Dhabi 2019, and Coach for Women's 3x3 in Berlin 2023, as well as Assistant Head of Delegation for Yorkshire and Humberside at the 2018 Anniversary Games.
Jon Stonebridge – Special Olympics Leicestershire & Rutland
Jon has played basketball from local level to professional leagues, across England over the last 30 years. During this period, he has been involved in disability basketball, including coaching at a SEN school and being part of the team that delivered the Basketball National finals in Sheffield. Jon previously worked with Basketball England and now works in the sport team at Mencap as Network Development Officer, helping improve sport and physical activity opportunities for people with a learning disability. Jon has also been delivering the Mencap/SOGB Learning Disability in Sport Workshop, educating coaches, volunteers and organisations across the country for the last ten years.
GYMNASTICS
Caitlin Duff – Special Olympics Cheshire East
Caitlin has been coaching Special Olympics rhythmic gymnastics for eight years and trains athletes of every level. Throughout her time as a coach, she has supported several Special Olympic World Games athletes, including the team that won silver in the group routine at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. Caitlin has vast knowledge of all routines that were introduced across every level in 2023. She is also incredibly passionate about showcasing and expanding opportunities and awareness of rhythmic gymnastics.
Alex Row – Special Olympics Suffolk
Alex has been a gymnastics coach since the age of 14 and now offers more than 20 years of coaching experience across various levels of the sport. Since 2016, Alex has focused extensively on the Special Olympics movement, serving as a coach for the Eastern Region at the 2017 National Summer Games. He subsequently was a coach for Team Special Olympics GB’s artistic gymnastics squad at the Special Olympics World Games in both Abu Dhabi and Berlin. Alex is a big ambassador for disability sport and sits on disability advisory groups for the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), British Gymnastics, and Special Olympics.
TABLE TENNIS
Dennis Beech – Special Olympics Cheshire North & West
Dennis has been a qualified table tennis Level 2 coach for more than 30 years and a Special Olympics North West coach since 1990, taking on the Head Coach role at the club in 1995. Here he has supported multiple athletes on their journeys to National and two Special Olympics World Games. Dennis was also a match official at two other Special Olympic World Games and has organised and ran national and regional table tennis competitions for the last 25 years.
TENNIS
Matthew Chilvers – Special Olympics Leicestershire & Rutland
Matthew has been playing tennis as a Special Olympics GB athlete for several years and has competed in national and European competitions, in addition to playing regularly for his club. Matt is also a qualified coach and coaches children's after school sessions and his own weekly relaxed, inclusive autism friendly session and holiday camps. In 2018 Matthew was selected as the BBC Sports Personality Unsung Hero for the East Midlands region, for his voluntary work coaching disability and accessible tennis sessions. He is also a member of the Lawn Tennis Association’s national Disability Advisory Group.
Paul Singleton – Special Olympics Lincolnshire
Paul started coaching tennis several years ago, having previously played and coached cricket and football at a high level. As Head of Disability Tennis, Paul helped Grantham Tennis Club win Disability Programme of the Year and Club of the Year at national level. He also spent five years as age group manager for Lincolnshire u12 boys in the county cup. Paul has also been the Head Coach in tennis for Special Olympics East Midlands and for Team Special Olympics GB at the last Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin.
Mel Whitehead
In addition to being a national level referee with a thorough understanding of LTA and ITF rules and regulations, Mel has been involved in Special Olympics GB tennis for the last 20 years through coaching a group of athletes in Nottingham. Many of the athletes have progressed to national and international events. Additionally, Mel has held Coach and Head Coach role at the National Games 2009 and at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2015 and 2019, and was the Deputy/Competition Manager for National Games in 2013 and 2017. She has vast experience of running all levels of competition and referees many learning disability regional and national competition each year.