New England Squash and Racketball Chief Executive Officer Keir Worth has returned to the organisation after nearly a year away at British Shooting with a declaration that “my eyes are wide open”.
“I know where the organisation is,” the former ESR Performance Director tells the latest issue of Squash Player magazine in a wide-ranging interview.
“The no.1 priority is participation, getting more people playing. What that department does – how, where, when and why – has to be scrutinised. “We have not just stopped hitting participation targets; we have not hit participation targets for some time.
“We need to look at the products. What are we providing businesses and clubs, that will help them to promote and sell the sport?
“Not enough was done and we have lost a generation of players. I was here [at ESR] from 2006 and there was not one single national junior development initiative while I was there.”
Worth left at the end of 2013 because he was frustrated with the direction of ESR, but hoped he would return at some stage, although may be not as soon.
“It is a job I knew I wanted at some stage,” he said of the CEO role. “I just didn’t expect this opportunity to come up as quickly as it did. It’s a huge challenge.
“You could argue it is the right time to come in because things can only get better.
“My job is to make sure the organisation turns itself around and operates successfully in terms of encouraging participation. I need to make sure we have the right people in the right jobs doing the right things.
“It is my role to make sure the organisation has leadership and a strategy that will work. That strategy will need to be endorsed by the board.
“There are some very good people at ESR who haven’t had the opportunity to put forward their ideas. It will be a team effort.
“If we get it right as an organisation, it is an exciting time for the game. If we don’t get it right, the game will die… in this country anyway.”