Howard's legacy . . . Scottish Swimming's chief executive leaves her post with a heavy heart

Senior Sports Writer

Friday 14 September 2012

Michael Jamieson, Scotland's first Olympic swimming medallist of the Millennium, will claim pride of place at tonight's Scottish Swimming Awards in his home city of Glasgow but it will also be a very special occasion for the woman who heads the sport's governing body.

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Kevin Ferrie

For Ashley Howard there will be mixed emotions, since it will be her last as Scottish Swimming's chief executive. Her decision, announced between the two big Games, was something of a surprise given the successes achieved in overhauling the organisation as well as in the pool, where the performance of the Scots was disproportionately impressive compared with the overall Team GB showing.

On a personal level, however, the native of Vancouver and her Scottish husband Glen have decided this is the right time to move their young family to Canada. "It was a big decision," she admits. "I don't know the exact specific moment, but because we've got two little ones now and we live in a flat, we felt we would go for a bigger home and conglomerate our assets and during that process we started to think about what's next. "The natural breaking point was maybe 2014 but I started to think, well is it fair to wait until then just because of those great Games when, on life's journey, if now's a good time to move maybe we should bring that forward a little bit. It's about following your instincts. It's not just a gut reaction. Your instincts are built on all these years of experience so if we're going to move, now's a good time."So, another administrator will get the opportunity to make a mark just as Howard has in taking over an association that was evidently in need of modernising."The early years were hugely transitional," Howard says. "There were eight of us and there are almost 40 of us now, so it's been a huge growth, but for the stuff we do I still think we're really lean and we work hard at that."In what might be characterised as typical Canadian fashion, that has involved taking a very flexible approach to her team's working hours, but there is steel too."It's a fantastic place to work and I think we are a fantastic employer," she claims. "However accountability is extremely ruthless and the demands and expectations are so, so high. If you can't take both together then we're not interested." Annual surveys aim at assessing how effectively they are operating."In the first few years the scores were pretty rocky, so there was a lot of transition of personnel and bringing in of new energy," is her euphemistic way of saying that some people had to go.Putting the right people in the right places has provided the support for not only the continuation of a fine elite programme, but of a growth in projects working with partners in both the public and private sectors aimed at transforming participation in swimming as an educational tool, a leisure activity and a sport. "In theory, Scottish Swimming could double in size if we were able to carve a niche in that whole arena properly, so I would say that the person coming in has a great opportunity on quite a few fronts," Howard reckons.Tonight, then, is about far more than recognising Olympians and Paralympians."I'm really looking forward to it and it will be special for me because I know in my heart that it's my last awards night," says Howard. "I like that evening because it does cover the range from volunteers to teachers and coaches as well as, more recently, the local authority partners who deliver the great learn to swim programmes. Then, of course, with MJ there and all the other athletes it will be great."No better showcase, then, for what her successor can look forward to. "It's a fantastic role and it's a great company and I'm already jealous of the person who comes in. I think they're going to love it."

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Howard's legacy . . . Scottish Swimming's chief executive leaves her post with a heavy heart

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