RYANI Chief Operating Officer Richard Honeyford has joined the Northern Ireland Sports Forum (NISF). Gordon Reid has stepped down from the NISF and re-joined RYANI as Development Officer, covering Mary Martin's maternity leave.
The Sports Forum is the recognised umbrella organisation for the voluntary sector of sport in Northern Ireland and its vision is to lead the development of a cohesive and informed Sport and Recreation sector in Northern Ireland.
Richard is excited to be involved. "The Sports Forum is a key stakeholder for the voluntary sector of sport in Northern Ireland and works to represent those sports as well as driving initiatives forward such as the Code of Good Governance and Female Sports Forum. I am looking forward to being a part of the organisation and supporting them going forward".
Richard has been the Chief Operating Officer for RYA Northern Ireland since 2017. He has sailed since childhood and won several Irish National titles in Toppers and Lasers. He also represented Ireland in the Laser class at the ISAF Youth Worlds in 1997 and 1998. Academically, he qualified as a Modern Languages Teacher and professionally has worked as an instructor in several training centres and became a racing coach at national and international level.
Richard has been with the RYA Northern Ireland since 2005, where he began as a coach and then became Performance Manager for over ten years. Developing the performance pathway, he saw Northern Irish athletes win 15 World and European medals from junior to senior level and also coached Laser sailor, James Espey at the London 2012 Olympics. He now enjoys windsurfing, getting on the water with his two daughters and competes on the Irish Windsurf Association's slalom series, when time allows.
