A former judo international has a new fight on her hands after being appointed chief executive of Fife Sports and Leisure Trust.
Emma Walker has been handed the task of trying to steer the charitable trust through the most difficult period in its history as it prepares to reopen doors following the Covid-19 lockdown.
It comes after The Courier revealed in April that the trust fears a £5 million loss in income and had to furlough 500 staff.
Ms Walker – who is a black belt in judo and has represented Northern Ireland three times at the Commonwealth Games – said the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on her new role .
“Working remotely and managing closed facilities were not something I anticipated,” she said. “But the team have been fantastic.”
She added: “We are also facing the financial consequences of the lockdown and the impact it will inevitably have on the trust and I will be in discussions with our partner, Fife Council, to reinforce the importance long-term sustainable sports and leisure services for the health and wellbeing of local people, particularly as we face a national public health crisis.”
She brings over 20 years of experience of running sports and leisure services with previous roles with Edinburgh Leisure and, most recently, North Lanarkshire Leisure.
