Lorraine Brown, to step down as Head of Performance, GB Climbing

The BMC has today announced the resignation of Lorraine Brown from her role as Head of Performance, GB Climbing, effective from 12 March 2024.

After almost three years of dedicated service to the BMC, Lorraine has made the difficult decision to step down from her position in order to prioritise her health and well-being and will be relocating back to Edinburgh for personal family reasons.

Commenting on her decision to leave the role, Brown said:

 "It has been an honour and a privilege to lead GB Climbing and be a part of the BMC family. I am deeply grateful for the experiences, memories, and friendships forged during my time at GB Climbing. 

“While I am sad to bid farewell, I leave with a sense of optimism for the future, there is a brilliant group of performance athletes looking to forge success at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and a future potential group who will be laying the foundations this year as they seek to realise their LA and Brisbane Olympic Games credentials.”

Paul Ratcliffe, BMC CEO, added:

"We extend our heartfelt thanks to Lorraine for unwavering hard work, dedication and contributions to GB Climbing. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours."

To ensure there is a smooth transition to support athletes and coaches for the season ahead, Jon Garside, BMC Head of Sport & Community Development, will take on the role of Acting Head of Performance with immediate effect.

Over a period of almost ten years starting in 2008, Jon led the BMC’s first Sport England funded talent development youth programmes. Throughout the subsequent three cycles, Jon secured funding for the first national and regional offerings and to create the first youth development squad. 

As the programme grew, the BMC’s first Sport England funded talent development staff were recruited, who are still GBC staff. Jon is looking forward to leading GB Climbing, working with the staff, athletes, coaches and parents during this Olympic year.

Jon will be working closely with the staff team to oversee operational delivery and to lead GB Climbing through the next six months. The BMC will begin the recruitment process to appoint a successor, post Paris.

If anyone has any concerns or needs any support following this news then please don’t hesitate to contact Paul Ratcliffe or Jon Garside.