September 5, 2014 3.27 pm This story is over 114 months old

Lincoln lawyer takes seat on national rounders board

Rounders law: An expert sports lawyer from Lincoln has been appointed to the board of the National Governing body for Rounders.
Lincoln-based sports lawyer Richard Parnell.

An expert sports lawyer from Lincoln has been appointed to the board of the National Governing body for Rounders.

Richard Parnell, Managing Partner of regional firm Bridge McFarland, is already a Trustee and Non-Executive Director of Lincolnshire Sport and company solicitor for Lincoln City FC.

He was appointed by Rounders England to take up a seat on the board because of his experience and expertise in legal issues and in particular, the governance and regulation of sport, child protection and anti-doping.

Richard has presented seminars on drugs and doping in sport to both the University of Lincoln and Hull BID at the BBC Open Centre in Hull.

In October he will be presenting a workshop on the issue of positive leadership in child protection to the lead officers for safeguarding of National Governing Bodies and County Sports Partnerships at the Child Protection in Sport Unit in Leicester.

Rounders England is the National Governing Body for, and custodian of the rules of, Rounders and is also responsible for developing the sport throughout England.

It employs 14 staff, largely based at the head office in Sheffield.

In 2013 Rounders England was awarded £2.2 million to develop the sport across the country for the next four years.

Richard, a keen sportsman, is a member of the British Association for Sport and the Law (BASL) and is currently studying for a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Sports Law and Practice at De Montfort University in Leicester.

Richard said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the board of such a successful organisation as Rounders England and hope I can help the development of the sport across the country.

“It’s a very exciting time for the sport with a great vision and lots of passion and commitment to see Rounders grow and I’m honoured to be part of turning that vision into a reality.”

Rounders England Chief Executive Alison Howard said: “We are thrilled to have someone of Richard’s legal experience and knowledge to join our organisation.

“His legal expertise and passion for sport will be a huge asset for the board of Rounders England and we are confident he will help us build on the enormous success we have achieved in recent years.”