Active Sussex CEO, Sadie Mason MBE, announces retirement

Sadie joined as CEO of what was then called the Sussex Sports Partnership in 2005, which was at that time hosted by the University of Brighton.

In 2007 Sadie helped oversee it become a charity and separate entity, called the Sussex County Sports Partnership Trust, later becoming Active Sussex.

The organisation, mostly funded by Sport England, is one of 43 Active Partnerships across England.

It is focused on addressing inequality and empowering everyone to be physically active in a way that works for them.

When asked what she is going to miss after retiring, Sadie said: “Being part of the Active Sussex team. They are really great people who are fully committed to what we are doing.

“It is very rare to have a team that is so passionate and who undoubtedly all share our values. It is a really fabulous organisation and I have been very lucky.”

Sadie's previous jobs have ranged from teaching, banking, sports governing body director and working as a development manager for Sport England. She has also served on the Boards of Sport England and London Sport following the London Olympics.

However, she is also very well known for the large part she plays in basketball.

Between 1984-1995, Sadie represented England & Great Britain 39 times, and is a non-executive director on the Board of the British Basketball Federation (also known as GB Basketball) and a non-executive director on the Board of Basketball England.

She is also the current programme director for GB Maxibasketball – a governing body recognised national teams programme for male and female players aged 35+ and beyond.

Sadie, was recently named captain of the GB Maxibasketball Women’s 55+ team for the European Maxibasketball Championship, Pesaro, Italy. 21-30 June, 2024.

She was awarded an MBE in 2014 for services to sport.

Sadie, who lives in Seaford, will retire from her job at Active Sussex at the end of August and, alongside her husband David, will be the sole carers of their 25-year-old son Daniel, who is autistic.

She is one of the longest-serving CEOs within the Active Partnership Network, with only seven others serving as long as she has.

The outgoing Chair of Trustees Brian Clark said: “Sadie has made a unique and incredibly positive contribution to Active Sussex and sport and activity generally and she leaves an outstanding legacy which will enable the organisation to flourish and continue to develop its work in promoting active lives for all.”

Anthony Statham, the current Head of Operations at Active Sussex, will step into the role of interim CEO until such time a new Chief Executive is appointed by the Board of Trustees.

Active Sussex is currently recruiting three new voluntary trustees to sit on its board. If you are passionate about the importance of sport and physical activity and would like to help reduce barriers to ensure everyone in Sussex has equal access, then please find out more about the roles available here.