Over the past two years, Mike has played a pivotal role in leading and developing our performance team and programme through a challenging period, always demonstrating his exceptional commitment to our athletes and the wider paddling community.

Under his leadership, Paddle Scotland has continued to provide a strong pathway for athletes, with many progressing onto world-class programmes and representing Scotland and Great Britain on the international stage.

Before joining Paddle Scotland, Mike brought a wealth of experience from his time as Head of Performance Coaching with British Canoeing, and earlier in his career as a Coach Developer, Performance Manager, and Physical/Adventure Training Instructor in the Royal Air Force.

Paddle Scotland's Interim CEO Kevin Pringle says "I will be very sad to lose Mike from our team. He has been a huge support for me personally and has led and developed the performance team and programme incredibly well through what has been a challenging period. His decision to live in Scotland full time, for the benefit of the programme and our athletes, illustrates the incredible commitment he has shown to make the impact he has. While the loss will be a challenge for Paddle Scotland, on a personal note, I fully understand and support Mike’s decision and he will leave with my appreciation and best wishes for the future."

Mike will return home at the end of September and continue to support Paddle Scotland remotely through October. During this transition, we will ensure continuity for our athletes, and we will also be undertaking an independent review of the talent pathway to help shape and align our long-term direction.

While Mike’s departure is a huge loss for Paddle Scotland, he leaves with our heartfelt thanks and best wishes for the future.

Paddle Scotland will move to start the recruitment process in the coming weeks.