Chris Irwin

A former professional rugby league player, who later channelled his love of sports into the world of teaching – Chris Irwin has worked within the educational sector for the over 10 years, becoming a PE teacher after completing his sports career.

It was during this time as a PE teacher that Chris spotted the need to offer an alternative approach to children’s fitness, to encourage children to develop a life-long positive attitude to sport, physical activity and healthy living.

Setting out to offer something different and inspire the next generation, Chris is now Managing Director of EdStart, a children’s sports education provider – which supports schools across the country in offering full coverage of the primary PE curriculum, as well as a wide range of after-school sports clubs and an innovative health and fitness programme which is the first of its kind, in specifically targeting children’s fitness.

Passionate about helping children develop their social as well as fitness skills, EdStart works with hundreds of schools, local authorities and organisations across the country. As well as an ongoing mission to improve the skills of children in every area of PE, the company also provides a specialist education service for children currently outside of mainstream education.

Andy Peasey

Andy is the creator and with his wife the co-owner of RUGGERBUGS.  Having been coaching rugby from club to county level for over 25 years RUGGERBUGS was inspired from the need that children are not introduced to the great sport of Rugby until the age of 6+ at club level.

Establish in early 2007 RUGGERBUGS is a multi-award winning, fun and exciting pre-school sports development programme based around non-contact rugby for girls and boys, aged 18 months to Six years. It is designed to promote a fun and positive attitude to sport and fitness.

RUGGERBUGS is a leading company in this field and the first to establish close associations with local rugby clubs to ensure that children can progress to mini rugby with ease.

Andy is passionate about Rugby and the introduction children have to the sport and wants to encourage children to have a love of sport and all the positive attributes it can give young people.

When not working or volunteering as a coach at his rugby club he is either spending time with his family or playing golf (badly).

Mark Rasche - Deputy Chair

Mark Rasche runs an organisation called Sport & Activity Professionals which works with kids' activities businesses in all areas of the sector to help them grow and improve, over come their challenges and to build the business that they want and that they have the potential to achieve.

Mark has worked with hundreds of organisations in this sector from the largest down to the start ups, with all sorts of company structure from private or publicly limited companies to social enterprises and charities through the training and consultancy arms of his business.

Mark has been working with kids in this industry since he was 16 and eventually helped build a global franchisor in this sector, with an estimated 1.1m kids in 61 countries.

Mark has a huge passion for the sector, extensive experience in the business side of this industry and has helped many organisations achieve great things.