RugbyWA Chief Executive Officer Vern Reid has advised the RugbyWA Board that he will not seek to extend his current contract with the franchise.
Reid, who has held the role since 2009, will continue to work with RugbyWA through the transition until a new Chief Executive Officer has been appointed.
“We have completed the recruitment of our new Head Coach Michael Foley and a new-world class coaching panel as well as nearing finalisation of our playing roster for 2013. The timing is right for a new off-field leader to take us into this exciting new era ” Reid said.
“It has been a privilege for me to lead the organisation over these past four seasons, however, with the planned re-launch of the club into 2013 with a new-look professional rugby administration in place and a revamped playing squad, it is an appropriate time for me to hand over to another to take us through the next stage of our development as a rugby stronghold.”
While the 2012 Super Rugby season proved a disappointing one for the Emirates Western Force, the club remained tight-knit with a great deal achieved off-field in the ensuing period.
The club has set about instituting significant change in its professional rugby department, with the new coaching appointments reforming virtually the entire professional rugby department. Significant improvements in recruitment and changes to the playing squad have also been a feature during the last several months.
“Much has been achieved under Vern’s leadership in very difficult circumstances and the Board is grateful for his contribution to the consolidation of the Emirates Western Force as a major franchise in the Australian rugby landscape,“ RugbyWA Chairman Russel Perry said. “We are very appreciative of his efforts both as a Board Member and during his time as CEO.
“We will now begin the process to find his successor, who will continue to take the organisation forward through this period of change.
“I’m grateful that Vern will assist us during this time and that he will remain with the organisation through this transition.”
In addition to recent recruitment and changes in Emirates Western Force staff and playing personnel, RugbyWA – under Reid’s guidance – has realised a number of key milestones for rugby in Western Australia, including:
• local participation numbers exceeding 8,000 for the first time with the standard of local competition lifting significantly. Western Australia now has the third highest rugby participation numbers in the country;
• the club looks forward to moving into the new $95 million dollar first stage redevelopment of nib Stadium. Working alongside the State Government, construction of the new eastern and southern stands is already underway. This upgrade will further consolidate the Force’s ‘Sea of Blue’ supporters as the most passionate in the Super Rugby competition as they move even closer to the rugby action on game day in 2013;
• RugbyWA worked closely with the State Government to deliver its $13m training and administration centre in Floreat, finally relocating from underneath the former Perry Lakes Stadium to its world-class base in the Challenge Sports Precinct and providing a home to all levels of rugby in WA.