SAPCA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2026

This year’s SAPCA Conference was a landmark one – the first one ever to be held in London

CONFERENCE 2026 SAPCA ANNUAL

The SAPCA Annual Conference took place on Thursday 26 February 2026 at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in London. The one-day event featured a range of high-profile speakers and a highly topical educational programme, as well as plenty of networking opportunities.

Strategic direction

During the conference, SAPCA revealed its new three-year strategy. The strategy follows on from the previous three-year plan, launched in February 2022, which was built on four pillars (to be business-like, member-focused, to build a strong SAPCA community and to focus on building the SAPCA “brand” as one of quality and trust).

Announcing the new strategy, SAPCA Chair, Dr. Kathryn Severn, said the plan represents the next phase in the organisation’s development and aims to build on the foundations already established by its members. “It’s a strategy that defines how we’ll lead the wider conversation on sport and play, driving the agenda forward while building on what we’ve already done – and what we are doing so well,” Dr. Severn said.

At the heart of the strategy are four guiding principles. The first emphasises the collective strength of the SAPCA membership, recognising the combined expertise and credibility of member companies across the sector. Severn said the association will increasingly use its collective voice to influence decision-makers and deepen partnerships across sport.

“Our strength lies in our collective impact – the knowledge, experience and credibility of our members working together,” she said. “We’ll use that strength to influence the wider agenda of sport and play, engaging more closely with purchasers and showing them the true value of the sector.”

The second principle reinforces SAPCA’s role as a self-regulating professional body, committed to maintaining high industry standards and leading on key issues affecting the sector. “SAPCA will continue to set the benchmark for excellence,” Dr. Severn said. “And just as importantly, we need to be confident in upholding those standards, even when that means some tough conversations.”

A third priority is to shift the organisation’s mindset from custodianship to leadership, ensuring it takes a proactive role as the industry evolves. “Our industry is changing rapidly,” she added. “We shouldn’t be bound by what has been done in the past – we should be directed by what the future demands.”

Finally, the strategy places members firmly at the centre of SAPCA’s work, with new measures to improve transparency and accountability, including the introduction of an independent annual member survey. “We are owned by – and working for – our members,” Dr. Severn said. “We want to build transparency and accountability into everything we do.”

Together, the four principles will continue to position SAPCA as the trusted, independent voice for the UK sport and play construction sector, while ensuring the association continues to champion quality, innovation and collaboration across the industry.

Learnings and discussions

The impressive speaker line-up during the day included John Mitchell, Head coach of the World Cup-winning England Women’s rugby team; Tom Hewson, Technology Analyst from the International Tennis Federation (ITF); Ian Redpath, Sport Lead from The Behaviouralist and Tara Dillon, CEO of CIMSPA. In his keynote session, Mitchell outlined how creating a culture based on courage and self- governance – empowering players to become leaders – transformed England’s Red Roses into world champions. Culture was also at the heart of an inspirational talk by Dillon, who advocated for the creation of working environments that reflect those within it. “Don’t try and copy the success of others – a truly supportive culture is something that people are proud of,” Dillon said. “It should be seen and felt when you step into it.”

There was also a panel session discussing the latest in the plans to develop an End-of-Life Synthetic Turf Treatment Protocol for the sports and play construction sector. The protocol will allow the industry and the UK sports governing bodies to formulate policies for the responsible disposal of synthetic sports surfaces and pitch systems.

The one-day conference was followed by the 2026 SAPCA Awards Dinner (to read more about the winners, turn to page 32).