With fascinating experiences of both playing and delivering sporting activity in their careers, our expert panellists will highlight the vital role that sport plays in society, from bringing communities together to improving physical and mental wellbeing and facilitating socioeconomic prosperity.

Host

Iain McKinney - Head of Sport & Active Lifestyles, Warwick Sport

Sport and education have played an integral role throughout Iain’s life. He enjoyed a successful 12-year career as a professional basketball player for both Sheffield Sharks and England. During that time, he completed his MSc Sport & Recreation Management from the University of Sheffield. After his professional basketball career, Iain taught PE and sport before being promoted to Director of Health & Science at Sheffield College. He then became Head of Sport at Sheffield Hallam University, and more recently Head of Sport & Active Lifestyles at Warwick. Alongside his day job, Iain coaches junior football and basketball and shares both of these passions with his children, while his wife also teaches PE to complete a very sporting family!

Speakers

Kare Adenegan - History student and GB Wheelchair Racing Paralympian

Kare was inspired to start wheelchair racing at the age of 11 after watching the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Four years later, she became a Paralympic Medallist (Silver 100m, Bronze 400m and 800m), representing Paralympics GB at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. She also won two silver medals (100m and 800m) at the Tokyo 2020 Games. An incredibly decorated athlete at such a young age, Kare was named the 2018 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year, arguably the most prestigious sporting award available to young athletes in the UK. Off the track, Kare advocates for inclusion for disabled people in sport at all levels and is passionate about promoting greater diversity in para-sport. She will graduate from Warwick in July 2022.

 

 

 

 

Dr Born Barikor - CEO and Founder of Our Parks (Honorary DSc, 2019)

Born is the hugely successful CEO and Founder of Our Parks, which provides free group exercise in parks and outdoor spaces, working in partnership with local authorities. He is a non-executive director of organisations including the Lawn Tennis Association, Active Surrey, the British Olympic Foundation and British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). Growing up, Born didn’t have the money to join a gym but wanted to keep fit. He came up with the idea of creating an accessible pathway to exercise for people from lower incomes by working with councils and development agencies to offer the public free outdoor exercise classes. Starting with the aim of getting 500 people #FitForFree, he has grown Our Parks to cover all of London and is now branching out to cities and towns across the UK, with more than 1,000 coaches and 250,000+ users, known as ‘Parkers’.

 

 

 

Robbie Chandler - Health Manager, Sky Blues in the Community (BSc Psychology, 2019)

With a personal passion for community health, Robbie is Health Manager at Coventry City Football Club’s charity arm, Sky Blues in the Community, and a member of Warwick’s Five-Year Wellbeing Strategy Board. Having worked for the NHS after graduating, Robbie combined his passion for health and sport by moving to the Sky Blues in the Community team in 2020. He now leads a team delivering a range of community health interventions, including PE in primary schools, supporting cancer patients through fitness programmes, and helping individuals who are at risk of involvement in crime. Alongside these initiatives, Robbie leads a truly inspirational programme called MENTalk, which supports men with their mental health and wellbeing and has recently expanded across Coventry and Warwickshire.