We were all deeply saddened this weekend to learn of the passing of Jim Mathew, a stalwart of Scottish Angling’s Coaching and Coach Education Team and long standing member of the Angling Development Board of Scotland.
Jim devoted a huge amount of time and effort to volunteering in angling and providing opportunity for young people to get involved in the sport. He engaged with and supported the delivery of angling programs for children across the country, from the borders to Inverness, and organised and ran numerous angling programs in High Schools across Lanarkshire over many years. He was a fierce advocate for the provision of more funding and resources to support this work and never missed on opportunity to get the subject onto the agenda and put the focus on the next generation.
Jim knew that to have be able to affect decision making he needed to be involved at the highest level. He was a Board Member of the Scottish Anglers’ National Association (SANA) for many years and took on a Directorship in September 2021. In addition to his role in the Governing Body, Jim played an active role on the committee of the Angling Development Board of Scotland as SANA’s representative for many years. He was also an integral part of Angling Scotland’s coach educator team, tutoring and assessing on most of the coaching courses that were run over the past 15 years, supporting the training of the next generation of coaches to continue his work.
Jim will be remembered as a good friend to all, with a big heart, a warm smile and ready wit, who always put others before himself. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him and worked with him, and the hundreds of youngsters who have benefitted from his enthusiasm and as coach and mentor over the years. Our thoughts are with his wife and family at this difficult time.
