Former England Touch’s Pippa Bourke joins FIT Events team

The new volunteer position will see Pippa take on an NTO Event Liaison role, working closely with FIT Chief Operations Officer, Chris Simon and local event hosts to provide the best possible service to NTOs entering FIT events. Initially focused on European events, Pippa will help to deliver timely information to NTOs for both the European Championships in Vichy in July and European Youth Championships at the University of Warwick in August.

As former England Touch Head of Elite Operations, a huge part of her role was ensuring smooth delivery behind the scenes – coordinating travel and accommodation, sourcing equipment, ensuring medical compliance, managing high performance budgets, and liaising with suppliers. She was critical in the planning of training camps and tours, as well as acting as England Touch Tour Manager for many of their campaigns.

Commenting on the appointment and Pippa’s expertise, Chris Simon said

“I am delighted that Pippa has agreed to come on board as we strengthen the delivery team for FIT here in Europe. Having worked closely with Pippa at England Touch I know what a great job she can do and I have no doubt she will make an instant impact as we continue to grow and develop our operations across the sport.

“A lot of what she did at England Touch will benefit other NTOs and this is something we are keen to help with. With new member nations coming on board every month, the demand for international events is increasing every year. Our existing events are getting bigger and bigger, and with more nations and teams competing, we need to consider how we can offer more opportunities and better support those who enter our events. It is an extremely exciting time for the sport, and I know Pippa will be a great asset to the team.”

Pippa started with England Touch back in 2016 as a volunteer Team Operations Manager for the Men's 30s squad. In 2018, she became Head of Elite Operations, where she spent over seven years building the operational backbone of the programme - streamlining logistics, developing processes, and creating the systems that helped England Touch compete internationally.

Commenting on her move to FIT, Pippa said:

“I'm excited to bring my experience and knowledge to FIT, where I'll be a liaison between the Federation, National Touch Organisations, and event hosts. I'm passionate about supporting NTOs by sharing best practices, strengthening governance and safeguarding frameworks, and helping the sport grow from an operational perspective. My focus is on bringing NTOs together - not just around improving the game itself but around building stronger operations and frameworks that make the sport more sustainable globally. I am really looking forward to working with the global Touch community in this new chapter of my life in Touch.”