Holly Vowles: Equalities Officer by day, international Wales football and hockey player by night

To represent your club and country in a major sports tournament is a massive achievement for any athlete. But to do that in two different sports, while holding down a job, is truly amazing and puts Holly Vowles into a very rare group of elite sports people.

Holly works as an equalities officer in her home country of Wales, at HMP Parc from Monday to Friday, whilst outside of work her dedication and passion for hockey (field hockey) and football (soccer) have taken her places that many people can only dream of.

Her sporting achievements have seen her play for Wales in the Hockey World Cup as well as two UEFA cup competitions where she captained Swansea City FC.

“The governors at the prison where I work have always been very supportive of my sports career, and I’m grateful for their support,” she explained.

Her games are usually on weekends, whilst training sessions for both hockey and football tend to be held on weekday evenings, so she rarely has to swap shifts. When she attended the UEFA cups and the World Cup, she was granted special leave by her prison governor combining this with her annual leave.

From school to the world stage

Holly's journey in sports began in her school years when she discovered her love for hockey. She played at international level for her school and represented her county and district.

Holly was part of a strong school hockey squad that competed at the Welsh schools competition numerous times. Building on the strength of her school sports career, she went on to play for various adult clubs, including Bridgend Hockey Club and Swansea Hockey Club.

Her talent and hard work paid off when she tried for the Welsh squad and was selected for the World Cup, where her team came second in their group and won the bronze medal by beating Holland.

In addition to playing hockey at school, Holly also played football, and was signed to the Academy of professional club, Bristol Rovers when she was still at school. She later played for Cardiff before being signed to Swansea City FC when she was just 15.

She later captained the side and, in addition to winning leagues titles and Welsh cups, she was part of two UEFA cup competitions with the club.

Holly’s later sporting career includes Llandore FC, where they won the league twice and two league cups, and Barry Town FC, where she assisted the team in promotion and won the Welsh Cup. Most recently she has been playing for another Welsh team, Afan Lido FC.

The importance of teamwork

One thing that Holly has learned from playing sports is the importance of teamwork.

She said: “My experience in sports definitely helps with my job. Being an equalities officer also requires teamwork, and my experience in sports has helped me use these skills in my workplace.”

Holly says that commitment is the main similarity between sports and work. She has worked at HMP Parc for nearly 20 years and has played sports to a high standard during that time, which requires a lot of sacrifice, training, and giving up spare time.

Holly is a born leader in a sporting capacity and brings that leadership to her workplace too. Her story is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of finding balance in the things you are passionate about, (not to mention an employer who is able to support that passion).