As the Sport England Club Leaders Programme celebrates its one year anniversary, Women's Sport Report’s Helen Keeling finds out more ...
What are the main aims of the Club Leaders Programme?
The programme is all about better business skills for sport. We offer support to club volunteers in managing the business side of running their club. Recognising that volunteers have a difficult job to do, we have created lots of resources to help them deal with areas such as club finances, marketing, governance and facilities management. From mentoring and seminars, to online e-learning, including toolkits and a Q&A section, there is something for everyone. Is it a free service?
Yes - everything we offer is completely free! How many sports clubs has the programme helped in its first year?
We have supported over 4000+ sports clubs (via our learning bus, website and face-to-face workshops) and, as the word gets out, we hope to reach more and more clubs!
Can you give some specific examples of how Club Leaders has improved the day-to-day running of particular sports clubs?
Mentoring example:
Fairfield Golf and Sailing Club, based just outside of Manchester, has over the last six months been part of the Club Leaders mentoring programme. During this time, Blake Adlem, the mentor and a manager at global professional services firm PwC has been supporting Fairfield in a number of areas including: marketing the club, attracting new younger members, planning for a new club house and improving communication with existing members. Ian Holland, Treasurer of Fairfield said: "Blake gave us lots of good ideas on how to improve our club. The whole mentoring relationship has been a really worthwhile process. It has been great to kick about ideas with Blake and see where we end up." For Blake, the experience has also been beneficial: "I have found the Club Leaders programme to be extremely rewarding. It's a great feeling to know you have helped a local sports club with their issues, and I've met some great people along the way."
Seminar example:
On 19th March, Club Leaders ran a “Developing a Marketing Strategy” seminar for angling clubs in Leicester and Rutland. Nine people representing six local clubs attended the two-hour session which was filled with ideas sharing and discussion around common issues. The event, organised by the Angling Trust, was held at the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre and covered: what a marketing strategy should include, internal and external factors to consider, knowing your club’s objectives, how to develop a marketing strategy, communicating what your club has to offer, considering different marketing routes and budgeting for a marketing strategy. Attendees found the event both interesting and useful. One club leader said: “it was a top event and was presented really well. I liked the way clubs came to together to talk about issues we have in common. It was really worthwhile - I’ll be taking a lot of ideas back to my club.” Where can sports club leaders find out more about the programme?
You can find out everything you need to on our website
http://www.sportenglandclubleaders.com/. Also please email any queries you may have directly to us at [email protected] Why, in one sentence, would you encourage sports leaders to take advantage of this service?
From online learning and face to face seminars to mentoring, Club Leaders has lots of ways to support you in managing the business side of your club ... why not see how we can help you and, best of all, it's all free!
