Next week marks the launch of Sport England’s exciting new club development offer, Club Matters, on 12 February. This week’s guest bloggers from the Club Matters team tell us what’s in store.
We are all excited for the launch of Club Matters next week when clubs across England will be able to access the club support resources we have been working on for so long! Our aim is to provide sports clubs with support, learning and guidance on all aspects of running a club whether it is large, small, formal or informal, helping them to become more sustainable for the future.
We have worked closely with clubs, national governing bodies, county sports partnerships, local authorities and other organisations to make sure Club Matters meets the need of those who really matter – sports clubs!
We know the great people who run sports clubs across the country, mainly volunteers, are busy and they need tools and resources which fit around them. That’s why Club Matters is an online platform that hosts simple, easy to use information in different formats to suit our varied users.
So what’s on offer to clubs?
Online Support – Club Matters will offer you help and guidance in all areas of club development from finances to marketing your club! There will be a range of support available including online toolkits, quick reference guides and e-learning modules.
Workshops – Club Matters workshops are free, short training sessions delivered across the country by experts in a range of specific areas. The sessions will develop your skills, improve your knowledge and ultimately help you develop your club. Sessions are specifically for sports clubs and will give you the opportunity to learn from other peoples’ experiences, working smart together!
Mentoring – Whether you want long term support, or just a short call to sound out your ideas, our Club Matters mentors can help. Our flexible mentoring scheme will offer more personal support to you and your club through online, group and one to one mentoring at a time and place to suit you.
Club Improvement Plan – An online health check for clubs of all sizes and at all stages of their development, to establish where they are performing well and where they can develop. This will provide your club with a tailored development plan, identifying recommended actions and priority areas.
Club Views – A club review tool allowing you to ask your members and volunteers
what they think about your club and make suggestions on areas for improvement. You can choose from our pre-written questions or create your own bespoke review.
Clubmark – The universally acknowledged cross sport accreditation scheme for community sports clubs.
Why use Club Matters?
It’s absolutely free – all the support including mentoring and workshops is free – so why not give it a go?
Develop your skills – whether you are just interested in develop you skills which you can transfer into your club or thinking about improving your CV - Club Matters can help you learn new skills quickly and simply!
Better understand your club – Club Matters will help you to understand the management of your club as well as your members and volunteers.
Attract and retain members – a well-run club is a real draw to members. If members feel safe and confident in the club’s leaders then they are far more likely to stick around and spread the word
Promote your club – Club Matters is keen to work with clubs to understand what tools work well and where we can improve. In return, your club can receive promotion through a guest blog or story all about your club!
We hope you are as excited as us to see all these great tools and benefits launch on 12 February. To follow our progress, check out our Twitter (@ClubMatters) and blog (http://www.sportenglandclubleaders.com/clubmatters/).
If you want to show your support for Club Matters on launch day then join our Thunderclap to help us increase our social reach and make sure everyone knows about us: http://thndr.it/1z76MoR
