Sport

Volunteering and Sport

 

Volunteers are involved in a wide range of sports activities, from coaching to serving on management committees.  Volunteering in sport can increase volunteers’ and participants’ health, confidence, skills and social networks.

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Being moderately active for at least 30 minutes a day can help prevent a range of chronic diseases and conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers.

 

 

- Chief Medical Officer report, April 2004, cited in Sport England’s Policy on Health

 


Regional Sporting Champions

 

Northallerton Volunteer Centre received funding from Volunteering England to be a Regional Sporting Champion in 2010. The Key Objectives of the Regional Sporting Champions programme are to:

 

  • Deliver training, advice and support on Volunteer Management to sports clubs

 

  • Make Sports Clubs aware of what Volunteer Centres can offer

 

  • Increase the number of Sports Volunteering Opportunities advertised and filled

 

  • Increase the diversity of volunteers within sport
  •  Share best practice developed during project with other Volunteer Centres in the Yorkshire and Humber region
     

 

Games inspired volunteering

 

Thousands of people have registered their interest in volunteering at the 2012 Games and many of these people are keen to volunteer immediately, rather than wait for the Games.

 

Harrogate CVS successfully applied for funding from Volunteering England to co-host 2012 volunteering workshops. The workshops will run in early 2011, offering an easy, tangible way to use the power of the 2012 Games to increase the number and diversity of volunteers within organisations.

 

Workshops provide Information and advice to support organisations to develop Games-inspired volunteering roles, with ongoing support from your local Volunteer Centre on volunteer management and recruitment.

 


 

A few sports statistics from the North Yorkshire Sport website and other local research:

 

  • The sporting sector makes the single biggest contribution to total volunteering in England – with 26% of volunteers stating sport as their main area of interest.
     
  • 5,821,400 volunteers contribute to sport (14% of the adult population).
     
  • 1,209,566,500 hours of sporting volunteering in the year, equating to 720,00 additional paid full time workers.
     
  • Volunteers support 106,400 affiliated clubs in England serving over 8 million members.
     
  • It is estimated that there are 1200 sports clubs in North Yorkshire, and a further 300 in York (North Yorkshire Sport and York City Council).

Resources and links

 

Volunteering In Sport - double sided leaflet

Sports groups report that they find difficulty in recruiting for the following roles:

 

 

Which is where Volunteer Centres can help! Contact your local Volunteer Centre, or download the leaflet below, for more information.

 

Club Mark and Charter Standards

 

Sports clubs, if they wish to be accredited with the relevant certification, such as the Club Mark, or Charter Standard, must identify a Volunteer Coordinator.  Most local authorities insist that clubs have, or are working towards, relevant certification in order to use local authority facilities.  Regardless of whether they wish to go for accreditation, it is in the best interests of all clubs to have appropriate systems and procedures in place to ensure adequate recruitment, management, and retention of volunteers.

 

Volunteer Centres offer training, information, advice, and guidance on recruiting, managing and retaining volunteers, tailored to the specific needs of sports groups.
They are able to offer training courses on the Role of the Volunteer Coordinator, and Valuing Your Sports Volunteers, as well as a wide range of other tailored training packages.

 

Volunteers Centres can offer updates on legislative changes and good practice to sports clubs and volunteer coordinators by circulating good practice via emails and newsletters, and by making information available on the Volunteering North Yorkshire website.