ClubWorks is a programme managed by London Sport and funded by the Mayor of London. It is designed to help support clubs and organisations develop in the capital, getting 1,000,000 Londoners more active by 2020.
We met up with Lesley Brown, Club Secretary and Coach, to understand how they have used the knowledge and advice they have received from ClubWorks in order to target different age groups.
Why did you join the ClubWorks programme?
ClubWorks seemed very appealing as we were after advice on funding opportunities and development workshops. We had ideas about the direction we wanted to take the club but felt as though we needed guidance in helping us to achieve this – the ClubWorks programme could help.
How has working with ClubWorks helped your organisation?
We have received lots of information at workshops and events that we have been able to apply to our club. We have been pro active in signing up for both workshops and events as our Relationship Officer, Kieran Connolly, has shown us how they are great opportunities to network with other clubs and learn more.
We have attended a networking workshop where we learnt about how use video recording apps to create promotional content. We also had a conference call’with two Relationship Officers to talk about how we can make better use of our Community Amateur Sports Clubs status (CASC).
From what we have learnt, we have been able to identify a target group of young participants who stop participating between the ages of 14 to 16. Since identifying the group, we have been working with ClubWorks to implement strategies to encourage participants to keep playing. One of these strategies is to use social media to advertise our sessions.
The advice on using our CASC status and on claiming Gift Aid has made a massive difference to our club. We have just secured a bursary to help pay for a coach to gain a Level 2 coaching award, allowing the club to deliver a better quality of coaching for our participants.
What does the future hold for your club?
We aim to sustain our membership and continue to have our youth players progress to represent the club at senior level. We are involved in the ECB’s new “All Stars” programme, that aims to introduce 5 to 8 year olds to the sport. We hope this will bring in a steady stream of young players.
To find out more about the ClubWorks programme, sign up to our new ClubWorks newsletter.
ClubWorks is aimed at community clubs and organisations, youth clubs, as well as traditional sports clubs, delivering in a London Borough. The work of the ClubWorks programme simply wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Mayor of London. The support they provide allows us to help clubs and organisations to develop coaches and volunteers, attract new members and help secure funding for the future.
