Chichester Ronin Judo Club

Peter Barnett, coach and chair of the Chichester Ronin Judo Club in Sussex could teach most people a thing or two about the intricate art of judo. However, even he had to admit that passion and knowledge of your sport simply aren’t enough to drive a sports club forward and provide members with the best available facilities. As a volunteer manager, Peter often felt isolated from other clubs and unsure of where to seek guidance.

“As I’m sure many other local sports clubs in the UK feel, it’s very important for clubs to be able to move with the times and provide members with the resources they need to continue what they enjoy,’ says Peter. “The biggest problem I found was that we were never sure if we were doing all we could to move the club forward. We wanted to achieve accreditation for the club such as the British Judo Association and Sport England’s Clubmark scheme, but without knowing neighbouring clubs very well, we didn’t feel we could turn to them for advice.’

It is with volunteers like Peter in mind that Sport England decided to create and fund the runningsports programme. Developed in consultation with sports professionals and volunteer agencies, runningsports builds on previous schemes from Sport England to provide support and resources for volunteers in all sports. It works on the principle that by channelling and combining the natural enthusiasm of volunteers with the correct tools, techniques and resources, sports organisations can achieve their full potential. The runningsports portfolio includes:

• This website with free resources including Top Tips, best practice guides, volunteer case studies and a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section

• Quick Guides covering a range of topics that have an impact on sports volunteers and suggestions on how to implement solutions

• Workbooks which take a practical, hands-on approach with activities that enable volunteers to deal with issues their sports team, club or community organisation is facing

• Workshops dealing with the issues facing the volunteer workforce delivered by accredited tutors with knowledge and relevant experience in the topic areas.

Fortunately for Peter, a colleague of his worked for the British Judo Association, where he had heard positive feedback about the runningsports workshops. As a result, Peter decided to attend one entitled Developing Partnerships with Clubs & Schools. And it was time well spent.

“The runningsports workshop helped our club in two significant ways. Firstly, by being able to see what other clubs were doing, it gave us the comfort and clarification that the decisions we had been making were the right ones. It was a relief to know that we were going in the right direction! Secondly, it provided the opportunity to meet the volunteer managers of other clubs in our area, who have since become friends with whom I can chat about common problems. It’s very easy to get caught up in what your own club is doing, whilst failing to learn lessons from others. The experience has really helped to open up channels of communication with different clubs and different sports; it never really occurred to me that speaking to volunteers from different sports could be so useful.”

Since the workshop, Peter has helped the Ronin Judo Club receive its Silver Clubmark status and consequently receive a City crest award – the second voluntary club ever to have been awarded the crest. This is a truly significant achievement and, prior to the workshop, the Club only intended to apply for the Bronze award.

“Without attending the runningsports workshop, I wouldn’t have felt confident enough to push for the Silver award for the club,’ Peter explains. “However perhaps the biggest, and most unexpected, benefit of the workshop has been the extent to which all the local clubs have pulled together to work for young people, regardless of which sport they love to play. It’s made us realise that by working together for the benefit of the entire community and pooling our knowledge and resources, we’re the ultimate dream team.”

If you’re involved with a club that needs to know more about setting up a junior club, getting and keeping volunteers, being open to all members of the community, getting tax breaks, or working up a club development plan, Peter Barnett proves it really is possible to make substantial changes fairly simply when you’ve got runningsports behind you.