WELCOME

1. WELCOME CLUB DEVELOPMENT FORUM Leighton Buzzard – The Learning Warehouse 7pm – 9.30pm

2. Introductions!! Who are we? Who are you? Who is your club? What would you regard as your clubs main development need?

3. Marketing and Communicationsin a Community Sports Club

4. What are you marketing? Your club!

5. Who are you marketing the club to? … and why?

6. CURRENT MEMBERS Why? To recognise and celebrate individual and club successes and achievements, allowing members to feel proud of their club – FEEL GOOD FACTOR! This should encourage; • A retention of membership • A greater willingness of members to get involved in more operational aspects of the club • ‘Word of mouth’ promotion by club members to external people

7. POTENTIAL MEMBERS Why? Encourage new members to want to join your club; • players • coaches • officials • volunteers • spectators Enables the club to continue to grow and ensures the life of the club

8. THE COMMUNITY (schools, parents, local businesses, leisure providers) Why? A club with a good profile in the community will go far! • Form long term links with schools • Attract new members • Attract sponsorship and financial or ‘in kind’ support • Receive priority and reduced rates on facility bookings

9. LOCAL MEDIA Why? A good profile and relationship with the local media should ensure good coverage of your club (results, successes, events etc) and this will help to market yourselves more broadly to various audiences.

10. STRATEGIC LEADS FOR SPORT(ie. Your National Governing Body, Local Authority or County Sports Partnership) Why? These organisations can be a conduit to help to promote your club on a local, regional and national level. Clubs that stand above the rest may also have greater success with obtaining financial or ‘in kind’ support and be used as a flagship to help promote the sport.

11. So….how do you market yourself to these groups?

12. Promotional clothing/merchandise • Gimmicks • Fundraising events • Social networking sites – Facebook, My Space • Telephone • Leisure centres, facilities, strategic leads for sport • Word of mouth • Community notice boards (including doctors surgeries, newsagents, offices and supermarkets) • Club role models or spokespeople • Road signs • Newspapers – Adverts, Press Releases • Community/parish/village magazines • Radio • Posters / fliers / leaflets • Newsletters / E-zines • Emails • Text messages • Website – own and others (i.e. team BEDS&LUTON, LA, SSP, CSN) • Letters • Information days/evenings or talks • Meetings • Stalls • Match day programmes

13. One size does not fit all with marketing The different groups that you market yourself to, must be approached with different strategies according to the types of things that they will typically respond to, and, their wants and needs What will they respond to? What do they want and need out of your club?

14. Looking back at our groups… • Current members • Potential members • The community • Local media • Strategic leads for sport Are there further subsections within these groups that may need to be addressed differently…. Potential Members; • Children? • Teenagers? • 20-30 somethings? • Middle aged people? • Over 50’s? • Older people?

15. Promotional clothing/merchandise • Gimmicks • Fundraising events • Social networking sites – Facebook, My Space • Telephone • Leisure centres, facilities, strategic leads for sport • Word of mouth • Community notice boards (including doctors surgeries, newsagents, offices and supermarkets) • Club role models or spokespeople • Road signs • Newspapers – Adverts, Press Releases • Community/parish/village magazines • Radio • Posters / fliers / leaflets • Newsletters / E-zines • Emails • Text messages • Website – own and others (i.e. team BEDS&LUTON, LA, SSP, CSN) • Letters • Information days/evenings or talks • Meetings • Stalls • Match day programmes

16. WEBSITES The internet is such a strong marketing resource that it is important for clubs to have a good website to be able to communicate with their audiences. So, what makes a good website?

17. 3 key considerations when developing a website for your club… 1. Overall objective of the website 2.Structure and navigation 3.Language and content

29. Develop a website page for your club……for FREE and for very little work! team BEDS&LUTON ‘Microsites’

32. Get your information online… team BEDS&LUTON Clubs Database www.teambedsandluton.co.uk/clubs/club-directory

35. School-Club Links

38. Why are School-Club links needed? • The objective of the national PE, School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) strategy is; “to enhance the take-up of sporting opportunities by 5-16 year olds”. • The ambition, referred to as the ‘5 hour offer’, is to give all school pupils five hours of school sport per week HOW?… at least two hours of high-quality PE and sport at schools delivered totally within the curriculum; and an additional three hours beyond the school day delivered by a range of school, community and CLUB providers. • School-Club Links are the only way that we are going to be able to move towards the ambition to offer five hours of sport to young people every week.

39. What is a School-Club link? A club has links with schools when; Pupils actively attend or are guided towards the club following activities held on the school or club premises. e.g. coaching sessions based on the school premises are organised and run by club coaches… …during the coaching sessions the club is promoted to the pupils who are encouraged to join the club. ADVANTAGE: Pupils will be introduced and become familiar with the club coaches, and the sport, in their own environment at easily accessible coaching sessions.

40. Access to young people providing the… Opportunity to increase your membership base, securing the future of your club with more junior members Access to funding Increase in the potential to recruit new volunteers Co-operation, resources and support from other partners Opportunity to identify talent for the future Pool of young leaders, coaches and officials for the future Share school facilities, expertise and equipment Recognition of playing an active role in your community and giving young people a valuable opportunity The Benefits to your Club

41. School Sport Partnerships • The PESSCL strategy has created a national PE and school sports infrastructure by establishing a network of 450 School Sport Partnerships (families of schools which work together).  • Bedfordshire and Luton has 8 School Sports Partnerships (SSP's), covering 100% of the counties schools. • Each SSP has a Partnership Development Manager (PDM), based at a hub site and it is the job of the PDM to coordinate school sport. • Therefore formal School-Club links should be coordinated through the Partnership Development Manager.

42. Leighton-Linslade SSP PDM Claire Syvret Upper Schools Vandyke Upper School and Sports College – Hub Site Cedars Upper Gilbert Family Gilbert Inglefield Middle Beaudesert Lower Dovery Down Lower Heathwood Lower St Georges Lower St Leonards Lower Brookland Family Brooklands Middle Clipstone Brook Lower Leedon Lower Hockcliffe Lower Fulbrook Family Fulbrook Middle Aspley Guise Lower Husborne Crawley Lower Ridgmont Lower Swallowfield Lower Woburn Lower Leighton Family Leighton Middle Mary Bassett Lower Pulford Lower Stanbridge Lower Oakbank Special Linslade Family Linslade Middle Southcott Lower Linslade Lower Greenleas Lower

43. Linking your club with local schools • Your club should contact your local SSP to develop a formal school-club link. Alternatively your club can contact team BEDS&LUTON who can signpost you to the appropriate SSP. • The SSP and your club will meet to discuss how a link can be created and agree on the format of the School-Club link. • The SSP and club can apply for funding from team BEDS&LUTON of up to a maximum of £500 to facilitate the link which will be released to the SSP.

44. Linking your club with local schools • To create a formal link your club must fulfil some important generic criteria and meet a certain standard. This is to ensure that young people can safely enjoy high quality experiences within your club. • Therefore your club must be accredited by the county Minimum Operating Standards Accreditation(MOS) scheme or have achieved your NGB Clubmark Award. • If the club does not have these standards in place team BEDS&LUTON can assist the club in gaining MOS and offers £100 to a club that achieves MOS for the purpose of a School-Club link.

45. The Potential Harlequin Gymnastics Club • Very successful community and elite gymnastics club with very proactive coaches • Club at capacity for current facility site, but still wanting to grow as a successful club • The club realised that there would be real benefit to working in and with the schools to develop a satellite club across the other side of town, and to support high quality gymnastics lessons in schools • There was a recognition that the work would have to begin in the lower schools providing; Taster session in PE lessons across Lower Schools Followed by setting up a Satellite OSHL Gym Club

46. Immediate Impact: • More children taking part in gymnastics OSHL sessions. As the children improve they are able to move into the Harlequin club sessions / squads • Coaches from Harlequin running the sessions • OSHL Club Self Sustaining at a charge of £1 an hour to cover coaching costs Progress: • Increased membership at Harlequins gym club • Classes at Gilberts are full • CPD session run by club for teachers to raise quality of teaching in schools – well attended • Ties in very closely with the work of the Community Gymnastics Coach working within the schools.

47. Future • Trampolining Club to start on a different night run by the club. • New competition opportunities being introduced and supported by club and schools. • School Club Link has attracted funding from various sources to help keep sustainability • The ongoing aim is to ensure that every child of lower school age has the opportunity to take part in gymnastics OSHL. • SSP supporting the club in plans to build new facilities enabling them to almost double their capacity for gym classes.

48. School-Club Link Contacts Claire Syvret; Leighton - Linslade PDM: 01525 636720 / csyvret@vandyke.beds.sch.uk Kathryn Coulson; Chilterns PDM: 07725650872 / kcoulson@northfields.beds.sch.uk Joby Hobbs; team BEDS&LUTON: 01582 813763 / joby@teambedsandluton.co.uk

49. Developing your Coaching Team (An Introduction) Oli Tucker Coach Development Officer