The club has been working hard over several months to achieve all 7 elements of England Athletics “Club Standards” and we are pleased to say that we have now done this.
Far from being complacent we will continue to work on making improvements on how we deliver all of the standards that benefit the club and all of its current and potential members.
What are “Club Standards”?
England Athletics have produced a set of Club Standards in line with legal legislation and Sport England’s code of sports governance (Tier 1) to help clubs understand what they should have in place for good governance and duty of care:
- Good governance is the foundation of a well-run club. It protects the club’s values and reputation whilst looking after the club’s funds and people. It also holds those responsible accountable for the club’s actions and decisions. It’s represented by the structures, rules, policies and practices in operation in a club.
- ‘Duty of care’ is a common law that applies to all individuals and organisations. Clubs have a duty of care towards their members and are responsible for ensuring all club activity is safe. Everyone has a role to play in keeping others safe. All club members should know what to do if they have any concerns.
- Having the standards in place will help clubs to:
- Be legally compliant
- Protect and support volunteers in their roles
- Ensure members are accessing club activity safely, protecting them from harm, incidents and accidents.
- Minimises club issues and conflicts
- Give their members the confidence that the volunteers have the interests of the club at heart and are making decisions based on what is right for the club
- Engage with their members so they understand how the club operates and can contribute to the success
- Have happier members, less churn, bigger growth and perform better
- Save time when policies or procedures need to be adopted