We expect this year’s club survey to be the biggest ever conducted in the UK. But for that to become a reality, we need as many clubs as possible to get involved. And if you are a national organisation, we will be calling on your help to cascade the survey to your local clubs. The more responses we get, the more authoritative the findings will be and the greater the impact those findings can have.
What is the Club Survey and what is its purpose?
Many of you will know that we have traditionally conducted the sports club survey every two years. We last ran the sports club survey in 2013, while in 2015 we helped deliver a pan European survey that resulted in our What’s the Score? report.
The purpose of the club survey is to give us, and the rest of the sector, a comprehensive overview of the health of grassroots clubs. We will ask clubs a variety of questions, such as the activities they run, membership and volunteer numbers, the state of their finances and what they feel are the biggest challenges they face.
We hope that the data from the survey will provide us with some interesting statistics that allow us to build up a picture of what is happening across the grassroots end of the sector. In the 2013 survey, for example, we found that:
· The average club had 114 adult members – an increase of 21% since 2011;
· Only one in five sports clubs in the UK own their own facilities;
· Only one in three UK sports clubs has access to appropriate equipment for both disabled and non-disabled people to participate in;
· Between 2010 and 2012, there was a 67% increase in the surplus of an average club (£1,825), though it was still 39% lower than it was in 2007.
Our findings will allow us to approach Sport England and Government and credibly tell them what the situation is at the grassroots level of sport and recreation and what they can do to help clubs across country. The results should also give National Governing Bodies and the wider sector a clearer picture of some of the issues facing their grassroots clubs and how they could support them further.
What is your role in all of this?
We want to get as many sports clubs as possible to fill out the survey questionnaire and make it the biggest club survey ever conducted in the UK.
The survey will be live from 13 November. We will be sharing the link to the questionnaire via social media, clubs registered on our Join In database, the Club Matters database and through our members.
If you are a member of a sports club, know anyone who is a member of a sports club, volunteer at a sports club or just like watching sport, then please do get your club to fill out the survey. There will be various prize draws taking place throughout November, so make sure you complete the survey to be in with a chance of winning an iPad or some cash for your club!
Today (14th November) marks the start of UK Disability History Month (UKDHM), an annual event dedicated to highlighting the journey toward equality for disabled people. It celebrates progress and advocates for a future of full inclusion and equal opportunity.
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Today, the Sport and Recreation Alliance is publishing an updated version of the UK Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport.
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The Alliance is delighted to announce that Ruth Hall and Alex Jordan have joined the Board, and started their four-year terms following the Alliance’s Annual General Meeting on 15 October.
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Joining the Sport and Recreation Alliance is pretty simple, but worthwhile!
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