Whole Club Development - England Athletics

Introduction

Many athletics clubs have now secured, or are working towards, England Athletics Clubmark accreditation. This, together with changes in legislation and the increasing demands on running an athletics club, has created a more professional culture aimed at improving the provision for members and at sustaining or growing the club.

In response to this, England Athletics has created a flexible framework to help clubs produce a ‘Whole Club Plan’ (WCP). This process will involve all sections of the club, wherever possible, so that the result is a meaningful plan that sets out the future development of the club.

WCP Purpose

To help individual clubs agree on the direction they are heading and create a plan to get there.

Why Plan?

To identify and prioritise the club’s aims and aspirations for the future
To recognise where the club has come from and where it is now
To involve club members in decision making
To support funding applications
To help clubs cope with change
To use club’s resources more effectively
To check on the club’s progress

In summary, a WCP will be like a road map for the whole club; it will help the club to see where it wants to go and how it will get there.

Whole Club banner

What’s in a Whole Club Plan?

The proposed WCP structure is very flexible and enables clubs to examine key areas for improvement and to incorporate them into existing club structures (committees and/or working groups). The planning process should consider all possible areas of the club’s operation e.g:

1.   People: Athletes, Coaches, Officials and Volunteer development. Download recording sheet
2.   Activities: Training and Competition, Social. Download recording sheet
3.   Welfare: Equity, Medical and Safeguarding. Download recording sheet
4.   Partners: Schools, colleges and other community groups. Download recording sheet
5.   Management: Administration, Facilities/Equipment, Marketing and Finance. Download recording sheet

Note:   The above list is not exhaustive, and there may be other areas particularly relevant to your circumstances that you may wish to include.

Who should take part in the planning process?

Before your club starts the planning process, you may wish to contact your local Club and Coach Support Officer (CCSO) as they could help your club and identify potential resources to support your plan, once produced.

Your CCSO could also help you organise the initial planning meeting or, if you wish, host a workshop, both of which should involve a wide cross section of your club. Finally, a small working group can be established to pull together the ideas and produce the WCP for approval by the club. Involvement and consultation with club members throughout the process should ensure that the WCP represents all sections of the club.

How to Produce a Whole Club Plan (WCP)

The following resources have been developed:

WCP Template. This comprises a WCP cover sheet and pages to provide an overview which includes an Executive Summary, Club values, Vision and Strategic Club Goals. Download
Action Plan Templates. These cover the above 7 development sections. Each template has examples of possible objectives and suggests useful resources to help. Download

The completed WCP will assist a club in setting out its future direction and should allow it to work far more closely with its local CCSO to achieve these objectives.

Questions

Should you need any help or have any questions, please contact your local CCSO.
You can download additional resources below.