Oxfordshire Athletics Network

Network Name	Oxfordshire Athletics Network
Clubs in Network (current engaged)	Oxford City AC Radley AC White Horse Harriers Bicester AC Abingdon Amblers AC Witney Road Runners Goring & Wallingford Woodstock Harriers Oxford Uni AC
Clubs in Network (future engaged)	Road Running Clubs
Other Partners	County Sports Partnerships: Oxfordshire Sports Local Authorities: South Oxfordshire DC Vale of White Horse DC School Sports Partnerships: Vale PESSCL Thame and Oxford South Oxfordshire North Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire
Network Chair/ Contact	Chair - Paul Kelsey: paul@oxfordcityathleticclub.com Network Activator - Natasha Jewell: natasha@oxonaa.org 07526 698296 CCSO - Tania Spurling: tspurling@englandathletics.org 07701 099763
Aims	The purpose of the Oxfordshire Athletics Network will be to drive up the quality of athletics provision delivered within clubs; schools and other environments by improve the quality of coaching, clubs and competition opportunities at a local level. Through improving the quality of coaching, clubs and competition opportunities we feel we can increase participation, improving retention, and increase the satisfaction of all those involved in the sport.
Key Projects	We will aim to improve links with community groups, such as schools & universities, and increase competition in clubs. The Network will support those individuals crucial to the success of the sport at a local level including clubs, athletes, coaches, officials and other key partners. The network will also look to increase participation levels in the sport across all ages. The network itself will comprise of and be managed by a governing body of representatives from the steering group (including Clubs, coaches, SSPs and CSP); supported by England Athletics CCSO. To give great focus and capacity to the Network plan we will aim to employ a part time Coaching Activator and two Community Coaches. The Coaching Activator will work at network level, providing leadership for the two CSCs, and building the links between the clubs so that they work in partnership. The role will include arranging regular meetings between club coaches to exchange ideas and setting up a mentoring system for the county. The coaching activator will also support the delivery of local competition such as Sport Hall Athletics, Quad Kids and the County Championships (T & F, X/C, and Road Running). We will employ two part-time Community Sports Coaches (CSCs) to work with the network clubs, to strengthen the links between those clubs, schools & universities in their catchment area. They will work closely with the local Schools Sports Partnership, providing coaching resources for teachers and students, and recruiting athletes to their local club. Clubs will seek matching funding to increase the hours of the CSC, possibly to full-time. The Coaching activator will also work with the Club & Coach Support Officer to identify education course requirements at a local level for coaches and officials. The coaching activator and two CSCs will work closely with Oxfordshire Sports Partnership, the Oxfordshire Athletic Association and the local School Sports Partnerships to maintain and develop strong links between the voluntary sector and the various professional agencies. All clubs in the network who have not gained Clubmark accreditation will start the accreditation process. One of the key focuses moving forwards for the Network is the wider engagement with all other (non engaged) clubs especially Road Running clubs. In order to have the maximum impact on recruiting and retaining both Adult and Youth members the Network believe it is essential to fully engage with all road running clubs as they service the vast majority of adult participants.

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