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Another successful Club Leadership Programme comes to a close

We recently marked another year of the Club Leadership Programme (CLP) coming to a close. Between January and March 2026, 58 volunteers from 51 clubs across England took part in a series of webinars, networking, and active sessions in order to upskill and put their learnings into practice within their club environment.

The Club Leadership Programme is designed to help clubs become safe, sustainable, and welcoming places for everyone. ​

The programme is ideal for club committee members who want to learn how to lead effectively and make a positive impact. ​

New for this year was the focus on those who are new to leadership or preparing to take on a leadership role in the future.​

The programme included: ​

  • Online webinars with practical advice and guidance ​
  • Networking opportunities to connect with other club leaders ​
  • Useful resources to support learning  ​

Inspiring delivery

The programme was delivered by Annie’s Training Company and England Athletics over 10 weeks between January and March 2026, and alternated between a content-led session, followed by a networking opportunity to build on the content and discuss club-specific challenges linked to the topic.

The programme was book-ended with inspiring leaders from the England Athletics board. Helen Kendall supported the launch by perfectly setting the scene, and England Athletics Chair, Gary Shaughnessy, closed out the programme to inspire leaders on the next stage of their leadership journey.

Positive feedback

  • 100% of participants rated whether they’d recommend the programme as 8/10 or above ​
  • 66% of participants at the end of programme were very satisfied with the CLP, and 33% were quite satisfied ​
  • 100% of participants rated their skills and knowledge following the programme as at least 4/5 (good or excellent), compared to 24% at the start of the programme​

Key themes in more detailed feedback from participants included improvements in confidence as a result of the programme (more than half of participants), praise for the experienced facilitators and guest speakers' clear communication, and also the networking opportunities the programme provided.

Here are some examples of participant feedback after completing the programme:

"My confidence in general has increased since taking part in the programme. I'm now equipped with ways to deal with the challenges I'm currently dealing with."

"Being able to network was so helpful. Knowing that the problems we have are not unique to us, and that everyone seems to be in the same boat."

"I have been feeding back to the committee and starting to implement change in small ways. This felt like an insurmountable task in the beginning, but now I am equipped with the tools to make a difference."

Looking ahead

If you're in a leadership role at a club or are preparing to be in one, you can register your interest now in next year's programme.

Register your interest in next year's Club Leadership Programme

Get in touch

We would encourage clubs to get in touch with their Club Support Manager if they would like support with club matters or to find out more about our Club Leadership Programme:

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