Club Standards - policy into practice
The new affiliation year began on 1 April, and we would like to thank all clubs who have reaffiliated and met our seven Club Standards - all seven Club Standards are mandatory for clubs to affiliate with England Athletics this year, and around 90% of clubs are currently achieving all seven. Since February, our Club Support team have delivered a Club Standards webinar series with the aim of supporting clubs to embed each of the Standards.
The webinar series has been about putting policy into practice and what each Standard means for their club and athlete experience. Club Standards is more than a tick box to affiliate - we are helping clubs to be well governed, safer, welcoming and sustainable.
Context of 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.
To aid clubs, England Athletics have created a Club Standards checklist on myAthletics portal. Clubs will be prompted to review this at the point of affiliation and can update throughout the year.
Benefits
Having the Standards in place helps 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
Recent Club Standards webinar series
We have seen over 100 clubs represented at our recent Club Standards webinar series, with total attendance across the series reaching 230 volunteers.
You can watch back any of the recordings below:
Webinar 1: Legal Structures (Club Standard 1):
Overview: Understand the different legal structures available to athletics clubs and why choosing the right one matters.
Delivered by: Muckle LLP
Watch the recordingWebinar 2: Safeguarding (Club Standard 6):
Overview: Safeguarding is essential for creating a safe environment. This webinar focuses on the Club Code of Conduct and committee responsibilities.
Delivered by: Sarah Harrison, England Athletics Welfare and Compliance Manager
Watch the recordingWebinar 3: Grievance & Disciplinary (Club Standard 3):
Overview: Every club must have a grievance and disciplinary policy. This session explains what that means and how to handle issues fairly and consistently.
Delivered by: Sarah Harrison, England Athletics Welfare and Compliance Manager
Watch the recordingWebinar 4: Data Protection (Club Standard 4)
Overview: Clubs must have a Privacy Policy to comply with data protection laws. This session explains what that means and how to manage member data securely.
Delivered by: Muckle LLP
Watch the recordingWebinar 5: Inclusion (Club Standard 5)
Overview: Inclusion is about creating a welcoming environment for all. Learn what an Inclusion Policy should cover and how to embed it in your club culture.
Delivered by: Georgina Best, England Athletics Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager
Watch the recordingWebinar 6: Health & Safety (Club Standard 7)
Overview: Clubs must have a Health & Safety Policy to protect members and volunteers. This webinar explains what that involves and how to implement it effectively.
Delivered by: Ash Charlwood, UK Athletics Head of Risk Management
Watch the recordingEducating and engaging
The webinar series has also helped build positive engagement and satisfaction. Here is just a snapshot of some of the feedback:
"Brilliant work, always informative and outstanding presentation! Thank you."
"This has been super useful - we have had recent issues that I feel could have been handled better with this knowledge, relating specifically to the Grievance and Disciplinary webinar."
"Great session, we will definitely go away and review our legal structure. Thankyou Muckle and England Athletics."
Top tips for Club Standards policy into practice
Embedding Club Standards helps to create safe, inclusive, well‑run and sustainable athletics clubs.
- Make Club Standards visible and communicate them regularly to members, so expectations around behaviour, safety and welfare are clear and understood.
- Ensure the committee is visible and approachable, with clear leadership roles and a Welfare Officer who is easy to identify and contact for members, parents and volunteers.
- Use Club Standards to guide everyday behaviour and fair, consistent decision‑making, especially when challenges, concerns or complaints arise.
- Protect members and volunteers by having clear safeguarding processes, defined roles and boundaries, appropriately licensed and qualified coaches and leaders, shared responsibility across the committee, and clear records to support decisions and actions taken.
- Review, learn and adapt policies regularly so they remain relevant as the club grows, helping maintain safe, inclusive, well‑run and sustainable club environments.