News

Drawing the curtain on another successful Club Leadership Programme

We recently marked another year of the Club Leadership Programme (CLP) coming to a close. Throughout the winter and spring months, 54 volunteers from 33 clubs across England undertook a series of webinars, networking, and active sessions in order to upskill and put their learnings into practice within their club environment.

Let's take a look back at some of the highlights from the programme

Kickstarting the programme

Back in January, we welcomed each of the club volunteers for our launch evening. Keynote speakers are a crucial aspect of the CLP, and this year we kickstarted the programme with England Athletics Non-Executive Director and Senior Director at LinkedIn, Tunji Akintokun, and 9x Paralympic champion, Hannah Cockroft. Both Tunji and Hannah spoke about the importance of volunteers and leaders in a range of settings, with Hannah particularly thanking the volunteers who have impacted her career:

“Leeds City AC is a great place to be, everyone is really welcoming and supportive. Volunteers are at the heart of the club, ask any elite athlete and they will tell you volunteers was the start of their journey."

Engaging content to support clubs

As part of the programme, the club leaders have attended four different content sessions - all themed to real life challenges that clubs may face - these included; club leadership, inclusion, effective committees and managing change. These workshops were deep-dive sessions sharing key knowledge and developing skills for club members to return and implement in their own personal networks.

A perfect networking and sharing opportunity

Being a sizeable sport with a network of over 1700 affiliated road, trail, fell and track and field clubs has its benefits, with countless examples of great practice across the country. One key section of the CLP were the eight different networking sessions. The aim of these were to collaborate on ideas and build connections with other clubs on the programme - a factor which was greatly received by participants:

"I've really enjoyed the programme and it's been great to meet and hear people from other clubs - especially the challenges they've faced and what they've tried to overcome or make things better! Additionally, the case studies from people have been very inspiring and helpful!"

"I would like to thank everyone who has supported the England Athletics Club Leadership Programme that I have been fortunate enough to participate in over the past couple of months. I believe it is very proactive of England Athletics to help support clubs with the development of leaders in this way. The balance of trainers, England Athletics members and case studies has been excellent."

A particular highlight from this year's programme was the opportunity to hear from The Stragglers RC, Sneyd Striders, Brentwood Beagles, Herne Hill Harriers, Shropshire Shufflers, Hercules Wimbledon and Yeovil Olympiads AC. Many of these clubs were CLP alumni, with a handful of others presenting some of their top tips on good practice.

Positive feedback

We asked club volunteers for their opinions on the programme this year, and we received an overwhelmingly positive response. All who responded scored their likelihood to recommend the course as over eight out of 10 with the vast majority scoring 10/10, and almost all said the course had helped improve their confidence in terms of club leadership skills.

All of the participants noted actions they would take forward as a result of the course, with most of them stating they would be keen to join our alumni programme.

The CLP Alumni Programme - an ongoing learning opportunity

The CLP is an excellent vessel to guide club leaders through any challenges they encounter, upskilling and empowering them to support their club's needs. However, we wanted to ensure that their development does not stop at the close of the final session. In November 2024, we launched the Alumni Programme for club leaders who wish to continue to engage with us at England Athletics, and network with other leaders.

The Alumni Programme is open to all experienced club leaders; whether the individuals have attended the Club Leadership Programme, have experience of leading their club, or transferrable experience from industry which can be transferred to the club setting. 

So far, there have been 15 leaders who have joined the Alumni 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:

Visit our Club Hub
Clubs and Facilities