England Athletics launches its Club Leadership Programme for 2024
The Club Leadership Programme is open to all England Athletics affiliated clubs with two free places on the programme on an application basis.
Following on from the success of the Club Leadership programme in previous years, this innovative and interactive online personal development initiative for club leadership is back for 2024.
Created by England Athletics’ Club Support Team, whose goal once again is to help enable affiliated clubs to be safe, sustainable and welcoming, to be the best they can be and to create vibrant environments for their athletes; the Club Leadership Programme is for club committee members who want to enhance their leadership skills. The programme is an opportunity to formulate and implement effective leadership strategies to further their commitment to putting members at the heart of the club and to deliver future succession planning.
The programme will be delivered by Annie Training Company, experts in learning and development and consists of online webinars, networking opportunities and access to resources.
The benefits of the programme
To the individual:
- More confidence in leading and finding new ways of influencing developments within the club.
- Better able to identify and improve your club's leadership style.
- The ability to formulate and implement effective leadership strategies.
To the club:
- Stronger leadership to help build club committee unity.
- More effective decision-making, and tools to help you put members at the heart of these decisions.
- Better able to forward think and create plans for the future including succession planning.
Joining the Programme
The club leadership programme is open to all England Athletics affiliated clubs with two free places on the programme on an application basis.
England Athletics is asking for a whole club commitment. Clubs will be expected to nominate two individuals who are free to take part in all of the sessions. One of these nominees should hold a current club leadership position of Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Trustee, Director or President. The second attendee may be a committee member, or an individual lined up for a leadership role in the coming years.
Clubs wishing to apply should have met all seven of the England Athletics Club Standards or can evidence that it is actively working towards meeting all seven standards.
This is a fantastic personal development opportunity for those willing to become involved.
The programme is always popular so we encourage clubs to book early to avoid disappointment. We have planned for two cohorts so that we can meet demand.
Closing date: 18 December 2023
Club Leadership Programme 2024 details
Session one: Club leaders launch and online networking meeting
This session will provide an overview of the programme as well as the opportunity for club networking and sharing of best practice.
Friday 5 January 2024 | 6.30-8pm | Zoom
Session two: Club leadership webinar
We will start to look at what makes a great leader and leadership within a voluntary club setting and discuss practical actions that will enable you to develop individual and collective leadership within your club.
Monday 8 January OR Wednesday 10 January 2024 | 6.30-8.30pm | Zoom
Session three : Inclusive Club Webinar
We will start to look at what makes an inclusive club and the steps you can take to ensure your club provides a welcoming experience for all your members. We will explore themes around collaboration, allyship and environmental impact.
Monday 22 January or Wednesday 24 January 2024 | 6.30-8.30pm | Zoom
Session four: Effective committees webinar
We will share a range of tools for how you can lead an effective club committee including structuring meetings, highlight how to ensure inclusivity and maintain engagement levels throughout, and identify strategies for dealing with conflict.
Monday 5 February or Wednesday 7 February 2024 | 6.30-8.30pm | Zoom
Session five: Managing and creating change webinar
This webinar will focus on sharing a range of strategies for getting buyin and support from volunteers to help manage and create change to further develop your club. We will explore how to manage your level of influence during change, how best to support existing volunteers & those who may show reluctance to change as well as how we can adapt communication styles to get the best out of each other.
Monday 4 March or Wednesday 6 March 2024 | 6.30-8.30pm | Zoom
Session six: Club leaders future planning and online networking meeting
This session will conclude the Club Leaders programme and provide an opportunity for sharing progress, challenges and highlights. We will also use this meeting to discuss future support and ongoing opportunities available.
Friday 22 March 2024 | 6.30-8pm | Zoom
Future Sessions
Following session six volunteers will be offered bespoke training opportunities based on areas of development they have identified. This might be further enhancing the topics already touch upon or new topics.
These will take place online between May and July using subject experts. Dependant on demand and location of volunteers, we will consider face to face networking opportunities.
If you have any queries, or for more information email eaclubleadership@englandathletics.org