Yeovil Olympiads secure their long term future

Yeovil Olympiads AC have been on an incredible journey and at the heart of that journey have been the steps they have taken to be a well managed club by working through the England Athletics Club Standards.

In January 2024 the club were rocked by the news that Somerset Council planned to close the athletics track and other sporting facilities in the area. The club were in shock and uncertain about their future, but after consultation with their members and local stakeholders, they developed a petition and lobbied against this decision.

Investing in the future

Under the leadership of Club Chair Geoff Cole and with the backing of a united athletics community, they worked with Yeovil Town Council who have taken on the management of the facility from Somerset Council. The club have since worked hard to secure their future and benefitted from a relationship with British Gas Energy for Tomorrow who have invested significantly in their clubhouse - providing a future-proofed, well insulated modern facility with triple glazed windows and doors, new heating and ventilation systems along with solar panels and battery storage - and so reducing energy costs for the future.

Completing Club Standards

With the help of England Athletics Club Support Manager for the region, Richard Ayling, Yeovil Olympiads AC are now fully compliant with all seven England Athletics Club Standards - and good governance has been really important to the club through the journey they have been on.

Geoff found Club Standard 6 challenging at first in recruiting volunteer Welfare Officers, but found a solution:

"Getting Welfare Officers requires more volunteers to come forward and undertake training, so it takes a little more effort, but we managed to do so."

However, Geoff reports that the Club Standards are not as daunting as they can appear to be.

"Resources for the Standards (such as templates and examples) are readily available on the myAthletics portal, it's just a case of pulling everything together in one place."

If your club is not quite there yet, Geoff recommends reaching out to other local clubs who have all the Standards - they are likely to be happy to offer advice and share experiences.

Supporting athletics in the region

The club held a training day for coaches and athletes, combined with some entry level officiating courses. Because Yeovil is geographical hub they were able to invite athletics people outside the club to share in the day and learn from each other. In this way they could support the sustainability of athletics in the region. Future plans include working with Yeovil Town Council to run funetics sessions on non-club nights which could work as pipeline for the club.

Sharing knowledge

Keen to share their knowledge and experience gained from their recent experiences, Geoff presented at last year’s England Athletics Club Leadership Programme and highlighted the steps they have taken around strong leadership. The club have since worked with England Athletics as part of the Greater Clubs programme, and by helping in the production of short videos highlighting the positives of having Club Welfare Officers plus a series of video clips on officiating.

Club Support Manager, Rich Ayling, said:

"The club are a great example of how good governance and working with strategic partners have underpinned how they have got to where they are now."