Planning For Your Club: The Future is in your hands

A guide for sport and recreation clubs and associations in Western Australia

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V/O 2:             Planning for your club. The Future is in your hands. A Department of Sport and Recreation audio guide for sport and recreation clubs and association in Western Australia.

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V/O:                When your team takes to the court or the field each week, one of the keys to your team becoming successful is to plan a strategy to take on your opponents.

                        It’s just as important to plan for your team’s future off the field. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a social sports club or a national team; you need a plan to help ensure your club or sports association’s long term survival and growth.

.                       Over the next few minutes I’ll take you through a whole range of things to consider when it comes to the planning process; I’ll look at the reasons why your club should plan for the future, who should be a part of the plan and take you through the planning process.

                        And the Department of Sport and Recreation has a whole locker room of resources to help you with planning, and all other aspects of running your organisation.

                        Stay listening, and head to the department website dsr.wa.gov.au

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V/O:                Whatever the level of competition, all sporting organisations need to plan for long-term viability and growth. Planning can help your team or club identify its major goals, and work out the best way to get there.

                        But your plan should cover more than just winning the next trophy or interstate carnival trip. Your plan can help your club adjust to changes in the environment that can have an impact on the club, like finance.

                        Planning can bring life to your club by encouraging members to get more involved with development. It can help you ensure that the organisation is using its people and money in the most effective way. And your plan can help the club evaluate its progress towards achieving its goals, and help bring some order to the hectic business of running a sporting organisation.

                        Rick Curtis is the Senior Coach of the newly formalised Fire and Rescue Football Club and he relied on a plan to get the ball rolling for his club.

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IN:                   “It’s very important...”

OUT:                “...going around in circles.”

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V/O:                Planning isn’t just for new clubs. It’s just as important for established clubs to have a plan to guide their efforts as Wayne Fearns from the Mt Lawley Tennis Club explains.

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IN:                   “Well it definitely is...”          

OUT:                “... very important to the club.”

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V/O:                But not all clubs need something as complicated as a five year plan. A simple one may be more appropriate for your club.

                        Next we’ll look at who you should involve for your planning for your club.

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CHAPTER 2

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V/O 2:             Who should be involved in the planning process?

V/O:                Your plan should cover all aspects of your club or association’s functioning in order to be thorough. So you should try to involve as many people as possible in the planning process.

                        This will not only give you valuable information, it will help make sure your plan is a true reflection of your club or association.

                        Consulting with all of the groups in your organisation also helps everyone fell that the plan belongs to them, and will help everyone work together when it comes time to putting the plan into action.

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IN:                   “I put the feelers out there...”

OUT:                “... put their hand up.”

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V/O:                When you first begin the planning process, invite a broad group of people to a brainstorming meeting to work out the basics of your plan.

                        This group should be representative of all areas of your club including board or committee members; volunteers and paid staff; players and coaches; facilities operators, sponsors and officials; and parents in the case of junior sport.

                        You might also need to consider other stakeholders like a representative of your sports governing body, for example.

                        Once you’ve held your planning meeting, make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to see your draft plan.

                        Circulate the plan to your members to make sure it truly reflects the needs of everyone involved in your club.

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V/O 2:             When should you plan?

V/O:                Don’t leave your planning to the last minute. It’s important, so you should to make sure it gets the attention it deserves.

                        You might consider setting aside a specific time-slot for your planning meeting at one of your regular club functions like a general membership meeting, a club tournament or social function. It’ll save people time, and might just mean you get a broader cross-section of opinion from your club membership.

                        Depending on the size and complexity of your organisation, you may need to allow for as much as a half or full day for your brainstorming meeting. The meeting needs to be long enough to develop the basic framework of your plan.

                        You should regularly review your club’s plan to monitor your progress and update the plan if necessary. Try to make planning meetings a regular feature of your organisation’s calendar.

                        Next we’ll look at how to put your plan together, and take a look at some of the basis areas your plan should cover.      

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CHAPTER 3  

V/O 2:             The planning pathway

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IN:                   “You need to have a starting point...”

OUT:                “...go from there.”

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V/O:                We have already looked at the value of having a planning committee - a small group of committed people who can see the planning process from the starting blocks right the way through to the finish line, making sure your club’s plan is implemented and reviewed on a regular basis.

                        Now it’s time to take a look at the planning pathway you’ll follow.

                        Once your club has formed a planning committee, the next step is to hold a planning workshop to develop the framework of your plan.

                        Earlier we talked about the importance of consulting with as many areas of your organisation’s functioning as possible.

                        It’s just as important when it comes to developing the framework of your club’s plan. You might like to think about inviting administrators and officials, coaches and players, sponsors and facilities managers to a planning workshop. 

                        It may also be worthwhile inviting a facilitator who is experienced in leading planning workshops to help you get the most out of the workshop.

V/O:                After all the planning workshops and consultation, it’s important to put all the work down on paper, and write up your organisation’s plan. This can be a job of the planning committee, or an individual the club trusts.

                        Your club’s plan doesn’t have to be a complicated document, in fact it’s better to keep it simple and straightforward.  But there are some basic elements that your plan needs to contain.

                        Let’s take a look at them now.

V/O 2:             Mission

V/O:                This is a brief statement explaining the purpose of your club, and why it exists. For example, “to promote tennis as an enjoyable, healthy sport for people of all ages and ability levels in our community”.

V/O 2:             Organisational Goals

V/O:                These are statements that explain the broad directions of your organisation. For example, “to encourage the provision of opportunities for participation in tennis by all members of the community”.

V/O 2:             Objectives

V/O:                These are the things that your club or organisation wants to achieve by the end of the period you are planning for. Your plan should contain objectives that are specific, with a specific time-frame. Objectives should be measurable, and most importantly, they should be realistic for your club. Here Wayne Fearns from the Mt Lawley Tennis Club, explains why boosting numbers of adult members was an objective of their club.

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IN:                   “To give an example...”

OUT:                “... change to survive.”

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V/O 2:             Actions

V/O:                This should cover what needs to be done in order to achieve your organisation’s objectives. For example, if your club’s objective was to double the number of junior players as we just heard, an action to achieve that might be to produce a promotional brochure to distribute to local schools.

V/O 2:                         Responsibilities

V/O:                            Who is responsible for completing the actions outlined in the plan.

V/O 2:                         Timeframes

V/O:                            When the actions need to be completed.

V/O 2:                         Resources

V/O:                            What is available to your club to help it achieve its goals and objectives,         and how much it is likely to cost.

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V/O:                After you’ve prepared your new plan, it’s time to go back to your members for their opinion. After all, the plan is their plan too!

                        You need to make sure that everyone understands your club’s plans, and be prepared to make changes if necessary.

                        The more people that know about the plan, the more they will be able to help you implement it. So make sure promote your plan. Be proud of it, and the work that has gone into developing it.

                        Publicise your club’s new plans through member newsletters or on the club website, and make sure you send a copy to club sponsors.

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IN:                   “As you’ve got...”

OUT:                “...are their views being looked after.”

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V/O:                The most important part of all planning is putting your plan into action. There’s no point in developing a plan to have it gather dust on a shelf somewhere.

                        Make sure your plan is a document that will help people to get the job done. Evaluate your plan, and make changes to it if you need to. As time passes your goals and objectives may not stay the same.

                        And as your organisation achieves the objectives set out in the plan, let everyone know! Make sure you take the time to celebrate your successes off the field as well as on it!

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V/O 2:             This podcast is part of the Club Development Scheme, which provides assistance to Western Australian sport and recreation clubs and organisations to become better managed, more sustainable and to provide good quality services to their members and participants.

                        You can find more information about planning for your club, and other topics to                  help you in running your sporting club or association at dsr.wa.gov.au.