Things to Consider When Running a Sports Club

in Sport

Sports clubs are places where people can go to enjoy recreational sports. They’re a great way to bring a community together. Once you’ve decided to start a sports club, there are few things you’ll need to consider. Check out our tips for running a sports club:

Finances

You’ll need to figure out how your club will be funded and whether your club will have consistent and ongoing funds to keep your club going. While you can charge membership fees, you can also receive funding from fundraisers and reach out to local business to see if they would be interested in sponsoring your club. You can also apply for government grants or grants from your local counsel.

Unless you can get people to volunteer, you’ve also got to think about the costs of hiring coaches, instructors and managers, and think about the costs of creating a website and hiring a venue.

Finding a Suitable Venue

You need to find a suitable venue for your sports club. It needs to be in the right location so people can get there easily, and ideally have parking. In needs to have appropriate facilities, such as changing rooms and rest rooms, and should be wheelchair accessible.

Depending on how many members your club has, how often your club meets up, and whether you have the funds, you’ll need to make the decision of buying a sporting facility or renting a venue. If you decide to rent somewhere, make sure that the pitch, court, field, gymnasium, or swimming pool is pre-booked in advance before any friendly games, training sessions or matches so there are no mix ups.

Online Presence

Your sports club needs to have an online presence. You can use your sports club’s website to connect with your members and keep them updated about any updates or changes. You can also promote any team meetings. Your website can be used to promote the club to new or potential members or supporters.

You can collect payments from team members, have a page where newcomers will sign up for a membership, and have an online consent form. You can also send out newsletters to your email list with any new content and send out email reminders of upcoming matches or tournaments with other clubs.

If you want to expand your outreach or gain web traffic to your sports club’s website, use a service like Rexoriginals.com to get backlinks from other websites so more people will click through to the website and see what your club is up to.

Health and Safety

Health and safety are paramount when running a sports club. You need to have the right health and safety documents and any other permits. You’ll have duty of care to your members, so you’ll also need to regularly carry out risk assessments and make sure there is safeguarding in place so that the clubs code of conduct and health and safety measures are upheld. You’ll also need to make that members and staff are aware of fire safety procedures and all available fire exits in the venue.

Your venue should have appropriate first aid facilities, and you should appoint a health and safety officer(s) and make sure your employees have first aid training so that if anyone becomes injured, they can provide foot care for anyone who has had a fall or sprained an ankle and deal with cut, scrapes and bruises.

Properly Storing Sports Equipment

Properly storing your club’s sports equipment is essential for keeping everything clean and in good repair. Make sure you have the proper storage equipment, such as golf bags, shoe bags, ball storage trolleys, bike racks, crossbow cases, shelving units, and equipment hooks.

If you’re not storing your equipment at the venue, then you’ll need to figure out where it will be stored.

Other Things to Think About

There are other things to consider when running a sports club. You’ll need to decide whether your club will be open to everyone in the community or whether you’ll hold separate meetings and games for youths and seniors. You’ll also have to think about insurance, getting sponsors and, having a code of conduct for members.


Image Credits: Max Leveridge

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