Pilot sports clubs for Generic Clubmark

 

 

One of the main aims of SASSOT's upcoming Club Support Plan, is to increase the number of Clubmark accredited clubs throughout the sub-region and develop a more welcoming and accessible modern sports club network in partnership with National Governing Bodies of Sport - this will drive up participation, improve satisfaction and retention and allow those with talent to fully develop.

 

SASSOT recognises and values the commitment made by sports clubs to develop high quality, welcoming environments for young participants. The development of clubs that encourage young people to take-up sport, improve their talents, possibly play a leadership role and give them the option to initiate and maintain life-long participation in sport is an essential part of our work to support the sporting infrastructure throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

 

Clubmark is built around a set of core criteria which ensure that accredited clubs operate to a set of consistent, accepted and adopted minimum operating standards. It is now universally recognised, and is promoted and carefully branded, by Sport England. It is endorsed by all the main sporting, youth and education agencies involved in delivery of sporting opportunity for young people as the accreditation scheme for clubs with quality assured junior sections.

 

Clubmark is a cross-sport quality accreditation for clubs with junior sections and is awarded to clubs that comply with minimum operating standards in four areas:  

• The playing programme
• Duty of care and child protection
• Sports equity and ethics
• Club management
• At the moment, there are currently 30 national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) licensed to award Clubmark.

Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent are in the process of becoming licensed to accredit clubs with the Generic Clubmark .

As part of this licensing process, SASSOT must identify a pilot club to take through the Generic Clubmark process from start to finish to test our methods of support, assessment and accreditation before we can gain the license to award Generic Clubmark ourselves.

 

The Generic Clubmark is only intended for sports clubs that are affiliated to a Sport England recognised NGB but that NGB does not have an accreditation award (see below table for appropriate NGBs);

  

Generic Clubmark (sports clubs must be affiliated to one of these NGBs)
American	Ice Skating	Softball
Baseball	Ju-jitsu	Speed Skating
Biathlon	Kendo	Stoolball
Bobsleigh	Korfball	Sub-Aqua
Boccia	Lacrosse	Surfing
Bowls (Crown Green, Indoor)	Lifesaving	Taekwondo
Caving	Luge	Tang Soo Do
Chinese Martial Arts	Modern Pentathlon	Ten Pin bowling
Croquet	Motor Sports	Tug of War
Curling	Mountaineering (Climbing)	Water Skiing
Dragon Boat Racing	Movement / Dance	Weightlifting
Figure Skating	Multisports	Wheelchair Basketball
Gliding	Paralympic Winter Sports	Wheelchair Rugby
Goalball	Polo	Wheelchair Tennis
Handball	Powerlifting	Wrestling
Hang Gliding / Paragliding	Roller Sports (Rollerskating)	Yoga
Hovering	Rounders
Ice Hockey	Sailing / Yachting

 

Please can you identify any proactive clubs (must have a junior section) from sports clubs that are affiliated to NGBs in the above table who you currently work or have links with and provide me with their contact details so I can contact them to see if they would be interested in working towards the Generic Clubmark.

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Competition Time

Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent are also in the process of developing a club accreditation award for sports clubs throughout the county that are not eligible to apply for Clubmark or the Generic Clubmark, these would include many clubs and organisations that either do not have an NGB or their NGB is not recognised by Sport England.

The CSP criteria will be aligned with the Clubmark standards in order to ensure that the schemes complement each other and sports clubs that achieve this award will receive similar benefits as associated with Clubmark.


SASSOT are currently looking for a name for this CSP accreditation award, and we thought what better way than to give the chance for our creative e-newsletter readers to think of a name and/or logo. Names must be creative, inspiring and easily recognisable and cannot include the word Clubmark.

 

Please submit name suggestions by the 24^th November 2008, which is the closing date of the competition. The competition winner will receive a Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent luxury goodie bag and will feature in the November issue of the e-newsletter. Judges' decision is final.

 

Chris Turner
Club & PESSCL Development Officer
T: 01785 619681
E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk