Sports Leaders are well equipped to volunteer in a number of
roles, including holiday play-scheme leaders, youth club assistants
and activity helpers.
Volunteers make a big contribution to life in the
UK
- 22 million adults are involved in formal volunteering each
year
- 90 million hours of formal voluntary work take place each
year
- This work is estimated to be worth about £40bn a year
- Every pound an organisation spends supporting volunteers
generates a notional payback of up to £14
Volunteers and sport - helping the nation get
active
More than six million volunteers give one billion hours to sport
every year. These Sports Leaders, coaches, officials, mini-bus
drivers, match secretaries, umpires, treasurers, stewards and
countless other helpers sustain more than 100,000 affiliated clubs
and eight million members.
The 'Volunteer Recognition Award' is the perfect opportunity for
Sports Leaders UK to say a massive thank you to the thousands of
Sports Leaders who give up their time for the benefit of others.
Sports leadership and volunteering is a vital part of the
development and growth of every community, and it is important that
Sports Leaders UK recognises the fantastic work that these
volunteers take part in each year.
Looking for volunteering opportunities?
Sports Leaders have the skills to organise a wide range of
events and activities, either as a one-off or on a regular basis,
for example in an elderly people's home, shelter, or setting up an
event - whether it is a charity race or a village fete. Sports
Leaders have the knowledge to arrange activities and equipment in a
safe way, and can oversee and look after groups of people gathered
for a particular event.
Opportunities may arise at local, regional and national events,
and with organisations at each of these levels. If you want to use
your sports leadership skills to volunteer, you should ensure you
are clear about why you would like to volunteer and what you would
like to get out of the experience. The most successful volunteering
relationships are formed when volunteers enjoy their volunteering
experience.
What time do I have to give? - How much? How often? And
for how long?
It is important that you do not commit yourself to something
that quickly becomes too much for you to cope with and enjoy. It is
also important that the organisation, or the people that you serve
know what they can expect so that they can plan for the future. You
also need to be clear about how much you wish to be relied upon as
a volunteer. Can you be certain that you can help every week with
the village youth club for instance? - particularly if it might
have to be cancelled if you are not able to attend. It is perfectly
okay to put conditions around your offer to volunteer, for
example:
- I will be able to volunteer as an activity leader most weeks
but occasionally I may need to have a week off or,
- I will volunteer as an activity leader any week that I can but
because of other commitments you cannot rely on me being able to
attend every week.
What do you think you have to offer/what would you like
to offer, in terms of your voluntary help?
As a Sports Leader you have a range of skills particularly the
ability to lead others in fun, safe, physical activity, games and
sport. You can also help in a number of other ways as outlined
above. You probably enjoy doing some things more than others so
think about what they are. As a Sports Leader do you really only
want to continue to use your skills in leading others in fun sport
and games? Or would you be happy to help with an arts and crafts
activity for young children, or supervise an outing?
What would you like to do most? What experiences would
you like to have?
Do you, for example, like the idea of working with older people
if you have always worked with people of your own age group or
younger? Would you prefer to work with the sorts of people you are
used to working with? Many organisations find it useful for you to
say what you would most like to offer.
Having thought about the time you have, what you have to offer
and what you would like from volunteering, you can start to look
for suitable volunteering
opportunities.
Sports clubs and associations
Multi-sports clubs and associations, or sport specific clubs
such as cricket, tennis or football clubs operate across the UK at
a local level and often welcome offers of help. As a Sports Leader
you can assist in organising teams, running warm-ups, helping with
cool-down sessions, and you may even wish to extend your own
leadership skills by learning how to coach. There are dozens of
sports and many have their own National Governing Body
organised on national, regional and local levels.
Looking for employment?
If you have been inspired by your sports leadership training and
volunteering, and wish to find a way of using these skills in your
chosen career or employment then some of the sites listed on
our Pathways/Signposting page might
be useful.
Looking for further training?
Many Sports Leaders find they want to carry on developing their
skills and knowledge so that they can lead or coach a wider range
of activities and people, either in a paid or voluntary role. There
are many programmes of short and longer term training that you can
continue onto following certification of a Sports Leaders UK
qualification at Levels 1, 2 or 3. Furthermore you can follow a
specialist area, for example in the outdoors, dance, sport or in
youth and community qualifications. This can be in short courses
such as coaching, or in longer term academic routes leading, for
example, to sports management or sports science degrees. The range
of opportunities continues to grow and Sports Leaders UK works to
ensure it keeps sports leadership qualifications as fully connected
to these development opportunities as possible.
Don't forget that the Level
3 Certificate in Higher Sports Leadership has an
allocation of 30 UCAS points to assist Sports Leaders in
gaining access to Higher Education.
Looking for volunteers?
If you are a sports organiser and
need volunteers, submit the details of your event and
requirements on the Do-it website. Learners are
encouraged by Sports Leaders UK to use the Do-it website to find
local volunteering opportunities.
