How to get volunteers for my Sports Club?

November 14, 2020 by No Comments

How is volunteering in a sports club?

The word “volunteer” is often heard in the sports club setting. But what exactly does it mean?
Most importantly, a volunteer is not a paid worker . In other words, the volunteer performs a work of benevolence when possible and for a few hours a day, without having to be registered with Social Security.
These three points are of vital importance:

  • Volunteering is the result of a freely made decision. It does not derive from any obligation.
  • The performance is channeled through a sports club
  • As we said before, there is no economic consideration. It is an activity provided free of charge.

The importance of volunteers in a sports club

Having defined what volunteering is in a sports club, the first thing to take into account with volunteers is what the following saying relates to perfection: “ It is well born to be grateful “.Record this for yourself and share it with anyone who offers to help in your club.

Getting volunteers is a vital part of all sports clubs, even professionals. If you want your club to survive long and grow fast, you should consider a strategy to recruit volunteers. In addition to being essential to the sustainability of your club, volunteers can bring in great ideas and additional knowledge and become long-term club members.

A volunteer can be a sports fan, a friend of a member, or simply a member of the same club who wants to give back to the community. In addition, it is a great way to build external relationships that add value to the club. Shop for real athletes https://steroide24.com/shop/peptidpraparate/ausdauer-medikamente .Volunteers are sometimes temporary. Some come and some go. With this in mind, you always have to have a portfolio of potential volunteers for when you need them. However, below I explain the two types of volunteers that exist

Types of volunteer

Non-professional volunteers

They can be fathers, mothers and even friends. Fathers and mothers are often a great help to a club. They work hard and contribute their little grain of sand so that the club can function properly. They are usually very interested in everything related to the club and are always willing to help out so that everything goes well.

These collaborators are not normally sports professionals, but they can help you on a multitude of issues. Even so, it must be stressed that they will not provide professionalism, since they are not experts in the sports world. This is not to say that you are not interested in them, or that they are not useful to the club. They will be able to perform functions that are not so specific, but that are helpful. Helping out at the club bar, taking the kids to a game, collaborating in events, competitions and races, and there are even cases where they join the club’s board to get more involved.

Professional Volunteers

They are people who have studies related to the world of sport or with a discipline that can help your club. On many occasions, they are university students who decide to carry out their curricular internships at the club. For example, students in physical therapy, sports medicine, sports management, or sports and physical activity science.

By having some related studies, they can bring many benefits to the club, and you can even learn from them in some aspects. They are usually very interested in learning new things and helping out in whatever way they can. For this reason, you should not miss the opportunity to include students as volunteers, as they provide professionalism at no cost. If you are interested in having students in your club, the process is very simple. First you have to contact the university or college that interests you. They will ask you for a brief explanation of the tasks that the interns will carry out and they will publish the announcement on the university website so that the students can apply to them. As you can see, it is a fairly simple process and can solve the lack of staff.

Now that you know the types of volunteers that exist and what kind of activities each one can carry out, I am going to give you some advice on how to recruit new volunteers and keep the existing ones.

Get volunteers for your club

1- Start with your current volunteers

Regardless of how they came to your club, all volunteers should have a pleasant experience from the beginning and throughout their time in your club. This will make them stay longer, even bring more people from their environment.
Each volunteer will have a different task and role, so you must take into account the abilities and skills of each one to assign them their position in the club. Make sure the roles are distributed fairly. Is anyone doing too much? Is there a volunteer who prefers to do a different job? Are there jobs being lost?
This will get you out of a lot of trouble and help you with optimal future recruitment. Also, if you do it well, it can be a way to keep your club in order and ensure that there is no confusion regarding roles and responsibilities.
Good general communication in your club and proper organization with your volunteers will improve their experience considerably.

2- Recruit people from the close circle

Stand up. Look around. Think of the members, the parents, the partners, the fans.
If you want to expand the number of volunteers in your club, the ideal would be to start with the people around you. They can be the same club members who want to help.
The less time-consuming way to get started is to ask people close to you. Not only to try to get them to become volunteers, but to spread the club’s need as much as possible and to give you a hand.
It is surprising how quickly the word can spread and how much interest it can generate among people that by yourself you would not have access.

3- Look outside the circle for new volunteers

Once you’ve asked your members and close people, another option will be to seek volunteers outside of your circle.
What makes your club different from other clubs and attracts more people? We are talking about the differential value that your club has. This is key to attracting the attention of potential volunteers. For example, a good work environment can make a difference and will make volunteering at that club more desirable.

You can choose to offer internships in your sports club to university or graduate students. There are many young people who are starting in the world of sports and want to learn from the best. So do not hesitate to ask, there are many agreements and internship programs that you can apply, you could even qualify for a scholarship.

You can also contact local schools, colleges or universities and make your club known, surely there will be someone willing to help. Usually students are willing to stay and can bring a new energy to your club.
There are many organizations or volunteer centers, this is a good place to start.

How is the volunteer agreement made?

In relation to the consultation established, I will now report the following: first, we must be in accordance with what is referred to in article 9 of Law 6/1996, of January 15, on Volunteering, under which: According to article 9 of Law 6/1996 of January 15 on Volunteering, the incorporation of a volunteer to the club is formalized in writing through an agreement or commitment that, in addition to determining the altruistic nature of the relationship, will have at least the following content:

  • The set of rights and duties that correspond to both parties, which must respect the provisions of this Law.
  • The content of the functions, activities and time of dedication that the volunteer undertakes to carry out.
  • The training process required for the fulfillment of their functions.
  • The duration of the commitment and the causes and forms of separation by both parties.

Our friends at iusport have made a document that you can download to formally make the agreement with the new volunteer of your club.
In summary, we recommend that If you currently have volunteers in your club, hold regular meetings to see if they are satisfied. This will encourage them to stay in your club longer if they feel they are being listened to and taken into account.
There are also many ways to reward the work of your current volunteers. Recognize their effort with prizes and offer them discounts on facilities or club fees.

It’s time to put everything you’ve learned into practice! Start recruiting volunteers now. If you need professional help, contact us, we are experts in sports consulting for clubs.

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