The first Club Matters workshop on marketing was held on Wednesday 8 March at Chard Rugby FC in order to support local sports clubs, help them to thrive and provide good quality sporting opportunities to the residents of South Somerset.
The event was free to attend and well received by clubs. It now gives the clubs the tools to promote themselves more effectively, remove some of the barriers to people joining and get more people active in the district.
Councillor Amanda Broom, who organised the event, explained: “In early 2016 I submitted a motion to Full District Council, asking the Council to support a future plan for sporting facilities and sporting development within Chard. This work is now underway, but in reviewing club needs, it became clear that Sport England can offer support to complement the District Council. One of the key ideas with setting this up was to enable all clubs to network with each other and discuss best practice, agree strategic plans and work together where possible.”
The first event was attended by many sports clubs, representatives from Holyrood Academy, and Thorncombe Sports and Social Club. Feedback has been promising so far. Gavin Smillie, Chairman of Chard Rugby Club said “I found it really useful, Paul Black (Club Matters) kept it light and interesting. I have already made changes to our web site following his suggestions.”
Another workshop is now being arranged which can be on any of the following subjects – Club Finances; Club Structures; Business Planning or Tax Requirements. Clubs involved will get the choice of which subject gets tackled next and it’s hoped more clubs will come forward to take part in the workshops.
Councillor Sylvia Seal, Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Culture added, “The workshop was very well attended and it was great to see so many different groups interested in learning to promote themselves. It certainly gave a lot of food for thought and some really useful tips. The ball is now rolling and we are confident we will see many more groups and clubs that will want to take part in another session.”
If you run a club and are keen to be involved in the forthcoming workshops, please email [email protected].