Hi again, its that time of the month to share some views and opinions about all things table tennis in the South East!
This month…..
- Club Recruitment
- Funding & Grants
- Volunteer Recruitment
- Area Coaches Forum
- Raising Sponsorship
- Club Assistance
I am often approached by clubs who are looking to recruit players and volunteers.
There is a huge amount that can be done to create a really clear recruitment approach, but we have to be prepared for it and have some clear ideas of what we want.
One of the biggest issues I get is from clubs not having enough spare table time to bring new players in and so rely on experienced players moving around. Now obviously, this can work in the most part, but we do need to see how we can bring new people into the sport.
Understanding how the current society engage in recreational activity prior to becoming more involved and into competitive play is paramount to increasing numbers. We won’t build numbers if we just keep doing things the same!
If you want to discuss how your club or league can build a really proactive recruitment approach please contact me here.
You may be aware the Sport England have now changed their grant funding and application.
The main fund is now called the Movement Fund and has a slightly altered remit and qualification criteria.
As always, I am happy to help any club who is looking for funding and can assist in how you build your application, as well as help look for other potential pots of money that could be utilised.
Again, for further details please contact me here.
Help shape the future of volunteering in table tennis!
Table Tennis England are excited to launch their volunteer landscape survey which aims to enhance the volunteering experience in the dynamic world of table tennis. To make this possible, they’re asking for your insights!
If you fit into any of the below groups, Table Tennis England want to hear from you!
- A deliverer or organisation that has volunteer support, or have volunteer roles to fill
- An individual who currently volunteers in table tennis
- Someone who has volunteered in table tennis before
- Someone who has never volunteered in table tennis
Your feedback will be instrumental in helping Table Tennis England shape the future of volunteering in the sport, including providing training to current and future volunteers and supporting organisations to recruit and retain those who support the sport.
Please complete their survey online here [link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TTvolunteerlandscape]. The survey will take around 10 minutes to complete and will remain open until midnight on Sunday 2nd June.
We are also working with Sport England on a national project to increase volunteer recruitment into the sport.
The project is called The Big Help Out and details can be found at The Big Help Out. I will be out and about at some Ping Parlours just asking for people who are interested in lending a hand. We might find someone to help pick up balls at a junior coaching session, make coffee at your practice night or even find a new treasurer – who knows!!!
Earlier this month we held the first Area Coaches Forum. (Apologies, but due to some technical issues, the recording of the forum is not available).
Topics discussed centred around what support coaches needed and wanted and amongst other things the following points were put forward.
- Sessions with performance coaches to see what is being done at a higher level.
- MultiBall specialists to deliver CPD in the art of MultiBall!
- Benefits of using Robots
- Latest technologies in rubbers
Some areas of discussion already planned include.
- What is Video Game Approach in coaching
- Tell/Sell/Ask/Delegate – what coaching style to use when, and why?
- The 4 elements of an Athlete – do we coach all 4?
Coaching skills are moving forward at a pace, so it is important we keep you up to date with latest approaches.
This just gives you a taste of things suggested but please send in your ideas on how we can use these forums to support coaches going forward. Contact me here to add to the conversation.
Another topic that is raised regularly is how can a club or league can bring in sponsorship to help with things.
Some of us are fantastic at this and others need some assistance. For a further discussion click here.
We do have some expertise in our Area Local Organising Group, and we also have some helpful documents and tips if you are interested, such as:
- What a sponsor sees as important and what they want
- Maximising the value of your commercial assets and what to offer sponsors.
- Building engaging sponsorship packages
- Creating sponsorship sales materials that stand out from the crowd.
- Identifying potential sponsors
- Tackling the challenge of what to charge
- How to negotiate deals and agree sponsorship contracts
- How to manage and keep sponsors happy – making sure deals last a long time!
We are currently working with a few new opportunities around making a club more than just a member’s session and something that forms a community hub, linking in with social play and building bridges with community groups etc.
There are some exciting aspects to this work that will really develop clubs for the future, making them more fundable, more robust and a broader offer for more people.
If you are interested in something similar, become a Premier Club member, the benefits will allow you to recoup the outlay and we can help boost your community engagement.
That’s it from me for this month and I look forward to hearing from you regarding any ideas or support you need in the South East.
Alan