Unit 3: Sport Club
Programming
What are Sport Clubs? They
are groups that organize because of a common interest in a particular sport –
they fulfill a social function with sport serving as a common interest for the
group. Generally, an individual or group of individuals will be interested in a
particular sport, but the area that they live in might not offer an opportunity
to engage in that particular sport in the means that the individuals might
want. The group then forms in order to facilitate participation in the sport of
their choice. Take Indiana University, for example. If you were a high school
lacrosse player and you came to IU, there might not be an opportunity to play
lacrosse competitively in Bloomington. Lacrosse is not a varsity sport, and it
is not offered as part of the intramural sports program. You might know several
other people who were interested in lacrosse as well. You would then form a
“lacrosse club” and seek recognition from Indiana University as a member of
their Club Sports Program.
What is the difference
between club sports and sport clubs? There is no real difference.
Traditionally, groups that organize around a common interest in a particular
sport have been referred to as club sports – consistent with the names informal
sports, instructional sports, intramural sports, and extramural sports. I
personally prefer the term “sport clubs,” which is growing in popularity because
it is more descriptive in nature….besides, the only “club sports” I know of are
golf, baseball and croquet!
J
Whether you refer to them as
club sports or sport clubs, the key is that they are self administered and self
regulated, or as we used to say at Cal-Berkeley, “participant-led,
participant-run.” Other key areas of sport clubs are that the members seek out
opportunities for regular participation. Sport clubs offer more structure than
informal sports, but because the participants decide the direction that the club
takes, offer more flexibility than intramural sports. Sport clubs offer a great
forum for participant development, offering opportunities for club members to
gain leadership skills through the many different roles that participants must
play (president, treasurer, tournament scheduler, equipment manager, etc.). One
other thing to note – participation in sport clubs is voluntary in nature.
The history of sport clubs is
a long one. Sport clubs are the forerunners of college athletics, intramurals,
and formal physical education classes. Clubs are not just limited to the
college setting – they can be found in the public, military, commercial, private
and correctional settings. An example of a sport club offered in the public
sector that has become quite popular is youth club soccer. These programs have
become very popular, because they generally operate with less resources than
other aspects of organized recreational sports programming.
There are three different
types of sport clubs: 1) competitive, 2) recreational, 3) instructional. These
types are not mutually exclusive, as we will see later. Clubs may organize and
develop a mission that fits into these categories. For example, a youth soccer
select club that travels from city to city, competes in leagues and is a
selective, try-out only club would fit into the competitive category. An
ultimate frisbee club that meets twice a week to play ultimate together as a
group but does not necessarily enter tournaments, leagues or outside
competition, with everyone welcome to play if they show up at the organized
meeting time would be considered a recreational club. A tae kwon do club that
merely offers instruction in the martial art with no competitive element would
be considered an instructional club.
Clubs may also combine
different elements in order to achieve different goals. For example, the Rugby
club at Ole Miss allows anyone to come out and play rugby during regular meeting
times, offers instruction on how to play rugby to new players, and picks a
select group of players (a team) that represents the club in competitive rugby
tournaments.
Clubs almost always offer a
“social” element for their members as well. Examples of this could be end of
the season banquets for the members of the lacrosse club, car washes or other
philanthropic functions to raise money for a charity on behalf of the members of
the karate club, weekly meetings at Yogi’s to get together for a “coke” for
members of the synchronized swimming club, etc.
The factors that influence
the type of club that involve are generally decided by the club membership and
based on the interests and abilities of the members. Traditions of the sport
are also factors, along with capabilities of leadership, financial support and
proximity of opponents. One of the exciting elements of sport clubs is that the
participants really get to choose their own outcomes. This is VERY compatible
with the philosophy of recreational sports that we discussed earlier this
semester. There are a multitude of outcomes which one can get out of sport club
participation …. Competition, social interaction, skill development, fitness,
and conditioning, ability to participate, etc. There is generally little
outside influence on the types of outcomes that you will receive in sport club
participation.
Why do clubs generally
associate themselves with a sponsoring agency, for example, why does the
lacrosse club want to seek affiliation with Indiana University? There are
several reasons, including:
1
Organizational legitimacy
2
Funding sources
3
Required by league or conference
4
Assistance with recruiting members;
provides a recruiting base
5
Risk management or liability
purposes
6
Access to programmatic support
7
Access to vendor discounts
8
Access to instructor or coach
expertise
Why would an agency want to
sponsor such a program? What does a sport “do” for the agency? Why not just
say, “we don’t offer those sports,” rent out your facility to the group, make a
little money, and not worry about the hassle involved with overseeing such a
program?
1 Purposes of administrative oversight – agencies want some control over groups using their facilities on a regular basis
2 Customer service – helps the agency fulfill its
mission
3 Source of pride for the agency … when the Cal
Volleyball Club won 6 of 8 national club volleyball championships, it really
made our department proud! (and gave us good press, too!)
4 Provides participant development opportunities
5 Risk management/liability purposes
Organizationally, there is
generally never more than 1 professional who is assigned to oversee the entire
sport club program. Often times, this professional is also assigned to another
area (intramural sports, facility management, informal sports) so he/she can
only devote 50% of their time to this program. This can be a tough situation,
especially when a professional has a club program with 30 or 40 clubs!
There are two administrative
models used to manage sport club programs, each coming with a different
“philosophy” of management. The liberal, or informal approach utilizes minimum
agency involvement in the operation of each individual club. Members are
involved in determining the procedures for operations. Clubs receive minimal or
no assistance in areas such as funding, equipment, facilities, scheduling, etc.
Clubs arrange their own competitive schedules and coordinate their own travel
arrangements. Members are generally responsible for their own insurance. In
the conservative, or formal approach, club members have little input into
determining the procedures they utilize for operations. Each club is under the
direct supervision of a staff member or staff liaison. Financial support is
derived from the institution, however clubs must go through procedures for cash
handling, purchase requisitions, travel and other financial aspects. Schedules
for competition and facility use must be approved, and formal documentation is
usually required (liability/risk management waivers, travel requests, purchase
requests, etc.). There is a definite continuum between the liberal or informal
approach to sport club programming and the conservative, or formal approach.
Historically, club programs have generally been run in a very informal manner.
More and more, however, we are seeing a more managed, hands-on approach to sport
club programming.
Factors that determine the
management approach include:
·
Department’s mission and philosophy
·
Agency risk management policy –
hands-on vs. hands-off…where are you more liable?
·
Time commitment/other job duties of
staff
·
Participant development models and
commitment to participant development
·
Quality of program/club leaders
·
Availability of agency resources
(funding, facilities, equipment, etc.).
Finally, there are several
operational guidelines that are of concern to administrators. These guidelines
include:
·
Eligibility
·
Affiliation
·
Meetings
·
Facilities and equipment
·
Insurance
·
Travel
·
Safety/risk management
·
Schedules
·
Instruction/coaching
·
Publicity and promotion
·
Finances
·
Conduct/governance
·
Participant development
opportunities