Did you know that over 6 million people volunteer in sport and physical activity every year?Without the goodwill and efforts of these individuals, the majority of community sport and physical activity simply would not happen. Research indicates that reward and recognition goes a very long way in retaining volunteers and coaches and the CSP Network is looking forward to using National Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June) and Coaching Week (4-10thJune) to celebrate the amazing work of local volunteers and coaches across the country.
The theme of this year’s National Volunteers’ Week is ‘volunteering for all’ which will help the sector to consider and prioritise how they can make volunteering in sport and physical more inclusive. This focus aligns well to the strategic priority identified in Sport England’s Volunteering in an Active Nation Strategy on diversifying the workforce to be more reflective of the communities in which they serve. Engaging and supporting individuals, especially from under-represented groups to help others start, stay and succeed in sport and physical activity will become increasingly important as CSPs and partners focus their efforts and investment on the inactivity agenda.
UK Coaching are also leading the first ever week-long celebration of #GreatCoaching across the nation and CSPs are supporting the campaign by showcasing the excellent work being done by coaches locally across the country. The Coaching Plan for England recognised that as a sector, we need to collectively unleash the power of coaching to tackle the inactivity agenda and Coaching Week will help share ideas and good practice on how this is being done.
Charlie Crane, Partnership Manager for the CSP Network said:
“As a Network, we are really excited to be supporting both Volunteers’ Week and Coaching Week. CSPs are well placed to work with partners to support, develop and recognise local coaches and volunteers and help them maximise their contributions and impact locally. We are pleased to see that both campaigns overlap as this highlights that three-quarters of the coaching family are indeed volunteers themselves. We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every volunteer and coach who makes community sport and physical activity happen – especially those who are helping individuals take their first steps into becoming active”
We are looking forward to showcasing the valuable contribution volunteers and coaches are making to the people and communities they are working with over the next two weeks. We also hope to put a spotlight on the dual benefit being a coach or volunteer can bring to the individual themselves as highlighted by a female football coach in Oxfordshire:
“…coaching is a total switch off from the stresses and strains of general life, a golden 1-2 hours out of my day and in my element”
As a sector, these two campaigns are a great way to collectively recognise the vastly different ways in which coaches and volunteers are playing a critical role in helping individuals and communities either take their first steps to becoming physically active or helping those already active, stay active.
To find our more about volunteering and coaching opportunties in you area, contact your local CSP whose details can be found here http://www.activepartnerships.org/your-csp