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Lionel Messi

The future of sports volunteering in Wales, by James Owens

In charge of strategic development of the coaching and volunteering workforce in his work at Sport Wales, and recently appointed to the Sport Wales Advisory Group (SWAG), James Owens is well placed to provide a view on the next steps needed towards the ideal volunteer picture.

Here, he gives his take on the next key steps for sport in Wales.

If there is one thing that is certain about sports volunteering in Wales, it’s that we won’t truly be a world leading nation until everyone takes responsibility for their role in making it a success.

We’ve made such significant strides forward. The proportion of volunteers in Wales has doubled from 5% in 2008/09 to 10% in 2012. That’s around 125,000 more people getting involved in coaching, officiating, washing the kit, administration, and a whole range of other jobs.

Volunteers are committing slightly less hours than they have in the past. But that’s not a negative because we don’t want a situation where person leaving the club can have a drastic negative impact. The ideal for us is a volunteering family where the workload is shared, everyone is clear on their roles and how they contribute, they are supported to do their role and get something back from the time and effort they put in.

But when I say that everyone needs to take responsibility, what do I mean?

Firstly, the public need to take responsibility for the role they can play. We know that parents of school-age children, sport participants and young people – particularly students – are amongst the groups most likely to volunteer. You’re also more likely to volunteer if you’re from a higher social grade.

But the public need to remember that sport doesn’t happen by chance. The huge majority of sporting opportunities are provided at the grassroots by volunteers. If we want young people to have opportunities, it is up to us to provide them. It shouldn’t be acceptable to take a child along to a club not contribute yourself.

Of course, circumstances differ and many people have limited free time. But there is a role that everyone can play and we need to develop a ‘must do’ culture. The days of sitting on the sidelines and letting others take responsibility are gone. Why would you want to stand shivering on the sidelines anyway??

But those of us in the sports sector must take responsibility too because a change in culture doesn’t happen by chance. We have to give our volunteers the support they need to make it as easy as possible for them. We have to champion them, put in place schemes and programmes to reward volunteers for all the work they do, and show them new and innovative ways to be successful.

For too long volunteers were not given enough importance in future planning. Now they are a key ingredient and, certainly from a Sport Wales viewpoint, with the organisations we work with there is an expectation that workforce planning is at their forefront of their work and is being done successfully.

The culture of volunteering was one of the first two projects identified by the independent Sport Wales Advisory Group (SWAG), emphasising its importance.

Linked to that, at Sport Wales we are developing tools and resources to support for volunteers and looking at how we can simplify the roles that we want people to take up.

Wider than that, we need to look who else can contribute. The annual week-long disability sport festival in Neath Port Talbot draws on volunteers from insurance giant Admiral. The sport team get a capable group of volunteers while the business gets disability awareness training and experience for its staff. Sport and business can be such a good fit – be that as a one-off or a healthy marriage of convenience.

And do we truly value and champion our volunteers? They are never going to get the headlines our elite sportspeople enjoy but, surely, we can hold them up as being the people who contribute more than others to community life.

Without our volunteers our towns and villages would be much poorer places to live. We have to keep championing they work they do and inspiring others to follow them in the volunteering family.

In the run up to the Wales Sport Awards I think it’s worth remembering that even a simple thank you can make a difference.

#WSA2014

Acting Today for an Active Tomorrow, Kerry Ann Sheppard - Sport Wales Advisory Group Member

I realise there’s often confusion around which word to use - is it sport, exercise, physical activity? For me, it doesn’t matter. I want to help create a Wales that moves more and that is happier and healthier - and a Wales where our children are less at risk of being obese and developing a life threatening disease. I make no apology for the morbid introduction.

To do that, we need to scan the horizon and look into the future and that’s exactly what an Acting Today for an Active Tomorrow report launched on 27^th November by the Sport Wales Advisory Group has done. This hasn’t relied on crystal balls or psychics but rather drilling down into data and evidence of headwinds, tailwinds and mega trends. In essence, the research reveals some things we kind of knew, like, we’re an ageing society and technology is key but it doesn’t just reveal the obvious. It’s got the right level of detail to really spark the minds of many professionals that work in sport, health, business, government, education and many other sectors that have an interest and stake in creating a happier and healthier Wales.

The Sport Wales Advisory Group launched the 'Acting Today for an Active Tomorrow' report on the 27th November 

The report presents Wales’ ideal future as ‘Sportopia’. My interpretation? A Wales where we move everyday because we want to - it’s the norm and we like it. We don’t have excuses like “I don’t have enough time”, or “I’m tired after work” or “it’s too expensive” – we just get on and do. I suppose it’s a bit like brushing our teeth or washing our face. We do these two things because they make us healthier, makes us feel better and I suppose maybe just because everyone else does. So how do we make Sportopia a reality in Wales? There are two fundamental principles; (1) policy empowers people (2) people have the mindset to move.

How we go about creating these two fundamental principles is where the report really starts to get interesting. Take engaging consumers as our starting point. In 2026 what will we want? The evidence points towards people valuing flexibility, novelty, variety, personalisation, image and all supported by expert advice. We’re going to want products and services that fit around us, that don’t become stale and which provide novel (although still quite familiar as to not see us running out of the door!) experiences on a regular basis. We care what others think about us so we want to be involved in things that project a positive image of who we are and what we’re about. 

Risk is the core – we want minimum risk. No long contracts, no long seasons, and, nothing that will hurt us – our image or our bodies! The extent, to which the consumer of the future will want to be put first, is going to change –in a BIG way.

How many of us have played a certain sport or gone to the same gym or fitness class our entire lives? I haven’t and it’s likely you haven’t either and in the future we won’t be able to count on blind loyalty. A member of your netball team last season may or may not join you for the following season. We change what we like, fads hook us in and we drift away. The constant to create in Sportopia is that everyday we’re moving, doesn’t matter how that it’s happening. 

We’re all getting on a bit and we’re living in an ageing society. Sounds negative to me, but it’s not because what we will have in the future are a bunch of older people that don’t actually consider themselves as old. Which means when I’m 70, I will want to keep playing sport and I’ll want sport to offer products that suit me. Like the report suggests, I won’t feel at 70 that I am too old to move and just because I’ve reached a certain number I am suppose to do what 70 year olds are suppose to do. 

The report suggests we’re all probably going to become more busy - time poor with demanding lives. Gone are the days when team sports can take up our whole evenings and weekends.

And of course, we can’t talk about the future without touching on the Digital Revolution. I remember my first mobile phone. I was 15. It had an aerial! Today, apps, websites, social networks have enabled sport products and services to have global reach. As our needs change, as we drop in and out of different sports and we need to have the data and insight to know what we want to fall into next. 

I’m already living in Sportopia and it would be great if more of Wales did. So, my challenge to you...if you have the power to act, then have the courage to be bold, sit in a quiet corner, read this report, share with others and let the ideas pour into action.

Report is available here: http://www.sportwales.org.uk/about-us/about-sport-wales/our-team/sport-wales-advisory-group/acting-today-for-an-active-tomorrow.aspx

Follow Kerry Ann on twitter: @ka_shep

Find Kerry Ann on Linked In: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/kerry-ann-sheppard/27/366/107