New support for volunteers and sports clubs

Denbighshire Leisure service has launched an initiative to help support volunteers and community sport clubs across the whole of North East Wales.

Linking with Wrexham County Council, Sport Flintshire and Glyndwr University,  Denbighshire Leisure service will support clubs through free training and resources so that they can provide the best setting for volunteers within their clubs.

Clubs will need to meet some simple criteria and will be able to work with the council to benefit from better links with young volunteer sport leaders at local schools, specialised students from Glyndwr University, which can be as vast and varied from accountancy, to physiotherapy, ground maintenance and computer technology, good practices to create a more positive environment for current volunteers, and ways to advertise efficiently for new volunteers.

Councillor huw Ll. Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Toursim, Leisure and Youth, said: “Volunteers are the backbone of community sports clubs. Many clubs wouldn’t exist without such dedicated volunteers and this initiative will help community sport clubs recruit and retain more volunteers in a variety of roles.

“With the success of the Olympic and Paralympic games in London this year, this initiative will help to increase participation at all sport clubs through the county.”

Some sport national governing bodies are already backing the campaign along with Sport Wales. Hockey Wales is currently preparing the same criteria for their new club accreditation programme as the recommendations for this volunteer kitemark scheme.

Debra Barker, the North Wales Regional manager for Hockey Wales , said: "It's good to see that national governing bodies, local authorities and Sport Wales are looking to work together with sport clubs to help improve the offer across all sport for volunteers in North Wales.”

For more information on the local free courses on offer from this month, free sport development resource CD or to meet a Leisure services representative to plan how your club can move forward together. Contact the Coach and Volunteer development officer Matt Hilliker on matthew.Hilliker@denbighshire.gov.ukor 07798742290 or follow this link to the Denbighshire Leisure website:http://www.denbighshireleisure.co.uk/events.html