A healthier Scotland through sport and physical activity

A healthier Scotland through sport and physical activity

how we can work together to make Scotland healthier by getting more people, more active, more often
A one-day conference on how we can develop community sport and physical activity for everybody, throughout life, and make a contribution to a healthier society

12^th September 2017,
Stirling Court Hotel, University of Stirling

A healthier Scotland through sport and physical activity is organised in partnership with Developing Potential

Download programme  Healthier Scotland Conference program with registration form

It is widely accepted that sport and physical activity can have a positive impact in a number of areas on our physical and mental health, and importantly, on preventing health problems.

Physical activity can help reduce obesity, help people to socialise, engages us in the local community, help health bodies to communicate with hard-to-reach groups and can help improve mental wellbeing, to name just a few.

The Government recognises that regardless of age, income, educational level, social group or where people live a physically active life can give us great physical and mental benefits.

Despite these obvious benefits, it seems that community sport organisations and physical activity providers and the health sector do not always work together. Often they operate in separate silos, use their own jargon, measure success in different ways and generally do not create the synergy which could improve results in so many ways and optimise the outcome.
At the same time, there are a number of case-studies where local authorities, patient organisations, healthcare professional and research bodies, NHS healthcare providers, sports organisations, community groups, GP practices, workplaces and physical activity providers have developed and delivered innovative and efficient initiatives by creating shared values, through dialogue and engagement.

This conference is not about policies and strategies.
It focuses on best practice and provides thoughts, tools and to-dos.
Real stories and successes to be told, lessons to be learnt, ideas and experiences to be shared on how to create a healthier Scotland by getting more people, more active, more often

The conference will focus on areas such as

• How can we develop collaboration and partnerships locally between sport, physical activity and health?
• Should we develop new sport and physical activity offerings aimed at ‘new’ groups or should we offer them the traditional or slightly adapted opportunities?
• Who and how do we finance the various initiatives?
• How do we develop and deliver sport and physical activity opportunities for hard-to-reach groups?
• How do we develop and deliver sport and physical quality activity opportunities for people with social and mental health problems?
• How can the various departments within our local authorities improve the way they   cooperate internally and thus improve the benefits and outcome of their work
• How do we satisfy the sport and physical activity needs of for new target groups, such as generation z, older people or immigrants?
• How can we motivate and help sports clubs to become hubs for their communities and develop and deliver #MoreThanSport?
• How can we create/improve sport and leisure facilities which integrate sport, physical activity, health and community?
• How do we measure behaviour change and impacts?
• How can we best motivate and support innovators and entrepreneurs to create new initiatives across sport and physical activity?

The organisers

A healthier Scotland through sport and physical activity is organised in partnership between Developing Potential and Sports Marketing Network

Developing Potential is run by Diane Cameron, a leading consultant supporting social enterprises within sport and physical activity in Scotland.
Over the years she has worked with a large number of these bodies and has a clear understanding of the role sport and physical activity can play in making Scotland a more active and healthy nation

Sports Marketing Network is a leading provider of information and advice on how to develop more innovative and enterprising solutions on how to create vibrant, visible and viable community sport and physical activity.
For more than 10 years SMN has been working across the UK and Denmark using conferences, workshops, webinars and consultancy to support and inform.

Do you have a topic or case-study that you suggest is covered at this conference? A suggestion for a presenter? Or are you interested in attending the event?

Just get in touch, send an email  or call us on 01423 326 660

 

Introducing Activity Growers and the Activity Grower Academy…a part of the Sports Marketing Network

Training and support to attract and retain more inactive people into physical activity

There is an increasing focus on how community sport and physical activity providers can improve the way they engage with people who are not currently active.

Active Lives research covering England reported that 40% of the adult population of England, are active for less than the recommended 150 minutes a week. And 47% aren’t engaging with sport and fitness at least once every two weeks. Physical inactivity contributes to nearly 2,500 deaths in Scotland and costs the NHS around £91 million per year.

But unfortunately, for quite some time many, if not most, coach education programmes have ignored the difficult, but crucial point, of attracting, welcoming and retaining all those people who have had negative experiences with sport and physical activity in earlier life.

aining people to activate inactive people has for been for a while been almost ignored, whereas there are an awful lot of support for people who want to become better sports coaches.

Technical skills are still important if you want to keep enjoying your rugby, parkour or cricket. So, we should keep running education programmes for coaches within those sports and others, but do not expect the number of people playing that sport or generally being active to grow, just because the ‘converted’ improve, say, their golf swing, back stroke or swing bowling.

Yes, there is evidence that good, quality coaching improves the likelihood that people will stay active for longer. However, too many coaches/instructors are guilty of focusing on the talented participants and ignoring the shy, less sporty, participants in the back. And then they can’t understand why those people don’t come back.

Inactive people want to enjoy themselves, have fun, improve their skills and be part of a welcoming social and sporting experience. Yes, if possible, they want to develop their skills, but they want to do so in an engaging way; they don’t want to be put under undue pressure from an over-ambitious and zealous coach.

So, we need to distinguish between ‘sports coaches/fitness instructors’ and the ‘activators/hosts’ who get inactive people into regular activity: We call them Activity Growers.

An Activity Grower is a person who removes the barriers inactive people experience when wanting to become more active and then focus on keeping them motivated, engaged and active.

The Activity Grower Academy…where you can learn how best to get inactive people physically active.

Real success stories, examples, tools, templates and to-dos…ready for you.

The Academy will provide workshops, webinars, guides and networking opportunties

Who is it for?

The Academy is at Local authorities, governing bodies of sport, County Sports Partnerships, Community Sports Hubs universities and colleges, community groups, public health bodies, leisure trusts and other providers of physical activity.

The six steps to become an Activity Grower:

Each module includes

• A 3-hour workshop
• A Guide/workbook
• 45 minute follow up webinar
• Membership of the The Activity Grower Network

Step 1 Introduction to growing physical activity

This modules provides participants with an introduction to the thoughts, tools and to-dos on how to get inactive people more active:

1. How to link up with inactive people based on their age, health condition, ethnicity, demographics, and/or location
2. Welcoming people in ways that suit all
3. Providing experiences which all types of participants can enjoy
4. From flyers to Instagram – efficient and effective communication
5. Developing the enterprise culture and skills which can help ensure lomg-term sustainability

Step 2 Engaging with local communities and people

This module covers how best engage with and involve your local community and become than ‘just that fitness place’ and become a hub for your community:

1. How to understand the community around you from: faith, Ethnic groups/clubs, faith groups and centres, neighbourhood associations, housing associations, groups from wards/parts of your city, youth clubs and groups (formal and informal), etc.
2. How to involved connectors withion your community. Connectors are people who know lots of people; they are not always leaders. A connector has a different role in the community
3. How to become networked with your community
4. How to develop shared values with your community. This can can be defined as a new kind of partnership, in which both the club and the community contribute directly to the strengthening and development of each other.
5. How to draw up a list of your current and potential community partners, their needs, your skills and contacts

Step 3. Welcoming newcomers

Being welcoming is about developing and maintaining a culture where everybody communicates and forms some type of relationship within your environment; be they long-standing participants, newcomers or guests. We must developing a ‘welcoming’ philosophy and see your club through the eyes of the newcomer

This module will therefore focus on

1. How to develop a welcoming culture
2. How to get pre-arrival right: – telephone and email enquiries, website content asnd class bookings
3. How to help newcomers ease into the place, so the initial ‘like-first-day-at-school’ nerves disappear and they become advocates
4. How to make sure that when you attract new people, you really have to conscious of who they are and what you are offering and if that fits in with their needs
5. How to make your place and sessions welcoming and visible

Step 4 How to create great experiences for all

The focus is to ensure that people with different needs all feel they are being looked after and where members, parents, supporters, staff and volunteers are all focusing on creating great sporting and consumer experiences. We are all different, so what you think is a great experience, may not be the same to a 26 year old recreational player or a 42 year old ‘returner’.

This module includes:

1. How to ‘listen to people’s lives’ and create really great experiences
2. How to use ‘buddies’ to ease the pathway from inactive to regular
3. How to see your classes and propositions through the eye of the participants
4. How to develop a ‘customer-first’ culture
5. How to get real and honest feedback from participants

Step 5 How to tell your story through photos, videos and hashtags

Successful providers of physical activity programmes all use social media extensively. They know that they have to build engagement and loyality they have build a community, both on – and off-line.They know that creativity, honesty and imagery are key ingredients in that process and they are always willing to innovate and learn. This module follows their lead:

1. How to grow your networks on social media
2. How to encourage participants to share their experinces at your classes with their social networks
3. How to become a great storyteller
4. A picture paints a 1000 words: Videos, photos, colours
5. How your social networks can become part of the customer experience and help build brand loyalty

Step 6 How to ensure long term financial sustainability of your project

Some physical activity programmes are project-funded whereas others are funded by user-payments. Unfortunately, we have seen too many cases where providers have ignored the long-term financial sustainability of their work and have had to stop the otherwise great work they are doing. Other providers are able to fulfil their mission of getting inactive people active while running a viable enterprise. So how do they do that?

This module will cover how best to secure the long-term financial sustainability of your great work:

1. How to demonstrate the impact and value of your work to funders (and others)
2. How to create the right balanced income-model for your project
3. How to develop innovative add-ons which can generate income
4. How to build services and experiences that are so great that participants will really want to pay for them
5. How to become sustainable community sports enterprise

The Activity Grower Academy will also provide a series of intermediate level modules including

• How to use social media to engage with inactive and participants
• Engaging with people with disabilities
• Developing and delivering community activity events
• How do develop innovation and enterprise in physical activity

Who is behind the Activity Grower Academy

The Academy forms part of the Sports Marketing Network/Idræt på Tværs a leading provider of information and advice on how to develop more innovative and enterprising solutions on how to create vibrant, visible and viable community sport and physical activity.

For more than 10 years SMN has been working across the UK and Denmark using conferences, workshops, webinars and consultancy to support and inform.

The Activity Grower Academy sits alongside 3 sister events:

Et sundere Danmark gennem Idræt og Motion

…sådan kan Idræt Motion og Sundhed arbejde sammen og få flere danskere mere aktive

11^th May 2017, Islands Brygge Kulturhus, Copenhagen

A healthier Scotland through sport and physical activity

how we can work together to make Scotland healthier by  getting more people, more active, more often

A one-day conference on how we can develop community sport and physical activity for everybody, all through life, and make a contribution to a healthier society

12^th September 2017, University of Stirling

Everybody Active, how?

How we can work together to make people healthier by getting more people, more active, more often

A one-day conference on how we can develop community sport and physical activity for everybody, all of life, and make a contribution

25^th October 2017, Villa Park, Aston Villa FC, Birmingham

 Want to learn more, then contact Svend Elkjaer on 01423 326660

or email svend@smnuk.com

 

Et sundere Danmark gennem idræt og motion conference, 11 maj,

Sådan spiller idræt, motion og sundhed bedre sammen

Konference om, hvordan vi kan skabe idræt og motion for alle gennem hele livet og derved bidrage til at styrke almen trivsel og forbedre folkesundheden.

11. maj 2017, Kulturhuset Islands Brygge, København

Hvordan skaber vi sundere danskere?
Konferencen ‘Et sundere Danmark gennem idræt og motion’ handler ikke om strategier og politik, men om at præsentere praktiske eksempler på, hvordan vi kan forbedre samarbejdet mellem idrætsverdenen og sundhedssektoren og skabe sundere danskere, både fysisk og psykisk.

Program

Introduktion
Moderator, Eva Kartholm, Leder, Idrætsudvikling, Københavns Kommune
Et sundere liv gennem idræt og motion? Faldgruppe og muligheder
Nikolai Baastrup Nordborg, Lektor, Institut for Idræt og Ernæring, Københavns Universitet
Hvordan bygger vi broer mellem det offentlige sundhedssystem og en frivillig baseret foreningsindsats?
Jens Sune Jakobsen, Strategisk programleder DGI Sundhed, Projektleder DGI Sundhedsidræt
Hvidovres idrætsforeninger tager skridtet videre og indgår et samarbejde med sundhedscentret og genoptræningen
Pernille Snitkjær, Aktivitetskonsulent/direktør, Aktivitetspiloterne
FC Prostata – et pragmatisk forsknings projekt, der tilbyder fodbold til alle mænd, som har fået stillet diagnosen prostatakræft
Mette Rørth, Forskningsassistent, FC Prostata Community, Universitetshospitalernes Center for Sundhedsfaglig Forskning (UCSF)
Ny forvaltningsstruktur skal sikre større synergi mellem Kommunens sundhedstilbud og civilsamfund
Erik Kristensen, Sundheds-, Fritids- og Landsdistriktschef, Aalborg Kommune
Tværgående samarbejde om idræt og sundhed
Malene Thøgersen, Analytiker, Videncenter for Folkeoplsyning/Idrættens Analyseinstitut
Udfordringer og muligheder ved strategisk sundhed på alle typer arbejdspladser
Rikke Line Klockars-Jensen, Sundhedskonsulent, Dansk Firmaidrætsforbund
Håndboldfitness – hvad har vi lært?
Tanja Kilbæk Ramgil, DHF- & DGI Projektleder HåndboldfitnessEn praksisfortælling om samarbejder mellem Frederikssund Kommune og frivillige foreninger
Jonas Hviid, Idrætskonsulent for handicap- & psykiatriområdet, Frederikssund Kommune
Forening og forvaltning i partnerskab
GoRun: Fra ”frit og gratis løb for alle” til GoRun. Hvad er forskellen? Kenneth Havndrup, Projektleder GoRun / Bevæg dig for livet – Løb

For yderligere information, fuldt konference program og tilmelding se her
https://tinyurl.com/zo29pre

Et sundere Danmark gennem idræt og motion konference

Activating the inactive is completely different from coaching the dedicated

The way we train our coaches and activators to get more people active
has to change, big time!

Introducing Activity Growers and the Activity Grower Academy

There is an increasing focus on how community sport and physical activity providers can improve the way they engage with people who are not currently active.

Active Lives research covering England released last week reported that 40% of the adult population of England, are active for less than the recommended 150 minutes a week. And 47% aren’t engaging with sport and fitness at least once every two weeks.

But unfortunately, for quite some time many, if not most, coach education programmes have ignored the difficult, but crucial point, of attracting, welcoming and retaining all those people who have had negative experiences with sport and physical activity in earlier life.

Training people to activate inactive people has for been for a while been almost ignored, whereas there are an awful lot of support for people who want to become better sports coaches.

I am not suggesting that technical skills are not important if you want to keep enjoying your rugby, parkour or cricket. So, please do keep running education programmes for coaches within those sports and others, but do not expect the number of people playing your sport or generally being active to grow, just because the ‘converted’ improve, say, their golf swing, back stroke or swing bowling.

Yes, there is evidence that good, quality coaching improves the likelihood that people will stay active for longer. However, too many coaches/instructors are guilty of focusing on the talented participants and ignoring the shy, less sporty, participants in the back.  And then they can’t understand why those people don’t come back.

Inactive people want to enjoy themselves, have fun, improve their skills and be part of a welcoming social and sporting experience.  Yes, if possible, they want to develop their skills, but they want to do so in an engaging way; they don’t want to be put under undue pressure from an over-ambitious and zealous coach.

So, we need to distinguish between ‘sports coaches/fitness instructors’ and the ‘activators’ who get inactive people into regular activity: We propose we call them Activity Growers.

An Activity Grower is a person who removes the barriers inactive people experience when wanting to become more active and then focus on keeping them motivated, engaged and active.

There are 4 key strands for the successful Activity Grower:

1.    They have to be Connectors
Connectors are people who know lots of people; they are not always leaders. A connector has a different role in the community. A leader is the person at the front of the room who act as a voice for the community. A connector is in the centre of the room, often unrecognised, but always creating new relationships often acting in a modest way.

•    Connectors see the potential in everyone
•    Connectors are well-connected, active in civic life
•    Connectors are trusted and create new trusting relationships
•    Connectors believe in people in their community

2.    They have to be Welcomers
Welcomers are people who help newcomers ease into the place, so the initial ‘like-first-day-at-school’ nerves disappear, and they become advocates. Your best marketing tool is a customer who has just had a great experience at your club/centre/session.

A great experience means different things to different people. The people who go on holiday with Club 18 – 30 tend not to be the same ones who spend a couple of weeks with Saga Holidays and vice versa!  The guy who likes a quiet pint in a village pub is rarely seen clubbing in busy city centre on a Friday night! This principle also applies to community sport, so when you attract new people, you really have to conscious of who they are and what you are offering and if that fits in with their needs.

They will always forget what you tell them…but they will never forget how you make them feel!

3.    They have to be great communicators
The Activity Grower is there to stimulate the participants and how he or she engages and communicates is vital. People are different. Some are nervous, some are indifferent and some are excitable, etc.  However, they all have to be motivated; often in different ways.

Activity Growers must be able to communicate effectively with many different kinds of people: players, members, parents, officials and coaches amongst others. They should not be afraid to communicate, lead and inspire people.

They must be comfortable with and competent in using digital communication and social media to stay in touch with people (while observing all appropriate safeguarding rules) is key.  Selfies, Facebook posts, tweets and/or Instagram postings are now a MUST for today’s connected Activity Growers if they want to engage and communicate.

4.    They must be great Follow – Uppers
A key part of every successful project getting inactive people has been great follow – up. The texts to say that ‘it was great to see you yesterday’ and ‘looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night’ are key to ensure that participants, especially during the early days, feel part of something.  Sharing experiences on social media is another great way of following up with participants, and remember, it doesn’t cost a penny.

The complete Activity Grower is probably a rare thing; the Welcomer may not be a digital marketing whizzkid, and the social media nerd may not be a chatty welcoming person so we should look to develop teams of Activity Growers at our clubs/centres/community groups. As an example, when we experience successful school/club links, there is a clear pathway for the young people from trying a sport at school to the welcoming experience at the sports club.

The way forward
Over the 10 years Sports Marketing Network have been helping providers of community sport and physical activity to become more vibrant, visible and viable we have come across some great Activity Growers. So, our 4 point plan, above, is based on best practice; so it works.
We need to support our Activity Growers if we are to reach and engage more inactive people. Here’s how we propose to play a role in that:

Sports Marketing Network will be launching the Activity Grower Academy, where we will provide training and support for would-be Activity Growers and develop a network where they can share ideas and best practice on how to get more inactive people more active.

If you would like to hear more about our plans or have some ideas and/or suggestions, please do get in touch.

Are you #JustSport or are you #MoreThanSport?

Successful providers of sport and physical activity play a bigger role in people’s lives and in the communities they serve. They are more than just a leisure centre or a sports club. They see people as more than players, they see them in a holistic light.

They see the community as a partner. They link up with schools, youth clubs, housing associations and the health sector and work with those bodies and attract players and funding while doing good in their community.

They attract and retain skilled and passionate volunteers from across the community. People with strong social networks and with specific skills are happy to become involved as volunteers on a ‘bite-sized’ basis because they want to be part of something good, without having to commit themselves to attend hour-long committee meetings.

They attract and retain skilled and passionate volunteers from across the community. People with strong social networks and with specific skills are happy to become involved as volunteers on a ‘bite-sized’ basis because they want to be part of something good, without having to commit themselves to attend hour-long committee meetings.

That way they attract many hard-to-reach and inactive groups and become more sustainable.

If it really is that simple to get more people active and for sport to deliver social good and change how come that so few sports bodies are actually going this route? And at the same time, many of the sport for change bodies seem almost uninterested in engaging with the traditional sports world.

Having worked with community sports and physical activity bodies across the UK and Denmark, from small sports clubs to our major sports organisations, I have first-hand experienced how even the smallest club can benefit in all sorts of ways, simply be taking on a broader role in people’s lives and by engaging with its community

Two great examples are Tynemouth Cricket Club http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/tynemouthcc and The Pavillion Sports and Cafe in Haringey http://psandc.co.uk.

There are two governing bodies which have really embraced the #MoreThanSport mindset, Cricket Scotland and England Golf:

For the last two years, we have been working Cricket Scotland on their Thriving Clubs programme where we have helped some of their clubs to realise their potential and grow the number of players and their community engagement.

One of those clubs is Westquarter and Redding Cricket Club, Falkirk.

The committee is transforming the future of the club, which is sited on old farmland into a model for other for other clubs to follow.

The committee invested money into turning an old farmhouse on the land into a children’s nursery which will provide an income for the next 25 years in partnership with Glenbervie Kindergarden which also invested in the project and has the lease.

The 107-year-old club, which plays in the Saturday East Division 2 league, also rents space to an archery club and is looking to become a community interest company to offer more services to the local community.

With the club’s finances now stable they are growing their numbers through their strong involvement with local schools and the community (almost 40% of girls who play cricket in Forth Valley do so at the club) and their recent Family Day which attracted 135 visitors was sponsored by the local Tesco Extra and talks are now afoot of running car park cricket sessions at Tesco.

The club is now converted into a Community Interest Company (CIC) with the view to the club becoming a Community Hub. The launch presentation of this project is due to be hosted at Tesco Extra.

Based on the innovation and enterprise demonstrated by Westquarter and Redding CC Cricket Scotland will in March be running a conference #MoreThanCricket – How cricket and cricket clubs can grow in Scotland. An event focusing on how Scotland’s cricket clubs can play a bigger role in people’s lives and become hubs for their communities.

A couple of months ago England Golf launched an initiative to stimulate and encourage innovation and enterprise across the sport: #MoreThanGolf. SMN was brought into work with England Golf on developing the project.

Since then a number of strands have been developed to help golf in England to grow and become more engaged with the communities around the 1900 golf clubs across England. A board-led project group is considering these projects two of which could include:

Golf and Your Health

A large number of research studies have demonstrated that golf can be a very successful moderate aerobic physical activity. The UK general population is getting older as is the membership of golf clubs, which creates both challenges and opportunities.

This project will support the already work already happening within golf to engage with current, lapsed and potential members by providing services which cater better for their social and medical needs, in partnership with local health agencies, dedicated charities and social enterprises. This will enable them to brand themselves a “Healthy Golf Club”.

One of the current projects sees The Stroke Association working in partnership with Cheshire Golf Association getting stroke-sufferers into, or back into, golf, with the resulting health and social benefits. http://tinyurl.com/hv6lfmb

Golf for Social Good

There are already a number of programs where golf engages with local communities, either through some of the more progressive clubs or through social enterprises, such as Community Golf, http://communitygolf.co.uk who deliver a diverse range of golf activation programmes.

Valleys Golf in South Wales http://valleysgolf.co.uk is a social enterprise which delivers golf coaching, education and training with the objective of unlocking and realising the full potential of the communities in which they work.

In their England Golf Awards 2017, the governing body is acknowledging, for the first time, a club with a particularly strong community engagement. The Strongest Community Engagement winner will be the club with `Community Engagement` at its heart. It involves people and groups from all parts of the local community to grow the game and promote its own long-term sustainability. The #MoreThanGolf project also includes a conference, Grow Golf, aimed at people with an interest in innovation and enterprise in golf. The event includes case-studies, workshops with business advice and ‘Dragons Den’ type event where people can pitch ideas – all learning about and discussing how best to create innovation and enterprise in golf #MoreThanGolf.

Creating #MoreThanSport is not rocket- science, but it does require a change in mindset, which is not always the easiest. Want to learn more about how you can go down this route? Just get in touch.

Kun 14 pladser tilbage på konferencen d. 26 oktober

Idræt på tvœrs – innovation, iværksætteri og samarbejde i lokalsamfundet

En  konference om Danmarks nye idrætslandskab.

Hvordan kan vi skabe idræt og motion på tvœrs af samfundet og involvere flere udbydere og samrbejdspartnere og derved få flere mennesker aktive

26. oktober 2016, Grøndal MultiCenter, København

Den danske idrætssektor er under forandring, og forandringen kan betyde, at flere ændrer deres forhold til idræt. Samtidig påvirkes vores liv af familiemønstre, arbejde og uddannelse, sociale medier m.v. De frivillige foreninger skal agere i en ny dagsorden, som måske – måske ikke – kalder på en ny måde at drive forening på.

Kommunerne forventer, at foreningerne løfter sociale opgaver for særlige samfundsgrupper, som har brug for de kulturelle, sociale og sundhedsmæssige gevinster som idrætsdeltagelse kan skabe

• Idrætsgrenene udvikles og nye opstår. Parkour, skateboard, street basket m.v. Skal de understøttes og skal de organiseres i traditionel forstand?
• Meget motion dyrkes i selvorganiseret form. Der er nye brugere og nye krav men også ny drivkraft og innovation
• Socialøkonomiske virksomheder skabt af uformelle grupper byder ind med relevante motionstilbud og tæt lokal forankring. Er de kolleger eller konkurrenter?

Tilsammen gør forandringerne det relevant at spørge, om vi har de rigtige rammer. Lovgivningsmæssigt, organisatorisk og fysisk. Kan vi rumme forandringen med de gældende præmisser og kan vi understøtte idræt på tværs? Eller kalder fremtiden på en hel ny måde at gøre tingene på og i så fald hvilken.

Denne konference drejer sig ikke om strategier og politik, men om praktiske eksempler på hvordan vi kan skabe idræt på tværs.

 Denne konference vil fokusere på områder som:

Hvordan idrætsverdenen bliver bedre til at engagere mennesker på deres betingelser, lytte til deres liv og tale deres sprog?

• Hvilke krav stiller den dagsorden til design, finansiering og ledelse af faciliteter?
• Hvordan tilfredsstiller vi betingelser fra nye brugergrupper som fx generation z eller idrætssvage?
• Hvordan kan vi få flere af vores idrætsforeninger til at blive knudepunkter I deres lokalsamfund
• Hvordan kan vi udvide samarbejdet mellem idræt og områder som sundhed, uddannelse, SSP, og integration?. forny sig?
• Hvordan skal tradionelle sportsgrene reagere på disse udfordringer? Hvordan kan den traditionelle forening baseret nogle på præmisser, som idet mindste, ser lidt forældede ud

Konferenceprisen er 1.800 kr per plads.

For mere information og tilmelding du kan enten gå til www.idraetpaatvaers.com eller kontakt Svend svend@smnuk.com

 

Introducing CRUCS – SMN’s Campaign for Real Urgency in Community Sport

Complacency: a feeling of contentment and-self satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or trouble, Merriam-Webster Dictionary

We have a serious problem in too many parts of community sport.  It could grow more serious in the future if we all (yes, that does include you, sorry) do not act now. The good news is that there is a solution.

The problem is complacency. We have all seen it, yet we underestimate its power and how widespread it is. Highly destructive complacency is in fact all around us, including in places where people would vehemently deny its existence.

Complacent people are mostly content with the status quo. “Yes, the numbers are down but that is down to X-Factor, the Government, funding cuts or the Internet. Nothing to do with what we do, and don’t do here.” (Yes, I am sure you have heard all the excuses and more).

There is certainly not a lot we can do, the Complacent agree amongst themselves. In the meantime, everything around them is sliding downwards. Classes are closed, teams are disbanded, events are cancelled and the cash reserves are dwindling – but as you will notice in the definition above this is about feeling and self-satisfaction. Complacency is very much a feeling that a person has about his or her own behaviour, about what he or she needs to do or not to do.

 The Complacent never think they are complacent. “We are doing what is right – so why should we consider new opportunities or be concerned about hazards – we know what has worked in the past. If only others would change, all would be well.” And so the vicious spiral of complacency continues. “Crisis? What crisis?”

Too many sports clubs and other activity providers focus primarily (if not only!) on day-to-day operational issues from the quality of the swimming pool water and staffing and/or volunteering issues to complaining about bosses/politicians or the Governing Body. It is too rare that I experience activity providers which spend any significant time and resources considering and planning for the impact that changing lifestyles, technology and economic and political factors can have on their enterprise, both positively and negatively. The challenge is to change and innovate before the bailiffs are at the door; then it’s too late.

 How to overcome complacency and introduce real urgency

With the help of a few quotes from Wayne Gretzky (in italics below), not just widely regarded as the best ever ice hockey player but also his intelligence and reading of the game were unrivalled, I would like to put forward some suggestions as to how you, and your organisation, can overcome the smugness that can be so detrimental to your future survival and growth.

It all starts with real urgency. Real urgency is about getting things done and moving forward – day in, day out.  False urgency happens when panic strikes due to some unexpected external pressure. As no one is prepared for or skilled to deal with the situation, everyone runs around like headless chickens and nothing really happens. However, too often this flurry of activity is mistaken for progress.

Real urgency happens when you and like-minded people start to make changes on a regular basis, because, you want to move forward, now.  You have it in your hearts that you want to make progress.  Initially, you are a bit vulnerable, until you have gained some success (however small) and earned people’s respect.

Deal with opportunities and challenges NOW – don’t wait until next month’s meeting. Give people the facts: ‘We are losing money, members and community support – here are my/our thoughts on how to deal with it; for all of us.’

 “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”

Stop believing that ‘it can’t be done.’ As Henry Ford (he of Ford T fame) commented: “When people say they can’t or they can, they are normally right.”  Do the things you can do and gradually you’ll start having small successes and other likeminded people will want to join you in your quest.

Have a vision of where you want to go yourself and where you would like your group/provider to be. Warning: If it’s just about survival of yourself and your organisation, most other people won’t care. What is your BIG Vision? Is it about ‘helping people change their lives through sport’ or is it just ‘make sure we survive here?’

Make sure that you have communicated that vision and that you get buy-in from as,many like-minded people as possible. However, don’t waste time on convincing the NoNos (see para 4).

 “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

 Seek to better yourself and your club/activity provider. The more open your culture and the wider and more up-to-date your skills base is, the more likely you are to be able to embrace change and benefit from it.

Send people out. Visit outstanding clubs, leisure centres, community sports enterprises or even great hotels, leisure parks or community centres and learn from them.  Attend one of SMN’s workshops (or talk to us about running one in your area) and keep learning and implementing new ideas.

Do not accept the limited what I/we know here (which leads to the way we do things around here) – that will be your downfall.

 “My success is not about creative genius. It’s all practice. I got it from my dad. Nine out of ten people think it is instinct, and it isn’t. Nobody would ever say a doctor had learned his profession by instinct; yet in my own way I’ve put in almost as much time studying hockey as a medical student puts in studying medicine!”

 Stay determined and ambitious Do NOT settle.  It is easy to give up when the going gets a bit tough and then to lapse back into the status quo. The two main reasons why change initiatives fail are culture and habit; so get urgency, power and determination going from the beginning – big time and more!

Distinguish between Sceptics and NoNos and create a guiding team of like-minded people and earn some quick successes. Sceptics will need convincing through your facts and arguments and that can be done, but NoNos are more than just sceptics. They are always ready with ten reasons why the current situation is fine, why the problems/challenges others see don’t exist and why we need to consider this and that a bit more.

Left alone NoNos can kill or mortally wound your organisation and I have, sadly, experienced situations, particularly in voluntary organisations, where long-standing NoNos would rather see their club go down than change their mindset and behaviour.

Do NOT waste time trying to co-opt NoNos – but don’t ignore them. An ignored NoNo can create much mischief; you are, after all, disturbing/ruining their disturbed view of the world.

There are three ways of dealing with NoNos: a) distract them with urgent jobs that take them away from the real issues b) expose their behaviour and let social pressure do its work and they leave c) force them out.

To be honest: I know it is very difficult, but my recommendation is option C.

While I am not suggesting that you immediately get rid of every NoNo, every time I come across a really successful Community Sports Enterprise, there’s not a single NoNo in sight.

Some ‘stuck-in-the-mud’ people see innovation and change as something that disturbs their finely tuned policies and procedures that have served them well for decades

“The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day”

 Learn from your failures and successes – then your hit rate improves. Be honest with yourself and your colleagues as to why new initiatives work and don’t work. Gradually you will increase your knowledge and understanding and become more successful – which is great. But you have to set some ships into the sea, that’s what ships are for – not to sit safe in the harbour.

 “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

 Enjoy the challenge – try to have fun while you are moving forward; otherwise, you are too easily de-motivated and thrown off-course, when the sea becomes a bit choppy. I know – easier said than done, but that’s where continuous progress, however small and slow, becomes so important.

 “The only way a kid is going to practise is if it is total fun for him… and it was for me.”

 

What do you want to stop, start and continue?   Every now and then get as many people within your club together to discuss and agree on what they want to: 1. Stop doing – because you know what practices and habits are getting in the way, preventing you from being efficient, or simply they aren’t good for you! 2. Start doing – because there’s always some new idea waiting in the wings that you just haven’t got around to trying out yet, and you know what needs to change 3. Change doing – we are all guilty of ‘the way we do things around here’ syndrome. Could you benefit from using technology better in your membership communication? Introduce a representative from the junior section to your committee? 4. Continue doing – because it’s not all bad! It’s important to remember the good stuff and to think about how you can build on your achievements and successes

 

Good luck with your own CRUCS campaign.

How to use innovation and enterprise to create #MoreActiveStudents

This is the title of the keynote that I will presenting at BUCS’s conference on Partnership & Participation which takes place in Birmingham on  25^th October. For further information go to http://tinyurl.com/hn6omlq

The presentation will cover how most students arriving at university is one of their biggest life-changers – time for change, challenges and exploring something new.

Students already involved in a particular sport will normally join that university sports club, but for other students being involved with sport and physical activity is just one of the many options they have for having a great student experience.  University sport operates in a competitive market.

So, how do you develop activities and environments that students will want to join? How do you ‘speak their language’ and engage with them on their terms? Should student sports clubs be run by people who ‘love’ their sport or by people who understand people and enterprise? How do you ensure that your sport and physical activities engage students beyond being ‘just sport’ and become an integral part of their university life?

This keynote will challenge your perception of what university sport is about. It will replace the concept of ‘sports development’ with ‘sports enterprise’ where we develop and deliver vibrant, visible and viable sport and physical activity that people will really want to be part of.

Using practical examples and easy-to-use tools Svend will ensure that you can apply his ideas and suggestions straight away.

Svend Elkjaer, MBA, is the founder and Director of the Sports Marketing Networrk, a recognised leader in developing innovative and enterprising solutions within community sport and physical activity.

Since 2005 more than 4,000 people from clubs, County Sports Partnerships, governing bodies, leisure centres, community groups and enterprises and other activity providers have participated in SMN’s seminars and events.

SMN has also advised, consulted and run training programmes for a number of organisations and public bodies including the RFU, FA, England Golf, England Volleyball, Sport Wales, England Netball, Welsh Rugby Union, Badminton England, British Gymnastics, ECB, England Squash, Rugby Football League, Football Association of Wales, England Athletics, a couple of dozen County Sports Partnerships and 45+ local authorities from Edinburgh to Merthyr Tydfil.

Indeed a few universities have also used Svend’s thoughts, tools and to-dos.

 

 

New ideas and approaches to grow golf

England Golf is launching an initiative to stimulate and encourage innovation and enterprise across the sport: #MoreThanGolf

It aims to accelerate and build on the considerable work which is already going on to develop new ways of engaging more people and broadening the appeal of golf.

Nick Pink, Chief Executive of England Golf said: “Since I joined the organisation a few months ago, I have been impressed with the number of innovators and entrepreneurs I have come across within the sport. People developing different, often shorter, versions, adding features and introducing new technology – it is all very exciting and England Golf has played its part in this.

“But I also think that we could do more to encourage new thinking within the sport at all levels, within England Golf, the counties, our clubs and among our partners. Changes in people’s lifestyles, consumer habits and expectations and their use of digital media are creating challenges and opportunities. We have to be ready to overcome the first and exploit the latter.”

He added: “We are very keen to hear from anybody within and outside golf with suggestions on how we can best support new ideas and initiatives to help grow golf and its impact on society.”

Key areas for #MoreThanGolf include:

•  Encouraging clubs to develop better relationships within their communities, leading to more players, customers and members.
• Helping clubs to develop a more welcoming approach to new formats of the game, which could attract new players.
• Encouraging clubs and existing members to become even more welcoming to new people and groups from across society.
• Working across the sport to promote better use of social and digital marketing tools for communication: going where people are and speaking their language.

Svend Elkjaer of Sports Marketing Network will drive the project forward for England Golf, working with the new Enterprise and Innovation Group and engaging with the organisation’s contacts across the sport.

Svend has considerable experience of working with community sports organisations to help them become ‘more vibrant, visible and viable’. He has also trained more than 4,000 community sports clubs across the UK and Scandinavia at his Grow Your Club workshop and club support programme. SMN’s extensive consultancy and conference work has given them a strong understanding of consumer and sporting developments, growth in use of digital media, the rise of the ‘demanding consumer’ and the whole issue of sports role in developing good.

A number of enterprise and innovation initiatives are being developed. Initially, the programme will include training and support of staff across England Golf to develop their understanding and skills of innovation and enterprise. This will enable them to better help and engage with local entrepreneurs and innovators and act as go-between with the Enterprise and Innovation Group.

The Enterprise and Innovation Group would like to hear your ideas, comments and thoughts. Please email innovation@englandgolf.org