Clubs

Club Matters is the essential one-stop-shop for sports clubs. It provides clubs with support, learning and guidance on all aspects of running a club whether it is large, small, formal or informal. Club Matters offers free, simple and bitesize support to all clubs. At its core is a simple website with all the essential resources – but it extends way beyond the keypad.

Sport England Clubmark is a cross sport accreditation programme for clubs with junior sections. By gaining Clubmark accreditation, your club can prove to members, potential members, parents and schools that you offer a quality environment for young people to develop their sporting skills.

In 2005, Suffolk Sport was one of two counties to pilot a new scheme that enabled County Sports Partnerships to accredit sports clubs through their own licensing process. This has allowed a variety of sport clubs whose NGB does not offer Clubmark, the ability to gain accreditation to show that they meet all the criteria set out by Clubmark.

Anyone that is from a Clubmark accredited club / or equivalent i.e. Swim 21, can attend any Suffolk Sport Workshop in the Coach Education Program at a heavily reduced cost. Have a look at a full list of the workshops offered through the Suffolk Sport Coach Education Programme.

Child Protection

As we are sure you are already aware, child protection is a very important issue within sport. All sports clubs should adopt a Child Protection Policy, which outlines what they will do to ensure the safety and welfare of junior members. Suffolk Sport has produced 'Implementing a Child Protection Policy - A Guide for Sports Clubs' (below), which provides advice about putting your policy into practice. It also includes a sample policy if your club doesn't already have one.

Downloadable resources and job descriptions for key roles within your club helping you to recruit the right skills and experience required for your club. Download our club Job Description Templates.

Search for a club near you

Supporting Your Club's Coaches

Coaches are the life-blood of sport and the backbone of sports clubs. It is important that clubs are able to recruit enough coaches to operate effectively, but it is also important that these coaches are supported to help them develop and to ensure that they remain committed to your club. Suffolk Sport, in conjunction with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Active Sports Partnership, has produced 'Employing Coaches - A Good Practice Guide for Paid and Voluntary Coaches'. This takes organisations through the entire process of recruitment, selection and support, and is full of useful information and examples.

Volunteers

Like coaches, clubs wouldn't survive without their other volunteers. For advice about recruiting new volunteers for your club.

Login to the website and add your volunteering opportunity to help recruit volunteers to your club organisation or event. Click here to add your opportunity.

Community Amateur Sports Club

To find what your local authority can do to help promote this scheme.

Suffolk Sport aims to provide support and advice for the county's sports clubs. Below is information about various areas where we can offer guidance, but if you have a general query please feel free to contact Kathryn James, Sports Development Officer on kathryn.james@suffolksport.com

Search our Directory of Clubs across Suffolk.

The English Federation of Disability Sport are pleased to unveil the Inclusion Club Hub. The online toolkit supports sports clubs to improve provision and opportunities, so that more disabled people can be active at a local level.

Kathryn James

Senior Development Officer (Insight, Infrastructure & Capacity)

Suffolk Sport

Address

C/O SCDC East Suffolk House, Station Road, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1RT

Telephone

01394 444582

Email

kathryn.james@suffolksport.com