THE GOOD CLUB GUIDE EXTRA: FOR A CHAIRPERSON

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THE GOOD CLUB GUIDE EXTRAFOR A CHAIRPERSON
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GETTING STARTED

• The following sections will provide additional
  help and support for a Club Chairperson in key
  areas of the role. This resource contains
  additional information to the Good Club Guides,
  and should be read in conjunction with the Good
  Club Guide for a Club Chairperson and Secretary,
  and other ASA Good Club Guides. These are
  available through the British Swimming website at
  www.britishswimming.org

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HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE

• As a reference to assist you/others in their role
• To assist a club in recruiting volunteers by
  giving information about a role
• To prompt discussions at your club about the
  standards and qualities of volunteers needed
• As part of an induction for a new volunteer at
  the club
• To input into the development /action plan for
  the club

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ACTIVITY 1 HOW DOES THAT FIT WITH YOUR ROLE?

• Using the role description in the ASA Good Club
  Guide for a Chairperson, consider how this
  relates to you, and the role you are doing /
  could be doing in the future? E.g. are there
  areas, as a Chairperson that you may need to
  consider as part of your role having read the
  above information?        

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TERM OF OFFICE

• This will vary according to club constitutions,
  and club election processes. Some clubs have
  rules that stipulate a new person each year, or a
  limit to the number of times a person can be
  re-elected, to prevent one person remaining in
  post for too long a period of time.

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ACTIVITY 2 HOW LONG IS YOUR TERM OF OFFICE AS
A CHAIRPERSON?

• What are the benefits / challenges to you, and
  to the club in this term of office (ie. short
  term or long term)?

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• Did you think of the following..
• SHORT TERM OF OFFICE
• Could prevent one person from becoming too
  powerful / influential
• It saves one person having to continually
  undertake this position
• The club builds up the skills of others
• It may take time to build essential knowledge and
  experience in the role
• It may bring inconsistency and instability within
  the club by having high turnover
• May be difficult to make an effective
  contribution until experienced in role
•  

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• LONG TERM OF OFFICE
• It potentially rewards long service
• It could give a person time to settle in and
  develop into the role
• It could provide consistency and continuity
  within the club
• Provide effectively chaired meetings and great
  leadership within the club
• It could mean the club is controlled by one
  person, and they may not be open to new ideas or
  ways of working
• Club may become too dependant upon one person,
  and make recruitment for this post difficult to
  fill the shoes of the outgoing chair

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ACTIVITY 3 WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?

• Based upon activity 2, what will your
  recommendations be on the term of office for your
  club?    
•        
• Who do you need to tell/ what do you need to do
  with this decision?        

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THE CURRENT STATUS OF YOUR CLUB

• It may help to assess the current status of your
  club to gain an understanding of what the current
  situation is, and to then prepare for the future.
  The ASAs swim21 club development programme is
  the recommended process that will help you to do
  this. You may find a SWOT analysis (strengths,
  weaknesses, opportunities and threats) useful in
  gaining a current picture of the club.

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SWOT ANALYSIS WHAT DOES YOUR CLUB HAVE TO OFFER?

• Using the SWOT table try writing down what you
  feel your club has to offer, and also consider
  this in relation to its potential for the future.
  You can ask others in the club to help complete
  this exercise (particularly existing volunteers
  too) this will give a good overview of the
  benefits and challenges for the club too.

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ACTIVITY4 WHAT WOULD AN IDEAL CLUB LOOK LIKE?

• In an ideal world, write down below the areas
  that you feel a club should have in place to
  support the needs of its athletes, teachers,
  coaches and volunteers?    
•     
• Give your club an overall score out of 10 on its
  current position (1 is poor, 10 is excellent)

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ACTIVITY 5 PRIORITIES FOR A CLUB CHAIRPERSON

• In your role as leader of the club, write down
  what you think are the three main priority areas
  for your club in the future
• e.g. working through swim21, recruiting new
  volunteers, re-organising the squad structure
  etc.
•  
• What do you think is your role in making this
  happen?
• e.g making the case for this to be on the club
  agenda, sharing a vision across the committee,
  leading the way, being a role model, evaluating
  and improving the clubs activities etc.

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ACTIVITY 6 HOW EFFECTIVE ARE YOUR CLUB
COMMITTEE MEETINGS?

• Write down your thoughts on your experiences of
  club committee meetings to date.
•    
• Are they motivating, have sound decision
  making, clear communication channels,
  informative, interesting.. or are they wasting
  time and money, poorly attended, frustrating, no
  constructive outcomes or decisions????

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ACTIVITY 7 FUTURE CLUB COMMITTEE MEETINGS

• As the principal leader of the club, write down
  the key areas that should form the basis for
  agendas at committee meetings? (you can use the
  information from activity 3 or your swim21 audit
  to assist here.)
• e.g. leading the strategic direction for the
  club (swim21), determining the clubs purpose,
  objectives and targets, monitor the financial and
  non-financial performances of the club, ensuring
  club compliance with ASA policy and laws,
  promoting/championing equal opportunities,
  supporting other volunteers

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• Describe your role in making this happen? E.g
  making the case for this to be on the agendas,
  sharing a vision across the committee, leading
  the way, being a role model, evaluating and
  improving the clubs activities etc.
•                
• How will you lead and achieve this in
  partnership with your club committee members?
•      

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ACTIVITY 8 SELF REFLECTION ACTIVITY

• What could you do to gain further experience in
  being a Chairperson having now read this
  resource?
• e.g. Contact neighboring swimming club to
  network with the Chairperson
• What information might be useful for you to
  follow up / gain further information on to help
  you during you term of office as a Chairperson?
•           

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• Who are the people who will be important for you
  to speak / communicate with in order to achieve
  the above and why?
• What further help do you need in developing your
  Chairperson skills? (You may be able to discuss
  this with your ASA Regional Office)
•   

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• Twelve months from today, what is the one thing
  you would like to have achieved in being a
  Chairperson?
• TIP Set a reminder in your phone / diary /
  calendar that you have committed to doing this,
  and to re-visit this page!

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SUMMARY

• We hope you have found this guide informative in
  guiding you in your role, and providing you with
  information and helpful tips. We wish you a great
  experience in your role and thank you once again
  for all your time and commitment you are giving
  to the sport.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• The ASA are grateful for the contributions and
  input from the ASA Volunteer working group in
  ensuring these resources are written and reviewed
  by volunteers, for volunteers. These resources
  also draw upon the work developed by swim21
  clubs, runningsports and Volunteering England.
  The ASA would like to acknowledge and thank these
  organisations for their support and permission in
  using the work they have completed.