One of the first tendencies of a new President is to actually go and “do” something. Sometimes this is driven by a club need but most times it is driven by the President wanting to show their value. Let’s identify the information club presidents need.
Ideally, the first thing a new President should do is collect as much information about the club and its current status. There is so much knowledge and information that has been learned and documented before you came into the role. If you take the time to collect and consider this information, it will make your job that much easier.
Vital information to be collected
It is amazing when you start to make a list of simply how much information a club needs to start the season. What is also amazing is that so few clubs take the time to collect and review critical club information.
Sustainably successful clubs treat their knowledge, information and relationships like gold. They are handed over from year to year so the incoming volunteers can simply pick up where the last person left off instead of having to re-invent the wheel each time a person changes roles.
Below is a crucial list of information that should be collected and handed over from one President and committee to the next, year on year. The earlier you get access to this information the earlier you become informed about key club information and knowledge:
Club history
The history of the club covers all of the important events and achievements that have occurred over the lifetime of the club. It provides an overview of where the club has come from and the key people involved in creating it. Often histories are written for a major event, such as the 50th or 100th anniversary of a club’s founding.
For a club, the benefits of having a documented history include:
- having a sense of tradition
- understand the origins of club policies and processes
- giving members a sense of belonging to an enduring organisation
- generating extra pride in the club
- generating ideas that may help your club
- demonstrating longevity to attract members and volunteers.
Information that seems trivial but is really important background information:
- When and why was the club founded?
- Who was involved at the start of the club?
- What were the names of the first members?
- Are any of the original members or their family members still part of the club?
- How many original members were there, and how many members are there now?
- What did the first membership cost?
- Were there any requirements for becoming a member, and what membership categories existed?
- Where were the original club facilities located? Have the club facilities moved since? If so, why?
- What facilities existed then and now?
- The contests or club championship events that were held, and who won them?
- What awards or honours have been presented to the club?
- What awards or honours does the club present to members?
Club rules/constitution
All community sports clubs, especially those that are incorporated, need to have Club Rules/Constitution. One of your primary obligations, legally and morally, is to ensure you administer the club according to the Club Rules. Make sure you get a copy of the Club Rules as soon as possible and that you have read and understood them. Some of the information included in your club rules include:
- the club’s purpose
- list all of the rules of operation
- set out the members’ rights and responsibilities
- procedures to elect the committee
- meeting and reporting obligations
What if we can’t find our club rules? If you are unable to locate your club rules, contact your relevant state body who should have a copy on file. Ideally, your club rules should be made available for all members to access via the club website.
Incorporated Association Legislation
Most community sports clubs are incorporated under State or Territory legislation known as the Associations Incorporation Act. It is really important to find out if your club is an incorporated association and if it is, to understand your legal obligations. Don’t worry, they are all very easy to understand!
For further information on the Association Incorporation Act for your state and territory, you can visit our Incorporated Associations information page – click here.
Club policies, procedures and by-laws
Like club rules, very few clubs actively use their club policies and procedures, but it is so important that as President you are very aware of them and actively use them in club operations and decision-making.
It is important that you consider policies and procedures not just from a compliance and risk management perspective. The very best clubs ensure that everything they have learned over the years is included in their policies and procedures. This ensures that new people can use them to learn about their roles.
Ideally, your policies and procedures will be updated at the end of each year to ensure everything learned during that year is included for the new people coming into the role.
Policies are only as good as the people who use them; the most common mistake made by organisations is not actively referring to their policies. You should ensure that all committee members and club members are aware of the relevant policies that impact on their participation.
Check out our list of common club Policies and procedures – click here.
Strategic plans, objectives and implementation plans
As mentioned above, having clearly defined goals is so important. One of the first things a new President should do is get the club’s goals, objectives or strategic plans. Unfortunately, few clubs have taken the time to define their goals and even fewer have taken the time to write them down and share them with their community.
Find out if your club does have a strategic plan, no matter how old it is, as this will give you, at worst, valuable background information or a clear focus for the future.
If your club doesn’t have clearly defined goals then start to think about them from your perspective. When we run strategic planning workshops, club goals fall into the following categories:
- Revenue growth and financial sustainability
- Volunteers recruitment and development
- Coach recruitment and development
- Athlete/player recruitment and development
- Facilities
- Sporting performance
- Community reputation
What is a strategic plan?
The Balanced Scorecard Institute defined strategic planning as:
“An organisational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and assess and adjust the organisation’s direction in response to a changing environment.”
Having a strategic plan defines what the priorities of the club are. Everybody knows what is trying to be achieved. It helps clarify if actions should or should not be taken. The quickest way to complete a task is to plan it first and get all the different components and people involved in your implementation working on their tasks as soon as possible.
A trap many volunteers fall into is they don’t see that planning is of much value. It is really easy for your committee to oversee how the goal delivery is progressing and if changes need to be made.
Club Structure and roles and responsibilities of each position
The final piece of information from a club governance perspective you need to get is the club’s organisational structure and any documented position descriptions and subcommittee terms of references. This information is invaluable when trying to work out the tasks to do and who will do them.
A club’s organisational structure assigns, controls and coordinates roles, power and responsibilities. It also dictates how information flows between the different levels of management.
Generally, there are specific tasks or roles within committees such as President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. These usually have position descriptions. The reality is that every role within the club needs to have a documented position description. This helps, not only in the recruitment of volunteers but also helps committees understand who is doing what within the club.
For further information, check out the position description page
Determine the status of the club
At the same time as you are collecting information about your club you can be determining the health or status of your club. Most new Presidents assume that the club is in a very strong position, only to learn, once in the role, that not everything is as it seems.
It is important to determine the status or health of your club as early as possible so you have a true picture of where to start from.
To work this out you need to continue to collect information in the following areas:
Financial Information
One of the first areas to get an accurate picture of the clubs health is its financial health.
Collect as much of the following information as possible:
- All bank account details, bank statements and bank balances
- Club Annual Reports for the last 5 years
- Outstanding payments due to people (creditors)
- Outstanding amounts owed to the club (debtors)
- Past or current Cash flow projections
- Past or current budgets and monthly budget variance reports
- Profit and Loss
- Balance Sheet
- List of payments made the previous month
- Bank Reconciliations
Getting this information means that pretty quickly you will be able to work out what the financial status of the club is. If it is bad then you have identified this early and you can put it immediately on the agenda. If the club’s financial position is strong then this is where you build from.
Participation
Understanding how your club participation is tracking can provide you with a good understanding of the sporting side of your club. The information club presidents need that will help you identify the “sporting health” of your club is:
- How many players started and finished the year?
- If your club has teams, where all teams filled with the required number of players?
- What is the current membership numbers?
- What are the trends of membership and participation levels over the last 5 years?
- How do we recruit our players and coaches?
- Are we likely to have enough players for the upcoming year?
Sporting results
Another key indicator of the health of your club is its sporting results. Poor results are normally an indicator of broader underlying issues, such as not enough players or coaches needing more support or development. By reviewing the sports results for the last few seasons, you may get good insight into areas of challenge or concern.
It is really important to remember, that just because you are President doesn’t mean YOU have to solve the problems. The best method to manage problems is to identify them as soon as possible and work with the committee to resolve them.
