The ABAC Questionnaire
In
February 2010 ABAC sent a questionnaire to over 200 Track and Field clubs as
well as several road and country clubs. The aim was to determine how clubs had
developed since 2004 (Foster Report) and how the NGB had helped clubs.. A good cross section of clubs responded. Replies were
received from BAL clubs (5), UKWAL clubs (3), Southern Mens League clubs (14),
Southern Womens League clubs (12) Northern Senior League clubs – (combined mens
and womens clubs) (4), Midland Mens League club (1), Midland Womens League club
(1). In addition a number of road clubs responded including ones ranging from
around 100 members to the largest in the UK with an active membership of
approx 1500 runners.
One
club responded without answering any questions in detail but stated that they
had withdrawn their T & F team from the Southern League in 2010 because of
decreasing numbers of Senior athletes and had reverted
solely to road running. And Hull Achilles AC announced they had ceased
operations in March 2010.
Survey
results
Question 1 related to membership
Some
clubs only gave total membership levels. Others gave a membership breakdown by
age group and also gave details of numbers changes since 2004.
- Details of Club
Membership; The total active membership of the
responding clubs was 6496. The largest responding track and field club has an active membership of 580, while the smallest has
122.
The average age group membership
expressed as a percentage of the total are:
U13 U15 U17, U20 Sen Vets
11.8% 11.6% 9.9%
6.5% 26.3% 33.9%
- This section dealt with
membership changes since 2004, (the year of the Foster Report). Smaller
clubs generally showed an increase in numbers but the two largest track
and field clubs reported significant reductions particularly in senior
members
Increased 33%
Decreased 29% Same 38%
The overall effect on total membership
for the responding track and field clubs since 2004 based on each clubs numbers
showed a total reduction of 11.1%
Question 2 related to – Clubmark
a.
Does your club hold Clubmark? Yes 57%, No 43%
of which 66% are working towards Clubmark
b Have you received any tangible benefits
since becoming Club marked? Yes
66% No 33%
There
were several comments on Clubmark which detailed the anticipated benefits for
some clubs. The anticipated benefits had motivated application and were– Potential
for Grant Aid and improved school links. The majority of clubs however reported
the actual benefits
from Clubmark were small. The most common remark was there had been too much
bureaucracy for little benefit to grass roots.
Question
3 related to Networks
Are
you a member of a Network ? Yes 76% No 24%
Have
you been asked to contribute to the cost of the Network? Yes 72%
No 28%
Is
the level of contribution requested? over £1000 Yes 33% ,
£500 or under Yes 63%
Question 4 related to Coaching
Clubs
were asked to give a breakdown of level 1, 2, 3 and 4 coaches. Most were able
to do this but some just gave the total number of coaches and were excluded
from the analysis.
a. What are the number
of active coaches per club (average)?
Level 1 = 5, Level 2 = 8, Level
3 = 4, Level 4= 2.
b.
Have you received a visit from an England Athletics Flying Coach ?
Yes 29% No 71%
- Do you consider that the
UKA/EA coaching structure encourages coaches to move up the ladder? Yes 19% No 81%
- State reasons if a ‘no’
answer : Cost 50% Quality 25% Availability 44%
Note some clubs gave more than two
reasons
Clubs reported the ‘flying coach’ scheme
seems to be working. There was a recurring theme regarding
the high cost of the courses, the poor quality of the content and the lack of
availability of the courses. It is noted
that clubs have relatively few level 1 coaches whereas Nationally this is by far the largest coaching
population which confirms that many coaches recorded on the National data base
are not active but take the courses to comply with career box ticking
requirements.
Question 5 related to Funding
- Over the last 10 years
have you received any direct funding from UKA/EA? Yes 50%
Responses showed the range of grant aid
included: towards a new track, travel
and accommodation costs for a European match, equipment grants, coaching grants
– the latter fairly nominal.
- Do you receive regular
funding from your Local Authorities?
Yes 20%
Most grants were relatively small for
equipment purchases and attendance at coaching courses. It was noted that grant
applications involved significant paperwork to access the funds.
Question 6 related to Volunteers
a.
Over the last 10 years have you seen an
increase or decrease in the number of volunteers? Increase
33% Decrease 67%
b Reasons behind the
decrease – Family constraints 50%
Compensation Culture 36%
CRB Checks/Bureaucracy 77%
Demographic
changes
22%
Note : some clubs gave several
reasons
A number of clubs reported their future
activities were likely to be reduced due to shortage of volunteers.
a.
Is
your club in a better or worse position than 6 years ago? for:
Coaches
Better
33 % Worse 29 % Same 38%
Officials Better 19%
Worse 72% Same 11%
Team Managers Better 14 % Worse 38 %
Same 48%
Many clubs commented that the
considerable drop in the number of officials is extremely worrying and clubs could
see the decline of league competition in the near future
Question 7 related to Satisfaction with
our sport
a. Was your club consulted or made a
contribution to the Sport England ‘satisfaction survey’? Yes 9% No 91%
b.
Do
you think that the public money handed to the UKA/EA over the last 10 years has
been well spent and provided for ‘grass roots’ as promised? Yes
5% No 95%
General Comments and Summary:
The survey was completed by a diverse
range of track and field and road running clubs from all parts of the UK. As one
would expect mainly the well organised
clubs responded and so not surprisingly 57% of these already had achieved Clubmark status while 76% were already
members of club Networks. The responding clubs may be categorised as being keen
to succeed within the present system. The non responding clubs may well be
experiencing more critical pressures on membership, coaches and officials than
those clubs who did respond. So the conclusions from this report may be
regarded as more optimistic than the wider case.
The key conclusions from this survey
are:
1.
Average club membership has
fallen 11.1% since the 2004 Foster report.
2.
Only 6.5% of participants are
in the 17-20 age group.
3.
The largest group of ACTIVE participants
are veteran athletes at 33.9%
4.
Only 19% of clubs thought the
UKA/EA coaching scheme helped development.
5.
The flying coaches scheme had received a take up
rate of 29% and received good support.
6.
Coaching numbers have
remained fairly constant over the last 6 years.
7.
Clubs reported they were 72%
worse off for officials than 6 years ago.
8.
38% of Clubs reported a reduction
in the numbers of team managers over the last 6 years.
9.
91% of clubs expressed dissatisfaction
with the way the sport is run.
10.
Only 5% of clubs thought the
sport had got value for the public money given to it over the last 10 years.
ABAC Comments. The recent
costly Sports England funded Satisfaction survey may be
characterised as having asked mainly irrelevant questions to a mainly peripheral population of respondents but undertaken with
immaculate statistical accuracy.
This ABAC survey on the other hand asks
the questions which our NGB should be addressing. Statistically it cannot be
rigorous because responding clubs are self selecting and are mainly highly
motivated having a high proportion with Clubmark ,
membership of Networks and in receipt of NGB funding.
The recorded serious reduction in
numbers of officials, including team
managers, since 2004 leads us to believe that the dropout rate from Leagues and
the sport which we have recorded in earlier articles is accelerating. Add to this the reducing numbers of
competitive athletes and the lowering of performances and you come to a very
different conclusion from the Sport England Satisfaction Survey.
In our opinion it is now too late to prevent a massive
contraction in the activity of Clubs.
20th April 2010 ABAC
