F.A.Q's about Club First Accreditation
Here are ten FAQs for our ClubsFirst accreditation. If you want to know more check out ClubsFirst on the England Hockey Board (www.englandhockey.co.uk) website.
What is ClubsFirst accreditation?ClubsFirst is England Hockey’s1 kite mark accreditation for clubs that have demonstrated they have the arrangements in place for members to play and participate in hockey in a safe effective and child friendly environment. ClubsFirst is aligned with Sport England’s Clubmark accreditation - recognised nationally by Sports’ National Governing Bodies, local government, education and the sporting industry.
Who will benefit from ClubsFirst in Ottery Crickets?In short, everyone involved with the Club will benefit – but particularly the members of our newly formed Junior Academy. There are many immediate benefits which may not be immediately apparent. Members can be assured that whenever we train or play competitive hockey there are arrangements in place to provide a safe and protected environment. It will also bring wider benefits for the Club. A key spin-off is anticipated to be the Club’s eligibility for sport and community funding support for young people. We believe achievement of ClubsFirst indicates our commitment to bring long lasting benefits for the Club and the sporting community of Ottery St Mary and surrounding area.
What areas does ClubsFirst cover?
The accreditation scheme focuses on developing four areas:
- Young People in Hockey – providing quality hockey coaching and competitions for players, coaches, umpires and leaders
- Safeguarding & Protecting Young People in Hockey – ensuring a safe, effective child friendly environment meeting all legal and moral duties
- Sports Equity and Ethics - making opportunities available (for players, officials, coaches, administrators, helpers etc.) to all members of the community
- Club Management - clubs that are well managed tend to be successful, with well ordered finances and well informed volunteers and members.
How will the Club achieve ClubsFirst?
We have already implemented some changes to the way we do things - such as setting up our new Junior Academy and appointing our CLub Welfare Officer. In the background we have implemented mandatory CRB checks for all key volunteers, essential child protection and emergency first aid training and a Club coaching syllabus. We have also developed policies and procedures to meet the requirements of ClubsFirst and have made a number of changes to the way we manage the Club. We are also committed to develop our coaches, our umpires and support the development of our young Community Sports Leaders etc.. All our adult teams fall within our ClubsFirst arrangements. This ensures that juniors that play in our senior teams do so in a safe and protected environment.
When will we achieve ClubsFirst?
ClubsFirst is major part of our development plan to become the leading community hockey club in Devon within the next 5 years. As part of this effort achieving ClubsFirst is a top priority for completion by 31st August 2010.
How is the ClubsFirst standard confirmed and maintained?
We will be evaluated by a nominated England Hockey Board verifier who will assess us against the ClubsFirst standards outlined earlier. If we meet the standard we will receive a ClubsFirst certificate and we will be entitled to display the official ClubsFirst logo:
To retain our accreditation we will be subject to unannounced monitoring visits by England Hockey and every 3 years we will be subject to full re-assessment.
How are we developing links within our Community?
We have established very useful links with the England Hockey Board’s Regional staff and Active Devon – our County Sports Partnership. At a local level we have established a close link with The King’s School, Ottery St Mary. We intend to broaden our community engagement, through this partnership, to its feeder primary schools. We have also increased our profile in the local press – with Club news and match reports through the season. We also have a Club website (www.otterycrickets.co.uk) which has lots of useful information about the Club’s activities.
Can I Help?
The answer to that question is “yes”. Currently most of the Club’s duties are conducted by a small group of adult volunteer members. They give significant amounts of their time to enable our members to play our sport. If we are to develop we need more volunteers to step forward. Existing members can help in this respect and we need to increase support from them - junior and senior. We are also very keen to involve parents of our junior members and also members of the local community who are not currently involved.
Support could come in a number of areas and every little helps, on the pitch and off. For some this could involve helping. For others it might involve supporting or even leading coaching, umpiring, junior team management or pitching in the Club’s administration. There are no pre-requisites, other than a desire to help others.
In return the Club will provide support and training if necessary to help you develop the knowledge and any skills you require. Parents are asked to speak to their child’s coach or contact the Club if they want to help out. We know that without additional volunteer support we cannot improve the Club.
Can I Join In and Play Hockey Myself?
Of course and it’s a great way to get fit and stay healthy!! We are always interested in recruiting new players – junior or adult. So, instead of just standing on the sidelines why not play yourself? Don’t hesitate, even if it’s been a long time since you’ve wielded a stick. It’s not just for the supremely fit, we have teams for all abilities and you can even set yourself the goal of getting fit by training and not commit yourself to playing competitive hockey – there’s something for everyone.
Recent evidence examples of our success as a Club are the achievements of our Men’s 1st team and our U18s Boys. The 1sts gained promotion as league winners to Premier League 3 this year. They 1sts relied heavily on our junior section and included four outstanding juniors all of whom learned to play their hockey with the Club. In 2008 our U18s Boys’ team did amazingly well and progressed to the last 16 of the English Clubs’ National Knockout cup!!
How Do I Contact the Club?
If you like the idea of playing a skilful fast flowing tactical game and have never played before, or if it’s been a long time since you’ve wielded a stick, you should contact Karen Dutton, our Club Secretary, without delay (kjdutton@tiscali.co.uk).
You can also find out more details about the Club, our training nights and the league season ahead on our website www.otterycrickets.co.uk
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