Peter Barnett, coach and chair of the Chichester Ronin Judo Club in Sussex could teach most people a thing or two about the intricate art of judo. However, even he had to admit that passion and knowledge of your sport simply aren't enough to drive a sports club forward and provide members with the best available facilities. As a volunteer manager, Peter often felt isolated from other clubs and unsure of where to seek guidance.

"As I'm sure many other local sports clubs in the UK feel, it's very important for clubs to be able to move with the times and provide members with the resources they need to continue what they enjoy,' says Peter. "The biggest problem I found was that we were never sure if we were doing all we could to move the club forward. We wanted to achieve accreditation for the club such as the British Judo Association and Sport England's Clubmark scheme, but without knowing neighbouring clubs very well, we didn't feel we could turn to them for advice.'

Fortunately for Peter, a colleague of his worked for the British Judo Association, where he had heard positive feedback about the runningsports workshops. As a result, Peter decided to attend one entitled Developing Partnerships with Clubs & Schools. And it was time well spent.

"The runningsports workshop helped our club in two significant ways. Firstly, by being able to see what other clubs were doing, it gave us the comfort and clarification that the decisions we had been making were the right ones. It was a relief to know that we were going in the right direction! Secondly, it provided the opportunity to meet the volunteer managers of other clubs in our area, who have since become friends with whom I can chat about common problems. It's very easy to get caught up in what your own club is doing, whilst failing to learn lessons from others. The experience has really helped to open up channels of communication with different clubs and different sports; it never really occurred to me that speaking to volunteers from different sports could be so useful."

Since the workshop, Peter has helped the Ronin Judo Club receive its Silver Clubmark status and consequently receive a City crest award - the second voluntary club ever to have been awarded the crest. This is a truly significant achievement and, prior to the workshop, the Club only intended to apply for the Bronze award.

"Without attending the runningsports workshop, I wouldn't have felt confident enough to push for the Silver award for the club,' Peter explains. "However perhaps the biggest, and most unexpected, benefit of the workshop has been the extent to which all the local clubs have pulled together to work for young people, regardless of which sport they love to play. It's made us realise that by working together for the benefit of the entire community and pooling our knowledge and resources, we're the ultimate dream team."

To find out more about runningsports and Developing Partnerships with Clubs & Schools workshops available in your area, visit the website - www.runningsports.org  

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