sportscotland

Developing volunteering in sport

From the coaches and officials out in the field to the administrators, committee members and fundraisers, the development of Scottish sport relies on the continued willingness of volunteers to invest both their time and expertise.

As the numbers of volunteers in sport increases, the diversity of their role and the importance of their contribution continues to grow in Scotland. With this growth there are an increasing number of challenges facing sports organisations and clubs who utilise volunteers ranging from effective organisation of volunteer programmes, recruit and retaining personnel, meeting regulatory requirements, dealing with changing population demographics and the onset of sedentary lifestyles in Scottish communities.

In recognition of these increasing challenges sportscotland and Volunteer Centre Network Scotland have entered into a strategic partnership to develop volunteering in sport and build closer links between all agencies involved in the development and delivery of sport including the sport, statuary and volunteer sectors. The aim of this partnership is to actively sustain the number of volunteers in sport and build on this base.

Scottish Executive Volunteering Strategy

Some key issues relevant to sport volunteering in this strategy include:

• Monitor, evaluate and continue to develop volunteer frameworks
• Ensure that young people are enthused by and involved in volunteering
• Dismantle the barriers to volunteering and close the opportunity gap
• Improve the volunteer experience