What does good governance mean for you and your sports club?
March 2022
Good governance is critical for all organisations and your sports club is no different in ensuring that it adheres to good governance practices as set out by the law.
Sport Australia defines good governance as "the system by which organisations are directed and controlled. It is the way in which expectations are made clear and the culture of the organisation is modelled." (Sport Australia Sport Governance Principles). There is a lot of information out there as to what good governance is, at the end of this blog post we will provide some suggested recommendations to help save you the time of where to look.
Good governance for your sports club is about ensuring your committee has the right systems and processes to be able to operate. For example, it important that committee members receive an induction pack when joining the organisation so as they understand what is involved and what is expected in terms of their role. The culture of the organisation comes from the leadership at the top with the committee leading the way on how they expect the rest of the club members to participate and engage with each other. The committee should have a strategic plan in place that provides a clear direction and purpose for where you are going as an organisation. A strategic plan should provide a blueprint for the discussions that the committee has and the performance and effectiveness of the committee should be evaluated against the objectives of the strategic plan. The committee needs to have a risk management system in place to ensure that risks are considered appropriately.
Implementing these systems and processes enables the committee to be clear on where they are going, and when they have achieved their objectives. These processes and systems also ensure that all stakeholders involved understand where they are going. This is particularly important for members and prospective members to have access to this information. A successful club achieving its objectives on and off the sporting field with the right culture is much more attractive for members to stay and new members to join.
Over the coming weeks our "Supporting your Sports Club" blog will be releasing articles and resources on the following topics to help you and your sports create the right processes and systems.
A committee induction pack
Creating the right culture for your sports club
Creating your strategic plan
Risk Management System
Feel free to let us know if there are other topics that you would like to see covered relating to good governance for your sports club.
Additional reading
Sport Australia Governance Principles Framework
