Club Development E-Newsletter
Edition IX - June 2007
Has your Club, Association or School realised that its time to replace some of the equipment that it currently owns?
Win a share of $1,000 worth of Volleyball equipment from Madison Sport and the Australian Volleyball Federation - the cost effective way to replace that equipment
Congratulations to the Brighton Secondary School Volleyball Program (SA)
Winners of May’s Madison Sport prize draw
As winners of the prize draw the Brighton Secondary School Volleyball Program received $500 worth of volleyball equipment from Madison Sport and the Australian Volleyball Federation. They were the first ever school program to win a prize in the two years of this competition.
Other winners in May were:
Rossmoyne Volleyball Club (WA) - $200 worth of volleyball equipment
Norwood Bears Volleyball Club (SA) - $100 worth of volleyball equipment
University of Queensland Volleyball Club (QLD) - $100 worth of volleyball equipment
Perth Coastal Volleyball Club (WA) - $100 worth of volleyball equipment
The winners in May included three first time recipients and two previous prize winners.
For information about how to be in the next prize draw (end of August) to win a share of $1,000 worth of volleyball equipment from Madison Sport and the Australian Volleyball Federation for your club, association or school please view the information towards the bottom of this page.
Introduction
With the indoor Volleyball season in full swing around the country, the AVF trusts that you Club is having a successful year both on and off the court. Also, for those of you starting to plan for the coming Beach Volleyball season it is hoped that your planning will see positive outcomes in the coming months.
Included in this edition of the AVF Club Development E-Newsletter are:
- Your Questions - An answer to a child-related duty of care question from the Rossmoyne Volleyball Club;
- Two articles on successful initiatives undertaken recently by the Brighton Secondary School Volleyball Program and by the Rossmoyne Volleyball Club;
- The latest edition of ASC Club Development E-News;
- The opportunity to win a share of $1000 worth of volleyball equipment from Madison Sport
As always, it is appropriate to point out that often the term “Club” is used in a generic context in this publication to mean clubs, associations and schools.
Your Questions
The Rossmoyne Volleyball Club submitted the following question:
"As a duty of care issue, is it the Club’s responsibility to ensure that the younger players are safely on their way after training has finished; or is it enough to ensure a parent comes to the door to collect their son/daughter; or are we under no such legal obligation? Should the Club have a waiver signed to the effect that parents understand it is not the Club’s or coaches responsibility to ensure players are in the correct vehicle after training/playing?"
In preparing a response to this question the AVF sought advice from the Australian Sports Commission's Ethics Unit and also the ASC's legal counsel.
Any organisation that is providing opportunities for young people (under 18 years) is required to provide adequate duty of care for them from the time their care is handed over to the organisation by their parents until they are handed back to the parents at the end of the activity. The handover point is considered to be at the doors or perimeter that represents the venue in which the activity is occurring or from which it will commence.
In the example of players attending a practice session at an indoor facility the handover of duty of care occurs when the participants enter the designated training area. For a small one-court venue this could be the doors of the venue, whereas in larger multi-roomed venues it is reasonable for Clubs to claim that the handover occurs when the players arrive at the actual court to be used.
For other activities the handover occurs at a designated point as identified in any communication relating to the activity. For instance, if a team is to travel together and the designated meeting point is a car park or airport terminal then the handover occurs once the players have arrived at this location.
Time is also an important factor because the handover can not occur until the designated time and so if a parent drops their child off early and leaves them unsupervised, then they are still the responsibility of their parents until such time as the Club accepts responsibility for them. This will occur at either the designated time or when they actively engage with the child and start to allow them to participate in supervised activities for which the Club or Club representatives are responsible.
At the end of the activity, it is the Club's responsibility to ensure that children are safely delivered to the handover point. If this point is the door of the venue, then as soon as the children are out the door they are no longer the Club's responsibility. Therefore, if children opt to get into other vehicles and leave with someone other than their parent, the Club is not actually responsible as it is their parents' responsibility to collect them at the handover point or arrange for someone else to collect them.
However, it is good practice to check with parents for any information that they are willing to provide about who may be collecting their children during the season and anyone that is not suitable to collect children. If it is known that parents are coming to collect children then it is an expectation of the Club that a child does not leave the venue until the person collecting them has arrived and a safe handover can occur.
It is also expected that a Club representative will stay at the venue until the last child has been collected. This can certainly be an imposition if the last parent is running late. It is also strongly recommended that the Club representative does not remain alone with a single child because this can create other issues with regard to child abuse allegations. Therefore it is suggested that two Club representatives wait for the children to all be collected or request that another parent, possibly the second to last parent to collect their child, waits with the Club representative and last child until they are collected.
In summary it is the responsibility of parents to supervise their children to and from the venue and Club representatives are only responsible for children for as long as they remain in their care at the venue. A waiver to this effect is not necessary, however the provision of a clear statement of the duty of care of the Club to parents at the start of the season/prior to the tournament/activity can be beneficial in making parents aware of the responsibilities of the Club and may also result in parents notifying the Club of other relevant information regarding who can and can not take responsibility for their children.
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If your Club has a question regarding any aspect of Volleyball that the Australian Volleyball Federation can answer in this publication then please submit your question to sdm@avf.org.au. Each legitimate question submitted earns your Club two additional entries into the next quarterly Madison Sport prize draw.
Funding Opportunities
Information is provided below on two funding opportunities that Clubs may care to access, but please note they both have closing dates that are in the very near future, one is at the end of this week.
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Volunteer Small Equipment Grants 2007 application round (closes Friday, June 22, 2007)
On Friday 25 May 2007, in response to the immense contribution that volunteers make in our community, the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Mal Brough MP was pleased to announce the 2007 round of Volunteer Small Equipment Grants. Not for profit community organisations are invited to apply for funding to support their volunteers.
VSEG provides funding of up to $3,000 (GST inclusive) to help not for profit community organisations buy small equipment items to support volunteers whose work contributes to developing stronger families and communities. VSEG funding is for portable, tangible small equipment items that will directly help organisations' volunteers by making their work safer, easier and/or more enjoyable. If you wish to apply for sporting items, you should apply for VSEG - Sport.
VSEG - Sport aims to assist volunteer organisations, particularly those that support the involvement of children, in community based physical activities that contribute to community sporting participation and health. VSEG - Sport provides funding of up to $3,000 (GST inclusive) to help not for profit, volunteer organisations to cover costs such as club sporting equipment and uniforms, training of volunteer coaches, and travel to participate in sport related occasions.
VSEG - Sport
Organisations can apply for up to $3000 to fund sporting items to encourage participation and better health, particularly involving young people.
For more information about the VEGS funding, please visit the VEGS website.
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Funding to Build Better Clubs: 2007/08 Sport Leadership Grants for Women (closes Friday, June 29, 2007)
Grant opportunity for women at club level to undertake education and training to enhance the resources and services offered by their sporting club
The Australian Government through the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Government Office for Women invite you to apply for the 2007/08 Sport Leadership Grants for Women.
One aim of the grants program is to provide women with an opportunity to further their education and training in areas of sport leadership which can benefit the growth and development of their sporting club.
The 2007/08 Sport Leadership Grants for Women offers grants in five key categories:
- Women in general sport leadership
- High Performance coaching and officiating
- Women in disability sport
- Indigenous women
- Women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
Each category includes the following project areas:
- Coaching
- Officiating
- Management (including administration)
- Governance (board and committees)
Examples include:
Individuals
- Microsoft Excel training to co-ordinate competition draws
- Level 1 coaching certificate
- Attend "Developing & Managing Effective Volunteer programs"
- Website development course
Organisations
- Undertake management/administration courses or governance workshops to develop the skills of volunteer committee members
- To recruit, train and accredit junior and senior female players as umpires and coaches.
- To advance the clubs level 1 female coaches to level 2 accreditation
- Providing level 1 coaching course for women who have expressed interest in taking on coaching or assisting coaching roles
- Media education course for women
The Program provides successful applicants with a one-off grant of up to $5,000 for individuals and up to $10,000 for incorporated organisations.
Applications for the grants close on Friday 29 June 2007.
For grant application forms and guidelines please go to: http://www.ausport.gov.au/women/grants.asp (Examples of previous grant recipients are also available)
Further information
If you have any questions about the grant guidelines or the application form, including application process, telephone (02) 6214 7994, email leadershipgrants@ausport.gov.au.
The Club Development Network is a free, Web based program that supports the development and management capacity of sporting clubs.
The aim of the Network is to assist clubs across Australia to identify ways in which they can develop their clubs so they can provide the best possible service to their members. The principle upon which the network has been established is one of promoting continuous improvement. To be a successful, well-run club you need a clear understanding of leadership, planning, people and organisational performance while maintaining a strong member focus. These areas are emphasised in the Club Development Network.
By developing and promoting products and services from the ASC, National Sporting Organisations (NSOs), and other groups, clubs can improve their management.
On becoming involved in the Network, a club/association undertakes an internal review using a simple checklist. The checklist helps to identify how the club is performing in various aspects of its management and operation. In doing so it identifies a number of areas for improvement and develops an action plan for addressing those areas. From here the club can access the Resource Library which has a wealth of club friendly resources to help the club address its agreed actions. Members have asked for examples they could print off and use at their next committee meeting. Resources range from a template for a strategic plan through to a fact sheet on how to run a safe sausage sizzle. It is all there waiting for you to log on and print it off.
More than eight thousand clubs are already members of the Network and your Club can join by logging onto www.ausport.gov.au/clubs and then clicking on free membership.
ASC Club Development E-News
At least once every three months the Australian Sport’s Commission releases its own Club Development E-News.
The latest edition of the ASC Club Development E-News, the June edition, has not yet been made available on the ASC website, but should be there before the end of June. The main articles within this edition will be:
- Competition: win a $250 voucher to spend on Berlei’s new Health & Fitness range
- Club profile: Woolamai Surf Life Saving Club
- Thanks Coach & Official – Great Job
- Resource library: Running your Club in the IT age
- The Essence of Australian Sport: Code of Behaviour Template
- Where can I find sport specific resources?
To access the E-News, click on the link below:
www.ausport.gov.au/clubs/members/enews/index.asp
AVF Website - Where To Play
Make your Club accessible to members of the public seeking somewhere to play or a team to join. A listing on the AVF website on the 'Where Can I Play' map gives your Club an advantage in obtaining new players or teams.
If your club, association or school is not currently listed then look at the type of information provided by other Clubs and submit something similar. Information can submitted to sdm@avf.org.au. For some States the intention is to link to the 'Where To Play' sections that exist on the website of the appropriate State Volleyball Association, with Victoria the one State that currently has this in place. Therefore, information can be submitted directly to the State Volleyball Association for inclusion within their Where To Play section and a link will be added from the AVF website to the relevant page.
If your Club does have an existing presence in the Where To Play section, consider what can be done to improve the accuracy or quality of the information being presented. This information becomes dated all too quickly and therefore it is appropriate to ensure it remains accurate so that potential players do not become frustrated and lose interest.
Too often it is the ease of information that can be obtained from non-affiliated corporate providers of the sport that results in potential players opting to participate in the programs these centres offer and therefore never become an affiliated member of the sport. The Where To Play section of the AVF website hopes to help address this issue by making information about participation opportunities easily accessible.
For this reason the submission and confirmation of the accuracy of information listed in the Where To Play section of the AVF website remains a mandatory component of entry into the quarterly Madison Sport prize draws run in conjunction with this publication.
Please submit information relevant to your Club to sdm@avf.org.au. Information will be loaded to the AVF website as it is received. (Worth 2 entries in this quarter’s Madison Sport Prize Draw and must be completed to validate any other entries)
Club Initiatives
The following articles were submitted by the the Brighton Secondary School Volleyball Program (SA) and the Rossmoyne Volleyball Club (WA).
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Brighton Secondary School Volleyball Program - Technological Innovation
Recently at Brighton Secondary School, a new volleyball stadium has been built to provide a highly specialized facility for the Brighton Secondary School Special Interest Volleyball Program (S.I.V). Incorporated in the building of this new stadium are many initiatives sought out by the S.I.V staff to help the development of the S.I.V program.
The playing environment inside this purpose built facility consists of a high roof, 4 metres between each of the three courts and 4 metres between the courts and the walls. Lighting specifications are the same as what is required for national television broadcasts and the floor is comprised of taraflex; the same surface used at the Australian Institute of Sport, 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The most significant initiative in the set up of this facility is not in the structure, but the use of technology to help develop the skills of each student involved in the program. The S.I.V program has invested in ‘Dartfish Video Software Solutions’, software which enables students to watch and analyse themselves playing volleyball, focusing on technique and positioning.
Cameras have been set up above each court with plasma screens at each end of the stadium. The cameras are connected to the plasma screens, enabling immediate video feedback. Dartfish Video Software delivers a range of different functions including:
- Performance Comparison - put a performance side by side (up to 4 screens);
- Breakdown Movements - analyse each step with stromotion;
- Slow motion - watch vision in a range of speeds;
- Quantitative Data - measure speed and acceleration;
- Advance Analysis Tools;
- Game Observation - annotate and retrieve key actions of games;
- Performance Control - retrieve statistics; and
- Data Fusion - Synchronize and integrate data coming from external devices.
The availability of this immediate visual feedback for athletes to improve their volleyball skills will be of immense value. The ability for students to watch themselves executing various skills, rather than relying solely on verbal feedback will be a vital asset to the development of Brighton Secondary S.I.V students. Students and coaches will be able to track individual student’s performance over time, compare content and optimize practices by teaching correct skills.
Through the use of this software, data can be sent to individual students so footage is available to them at home for personal use.
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Rossmoyne Volleyball Club - A Successful Restructure
At Rossmoyne Volleyball Club we have gazed at our navels for a while. This has led to a number of initiatives that have been implemented to ‘lift our game’.
The main thrust is in re-organising our Club structure to ensure our players have the best chances of winning their divisional competition(s). We approached this on several levels.
Club Administration:
Each team has a team manager assigned the tasks of collection and payment of Court fees; ensuring players are attending games and training; ensuring practice balls and ‘Player maintenance kits (tape, band aids, cold packs, nail scissors and mini zip bags for jewellery etc) are at the playing venue for each game. This leaves the coaches free for coaching.
The creation of a Vice President for each of Junior and Senior players. These people channel information to and from the Team managers and Players in the most suitable manner for each.
Implementing a yearly action list with each months required actions and position responsible clearly spelled out.
Separating responsibility for Equipment, Uniforms, player registration and (as previously noted) collection/payment of Court fees.
Players and Coaching:
Actively marketing the Club to 12 of the local High Schools to attract new players.
Adopting a new uniform; The previous one being too closely aligned with the Rossmoyne Senior High School. This will us to more successfully ‘market’ ourselves to the wider community
Adoption of policy in all Senior teams that the most suitable team with the best chance of winning a game be fielded.
Restricting teams to 8 or 9 + libero to allow regular court time for all, but allow for absence due to other commitments.
Implementing Coaches’ record sheets for data collection on each player’s health and their skills development.
Providing music at training (the sort of music only their age could like): This makes it fun for players to be there and therefore reduces training absenteeism.
Equipment:
Ensuring good quality equipment is supplied and maintained properly.
Support and Responsiveness:
One or two Committee members show up at every training session and game to show the players they have the Club’s support. Even older players get a bit chuffed if a Committee member shows up just to watch them play or train.
Acting quickly to bring player concerns to the table and getting back to them with the results of their enquiry. This also shows the Club values their efforts and feelings.
There’s a bunch of other little things we have done to raise players, coaches, Committee members and parents morale and/or support. Most of these are small in themselves, but have had a cumulative effect.
As a result of these various initiatives, we have a larger number of SuperLeague level players in both Men’s and Women’s competitions, and increased overall player numbers and raised our teams levels of competition.
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Even though the Madison Sport prize draw is conducted using random number generation, it is not surprising that the two Clubs that submitted articles this quarter were the two major prize winners in the draw. The additional entries the articles provide a Club offer a distinct advantage in winning prizes. While it is not a certainty, as some of the other suppliers of articles and/or questions have found in past draws, it is a definite advantage.
If your Club has experienced success in an initiative it has undertaken and other Clubs could benefit from reading of and learning from your success please contribute a brief article (photos optional if appropriate) to sdm@avf.org.au. Each article submitted earns your Club five additional entries into the quarterly Madison Sport prize draw and that will significantly improve your Clubs chances of being a winner in the next Madison Sport prize draw, as has been the case for previous winners.
Latest AVF News
To access all of the latest Volleyball news at the national level, visit the Australian Volleyball Federation website – www.avf.org.au. The latest edition, as well as all previous editions dating back to 2003 can be viewed at www.avf.org.au/index.php?id=74.
The Australian Volleyball Federation circulates an e-newsletter each month with information about its various programs and initiatives.
To subscribe to this e-newsletter please send an email to info@avf.org.au with the phrase ‘Subscribe to AVF newsletter’ as the title.
Win a share of $1000 worth of volleyball equipment for your club, association or school
To encourage clubs, associations and schools to engage in the initiatives identified each quarter in this e-newsletter, the Australian Volleyball Federation, in association with Madison Sport, presents clubs, associations and schools with the opportunity to win a share of $1,000 worth of volleyball equipment. Each quarter a series of tasks will be presented, with the completion of each task worth a designated number of entries into the prize draw.
The following prizes will be drawn each quarter:
First Prize - $500 worth of equipment from Madison Sport
Second Prize - $200 worth of equipment from Madison Sport
Third Prize - $100 worth of equipment from Madison Sport
Fourth Prize - $100 worth of equipment from Madison Sport
Fifth Prize - $100 worth of equipment from Madison Sport
How To Enter
This quarter clubs, associations and schools can gain entries into the prize draw via the following means:
· Submit information for inclusion in the AVF Website 'Where To Play' section about your club, association or school volleyball program. If information is already listed for your club, association or school, send a confirmation email that it is still correct (value – 2 entries)
· Register with the ASC Club Development Network or be an existing member of the ASC Club Development Network (value – 1 entry)
· Submit an article for publication in a future edition of this newsletter on a successful initiative undertaken by your club, association or school for inclusion in ‘Club Initiatives’ in a future edition of this newsletter (value – 5 entries)
· Submit a profile of your Club, providing information on its structures, how it delivers its volleyball programs, what makes it a successful entity (value – 5 entries)
· Submit a question relating to club development to be answered in ‘Your Questions’ in a future edition of this newsletter (value – 2 entries)
Please note that the AVF Website 'Where To Play' information is considered a mandatory requirement for entry. If this component is not completed then ‘clubs’ will be awarded no entries, regardless of how many other activities are completed. Likewise, those Clubs that have previously submitted this information must confirm that the information currently listed is still correct.
For entries to be validated an email must be submitted to sdm@avf.org.au. This email should identify the number of entries a club, school or association is entitled to in the upcoming prize draw. This email should also include any information for inclusion in the 'Where to Play' section or other information relating to other entry activities.
Entries close on Friday, August 31 2007, with winners drawn on Friday, September 8 @ the Australian Volleyball Federation office. Winners will be contacted via email in the week following and will be published in the September 2007 edition of the AVF Club Development E-Newsletter.
Club & Association Development Information on the AVF Website
For further information on Club & Association Development, please visit the Club & Association Development webpage on the AVF website. The information presented provides options for accessing further assistance to benefit your ‘club’. The appropriate page can be found at www.avf.org.au/index.php?id=55. Past editions of this newsletter can also be located in this section of the AVF website.
The Australian Volleyball Federation is supported by the following organisations:
The Australian Volleyball Federation delivers national programs in conjunction with the following affiliated Member State organisations:
