When dealing with Australian Sporting Associations it is noticeable that they could be doing much, much more with the funding they receive from State or National governments. It could be getting directed to specific regions and clubs based on insightful, grassroots data rather than gut instinct.
But data isn’t being collected because the systems in place are woefully inadequate or built for national bodies rather than local bodies where the data gets fed in from.
Data should do three things:
Whilst the federal government continues to provide blanket funding to sporting bodies who don’t have appropriate data and governance systems suitable for all levels of sport it will continue to be wasted.
One size does not fit all. Pluggable APIs, pluggable UIs, pluggable UXs are all required. Australian Sports needs to get smarter with the data they’re not collecting. It will help the competitors, the high-performance athletes, the volunteers, the supporters and other stakeholders at all levels.
This is big picture thinking that is simply not being done, and not even being discussed which is sadly to everyone’s detriment.
Yesterday I met someone from a club who held a committee meeting that went 4.5 hours… the only reason they finished was because it was midnight and people were falling asleep…but they still hadn’t finished the meeting.
Let’s get serious about this. You will never attract or retain committee members if their commitment is 4.5 hour meetings and equally time sapping tasks.
If you’re using TidyClub you’re in luck as we have allowed for these types of things with our meetings. Here is how you will solve it.
Your committee will be happier as they know why they are there, they can see the progress skip along quickly and they are more likely to attend again as they know if people are prepared they don’t get bogged down on issues.
Try it. You’ll see.We ran across this image today by @gapingvoid (you can buy it here) but made us think about clubs and how the interact with their tribe (community). Most clubs seem to react to their members and supporters rather than getting pro-active and seeing some hug upside.
Clubs already have a massive advantage of having the tribe based on what they do. They’re not like a business who has to work hard to build a tribe. A clubs group of like-minded people is sitting waiting for you.
So give them a hug, send them an SMS, tell them you are looking forward to seeing them, interacting with them and more.
Good things happen when communities and tribes start talking more.
Yesterday I attended a workshop run by our clubs parent association. In truth it wasn’t so much of a workshop but a briefing as to what added administration clubs will have to undertake over the coming 12 months.
With ever increasing administration comes more pressure on volunteers, making for a more unattractive proposition to present to potential volunteers and as a result the less likely volunteers are to carry on with these further burdens on them.
With this in mind execution of these administrative tasks becomes critical. Of course leadership and peoples kindness will mean that things will get eventually get done, but with the revolution of the web, with everyone having a smart phone in their pocket means that the way you approach your volunteers, the way you structure and frequency of your communication, and the model of your organisation needs to change.
Running your club with the wrong strategy, the strategy focused on the 5 committee members will put you in an uphill battle. The alternative is to think hard about your structure, your resources and the benefits your club could gain from having less pressure on more people through resources and platforms like TIdyClub.com.
Your committee should stretch from 5 to 18. The roles and responsibilities of these people should be well articulated and defined. Through increased transparency everyone know what needs to get done and why they are doing it.
However talking to clubs at the workshop presented what I feel is the predominant issue in clubs. Through clubs not changing their strategy merely because they’re used to the one they have been relying on for the last 20 years is lousy strategy, and must change.
When you and your committee set out to achieve things for the club, important work, work that is going to make a difference, it will never work out that you will find complete approval from all parties.
Trying to please everyone will end in frustration, stymieing your momentum and ultimately failing.
The solution is to please precisely the right people, those that will get it and no more. This will give you enough to get the work out the door.
There are always those that actively discourage. Choose what to hear wisely.
“An Antigonish rowing club has teamed up with the community of Lochaber, Antigonish County, in a grassroots movement to make a community centre sustainable.” -via thechronicleherald.ca
For the pleasure
For the impact you have on others
For the reputation you build within the community
To be a part of something that is growing and ever organic
For the challenge
To be appreciated
To be part of a society, a society you want to be a part of.
It’s probably not for the money.
In fact this will also be reflective of your attitude in your day job.
Thanking people for their efforts is a great way to start a conversation, it leads with the right foot, it gets them on side, it gets them on your side.
They will be more understanding of the small critiscm you may follow up with, and they will be more likely to help you again into the future. You can’t do it by yourself.
We’re currently looking for a Graphic Designer Intern, and it’s caused us to think about what we want in an interface.
The rule of thumb for interface design is simple: We want to minimise input, maximise output. The less our Users need to do to get results, the more efficient the interface. This is how we approach all aspects of our application, from our code to our PDF reports and we are looking for an Intern that has a similar level of enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm for better screen typography. More white space, for touches of colour and an understanding that UI and UX is as much about the code as it is about the logic and hierarchy of the interface.
Our office is in East Perth, along with a coffee machine and fresh looking hoodie, if you’re keen to join us!
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