Club development officer awards for CLYDE, INT and LOC
We are delighted to announce *three* awards to support club development officers - with new positions at CLYDE and Interlopers (INT), and an extension for Lakeland (LOC).
CLYDE orienteering club is entering phase one of a 3-year development plan to gain "More participants, More volunteers, More juniors for the next generation of CLYDE Orienteering” aiming to revitalise the club and the West of Glasgow orienteering scene.
The club has two main development hubs – Milngavie & Bearsden, and Glasgow Universities - and plans to expand to West Dunbartonshire (Helensburgh and Balloch) and Renfrewshire, with aims to:
- Grow club digital and physical identity, presence, and purpose in targeted areas
- Attract students and families in target areas to participate and join the club
- Provide a variety of routine social and competitive opportunities for members to justify membership
Our grant will support two project coordinators to engage with and integrate into the target communities, with a remit of member attraction and member retention. The club also has a strong collaboration with Glasgow University Orienteering Club, and the project coordinators will help sustain the momentum built by Dan Graves at the university.
CLYDE are already advertising for the posts - see advert here.
Interlopers orienteering club (INT) is creating a new Club Development Officer (CDO) to unlock club potential across Edinburgh and the wider area, with a focus on creating and delivering a robust newcomer pathway. WOC 2024 in Edinburgh this summer provides a rare opportunity to reach and enthuse new audiences within Edinburgh and further afield.
The CDO role is part of a four-year strategic plan:
- Year 1 – establishment, experimentation and evaluation (create foundations and develop tools and approaches; generate interest, engagement, experience)
- Year 2 – harnessing learning, adaptation and innovation for further learning (create sustainable momentum for on-going development)
- Year 3 – consolidation and scaling up, further evaluation
- Year 4 - establishing and mainstreaming activities as sustainable club delivery
Through the first year the CDO will focus on:
- improving marketing and publicity locally to promote orienteering as a sport and participation opportunities within Edinburgh this year
- developing and delivering taster sessions for a range of audiences (younger adults, families, young people’s groups etc)
- setting up much improved newcomer welcome and support, with nurture at pre-event skills sessions and follow-up
- developing a more robust club offer through which to encourage existing club members to get involved, as supporters or to grow their own skills (orienteering and/or coaching, event support, things like publicity etc)
Lakeland Orienteering Club (LOC) has previously been awarded a grant for a CDO and you can read about their great progress in attracting and retaining families in the previous report and the recent Compass Sport article. Given that progress we are happy to extend our support into a third year, at the end of which LOC's focus turns to making the position and momentum sustainable from within existing club resources and volunteers.