Starting Your Club

Is there a need?

Sports and recreational clubs provide a meeting place for people with common interests and goals. They provide our young people with a positive outlet that benefits them physically, socially and mentally. They thrive on challenge and competition.

Establishing and running a sporting club can be a hugely rewarding experience. You can make an active contribution to your community and have a lot of fun in the process!

There are lots of reasons for deciding to set up a sporting club. Once you’ve decided that it will be a fun and worthwhile thing to do, you’ll need to follow a few steps to make sure that you and your club members can run an organised club that achieves its goals.

It’s a good idea to check out similar existing clubs in your area, or contact your local council in case there’s another group that you may want to join up with. Contact your local regional sports trust (RST) and find out about the other clubs running in your area. SPARC has a list of national sport organisations (NSOs) and national recreational organisations (NROs). You could also have a look on the internet for listings and activities of sports clubs in your area; to do this go to Google and look up your area’s name and the type of club you’re interested in setting up (e.g. squash clubs, Wellington). Check your local council’s website too, there are often lists of clubs and events in your local area. When you do this you’ll also be able to check if there’s a real need to set up your club and that your club is able to offer its members something they can’t find with another local club. A bit of background research will give you a good picture of what’s on offer in your community.

You’ll need to be clear on the aims of your club and that you have enough people who are willing to help get your club up and running – and most importantly keep it running on an ongoing basis.