Welsh Sports Clubs Take Superhighway

Greta Gueresi-Leach on 23/07/2007

Sports clubs across Wales are set to discover the benefits of an all new support system thanks to the launch of a new website, fully equipped with an encyclopaedia of information designed to help put the formula to a fruitful future directly at their fingertips.
The Sports Clubs Wales website (www.sportsclubswales.org.uk) has been formulated to reflect the growing needs of sports organisations across the length and breadth of the country.
Conceived of and developed by the Sports Council for Wales, the site has been specifically tailored to provide the practical guidance on how to start or cultivate an existing club and imparts invaluable advice on running an effective organisation.
From easily downloadable template documents for many administrative functions, guidance on how to develop links with schools and suggestions for increasing club income, it is hoped that Sports Clubs Wales will become an important information gateway for clubs across Wales.
European 400m Hurdles bronze medallist, Rhys Williams from Bridgend knows only too well the importance of having a sound club structure to support its members.
The 23-year-old one-lap-wonder was on hand at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff - together with Carwyn Jones AM - to officially launch the website to the masses.
"I have always loved sport and have been fortunate enough to have been encouraged along the way by my athletics club," he said.
"Sports clubs are a vital part of the fabric of community life. They, and the people behind the scenes, have the opportunity to source and mould young talent into the stars of the future and instil the core values of hard work, belief and – above all – enjoyment of the sport. This development of this website will help strengthen the infrastructure of clubs in Wales to ensure that our sporting scene continues to thrive at all levels."
Mr Jones AM believes the development of this new resource is a step in the right direction:
"Sports clubs are the life blood of many communities, providing the first real experience of competitive physical activity for young people. The development of this website will ensure that clubs in Wales will be armed with the tools needed to run a successful sports setup with the aim of encouraging a life-long commitment to sports and exercise."
And clubs of all shapes and sizes are catered for. Whether it’s a swimming club with ten or a thousand members, or a football club with an annual income of £100 or £100,000. It might be a walking club that serves a village or the whole of Wales with a membership quota of five or five thousand! Whatever type of club it is, the fully bilingual website will provide you with information that is easily transferable to help develop a framework for a fruitful sports club fraternity in Wales.
The long-term aim is to create an ever-evolving resource with real life case studies on how other clubs have successfully organised their affairs and an area for younger club members with games and interactive sections.
Sports Clubs Wales is the upshot of the ongoing efforts of the Sports Council and its partners in their quest to rise to the challenge set by the Welsh Assembly Government’s Climbing Higher strategy.
With approximately 400,000 people already affiliated to national governing body clubs, the target is to see 80% of children and 40% of adults become members of sports clubs or centres by the year 2025.
Visit http://www.sportsclubswales.org.uk/index.html to unveil the latest information resource for sports clubs in Wales.
For further information, please contact Lynette Evans at the Sports Council for Wales on 029 2033 8273/ lynette.evans@scw.co.uk
Or Gareth John, Press Officer at the Welsh Assembly Government on 029 2089 8931/ gareth.john@wales.gsi.gov.uk

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