This is a repository copy of Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe; findings for policy makers and practitioners in England and Wales. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/130182/ Version: Published Version Monograph: Nichols, G.S. and James, M. (2017) Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe; findings for policy makers and practitioners in England and Wales. Report. University of Sheffield. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ European project authors include: Julia Albrecht, University of Bern, Switzerland Christoph Breuer, German Sport University Cologne, Germany Elien Claes, KU Leuven, Belgium Karsten Elmose-Østerlund, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark Svenja Feiler, German Sport University Cologne, Germany Nadja Giesen, German Sport University Cologne, Germany “ G J P U f Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland Bjarne Ibsen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark Ramon Llopis-Goig, University of Valencia, Spain Siegfried Nagel, University of Bern, Switzerland Szilvia Perényi, University of Physical Education and University of Debrecen, Hungary M P J P U P E W P Jeroen Scheerder, KU Leuven, Belgium Ørnulf Seippel, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Norway Hanne Vandermeerschen, KU Leuven, Belgium Jan-Willem van der Roest, Mulier Institute, the Netherlands Harold van der Werff, Mulier Institute, the Netherlands Jenny Adler Zwahlen, University of Bern, Switzerland Project progress, publications, articles and information about conferences can be found at the project website: www.sdu.dk/SIVSCE. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication only reflects the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein. Table of Contents 1. Summary................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Introduction and Project Description ............................................................................................ 3 2.1 Purpose............................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Work packages and project output ......................................................................................... 3 2.3 Partners .............................................................................................................................. 4 2.4 Main concepts...................................................................................................................... 4 2.5 Theory used in the project ..................................................................................................... 4 2.6 More information ................................................................................................................. 4 3. An overview of sports club membership and sports volunteering across Europe ................................ 5 4. How government and sports organisations work together in other EU countries and what can be learnt from this? ..................................................................................................................................... 7 4.1 The Netherlands ................................................................................................................... 7 4.2 Switzerland .......................................................................................................................... 8 4.3 Denmark ............................................................................................................................. 9 4.4 Policy comparisons ...................................................................................... 12 5. Comparing English clubs with those in Europe - the strengths and weaknesses of sports clubs .......... 13 5.1 Size of club and gender of membership ................................................................................. 13 5.2 Single and multisport club proportions .................................................................................. 13 5.3 Facility ownership............................................................................................................... 14 5.4 Financial viability ................................................................................................................ 16 5.5 Club strengths .................................................................................................................... 17 5.6 Club weaknesses ................................................................................................................ 19 6. What makes clubs successful? Examples of good practice in promoting volunteering and inclusion in clubs .......................................................................................................................................... 21 6.1 Promoting volunteering English good practice examples....................................................... 22 6.2 Social inclusion in sports clubs English good practice examples .............................................. 24 6.3 European good practice examples; promoting volunteering and social inclusion ........................ 26 7. Conclusions, recommendations and limitations of the report ........................................................ 30 7.1 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 30 7.2 Recommendations.............................................................................................................. 31 7.3 Limitations of the report and project .................................................................................... 34 8. Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 35 9. Appendices The Four English Case Study Clubs .......................................................................... 36 9.1 Market Harborough Squash Club, Leicestershire..................................................................... 36 9.2 Exmouth Swimming and Life Saving Society (ESLSS), Devon ..................................................... 41 9.3 Northern Hope Gym Club, Birtly, Co. Durham......................................................................... 45 9.4 Newent Parkrun, Gloucestershire ......................................................................................... 49 10. References............................................................................................................................. 53 1. Summary D “ I V “ Clubs in Europe (SIVSCE) conducted between 2015-2017, this report covers the following points: . How government and sports organisations work together in other EU countries and what can be learnt from this? . How English sports clubs compare to those in Europe, and what are their strengths and weaknesses? . What makes clubs successful in promoting volunteering and social inclusion? This is the first time that a comparative study with these aims has been conducted across ten European countries. The results reported here are selected from those of the whole project as the ones most relevant to an English and Welsh audience. The project, funded by the European Union, involved ten countries: Fig.1: Map of partners in the SIVSCE Project In other European countries, government support to sports clubs is generally higher than in England. Examples include: subsidised use of facilities, especially for young people; support government promoted programmes for target groups. This level of support reflects stronger welfare policies, which are a characteristic of societies with higher levels of equality. This is also associated with higher levels of sports participation and volunteering. Thus the extent to which the types of support to clubs in Europe could be adopted in the UK depends on the broader political context. Sport polices may promote volunteering and sports participation, but a greater positive effect, including an increase in general physical activity, would probably be achieved by a broader change in policy and society. However, a converse of lower levels of government support is the greater independence of the voluntary sector in sport from government in England, which could be perceived as a strength. 1 The structure and characteristics of English clubs is similar to those across Europe. English clubs are generally older than those in countries which have experienced state centralisation of sport provision, such as Hungary, Poland and Spain. As in other countries, women are under-represented as members. English clubs are less likely