Club Future – Kilmarnock Harriers

On behalf of Kilmarnock Harriers it was thought it would be helpful to give all our members an update on our current status.

At the AGM we changed to a charitable status (SC046169) and we also adopted a new Club Organisation Structure. This structure has trustees looking to the future strategic direction of the club and a general committee split into sub groups to ensure all the main elements of the club are adequately covered on a day to day basis.

We are currently actively participating in Scottish Athletics Club Modernisation 2020, Club Together and Club Leadership projects. There is a major drive from the governing body for clubs to work towards becoming more like small businesses that can run efficiently and potentially fund key positions. These initiatives coupled with our dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers will help us achieve a brighter and sustainable future for everyone at Kilmarnock Harriers.

MEET THE TEAM

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to all the Trustees and Team Leads elected at the AGM. Each person is working hard to move the club forward and serve the club to the best of their ability. The team is detailed on our club website.

VOLUNTEERING

Ideally each Lead Person will have a sub group of willing volunteers. This is where we would welcome anyone who wishes to volunteer and spread the load. You don’t need to attend monthly meetings, just be part of one or more subgroups which may be of interest to you and help the club move forward.

A basic outline of the key areas can be found here.

We would like to stress that as a member or parent/guardian we do expect that you volunteer 8hrs of your time per year to help the club.

We currently have approx 460 members with a waiting list of 50 juniors and another 34 who are on a pre-waiting list (not aged to join). We do our best to accommodate everyone but unfortunately it is not possible. We do however try and filter as many people to the AAA Run Jump and Throw Clubs to give the kids on the waiting list a start in athletics.

Why do we have a Waiting List? – We basically don’t have enough coaching capacity to induct any more. British athletics recommended a 1:12 ratio for the number of athletes per coach. Could you give up 1 or 2 nights a week to help the club progress? You might not know but not everyone needs to lead a group. You don’t need to be fully qualified as you could work alongside an experienced club coach as a parent helper.
We have many different groups which you could help to coach on different evenings or also at our club in Cumnock on a Wednesday evening. Coaching has many different pathways and it is not always about leading a group. If you find your child is loving athletics why not help to give another child that opportunity?

If you think you can help in any capacity then please if you can get in touch send an email to volunteering@kilmarnockharriers.com or contact me or the appropriate Lead/person on the website.

Some other areas where we could do with support currently are:

• Helping organising teams or helping out when the younger athletes are at leagues and competitions (You don’t necessarily need to be a coach just be able to coordinate and be organised).
• Volunteer Lead. This is a lead role and would require you to attend a monthly meeting or give a brief report on status. This may even suit a student who wished to pursue a career in sport. In a recent meeting Active Schools pointed out that coordination of Volunteer recruitment is a much sought after skill when applying for a sports related post. Brief Outline Here.
• Volunteers to start JogScotland type group for beginners upwards at 7pm on Tue/Thur to encourage more beginners to take up running (Lead up to roonthetoon etc)

Finally, a short membership survey will be sent out very soon and we would really appreciate your feedback. It’s not always possible to canvas everyone’s views so it is strongly encouraged that you participate in this. Your views, thoughts and ideas are greatly appreciated and can be used to identify common themes that can be used to develop the club further.

I will also commit to putting together another report at the year end to give an insight into what has been achieved in the background and I do hope this may have been useful and informative.

Best Wishes

Eddie Tonner

Chairman

Kilmarnock Harrier & AC (SC046169)