Sports Volunteering Project Grangetown Youth and Community Centre, Durham

Following attendance at Clubs for Young People’s UK Netball Tournament, Grangetown’s Netball Manager, Geraldine Williams, highlighted the need for volunteers at their ever expanding netball club. In response, three key roles for volunteers were identified:

• Umpiring on club nights and at league fixtures
• Coaching younger players on club nights
• Development of school sports links

Geraldine has worked closely with women from the club helping them obtain the Class C Umpire Award, which was delivered to 20 young women on November 10th, 2007. The course covered aspects such as communication and organisational skills, the role of the umpire, technical coaching and practical implementation of these key skills.

The young volunteers involved all took part in theory and practical sessions, each being mentored through umpiring small sided games. They will continue to be closely mentored by Geraldine and her team of adult volunteers.

As the women develop and practice their skills the women will gradually begin to coach and umpire games at club night before moving to competitive play in their local league.

In addition to this each volunteer has been given the role of placing and maintaining a netball notice board in their school to promote stronger links between school and club teams. Geraldine hopes that by encouraging volunteers to be responsible for a notice board, others will be updated regularly with what’s happening in the area and the profile of the club will be raised.

The adult volunteers will also be supporting the girls to organise a festival at the club which they will officiate. This evokes a great deal of enthusiasm and energy at the club as the girls are keen to put their new skills into practice.

Picture: Newly trained umpire
being mentored

This volunteering scheme will further be supported when the newly qualified umpires are invited to officiate at Clubs for Young People’s UK Netball Tournament in 2008.

Jade Stainthorpe, captain of the U16 squad said, "On behalf of Grangetown youngsters we would like to thank Rachel (Cubs for Young People Volunteering Coordinator) for organising the beginners umpiring training. We learnt a great deal from this opportunity and now we feel we have the knowledge and confidence to pick up a whistle and have a go which we would have never done so before. We would like to thank Clubs for Young People for giving us this great opportunity."

Clubs for Young People are delighted with the early success of this v project and will now seek to replicate the project in other areas of the UK. Our thanks go to Geraldine and her team at Grangetown who support these young women on a weekly basis giving advice, guidance, mentoring and training. They are role models for these new volunteers who Clubs for Young People wish every success as they embark on their volunteering career.