Volunteering in sport

About volunteering in sport

Volunteering is about using your time and energy to provide help and support to the running and organisation of a sports club. Volunteers are essential to every sports club. Without volunteers, sports clubs would not be able to function.

As a volunteer with Bury Sport and Physical Activity Service you will be given the opportunity to gain new skills, meet new people, make a difference and get a great feeling of satisfaction. You will also earn training credits to help you develop your coach and sport education.

Your questions answered

What is the role of a volunteer?

The role of the volunteer is to:

• support a session leader in delivering games and activities;
• work alongside Bury Sport and Physical Activity Service to provide a quality service;
• help to organise children in team games;
• help set up and remove equipment before and after an event;
• distribute information and publicity about events and future activities; and
• to interact with the staff, participants and the public to ensure all parties get the most out of events.

What type of events will I be volunteering at?

Volunteering opportunities are available at:

• multi-sports sessions in parks;
• in-school coaching events;
• disability sports sessions;
• sport-specific coaching camps;
• outdoor pursuits events; and
• youth work sessions.

We also provide support and information about volunteering with local sports clubs and sports events in Bury and the North West.

What are the incentives for volunteers?

Some of the key incentives for volunteers are as follows.

• Training will be provided in advance.
• Experience of working in sport.
• There may be the opportunity for future placements and a reference.
• Build confidence for working with the general public and children.
• Exit route into our 'pool of coaching' staff.
• Up to £100 in credits for Bury coach education courses.

If you are interested in volunteering in sport please read the following information. You can apply to join the pool of volunteers by completing the online registration form.

What are the requirements to become a volunteer?

Volunteers need to be:

• over 14 years old - making our volunteering programme in line with the JSLA (Junior Sports Leaders Award);
• interested in sport and, or sports leadership;
• preferably working towards a Community or Junior Sports Leader Award, or have similar type experience in a sports setting. Alternatively have an interest to gain a national governing body coaches award;
• reliable, responsible and flexible;
• able to relate to children (enthusiasm, motivation, and so on);
• able to communicate well.

Note: Placement is subject to an enhanced police check (Criminal Records Bureau)

How do I register with you as a volunteer?

If you would like to gain experience and can spare a few hours of your time then please register with us as a volunteer. You will find a link to the volunteer registration form at the right-hand side of this page.

Volunteering pathway

Below is some information about our volunteering scheme and how it would help your development and progression into coaching. The stages you will go through are highlighted below.

Register on the pool of volunteers.
As a volunteer with us, you will be informed of various volunteering and training opportunities. Generally, this is done by email, occasionally we send out texts or mail in the post. Opportunities range from multi-sport play sessions in parks to club coaching.

Get some volunteering experience.
On our activities you gain experience and knowledge of volunteering in a sporting setting. The experience will have personal benefits as well as improving your skill level. There are also training opportunities. Each time you volunteer with us, you will earn credits and these credits can be used towards the cost of training courses, anything from first aid to coaching qualifications.

Find a club placement with our support.
Once you have some experience, we will recommend you to various sports clubs as potential volunteer for their club. The time you spend at stage 2 before progressing onto stage 3 will depend on your previous experience of volunteering, which you can highlight on the application form. It is important that you are an experienced volunteer before going into a club so that the experience is good and of high quality for both yourself and the club.

Where are the approved Volunteer Placement Clubs?

The clubs listed below are registered as an approved Volunteer Placement Clubs in partnership with Bury Sport and Physical Activity Service and Greater Sport Volunteering.

• Bury Jaguars Hockey Club
• Bury Blue Devils Basketball Club
• Radcliffe Juniors FC
• Radcliffe Swimming Club
• Unsworth Cricket Club
• Ramsbottom Cricket Club
• Bury Cricket Club

Each club is Clubmark/NGB Accredited, has attended the GMSP workshop regarding 'Young Volunteers in Clubs and Organisations' and has a nominated Volunteer Co-ordinator within the club.

Contact us if you are a:

• vInvolved Volunteer, a Community Sports Leaders Award candidate or just want to volunteer at a sports club; or
• proactive club wishing to register as a Volunteer Placement Club.

Volunteering with sported.

What is sported.?

Sported. is a national charity and an Inspire Marked project, which was set up in 2009 to develop sport for disadvantaged young people by supporting organisations working with young people. Since opening their doors, sported. have had one mission - "to provide business support and financial resources to community sport organisations, enabling them to reach and improve the lives of more disadvantaged young people than ever before".

The aim is to help sport and community organisations on a business level, with support from Regional Managers, Experts and Mentors, online resources and funding opportunities.

What services do sported. offer?

When an organisation becomes a member, they gain exclusive access to a range of resources and online tools to aid them in the running of their organisation, from financial management to business planning.

All members also benefit from help from sported. Mentors and Experts who have specialist skills and knowledge, such as, marketing, accounting and finance, etc, and have volunteered to provide clubs and organisations with help and assistance on the business side.

What are sported. Mentors?

Mentors are volunteers who provide support and guidance to members who require, and would benefit from, more intense one to one support, through meetings and visits to ensure business development.

Sported. strive to ensure each member is allocated the right Mentor to suit their specific needs and requirements.

What are sported. Experts?

Experts are part of the online team where members can post questions about anything they require help with in a business sense, and the Experts will then be able to provide a prompt and specialist response.

Sported. Experts come from a variety of career backgrounds, ranging from Law to IT to Business, so whatever the query may be, there will be an Expert that will be able to provide an accurate answer.

Want to become a sported. Mentor or Expert?

Are you experienced in your career and have specialist skills and knowledge? Are you interested in offering your services and expertise to those who need it most? If so, you can apply to become a sported. Mentor or Expert.

Simply go to the sported. website or email volunteer@sported.org.uk for an application form.

For more information visit the sported. website or contact the sported. Volunteer Services Manager, Helen Varley h.varley@sported.org.uk.

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