scottishathletics are delighted to announce free education and additional support opportunities for young volunteers in Scottish athletics clubs. The project which forms part of the new National Volunteer Development Programme is supported through the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities project which will enable us as a sport to, increase participation, increase the numbers of coaches and volunteers, provide more opportunities for young people living in disadvantaged areas and will make a positive impact on people’s lives throughout the country.
The project which aims to attract and support young volunteers into athletics clubs provides opportunities for young volunteers to access coach education or officials courses free of charge, providing they undertake a minimum thirty-hour placement within a club. In return for volunteering, young people can expect scottishathletics and the athletics clubs involved to provide;
1. Free education training through scottishathletics coach education and officials awards programme (see available courses below)
2. Induction and training support through the club.
The club must provide a thorough induction on the work undertaken by the club, its volunteer staff, the individual’s volunteering role and the induction and/or training they need to meet the responsibilities of the agreed role.
3. Supervision, support and flexibility
To explain the standards the club expect for the volunteer’s services and to encourage and support them to achieve and maintain them;
4. To provide a named person in the club who will meet(mentor) the young volunteer(s) regularly to discuss their volunteering and any successes and additional support required;
scottishathletics and the club to do their best to help the volunteer develop their volunteering role with the club
The courses that will be available to young volunteers in the first instance are;
1. UKA Athletics Leader
2. UKA Coaching Assistant
3. Coaching Athletes with a Disability
4. Level 1 Assistant Officials Award & Young Officials Award
Initially, this funding is available until the 31st March 2012 and scottishathletics are hopeful that this funding will also be available through the scottishathletics CashBack programme for 2012-2014 (subject to confirmation of future funding).
Please note that places are limited and each scottishathletics Regional Manager has been provided with an allocation of places on courses to accommodate interest. Where the interest outmatches available funding, priority onto the programme will be given to volunteers working with clubs who are;
# Accredited Clubs
# Club Together Clubs
# Clubs based in socially deprived areas (based on SIMD index)
# Clubs working with athletes with a disability
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