Waitakere athletic clubs’ partnership increases youth participation in athletics
The growth of athletics in Waitakere has recently benefited from the collaborative efforts of six local clubs and Sport Waitakere’s Sport Development Strategy.
In early 2007 Sport Waitakere identified the development of athletics in its region as a key initiative of its Sport Development Strategy 2007-10, a strategy aiming to improve access to sport and increase capability within it local sport sector.
Athletics which teaches children the fundamental physical skills of running, jumping and throwing was considered an excellent starting point for the strategy.
A high number of local children, estimated to be about eight percent of youth, between the ages of five to eighteen were already participating in athletics.
However, there was a sense that athletics clubs in Waitakere were struggling with limited resources and as a result the programmes failed to inspire many of the youth who took part and were less effective in developing athletic skills than they could be.
Waitakere City Council had also made a significant investment in an all-weather facility, the Douglas Track and Field, at the Trusts Stadium. The new venue had not yet reached capacity usage and the facility was ideal for utilisation by the local athletics clubs individually and in collaboration.
The immediate challenge for Warren Ogilvie, Sport Waitakere’s Sport Development Manager, was to get the local athletics clubs to think collegially about the development of their sport rather than to continue operating in isolation.
In mid 2007 Warren called together representatives from Glendene, Glen Eden, Lyndale, Massey, Te Atatu and Waitakere City athletic clubs together to discuss a collaborative approach.
Apart from accepting they shared common problems and goals there were a number of challenges the clubs needed to face if they were to embrace the changes they needed to make, says Ogilvie.
“The clubs needed to consider how they were reacting to the challenges of a changing community, what they were doing to stop our community becoming more sedentary, what they are doing to make their programmes snappy and attractive to be involved in, and whether their programmes were teaching the children the necessary athletic skills for sport and recreation in later life”
Following the first meeting with the athletics clubs initiated by Sport Waitakere there was a subsequent meeting to which secondary school representatives were invited. The partnership groups drew up a ‘wish’ list of priorities for the development of athletics by 2010. Those priorities were to:
- have a development coordinator and establish development pathways;
- have four more coaches and develop coaching structures;
- improve links between clubs and schools;
- have more events between the clubs and with secondary schools;
- increase in all athletic events and cross country running;
- increase community awareness of athletics;
- have more trained officials;
- have more accessible membership to clubs;
- have a high standard of equipment;
- achieve 15 percent increase in participation in 12 to 18 years group.
In September 2007, based on these priorities and discussions, Sport Waitakere created a memorandum of understanding with the six athletics clubs. Subsequently, Warren Ogilvie presented a strategy with a timeline for a range of activities from workshops to events for 2008-9 designed to improve the capability of athletic clubs and athletes in Waitakere.
The strategy outlined activities that would help achieve the aims of the collaboration:
- sharing of ideals and initiatives by all clubs to meet the needs of children and young people
- creating an athletic development pathway with opportunities to explore, learn and participate in athletics
- creating opportunities for athletes to excel
- Ensuring that development pathways are offered to all coaches, officials, volunteers and administrators
Partner Clubs were asked to provide profile data which would be used to assess the impact of the partnership in four to five years time.
One of the first tasks in the strategy was for clubs to review their child and youth programmes and work towards the modern model of programmes for young people that are fun, playful and supportive but develop fundamental skills and have pathways to athletic development.
To help build new club programmes Sport Waitakere delivered a course on techniques for coaching five to nine year olds.
Sport Waitakere also did a presentation to clubs showing a range of child development athletic activities. This was followed with a workshop on writing run, jump, and throw activities on to cards that would become a resource for the clubs and encourage parent involvement.
“Basically, it was showing them all how to write a lesson plan,” says Warren Ogilvie. To build on this concept he subsequently produced a CD Rom with 50 suggested activities to use as a tool for promoting athletic development in children.
Throughout 2008 Sport Waitakere encouraged the involvement of the athletic clubs in a wide range of club development workshops and succeeded in gaining the support of each of the six clubs to follow a specific club development program that will improve their capability.
In October, the six clubs pulled together to run an event for children that would promote the sport and the clubs prior to the summer season. The costs of advertising were shared. The event was free and it was fun for the children, offering a wide range of activities. As one of the most successful exercises in the collaboration project to date (apart from gaining acceptance of the need to change), the event attracted over 220 children.
Conclusions
Eighteen months on, Warren Ogilvie, says there have already been many successes and positive signs for realising the potential for athletics in the region. But he says working with volunteers has called for some revision of expectations about how quickly change could be adopted and implemented by the clubs he is working with.
The project is very much a work in progress and at times the shift in attitudes he’s working towards have seemed slow to come about, says Warren.
“You need to be very clear with everyone about the outcomes you are working towards.”
Many sports, says Ogilvie, become efficient in their operation, but maintaining a strategic vision and direction can be a battle for many voluntary organisations. The need for continuous improvement, to keep pace with changing community needs, and to approach the delivery of a sport in a different manner, is the challenge.
Ogilvie quotes Henry Ford to summarise the project to date:
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
For further information contact:
Warren Ogilvie, Sport Development Manger, Sport Waitakere, ph 09 966 3115
Warren.ogilvie@sportwaitakere.co.nz
Updated | 13 Nov 2009.
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