Scottish ClubSport has partnered with Scottish Student Sport to ensure that more students and young people have access to support, further training, and volunteer/placement opportunities.
This partnership will help individual students and clubs gain additional support locally via sports councils and ClubSport networks, and nationally through initiatives and training delivered by Scottish ClubSport (SCS). SCS represents a membership of 32 Sports Councils and ClubSport networks with over 2,200 sports clubs. These clubs have over 330,000 individual members collectively, across 60+ different sports and covers most Local Authority areas in Scotland.
Scottish ClubSport is committed to developing a national and local structure relevant to the sporting landscape of today, engaging local knowledge and empowering club sport networks to work together in partnership.
Gary Grieve, National Development Manager at Scottish ClubSport, said: “We are delighted to be working with Scottish Student Sport. This partnership will support us and our members to engage with, and support more, student sports clubs and their individual members. Scottish ClubSport aims to support more young people to be active members of their local Sports Councils and ClubSport networks and to play a leading role in supporting local clubs, volunteers, coaches and athletes. We will provide additional training and networking opportunities for students and young people to ensure that they are fully supported nationally and locally.”
Scottish Student Sport (SSS) is the national body for active health and sport across Scotland’s colleges and universities, supporting a network of dedicated students, staff and volunteers to help keep Scotland’s students active. The SSS network engages approximately 40,000 regular participants across nearly 600 sports clubs, with many more engaging in recreational activity, adding significant value to the student experience.
SSS aims to add value to the brilliant work of its member institutions by focusing on advocacy, development and competition opportunities that can help unlock the real power active health and sport have to enhance student life.
SSS is invested in encouraging students to pursue lifelong involvements in sport, and recognises the huge impact that young people can make as coaches, officials and leaders.
Ian Lowe, Head of Development at Scottish Student Sport, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside Scottish ClubSport. Our network is full of young, energetic volunteers who make a difference to the lives of their peers groups. Increasingly our sports clubs across our network are forging close links with community sports clubs and organisations. Working with Scottish ClubSport will support even closer links between student and community sport whilst also providing a platform of training and opportunity for students to volunteer within Sports Councils across the country.”
Over the next couple of months, SCS and SSS will be reaching out to their respective members to support them in engaging with one another locally. Further information about up and coming training and networking events will also be shared. To ensure that all students and young people have access, the vast majority of engagement opportunities will be held virtually with only one or two sessions being face to face.
For further information or to find your local sports council and ClubSport network, please contact ndm@scottishclubsport.co.uk
To keep up to date with stories, networking opportunities and training, follow @ScotClubSport and @ScotStuSport on Twitter.
Thought Piece from Charlie Raeburn for Reform Scotland