Who Can Help?

Starting a new club from scratch can be scary, but it’s important to remember that you’re not alone! There are plenty of people and organisations who can help you:

• England Korfball – as your National Governing Body, England Korfball can provide guidance and advice to you on how to set up your own korfball club
• England Korfball’s National Development Officer – a full time staff member committed to helping clubs and volunteers drive the sport forward – the National Development Officer will be able to help you get your club up and running!
• Your local Area Association – each area has a committed team of volunteers running their Area Association. They’ll be able to help provide local knowledge and insight, and support your new session get up and running in the local community.

Consider this page your one-stop guide to setting up a new korfball club! And, if you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, please get in touch. We’ll constantly be updating this page to make sure you have all the support you need.

Your Approach

There are loads of different ways for you to get korfball up and running. Speak to the people who want to be involved, and find out what everyone is looking for. Are you a group of friends who want to play together for fun? Would you like to enter local tournaments for some friendly competition? Or are you looking to compete regularly in a league?

Whatever you’re looking for, there is something for you.

Keep a note of responses you get from members, and consider doing some quick research to find out how much demand there is for korfball activity in your area – it could be as simple as a quick poll on social media!

Volunteers

Make sure you have people to help you run your club! You don’t want to be doing everything yourself. A club committee is a group of volunteers who helps to run the club.

Your club committee should include;

Chairperson

The Chairperson is responsible for the running of the club. They should chair regular committee meetings and your clubs Annual General Meetings (AGMs). Alongside this, they should support other committee members and help them to understand their roles and responsibilities.

Your Club Chairperson is responsible for the understanding the club’s roles and responsibilities, and in helping the club to grow and develop.

KEY SKILLS: Committed, responsible, diplomatic, inspirational, organised.

Secretary

The Club Secretary is an important role as they are usually the first point of contact for club enquiries. They are responsible for organising and attending key meetings, minuting these and keeping member informed of what happens.

They will also keep records up to date on FixturesLive and attend to affiliations if you’re playing in the England Korfball League.

KEY SKILLS: Organised, practical, efficient, approachable, accurate.

Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for the managing the club’s income and expenditure. Their tasks may include producing financial reports for the AGM and committee meetings, paying invoices and bills, collecting member fees and depositing cash and cheques received by the club.

If you have a club member who works in finance, this would be the perfect role for them!

KEY SKILLS: Trustworthy, organised, methodical, accurate, responsible.

Club Welfare Officer

All clubs should have a Club Welfare Officer – even if you don’t have any junior players at your club. A Club Welfare Officer is responsible for reducing safeguarding risks and reporting any issues or concerns immediately. They should understand safeguarding and attend a Safeguarding & Protecting Children or Vulnerable Adults workshop.

You can find out more about safeguarding here – including England Korfball’s Child Protection Policy.

KEY SKILLS: Approachable, level-headed, trustworthy, responsible, tactful.

As your club grows, you might want to consider other committee roles. These could include;

Marketing Officer

Someone who helps to promote the club and club activities through printed leaflets/fliers, social media, and press releases. They may also update the club website, take photographs, and write match reports.

Junior Development Officer

As your club grows you might want to look at getting more children and young people involved in the club. A Junior Development Officer could oversee this, contacting schools and local youth groups, and making sure activity is age appropriate.

Social Secretary

We all know what a great social sport korfball is! A social secretary may organise socials and non-korfball related activities, alongside korfball tournaments and festivals. It’s the best of both worlds!

Any additional committee roles are entirely up to you as a club.

You will know best what your club wants to achieve, so think about this and the volunteers you’ll need to achieve this. Try putting together a skills matrix to help you identify what skills you need on your committee.

Volunteers are crucial to running sports club – so make sure your volunteers feel valued!

The Sport and Recreation Alliance’s free Volunteer Finder is a one-stop shop for recruiting sport volunteers. Clubs can create a profile and have instant access to the thousands of volunteers searching for their next opportunity.

Most importantly – don’t do everything yourself! Doing everything yourself is an easy habit to get into and comes with good intentions – but sustainable sports clubs share the workload to keep them running.

Sport England’s Club Matters service has loads of useful information on club committees. Visit the Club Matters website and find out more here.

Key Documents

All clubs, no matter how big or small, should have some important documents that help govern the club. Find out more about the key documents you’ll need below.

Club Constitution

A club constitution basically outlines how your club operates. It helps members see that the club is well ran, organised, and takes itself seriously. Club constitutions usually include a mission statement – this piece of text highlights your club’s values and ethos and helps people see what your club is all about.

You’ll need a club constitution if you’re planning on applying for funding. Download a template club constitution here.

Codes of Conducts

Codes of Conducts are really useful documents that explain the behaviour expected of everyone at the club. Ideally, there should be Codes of Conducts for players, coaches and other volunteers, and parents if you’re running junior activity.

You can download and adopt the England Korfball Codes of Conducts here – just make sure everyone involved at your club has read this and understands it before signing in agreement.

Finances

You’ll need to set up a club bank account for payments coming in and going out of the club. Payments coming into the club may include member fees, sponsorship payments or grant funding. You’ll likely be paying out for facility hire, to support your volunteers, and to purchase equipment.

Most high street banks will be able to support you with setting up a specific Sports Club account – some call these Treasurer Accounts. Make sure your bank account has two counter signatories – this is good practice, and it’s also necessary for most funding streams.

Don’t forget – the club name on the bank account should be the same as your club constitution. For example, if your club is called Derby Korfball Club, make sure the name on the bank account is Derby Korfball Club – not DKC or any other kind of abbreviation or nickname.

The club Treasurer will oversee the club finances. You can find out more about this role in the Committee section.

Insurance

It’s a good idea to make sure your club has insurance for the activity taking place. Some facilities will want to see your insurance before confirming your Sports Hall booking.

Affiliation to England Korfball costs just £20 for the first year, for new teams. This includes access to England Korfball’s Public Liability Insurance, covering your club activity for up to £5mil.

Please contact the National Development Officer for more information about affiliating to England Korfball.

Facilities

All sports clubs need somewhere to play and train! You will need around an hour of Sports Hall time a week – and don’t forget if/when you compete against other teams, you’ll need to book a facility for matches too.

Contact your local Leisure Centre, local schools, colleges and universities, to see if they have Sports Hall availability. If you’re thinking long term, schools and colleges are a great place to train, as there are clear opportunities to recruit junior members to the club.

Depending on where you are in the country, Sports Hall hire can cost anything from £20-60 an hour, so make sure your members fees cover this cost to avoid being out of pocket. Some facilities may offer a discount for block booking – it’s always worth an ask.

Once you find a facility, it’s important that you find out the emergency procedures for the venue, including:

• Who the trained First Aider is
• What the fire drill process is
• Where the First Aid kit is kept

You’ll also want to consider where you can store your equipment, and who has access to this.

It’s worth thinking about using outdoor space in the summer months. This is a great way to keep playing korfball during the closed season and can also help to keep facility costs down. If you’re playing in a public space, it’s also a fantastic opportunity to show the public what korfball is and why they should be giving it a go!

Equipment

Korfball is a great sport to play from scratch because it requires very little specialist equipment.

You’ll need a set of posts, bases, two korfs – and some korfballs. If you don’t have this equipment straight away, don’t be afraid to ask your local Area Association or other clubs if they have equipment you can borrow – and if all else fails – play with netball posts until your korfball equipment arrives!

AFM Sports sells a variety of korfball equipment, including starter packs to help you get playing as soon as possible.

If your Sports Hall doesn’t have korfball floor marking, you may want to think about using floor markers or duct tape to get around this – just make sure they’re stuck securely down to avoid any trip hazards!

Promotion

Once you’ve got the basic details about your club sorted, you’ll want to start promoting your sessions! The more people that see this information, the more people are likely to turn up and play korfball.

Social media is a fantastic and cost-effective way of promoting your club. Consider setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account to share details about your sessions. You never know, you might go viral…

Ask your facility if they can help promote your club through their mailing lists or think about putting posters up in your local community.

You can also share your new club details with England Korfball. Let us know when your first session is so we can share details on our social media accounts.

Club Matter’s Marketing Plan template might help you think about how you’re going to promote your sessions. You can also access a free online webinar around marketing your club. Definitely take advantage of these free resources!

Funding Support

Contact your local County Sports Partnership (CSP) to see if they have any localised pots of funding available to help you set up your new club. Each CSP will have different priorities, but you could find funding for coaching courses, facility hire or marketing support!

Not sure who your CSP is? Click here to find out.

If your club is looking for funding to get a new project off the ground, Sport England’s Small Grants programme may be able to help. Funding of up to £10,000 is available for clubs whose project meets one of more of the aims. Funding is only available for participants over the age of 14.

You can apply for funding through a Sport England Small Grant to cover a range of things, including; facility hire, coaching costs, courses and qualifications, equipment, kit, and marketing materials.

Find out more about how to make a Sport England Small Grant application here.

England Korfball has produced a funding guide which might help you think about your project and how it might be funded. Feel free to contact England Korfball’s National Development Officer for support with your application, including a letter of reference which might help to strengthen your bid.