Arresting the Decline

Ashlea Block explores the decline of volunteers in community sports and how clubs can get them back

sports. With lockdowns closing clubs, cancelling and postponing tournaments and preventing team activities, many volunteers have drifted away. A national survey by AusPlay has revealed that the sporting volunteer workforce has declined by tens of thousands because of the pandemic. Many volunteer organisations are also anxious about the fall of volunteer participation in the last two years due to several barriers in volunteer recruitment and retention.

Another survey commissioned by the Australian Sports Foundation found that almost all of Australia’s 70,000 community sports clubs have lost money during the pandemic. Thousands of them face the threat of going under. One in 10 clubs fears insolvency and half of all clubs are having problems finding volunteers.

In 2020, Australian Sports Commission/Sport Australia then acting Chief Executive Rob Dalton described the problem as “really serious” and fears that people will “disappear from sport” if volunteers continue to be lost.

Fighting the decline: the role of technology Community sport couldn’t exist without volunteers. But many volunteers lost during the pandemic may not return. One of the issues is the sheer amount of admin and inefficiency that organisers have to deal with. To get people back out into their communities and sporting clubs, it’s crucial to deliver a better volunteering experience. This is where technology can play a key role.

The need for sport to digitally disrupt was identified long before COVID. Back in 2016, the ASC’s Connecting Digital and Technology with Australia’s Competitive Sport Obsession report warned that “Digital disruption is coming and sport is dropping behind”.

It observed that while it’s easy for people to shop, bank, listen to music, socialise, commute and communicate online, “why is interacting with sport so much harder?” Three ways in which technology could transform sport were identified: -Delivering personalised sport experiences for all Australians -Streamlining sport delivery and operations and driving efficiencies -Creating new sport experiences and commercial opportunities

How technology can encourage and enable volunteers 1. Digitising admin With COVID accelerating the use of digital platforms and automation in the workplace, people are less willing to waste their leisure time on old-style admin, clunky legacy systems, and vast paper archives spilling out of the clubhouse cupboard. Available time can be the greatest barrier to volunteer

Each year in Australia, 8.5 million adults aged 15+ and 3.4 million children aged 0-14 take part in organised sport. According to AusPlay, that equates to 40% of all adults and 69% of children. It’s a staggering figure - and nearly all these sporting activities rely on volunteers; from coaches and club officials to referees and umpires.

Volunteers are critical for the continuation of organised sports. In total, there are 1.6 million men and 1.3 million women volunteering in sport in Australia - equivalent to 14% of the population. Football has the highest number of volunteers (467,000), followed by Australian rules (374,000) and netball (305,000). Sports Australia estimates their value at $4 billion a year. AusPlay data reveals that 774,000 volunteers also took on multiple roles within the club system. Most people who volunteer in a sport have a strong connection to that sport, either playing themselves or having children who play.

participation. In studies, many volunteers describe themselves as ‘time-poor’ and it’s important that they perceive their time is valued by the club.

Clubs must reduce the burden on volunteers in unnecessary admin work by digitising systems. By replacing decades of unreliable legacy systems, spreadsheets and paper-based processes with a seamless digital experience, they can enable volunteers to focus on the sport they love, not arduous manual processes.

Digitising admin also makes it much easier to instantly access information and organise more efficiently. Lack of information is another reason preventing people from volunteering, and can discourage them from volunteering. ‘Support me’ is one of the key elements recommended by Sport Australia for encouraging more volunteers.

2. Streamlining payments One of the biggest headaches for sports organisers is collecting subscriptions and fees. Club treasurers end up spending all their time chasing members who “haven’t got the right change” or “will bring it next time”. But even community sports have financial obligations: facility rentals, paying coaches, tournament fees, gear and equipment and so on. According to US figures, most competitive youth sports programs spend over 40 hours every season collecting money and still end the season with up to 10% unpaid dues.

Instead, volunteer organisers can send out payment requests and reminders electronically and have everything paid online. No more carrying around a cashbox at every event, having to nag people in person and count out notes and coins.

3. Enabling mobility The whole ethos of sports is to be out on the pitch/court/field, playing or watching play, not stuck in an office. With a mobilefirst digital platform, organisers can manage everything from a smartphone or tablet. Players can easily interact and access the system, such as signing in or checking scores and training schedules. Coaches can input data on the spot: for example, checking everyone’s availability for a match at the end of a training session, saving the need for endless email chains.

Having a platform that’s accessible to players also helps them better understand the work that organisers are doing. Connecting everyone online grows engagement and may encourage more participants to consider volunteering.

4. Increasing diversity While there’s good gender diversity among sport volunteers, some groups are under-represented. Only 8% of volunteers are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and only 8% come from the lowest income households. Retirees and people with disabilities are also under-represented, even though many still play organised sports. The AusPlay survey in October 2021 found that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were less likely to both participate or volunteer in organised sport.

Volunteer confidence can be another barrier to volunteering. Many people don’t feel confident or skilled enough to manage a volunteering role - half of the volunteers surveyed mentioned this. With a smart technology platform, users don’t need to know how to use spreadsheets or integrate calendars and notifications, as it’s all automated. It makes it much easier to onboard new volunteers and get them quickly up to speed with how things work.

Technology can also enable much better accessibility. As the Sports Australia report concludes, “Accessible design is good design. Everything we build should be as inclusive, legible and readable as possible… We’re building for needs, not audiences.” Benefits of community sport Volunteering in sport has huge benefits for individuals and the wider community. The Clearinghouse for Sport (an Australian Sports Commission led information and knowledge sharing initiative) notes that older volunteers in particular may experience less depression and greater life satisfaction. Other research has found positive correlations for individual wellbeing as well as social and community development, including the motivation to gain new skills. The Volunteers in Victoria survey found that the top volunteering reasons included helping others and the community (66%), personal satisfaction (62%), and to do something worthwhile (56%).

The contribution that volunteers make to the community is immense. The 2021 The Value of Community Sport and Active Recreation Infrastructure report from consultants KPMG, commissioned by Sport and Recreation Victoria, calculated that community sports facilities in Victoria alone deliver $7 billion worth of economic benefits. These include physical and mental health benefits, with the reduced risk of illness representing increased productivity of $2.3 billion.

Sport brings people together, builds a sense of belonging, and creates vibrant and stimulating communities. The critical role of volunteers needs to be better recognised and celebrated. Clubs, codes and associations should invest in ensuring the best experience for volunteers, in recognition of the contribution they make to the community. Ashlea Block is Product SME (Subject Matter Expert) for PlayHQ, a start up on a mission to reinvent community sport technology.