Better Volunteers

BETTER VOLUNTEERS

"Whether you are a coach or a coach driver, a referee or a treasurer, if you help others in sport for free, or expenses only, you are a sports volunteer." Sport England Volunteer Policy (2005)

Sports volunteers have been described by Sport England as the "lifeblood of sport" and as providing "the foundations of our sporting nation". Sport makes the biggest single contribution to total volunteering in England (with 26% of volunteers citing sport as their main interest), with the number of sports volunteers active in the country estimated at 5,821,400. Although increased professionalisation and an influx of Lottery money has been a feature of recent years, it is a fact that English sport is reliant on volunteers for grassroots delivery and, indeed, for its very survival.

The aim of this document is to provide structure to the development of better volunteers within the county of Surrey. The framework will help support the delivery of ChangeUp, Step into Sport and the findings of The Russell Commission, and provide direction for the delivery of key targets in Sport England's Framework for Sport in England.

This framework outlines where Surrey aims to be with regards to volunteering by 2009. It has the following underlying aspirations:

To promote high quality volunteering environments as being a standard in Surrey sport
To increase the number of people receiving training support while volunteering in sport
To increase the number and quality of volunteers in sport
To increase the number of sports volunteers from under-represented groups
To increase the number of young people volunteering in sport
To increase the number of people participating in sports and physical activity by 1% year on year.

The Framework gives examples of how this can be achieved to assist partners to write implementation plans, which will be a key part in delivering Surrey's strategic objectives. It acknowledges the need for the improved co-ordination of volunteering development, education and training across Surrey and more effective communication and commitment to partnership working.