SportCentral
Sport Central Partnership
Andrew Webb
Gymnastics Development Manager
SportCentral
2nd Floor - Suite 2A
The Falkirk Stadium
Westfield
Falkirk
Fk2 9DX
M: 07717 545 498
Introduction
SportCentral is a partnership consisting of the following key partners Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling Councils, Active Stirling, Central Scotland Institute of Sport, The University of Stirling, and selected Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport. The partnership is also supported by and works closely with sportscotland.
All partners recognised that greater collaboration was required to address the significant changes that had taken place within the development of sport and physical activity at a local and national level across Scotland in recent years. In the national strategy for sport - Sport 21 2003 - 2007: 'Shaping Scotland's Future' three visions have been identified to shape future sport strategy and policy. The strategy states that realising these visions will depend on agencies and organisations working together in clear partnership.
Sport Central's principle aim is to strengthen the infrastructure of sport in Central, to bring sustainable increases in participation and performance for our developing athletes.
Definition
A Sports Partnership is a network of organisations that work together to plan, co-ordinate and develop sport at a local and regional level.
Rationale
Sports Partnerships are needed to:
· Assist in joining up local delivery with national strategy (SGB's)
· Better coordinate and manage the delivery of sport at regional and local level
· Reduce duplication of effort, time and resources
· Reduce operation in isolation and create better partnership working
· Support the development of players and athletes from grassroots to performance level
· Strengthen the infrastructure of Scottish sport
Aims
Sports Partnerships aim to achieve the following for selected sports:
· Life-long participation in sport encouraged through the co-ordinated delivery of long term player development pathways
· Improved standard of athlete entering Area Institute/National Performance level through regional academy programme
· Improved standard of club through increased support and development
· Coaches, officials and volunteers better trained and supported
· More accessible facilities through implementation of facilities access strategy
Sports Partnerships will achieve these aims by working to:
· Reduce duplication through co-ordinated working
· Improve communication between sports agencies
· Make effective use of increased resources
· Share knowledge and learning
Focus Areas
Sports Partnerships will co-ordinate the work of sports agencies in the areas of:
· Athlete and player development
· Club development
· Coach, official and volunteer recruitment, education and support
· Facilities
They will do this at a regional and local level, for specific sports.
Sports
Sport Central will address these focus areas initially across five core sports: athletics, gymnastics, swimming, golf and rugby, plus a further two optional sports. In Sport Central the optional sports chosen are cricket and disability sport.
Athletics, gymnastics and swimming have been selected as they closely support the fundamentals of physical literacy and basic movement skills. sportscotland currently invests in regional staff and programmes for rugby and golf which are being aligned to Sports Partnerships. The sports have been restricted to five (plus two options) for the purposes of manageability and limited resources during the pilot phase. sportscotland may extend the number of sports included within Sports Partnerships based on Sport Central's success and success in SportTayside & Fife, the other live Sports Partnership.
In addition, local partners in conjunction with the SFA have identified football as a regional priority, and subsequently supported the appointment of a SportCentral Football Development manager, responsible for delivering the regional football plan.
People
The staffing structure of each Sports Partnership will reflect the needs of the partnership area. In Sport Central this includes a Partnership Manager, Sport Specifc Development Managers for each sport, Coach Development Manager and an Administrator.
Members of a Sports Partnership can include representatives from the relevant local authorities, governing bodies, the Area Institute of Sport, local sports councils, tertiary education and the Volunteer Centre Network.
Monitoring & Evaluation
Sports Partnerships will be monitored and evaluated in both the short and the long term.
Short Term monitoring and evaluation will measure the Sports Partnership's effectiveness in establishing a strong sporting infrastructure. Targets around strategic and operational planning, recruitment and governance will be set and measured using a standard framework.
Long term monitoring and evaluation will measure the Sports Partnership's effectiveness in increasing participation and improving performance in the sports that they support (versus participation and performance figures for that sport out with the partnership area). A monitoring and evaluation framework will inform future planning. Measures will be consistent and annual with a view to showing trends in participation and performance.
Further Information
Further information on Sport Central is available, please contact Rob Hardie, Partnership Manager on 01786 432323.
