Featured Report

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Community Sports Club Management Development Programme

To further sports development in Hong Kong for the goals of professionalism and promoting sports in the community, the Government must, in addition to devising sound policies, seek support from those aspiring to contribute. Co-organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and Dr. Stephen Hui Research Centre for Physical Recreation and Wellness of the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Community Sports Club Management Development Programme (the Programme) aims to enhance the understanding of community sports clubs (CSCs) management among those involved in promotion of community sports development and cultivate more volunteers on this front. Apart from teaching theories, the Programme also offers adventure and group activities to add fun to learning, while allowing participants to understand the importance of teamwork.

The Programme comprises the foundation and advanced courses, with target participants including but not limited to members of the Community Sports Club Project and National Sports Associations (NSAs). Those aspiring to contribute towards CSCs management, be they seniors or students, are all welcome to the Programme, where they can exchange ideas with and learn from each other in furtherance of sports development.

Foundation Course: Combining Theories with Practices

The foundation course covers areas including the “Practical Team Management Workshop”, “Leadership Training”, “Volunteer Management” and “Event Planning and Promotion”. With emphasis on experiential learning, the “Practical Team Management Workshop” offers students a chance to participate in various adventure activities, with a view to building team spirit and cohesiveness, while enhancing their creativity and problem-solving skills. In addition, sessions on counselling theories are also available in the course.

“Leadership Training” involves core concepts and theories of leadership, including effective communication, conflict management, incentive motivation and empowerment. “Volunteer Management” introduces the responsibilities of volunteers, as well as the skills related to their recruitment and management. “Event Planning and Promotion” briefs students in detail on the steps in event planning, such as venue selection, income and expenditure management, as well as marketing skills. Those who have completed the foundation course may enrol onto the advanced course.

Advanced Course: Improving Oneself in Pursuit of Excellence

The advanced course covers units such as the “Event Planning and Design”, “Internship Induction”, “Risk Management and Measures”, “Service Positioning and Effectiveness Control” and “Club Personnel Management Strategies”, giving a briefing of the management concepts and theories related to CSCs management. Besides, students participate in practicum in groups to practise what they learn.

Exploring the relationship between society and sports, the unit “Event Planning and Design” explains theories of event management and planning skills, which involve devising programme proposals and budgets as well as promotion and human resources management strategies. The unit “Risk Management and Measures” defines risks and introduces their types, while delineating the risk-control responsibilities of and management measures put in place by sports clubs. The unit “Service Positioning and Effectiveness Control” analyses how to position the services available in an effective manner and conduct timely evaluation, with a view to ensuring effective delivery of quality services. The unit “Club Personnel Management Strategies” briefs the participants in detail on the basic concepts of organisation management, internal communication skills, performance assessments, feedback mechanisms and best practices in volunteer management.

Practicum: Applying in Reality and Putting Knowledge into Practice

Upon completion of the above theory courses, students will have a chance to participate in practicum, where they will be tasked with planning and organising activities, to be followed by evaluation sessions. Practicum groups will be guided by tutors to ensure their smooth running. The Certificate of the Community Sports Club Management Development Programme Advanced Course will be issued to those who have completed both the advanced course and practicum, to whom invitations to the graduation ceremony cum sharing session to be held the following year will be extended for experience sharing.

The Programme will make the participants well prepared for the moment when assigned to organise the Community Sports Club Programmes in future, ensuring that they can handle the issues more effectively. Such programmes are organised by those CSCs under the Community Sports Club Project, a partnership scheme co-organised by the LCSD and NSAs, in a bid to promote sports development, enhance sports standards at community level, as well as encourage public participation in sports activities. Operated and wholly funded by volunteers with the same vision, the CSCs, registered as non-profit-making organisations, must be a member of NSAs before being allowed to join the Project.