One size does not fit all: implications of sports club diversity for their effectiveness as a policy tool and for government support

Abstract

Through research into English netball clubs, this paper examines the tension between government policy to promote sports participation being directed through sports clubs that use more formal management practices; and the possibility that this will ignore the contribution made by smaller clubs and their distinctive culture. This is illustrated by netball, a sport ranked 13th in popularity by participation in clubs, but with a very low average club size. Analysis supports previous indications that sports clubs can be divided into those that embrace formal management and those that do not. Greater formality is associated with club size, and performance, however in most clubs formal management procedures are minimal. A weak relationship between club success, as reflected in extrinsic performance, and the satisfaction of volunteers, is understood through volunteers being motivated more by intrinsic rewards of membership. An implication is that if government support to sports clubs is directed to those with most formal management practices, it will miss out the smaller clubs, which in some sports account for a large proportion of participation. The counter argument is that the smaller clubs will be least able to use such support, so the present policy is the most effective use of resources.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research in this paper was funded by a Knowledge Transfer Fund grant facilitating cooperative research between the University of Sheffield and England Netball. The views in the paper are entirely those of the researchers and do not necessarily reflect those of England Netball.

The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Professor Tom Redman in the research design.