Sports Governance Program targets grassroots organisations

The Governance Institute of Australia, in partnership with elearning provider etrainu, has released an internet-based course designed to provide fundamental governance knowledge to anyone involved in sport and recreation.

Claimed to be Australia’s first Sports Governance Program, the Working in Sports Essentials (WISE) program is suitable for everyone from grassroots volunteers to committee members and club directors to managers and executives of sports organisations.

Introducing the initiative, Governance Institute Chief Executive Steven Burrell explains “the Australian sports market is evolving from the grassroots.

“Australia has approximately 4.5 million sports club participants nationally and an estimated 250,000 committee members, while 20.5 million people participate in a sport at least once per year.

“Governance Institute believes that good governance principles must be embedded in the fabric of sporting entities at every level - from the ‘top of the tree’ to the ‘grassroots’ (and) that is why we have partnered with etrainu to develop and offer this program. WISE is essential learning for administrators of sporting bodies in Australia.

“It will equip them with the skills and expertise to run successful clubs and other sports-related organisations.”

Speaking at the launch of the program at the end of last week, Sport NSW Chief Executive Darren Simpson advised “there is simply no better place to start putting good governance practices into action than at the grassroots of sport.

“For so many Australians their sporting journey starts in junior competitions and clubs administered by mums and dads, but the principles of good governance remain the same irrespective of the level of competition.

“That’s why the WISE program is so valuable (as) it teaches fundamental practices that can be applied at all levels of sports administration because the principles remain the same.”

The online course is designed to instil a broad understanding of governance and the confidence to carry out good governance practices.

Across seven modules, WISE addresses the essentials of governance ensuring anyone involved in sports administration can have the skills and confidence to lead their organisation. Ranging from an introduction to governance to a board performance assessment, modules include financial management as well as duties and the function of the board. Completion of the full course is equivalent to a half day of training and there is a starter package of just three modules.

WISE is being rolled out via sports organisations buying in bulk to offer to their members and is also available to individuals.

The Governance Institute of Australia is the only independent professional association with a sole focus on whole-of-organisation governance.

Delivering online courses for more than 10 years through its custom-built Learning Management System (LMS), etrainu is a leader in online training and business solutions.

Click here for further information.

Image shows the Working in Sports Essentials (WISE) program.

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