Sorting your pre-season game

Before you even dig out the clubroom keys and flick on the lights, have a look at these pointers to help you gear up mentally for the season ahead. Here’s how to begin.

Pre-season for new Good Sports clubs

Keen to join up to Good Sports? You know the program will have lots of benefits for your club. But still, you might be wondering how best to get the show on the road.

The start of a new season is the perfect time to get involved with Good Sports. It’s a clean slate to make some changes at your club.

• Find out about Good Sports
  Read up about the program and the benefits it can bring to your club. These include help with fundraising and grants, attracting new members and volunteers, guidance complying with legal requirements and free access to Good Sport staff, tools and resources.
  
• Take it to your committee
  Next step is getting everyone on board. Check out our information for committee members page. You can download and print out discussion points to take to your next meeting or answer any questions that people might have.
  
• Understanding why Good Sports is important for all members
  Now that the committee is on board, let your members know why you’ve made the decision to join the free program. Print out this flyer and stick it up in your club.
  
• Get started!
  Kick start your new season with Good Sports. Find out how the program works and what to expect once you register. You can also read about why having a policy is important for sporting clubs.
  When your AGM rolls around, check out this guide to discussing Good Sports at the meeting.

Pre-season for Good Sports clubs

Your club has been with Good Sports for a while now. You’ve got your policy in place. Now it’s just a matter of making sure everything is ready to go for a new season.

• Tick the boxes
  Organise a pre-season committee meeting to review your Good Sports policy. Before, during and after your first committee meeting, go through the pre-season checklist. You can download and print it off. Check you’re up to date with all of your commitments and if not, allocate tasks.
  
• Review your policy
  Go through your policy and make note of any changes that have occurred since your last season. Have you changed locations, affecting your safe transport plan? Have liquor licensing rules or smoking regulations in the state changed or has your license expired? Do you now have a junior team? Check there are no outstanding action items on your club portal.
  
• Code of conduct
  Start of season is a great time to send a reminder about the code of conduct. This sets out the standard of behaviour you expect from everyone during the season. You might also like to share the club’s policy around smoking, alcohol, illegal drugs and safe transport. That way everyone is on the same page.