On 25 September Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR), the umbrella organisation for around 270 national governing and representative bodies of sport in the UK, launched the results of the CCPR Sports Club Survey 2007. Conducted by independent researchers, Sports Marketing Surveys, this survey examined a series of key issues affecting sports clubs, including finances, membership, participation, facility usage and volunteering.
The results provide an insight into the health and sustainability of sports clubs and will make important reading for all those involved in the development and funding of community sport. The survey showed that, in many sports, there is a major reliance on local authority facilities, with more clubs indicating that they used local authority provision (35 per cent), than club-owned facilities (30 per cent). School and university facilities remain under used in comparison. In terms of membership and participation, the overall results showed that the majority of club members – 72 per cent of adults and 92 per cent of juniors – are active, playing members rather than social members.
The majority of clubs also reported that membership had risen over the last five years. Moreover, the survey showed that participation through membership of local sports clubs is largely affordable: reported adult fees work out, on average, at around £3.50 per week; and junior fees, on average, at around £2.15 per week.
The survey explored clubs’ general finances and the results painted a mixed picture. In the last financial year, 39 per cent achieved a surplus, 35 per cent broke even and 16 per cent suffered a deficit. On average, clubs were experiencing a downward trend in respect of surplus/deficit figures, perhaps reflecting the financial burden of increasing regulation.
The importance of volunteering to sport in the UK was also re-emphasised by the survey, with 93 per cent of clubs indicating that volunteers were involved in running the club. In addition to these headline findings, the survey went into more detail, including a sport by sport breakdown, in a number of areas. CCPR acts as the single voice for sport and recreation in the UK. The results of the survey will contribute to CCPR’s lobbying and campaigning, informing its discussions with Government departments and relevant agencies. CCPR is currently engaged in two major campaigns of particular benefit to sports clubs: lobbying to secure a well-planned and lasting legacy of participation from the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics; and lobbying for additional fiscal benefits for the Community Amateur Sports Club scheme, while also promoting take-up of the current scheme. It will also provide a useful evidence base for CCPR’s existing and future campaigns on behalf of grassroots sport and recreation.
In addition, the survey will prove valuable to the national governing bodies of sport, as it provides information on the key sustainability indicators of their sports clubs. For more information on the survey please click here
For more information on CCPR’s current campaigns, please visit the website, www.ccpr.org.uk
