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How to attract Committee Help?


beith19

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Not a new problem, but any ideas on how to help encourage new people to join junior club's committees?

It's a hard one, it's tough enough trying to attract new fans and members let alone committee men. We've been fortunate to have a couple of new faces the last few years but that's balanced out by the fact that 3 have passed away this year.

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It depends on the club. At Pollok, all matchday duties are carried out (apart from the shop) by committee members. The club's constitution allows for 30 on committee (of which 6 are office-bearers), formed from the Club Membership. Even though times have been hard lately, the committee presently is full. To be honest, the more you have, the more the burden is shared. If Lok had a committee of 15, I could almost certainly guarantee the turnover of people on it would be greater and the ability to fill vacancies harder as the roles themselves would be horrendous.

As a general committee member, my various matchday duties included doing the cash gate every 3 to 4 games (which at Lok means seeing bugger all of the 1st half), selling half-time draw tickets, standing on the members gate, selling the programme, chasing up team-lines from the two match secretaries to write them up to stick on the noticeboard, cleaning the terraces, manning the pitch exit gates at half-time, stewarding with a fashionable body warmer on at big cup ties and doing the tannoy. If I was not on the gate, then I'd be doing at least one of the other things.

Add doing the programme for 3/4 seasons and the official website for 7. Other committee jobs I did not do included working in the pie hut, serving teas / coffees pre & post game in the pavilion, groundsman, working on the pitch on matchday and doing ground maintenance, looking after the kit, or any of the office bearer roles (secretary, match secretary, treasurer, minute secretary, vice president or president).

Like I say, the more bodies you have, the more people can enjoy being on the committee without it being an unhappy 2nd marriage.

Yeah, I think there's only a couple of things on that list I haven't done myself - and you can add drawing the short straw to be linesman for the lowly District leagues as often as not! What I meant though in my initial post was that it's better to recruit horses for courses if there are specific jobs which need doing - for instance it's fairly pointless recruiting someone who's working 9-5 for groundwork, someone with no IT aptitude for programme editor etc.

I know from speaking to Pollok fans that they have a fairly singular structure in place - almost a committee within a committee - with most of the decisions seemingly being taken within the higher echelon. If it works that way, then don't fix it, but I suspect having a committee of 30 at most clubs would result in a lot of people with no defined role just wandering about with a tie on.

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Yeah, I think there's only a couple of things on that list I haven't done myself - and you can add drawing the short straw to be linesman for the lowly District leagues as often as not! What I meant though in my initial post was that it's better to recruit horses for courses if there are specific jobs which need doing - for instance it's fairly pointless recruiting someone who's working 9-5 for groundwork, someone with no IT aptitude for programme editor etc.

I disagree - if there's one sure way not to get help, it's only asking for new members because you want something. It reinforces the stereotype of the local club committee being a clique only wanting mugs for the donkey work so they can indulge their Mourinho fantasies.

Clubs should recruit committee members with a view to the future first and foremost, those to take over the reins if others find real life getting in the road, but you can count on one hand the number which do that. Getting people in only on a specific need is very poor planning indeed.

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Depends if theres an appealing roll or just someone to pick up the shite after a game. I defo think Juniors can change with commercially minded ppl on board but too many auld geezers want to live in yesterday glory days and have meetings about the next meeting. Advert in home games program, ask supporters, even ex players to get on board. I know a local team to me are looking at new members, and hear it is working off field, no coincidence on field is looking rosier. #DavieGrieg #Ledge

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I disagree - if there's one sure way not to get help, it's only asking for new members because you want something. It reinforces the stereotype of the local club committee being a clique only wanting mugs for the donkey work so they can indulge their Mourinho fantasies.

Clubs should recruit committee members with a view to the future first and foremost, those to take over the reins if others find real life getting in the road, but you can count on one hand the number which do that. Getting people in only on a specific need is very poor planning indeed.

Anything but, actually – the preservation of some sort of perceived exclusivity is the last reason I would give. The fact you’re under the impression that there’s some element of glamour to the job would suggest you’ve never done it!

I meant there’s little point in recruiting bodies for the sake of it, who don’t have something identifiable to bring to the table, especially that most important of commodities, time.

I can only speak for my own club – we’re always keen for new faces on our committee, but the question always has to be asked what will they be doing. If they’ve got a role, it completely negates any chance of them being used as spare bodies for “donkey work”.

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What would be ideal would be a mixture of youth and experience for the committee so that the older committee guys can pass there experience on to the younger guys and the younger guys can bring fresh ideas.

A lot of the tasks for matchdays are menial taking nets down cleaning dressing rooms washing strips and are just as important as other tasks.

The most important thing young or old is commitment and a willingness to roll your sleeves up .

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What would be ideal would be a mixture of youth and experience for the committee so that the older committee guys can pass there experience on to the younger guys and the younger guys can bring fresh ideas.

A lot of the tasks for matchdays are menial taking nets down cleaning dressing rooms washing strips and are just as important as other tasks.

The most important thing young or old is commitment and a willingness to roll your sleeves up .

In an ideal world that would definitely be the best way to work it. A lot of people are too tied up with work and family to spare the time between the ages of say 25-50 though, so in practice it tends to be people who are retired, whose kids have grown up or who live really locally to the ground who get involved.

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It depends on the club. At Pollok, all matchday duties are carried out (apart from the shop) by committee members. The club's constitution allows for 30 on committee (of which 6 are office-bearers), formed from the Club Membership. Even though times have been hard lately, the committee presently is full. To be honest, the more you have, the more the burden is shared. If Lok had a committee of 15, I could almost certainly guarantee the turnover of people on it would be greater and the ability to fill vacancies harder as the roles themselves would be horrendous.

As a general committee member, my various matchday duties included doing the cash gate every 3 to 4 games (which at Lok means seeing bugger all of the 1st half), selling half-time draw tickets, standing on the members gate, selling the programme, chasing up team-lines from the two match secretaries to write them up to stick on the noticeboard, cleaning the terraces, manning the pitch exit gates at half-time, stewarding with a fashionable body warmer on at big cup ties and doing the tannoy. If I was not on the gate, then I'd be doing at least one of the other things.

Add doing the programme for 3/4 seasons and the official website for 7. Other committee jobs I did not do included working in the pie hut, serving teas / coffees pre & post game in the pavilion, groundsman, working on the pitch on matchday and doing ground maintenance, looking after the kit, or any of the office bearer roles (secretary, match secretary, treasurer, minute secretary, vice president or president).

Like I say, the more bodies you have, the more people can enjoy being on the committee without it being an unhappy 2nd marriage.

Geez Lok if your duties are 1/30 of the requirements then its a busy place.

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Am i right in thinking Pollok have the largest committee? As possibly one of the youngest committee members in Junior fitbaw but certainly one with the longest hair.. I can say with some certainly committee life isn't all glamour and 'Mourinho' fantasies as described by a previous poster... It takes a special person to give so many hours for the greater good of a club and they are few and hard to find. Treat them right would be my advice and I'm pretty sure every club would love to be in a position where the committee was full. Modern life/shift/weekend work rules out a lot of people

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Am i right in thinking Pollok have the largest committee? As possibly one of the youngest committee members in Junior fitbaw but certainly one with the longest hair.. I can say with some certainly committee life isn't all glamour and 'Mourinho' fantasies as described by a previous poster... It takes a special person to give so many hours for the greater good of a club and they are few and hard to find. Treat them right would be my advice and I'm pretty sure every club would love to be in a position where the committee was full. Modern life/shift/weekend work rules out a lot of people

You'd be surprised - it's not all Jack & Victor lookalikes thses days - there's a few hairy-heided punters finding their way onto committees! I'm more Ted Nugent than Ted the Gardener myself, and there's a longhair at Carluke Rovers that posts on here too..

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Anything but, actually – the preservation of some sort of perceived exclusivity is the last reason I would give. The fact you’re under the impression that there’s some element of glamour to the job would suggest you’ve never done it!

I meant there’s little point in recruiting bodies for the sake of it, who don’t have something identifiable to bring to the table, especially that most important of commodities, time.

I can only speak for my own club – we’re always keen for new faces on our committee, but the question always has to be asked what will they be doing. If they’ve got a role, it completely negates any chance of them being used as spare bodies for “donkey work”.

As it happens, two of those in the Junior section will be familiar with my tale of a certain Junior football club run for decades as someone's clique that tried to rope me in. Here's the concise version:

First item on AGM agenda after usual preamble, bringing on board of New Committee Member [that's right, the first item, grounds alone for suspicion]. Chairman says they are clearly an enthusiastic fan of the club [for reasons never quite explained], "would be a great asset to the club" and further buttering up.

New Committee member however says they're not interested as they've more than enough on their plate. Thanks but no thanks. Did not clap hands and squeal with glee as expected.

Committee Chairman, Deputy and Minutes Secretary sit looking biscuit arsed. Awkward cough from back. Committee member's whippet yawns loudly to break the tension.

Meeting moves to second item on the agenda. Committee member required to roll pitch. Embarrassed silence.

It would be nice to see this as an abberation, but you know and I know this is not the case.

I've worked with more than a few voluntary organisations in my time, and know only too well that to some the sense of belonging for which it can be appealing to some is all too easily warped. You only have to look at certain parts of P&B to note how desperate the male of the species in particular to be part of some "gang" or another to build up their sense of self-worth. That is the "glamour" - to use your phraseology - of it to some, and all too many Junior committees are almost textbook in their case, only wanting "outsiders" when they want something.

If you are running any sort of mainly voluntary organisation, recruitment is perpetual as there's always something needing done and many hands make not merely for lighter work but more likely to keep those already volunteering on board. Any club which sees recruitment as something only to be done with a fixed need in mind is - like Glenboig proved - simply a fold waiting to happen.

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