Students from Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys attended this year’s Step Into Sport Conference at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge. One of the event organisers was an old boy from the school, Ian Parkes, who is now working in the Kent Sports Development Unit.

The event was aimed at informing Community Sports Leaders about volunteering opportunities throughout Kent.

The students were told how to get involved, what qualified as volunteering and how they could get the most out of the experience.

Several speakers addressed the CSLA students to explain how rewarding they found volunteering to be and how it had helped them develop their careers in the direction they wanted them to go. Ladies from the Kent FA and a Sports Development Officer who started off as a CSLA student were among those who spoke.

The benefits for volunteering were outlined to the students, not only the amount of self satisfaction and pride for having done something worthwhile, but also tangible rewards to motivate their involvement.

• For 10 hours of volunteering the KSDU would give their club £100 towards the cost of training to develop them as a coach
• For 25 hours they would receive a KSDU polo shirt
• For 50 hours they would receive a KSDU hoody
• The rewards for volunteering 100 and 200 hours were yet to be decided.

The FA award certificates for volunteering 10, 25 and 100 hours as well as supporting them in their development as a coach

The students were told how to proceed and advised to plan their placement carefully.

Support would be available from their teachers or SSCo, their mentor within the club and the KSDU itself.

After a break for lunch the students attended three workshops. One focussed on ice breaking activities, another on SAQ drills and the last taught them how to run a seated volleyball session.

At the end of the conference everyone who attended received a goody bag as well as a volunteering portfolio which contained a logbook to keep a record of all the work they were doing within sports clubs.

All the TWGSB students were enthused by the day and discussed how they wanted to get involved in volunteering during the journey back to their school.

Tim Luck
SSCo – Tunbridge Wells School Sports Coordinator