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Administration .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 Marketing ..................................................................................................................................................................... .3 Let’s play netball ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Social Media ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Website ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Who can do the marketing for your club ......................................................................................................... 6 Marketing Strategies ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Advertising ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 Sponsors ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Potential Sponsors ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Sponsorship Proposal ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Sponsorship Servicing ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Volunteers ................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Attracting and retaining volunteers ............................................................................................................... 10 Glossary District Associations..... refers to any Member Association of Netball NSW Executive members.... refers to any member of the Executive Committee of a District Association plus the Sub-Committee Convenors Netball NSW......... refers to New South Wales Netball Association Ltd. – the controlling body for Netball in NSW. Social Networks..... refers to groups of individuals who share a commonality via social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

(02) 9951 5000

netball@netballnsw.com

www.netballnsw.com

facebook.com/OfficialNetballNSW

youtube.com/NetballNSWTV

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 2

The staff in the Netball NSW office are available to assist Association members with queries relating to registration, membership, insurance, member protection and many other topics. The office is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and can be contacted on:

Phone: (02) 9951 5000 Email: netballnsw@netballnsw.com Website: www.netballnsw.com

There is a wealth of information available on the Netball NSW website that may be of assistance to you; information is available on coaching and umpiring courses, NSW Swifts memberships and results, upcoming events, news items, Netball Australia information and copies of policies are quickly available.Please take the time to explore the website regularly as items are updated.

Netball NSW events such as State Age Championships; State Championships; State League, Night Inter-

Association are featured on the website. Fixtures, grading, player information and results are updated regularly to enable you to get the information you need.

District Netball Association contact details are kept up to date, and links to Association websites are available.

Available grants are posted on the Netball NSW website. Assistance with application for grants is available from the Netball NSW office.

Netball NSW holds a Biennial Conference which includes a variety of courses to provide Association members with information on areas including administration, umpiring, coaching, marketing, sponsorship and many more.

Associations should understand the importance of good governance. Constitutions/by-laws/policies should be reviewed regularly and updated accordingly. A template constitution is available on the Netball NSW website. Once in place, it is imperative that your ruling documents are followed consistently.

An extremely useful tool to assist with your Association’s development and management is to have a strategic and financial plan in place. By having strategic goals, you can create the strategic actions needed to put in place to achieve your goals. These strategic objectives and actions should be reviewed regularly to judge performance. Many Executive members benefit by having strategic goals to work towards, and it makes it easier to spread the work load over a larger number of people. Sample Strategic Business Plan (Sport and Recreation – a part of Communities NSW)

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 3

LET’S PLAY NETBALL

‘letsplaynetball’ is a campaign created by the Netball NSW Sports Marketing Committee with the object to assist Associations to grow their membership.

A banner, which had the ‘letsplaynetball’ website on it, with room for the Association to put their local details on as well, was provided free of charge to Associations who requested it –to be displayed in a high traffic area of the Association. To take advantage of this initiative and receive a banner to post in your local area, please contact the Netball NSW Marketing Team on 9951 5000.

The ‘letsplaynetball’ concept can also be adapted to flyers which Associations can distribute at shopping centres and schools. Click on this link to see an example.

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 4

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social networking sites are becoming the newest way for people to communicate, and netball should not be left behind. Associations can investigate social media and decide which is suitable to their needs. Facebook is one of the most commonly used social media platforms and it is easy to set up and manage an Official Association page which can communicate with members at a time suitable to them. Pros and Cons of Social Networks:

The only cost is the time spent updating and monitoring your accounts. It is immediate - for example, you can post a Wet Weather notification which would help reduce the

number of phone calls to your Wet Weather hotline/clubhouse on a rainy day etc People will be able to post negative comments on your posts Notification of page activity: You can elect to get emailed a notification every time someone posts on your

page or comments on one of your posts. This allows you to respond to any queries in a timely manner as well as manage any potentially offensive comments as whilst you cannot stop anybody commenting on your posts, you can delete their comments if of an offensive nature.

It can open up a lot of unexpected possibilities – the Adelaide Thunderbirds first approached star shooter Carla Borrego on Facebook!

Social Media Marketing (Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) How sports teams can use social media. (CIK Marketing) Netball star fights ‘fat’ facebook insult (NZ Herald)

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 5

WEBSITE

Association websites are a useful tool to assist in marketing your association. Links for events and competitions should be bright, easy to access and read, and updated regularly.

Your website should be welcoming, and it is advantageous to include some wording that ensures people that they will be warmly welcomed in to your Association. Contact information should be easy to find and up to date.

A website is not just a marketing tool but also a communication tool. It is an easy way to update your members on the latest news and results from your Association and should be updated regularly.

The Netball NSW office can offer support in areas of the NMAS system and website training and support.

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 6

WHO CAN DO THE MARKETING FOR YOUR CLUB?

It is advantageous to allot all your marketing to a specific person. In netball the majority of marketing people are unpaid, but Associations could investigate whether paying someone to carry out specific tasks would be beneficial. If there is no one in the Association that is able to take on the role, it could be offered to local university/college marketing students as work experience.

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 7

MARKETING STRATEGIES

For help on how to write your own Marketing Strategy, have a look at Sport and Recreation’s resources – Marketing Plans TheirSample Marketing Planmay help get you started.

Have you thought about the opportunity to market your sport in local schools? Netball NSW can assist you with information about our Schools Program, and you can be pro-active in contacting local schools in your Association and helping them with netball programs. Some Associations allocate specific schools to individual clubs within their association to be the contact for netball and to assist schools in their netball program. The Netball NSW office can put you in contact with our Schools Program if you are in the Sydney metropolitan area, and with the Regional Co-ordinator for regional Associations.

It is important to look for local contacts to market your sport, such as local papers, community radio, etc.

Some ideas to assist would be searching online for Community Noticeboards of local radio stations and event websites (egWhat’s on Sydney) where you can advertise your events for free.

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 8

ADVERTISING

Less than 20% of respondents to a recent survey use radio or television to market their Association. Community Radio is a great way to access marketing opportunities. Information on Community Radio can be found at www.cbonline.org.au

Advertising your events in materials you alreadyproduce is cost effective, eg. Promote your fundraising event in your Season Fixture Guide. Eg The NSW Swifts Membership ad below was placed in the Netball NSW Masters Program.

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 9

Having a specific person to look after all things connected with sponsors makes it much easier for both your Association and for the sponsor. Initial approach can be made by direct contact like cold calling, or by a connection of a member or friend. Some of your members may be involved or own businesses that may be potential sponsors, and who are just waiting for someone to approach them. POTENTIAL SPONSORS

Seventy-five percent of Associations’ sponsors come from local businesses in addition to areas such as sporting equipment/apparel, beverage, medical, banking/finance, venue, fast foods, health products and electrical/white goods. Selling Sponsorship (Sport and Recreation www.dsr.gov.au)

SPONSORSHIP PROPOSAL

Having a list of categories and price points for each sponsorship category and a list of expectations of the

partnership from both points of view will make it easier to get to the point of agreement. It is important to have statistics to provide to the prospective sponsor to support your case such as the

number of clubs/players in your Association and demographics such as age groups, geographical zones. This will show the sponsor how much exposure they would receive, for example 3,000 people receive your newsletter.

Time spent prior to any meeting putting your case together will be beneficial in making the initial approach more professional. Sponsorship Proposal Guidelines (Sport and Recreation www.dsr.gov.au)

SPONSORSHIP SERVICING

Once you have signed up a sponsor, it is very important to ensure that all details of the partnership are

carried through. Many Associations acknowledge their sponsors by having signage at the courts, on the Association website, logos in event programs, goal post padding branding, uniform branding, in the Association newsletter, logo on all communications, corporate hospitality and providing information to their members on the businesses who sponsor their Association.

An important area of sponsorship is ensuring the sponsor feels involved and connected to your Association. Speaking to sponsors regularly is important, and inviting them to Association events is valuable.

Keeping Sponsors Engaged – including a case study of Penrith Netball Association (Sport and Recreation www.dsr.gov.au)

Netball NSW - Club & Association Information Kit Page 10

Volunteers are an integral part of our sport. Netball competitions would not be able to operate without them! Volunteers assist in many ways, such as coaching, umpiring, managing, canteen workers, BBQ workers,

Executive and Committee members, competition management, cleaning, grading, promotion, fundraising, training, grounds maintenance, discipline, time-keeping, recording, and many more. All volunteers are very important.

ATTRACTING AND RETAINING VOLUNTEERS

One of the most difficult areas of managing a District Netball Association is the attraction and retention of volunteers. In a world where everyone is time-poor, it is important to ensure that your volunteers get a sense of achievement and appreciation for the time that they give to your Association. Netball NSW Volunteer Recognition and Awards Policy Australian Sports Commission’s Resources on Volunteers

There are a number of ways to attract volunteers which include asking members’ family and friends,

advertising on your website, in local papers, on radio or on Go Volunteer, a free national volunteer recruitment website.

It is important to have set guidelines for the positions that volunteers will fill, which allows them to understand the role, and to know what is expected from them.

Once you have attracted volunteers to your Association you need to ensure that these volunteers are recognised and appreciated.

o Some Associations find that just saying thanks is an important step in this, while others subsidise memberships, provide a gift at Presentation Day, have other volunteer awards such as providing volunteer clothing or having a list of volunteers displayed on their website. Associations also have more prestigious awards for those who have done outstanding service, such as Service Awards for a certain number of years service, and Life Memberships of their Association.

o Netball NSW also provide Volunteer Certificates for 5, 10, 15, and five year increments of service to Associations who nominate their volunteers for the Volunteers Recognition Scheme.

o Netball NSW’s most prestigious award is the Anne Clarke Service Award, named after Anne Clarke, our first President, who embodied the spirit of volunteering. Nominations for the Anne Clarke Service Awards are called for each yearand presented at the Netball NSW Annual Dinner. Up to five nominees may be awarded each year. This award is for service to the sport of netball, not just state service, and is commonly awarded to people who have put in many years of service at their Association Association.

o Every five years, Netball NSW holds a President’s Dinner which is held on the Saturday of State Championship weekend. At the dinner Netball NSW presents the Long Serving Volunteers Awards which Associations can nominate their long serving people for.

(02) 9951 5000

netball@netballnsw.com

www.netballnsw.com

facebook.com/OfficialNetballNSW

youtube.com/NetballNSWTV