South Bunbury in the South West Football League are now proudly the first community football club in regional Western Australia to be acknowledged as a "Quality Club" as part of the RAC AFL Quality Club Program.
The AFL recognise the importance of ensuring quality at the many thousands of community clubs across the nation and see it as a valuable tool to ensure the sustainable growth of the game is retained and improved upon.
Secretary Graeme McGee was the driving force behind South Bunbury FC gaining this accreditation, and recently took possession of the club's Bronze Level RAC QCP Certificate which will be proudly displayed within the clubrooms.
"The South Bunbury FC have been very aware of the benefits in running a professional organisation and I was pleased to discover that we were already achieving in the areas deemed important under the Quality Club Program. Working closely with Glenn Morley, Community Development Coordinator for the West Australian Football Commission we were able to provide evidence of our credentials which entitled us to be issued with the Bronze Level status", Graeme commented.
Long serving club President Craig Cahill was proud of his club's achievement and he believes this will be a great initiative to ensure his club remains strong both on and off the field. "Players, members, sponsors and volunteers can be proud that South Bunbury FC is worthy of this accreditation, and I believe this shows that we are very aware of the importance that good administration brings to the game. We look forward to the challenge of becoming the first regional club to achieve Silver Level status, and then perhaps we can strive for Gold!" says Craig.
Shane Atherton, Regional Football Development Manager for the WA Football Commission is delighted that South Bunbury have been so proactive in achieving their bronze level status. "The RAC QCP confirms that the club has all the checks and balances in place to run a successful operation. I am confident that most of the 46 SW community clubs are at Bronze level or extremely close to it, and now its a matter of following the process to be recognised for being so. South Bunbury FC have lead the way and I hope to see many other SW clubs follow their example and proudly boast to their members, players and supporters that they are indeed a "quality club". Its great recognition for all the work that is sometimes taken for granted and not leveraged to its true potential" Shane said.
The 2010 season saw the commencement of the state-wide rollout of the Quality Club Program (QCP)
The concept of the Quality Club Program is to provide an opportunity for all community football clubs in WA to achieve a minimum standard of club administration and to recognise and reward clubs for achieving the base standard through to standards of excellence.
Through the Quality Club program, clubs will have the opportunity to achieve the following levels:
- Bronze – a level to recognise good club administration.
- Silver - a level to recognise excellent club administration.
- Gold – a level to recognise exceptional club administration.
BENEFITS TO CLUBS
Creating a quality environment is of enormous benefit to football clubs as a whole and all of its members. Some of the benefits of being involved with this program include:
- Providing an atmosphere that will help to attract new participants, officials and members (& retain those you already have);
- Providing an environment that will be attractive to sponsors and help your club promote itself amongst the community and particularly to your local Council;
- Minimising many risks associated with running a sporting club;
- Creating a best practice guide for your current Committee and all future Committees; and
- Participating in a sport that can continue to promote itself as a leading sport where quality is valued highly.
- Ultimately, the benefit of being involved in this program is to create a better club!
Clubs can complete an initial online survey to get an idea of the benchmarks set for the RAC Quality Club Program. http://forms.wafootball.com.au/view.php?id=48
