Governance should be a focus point for all rugby clubs. Appointing effective leaders with skills and experience, together with appropriate and constantly reviewed policies and procedures, ensures that a club achieves good governance.
It is important to remember that good governance is never static or fully achieved. All clubs have an ongoing opportunity to change, transform and be better. The way to achieve this is to be selfless, determined and focused on what is best for the club.
Governance is having the processes and systems in place to enable good decision-making, ensuring the rugby club can achieve its purpose. When governing, a club must follow a set of rules and laws determined by legislation and the club’s constitution. These rules and laws are a club’s policies and procedures which outline what the club, and its members, can and cannot do.
As opposed to the corporate sector, governance of sporting clubs is unique as there are specific characteristics of a sporting club which may cause obstacles:
- Clubs may have long-standing traditions which can make change difficult
- The vast majority of people involved in grassroots rugby are volunteers and may also fill multiple and conflicting/overlapping roles
- Even experienced members of a club can make decisions from the heart rather than the head
- A focus on on-field success can override good governance practices.
- Clubs have a broad range of stakeholders (e.g., players, coaches, managers, alumni, volunteers, community)
All people involved in the club are responsible for bringing the policies and structures of governance to life. These policies and structures are only meaningful if they are implemented, enacted and enforced by people within the organisation.
A club should also have in place a formal handover procedure to support incoming committee/Board members into each role.
It is a statutory requirement that clubs have an Annual General Meeting (AGM) every year to discuss the yearly results. These meetings also give its members, community and key stakeholders an update on the club’s current direction, financial health and plans for the future. The AGM is also the club’s opportunity to revitalise the organisation through the election of committee/board positions for the next year.
Policies, within an organisation, are critical as they guide consistent action throughout the club and support decision making. Policies which your club should consider and be documented are as follows:
- Insurance – Public Liability, Professional Indemnity (P.I), Personal injury (a top-up above the insurance provided by Rugby Australia e.g. private health insurance), Management Liability.
- Dispute Resolution
- Financial delegation
- Recruitment
- Selection
- Risk Management
- Communications
- Committee Procedures
- Social Media - see Rugby Australia Social Media policy
- Privacy
- Code of conduct - see Rugby Australia Code of Conduct
- Child safety - see Rugby Australia Child Safety policy
- Diversity and inclusion
- Responsible service of alcohol
- Work, health and safety
- Food safety and handling
