During these difficult times there's plenty to do to give you and your club a flying start once the government gives the all-clear. Here are a few ideas for things to do while we wait
Sort out your club's admin
Administration is often something we like to put off for a rainy day. Well, that rainy day is now here and there's no better time to attack that pile of stuff' that you've been putting off. Perhaps your website could do with updating - this could be as simple as checking that the details of club contacts are still correct, or creating a new page to reflect the latest club developments. Or you might want to overhaul the whole website with some new photos and design - you'll never get a better opportunity than this downtime' to dedicate to it. Read our guide on how to develop your club for inspiration.
If you have access for your club through the members' portal, please check your club has its logo uploaded, its web address entered, you appear correctly on the Clubfinder, with the correct contact details showing for people trying to get in touch, and your ranges are all correctly registered. Have you downloaded the current insurance documents? Do you have three people with access to these records to help share the club admin? If not, the Secretary can email membership@archerygb.org and request access for someone else on the committee.
Keeping in touch
How are you keeping in touch with other club members, in particular new members in the club who don't know everyone very well? Why not get some conversations going online, or a club/beginners video call, or club photo challenge or fitness challenge, or find out what people are doing through this time. Could your club be a lifeline? Is there anyone who needs help but has no-one else to turn to?
Using social media channels for club promotion
Now we have the new dates for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, it's a great opportunity to jazz up your social media channels. Perhaps you're in a rut and want to liven things up with a new channel, like TikTok or Instagram (see our Instagram tips on page 30 of the Spring issue of Archery UK) or maybe you can dedicate more time to Facebook posts. Think of social media as a shop window for your club and reach out to new audiences and let them see why your club is the one to join. Have a look at our handy guide to help you with social media.
Perhaps one of your existing members is a social media whizz and has time to help - and find out if you have any stars in the making who can use this downtime to create and present a fun video about what makes your club so brilliant. With a bit of nifty editing you could have fantastic footage in no time.
Look after your kit
This non-shooting period could be well used to help look after or improve your kit - with Archery GB's Paralympic Technician Kieran Carr ready to answer your questions, you can set yourself up to be ready for action once the government lifts our lockdown. Drop us a line on social media @ArcheryGB with your kit questions for Kieran. It's also a good time to catch up on some reading to refresh your knowledge - see our recommended booklist for ideas.
Set yourself new goals
Perhaps you've got yourself into a bit of a rut and want to consider different styles of archery, for yourself or as a potential club offering. The winter months generally force us indoors and we may find we have to pick up where we left off if our outdoor shooting months are lost to coronavirus this year. But that's no reason not to consider different shooting options for next year. Whether you want to try target, field, flight or clout, there's something to appeal to everyone - field archery is great exercise and an exciting prospect for next summer.
Partnerships
If you're looking for a way to join forces with other local sports clubs, turn to Active Partnerships (formerly County Sports Partnerships) for help connecting with relevant local organisations, such as schools and community groups, and for help with funding advice. You can also check out our Handy Guide to Sports Funding. During the coronavirus crisis, Sport England has announced a £195 million rescue package for sport which may benefit your club.
Funding advice for clubs in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England
Sport Scotland has new advice to help you cope with Covid-19-related implications to your club covering running costs, staff considerations, emergency grants, loans, VAT, and general advice.
On 1 April, Welsh Government and Sport Wales announced emergency funding of £400,000 for community sport in Wales. The Welsh government has confirmed they are making £200,000 available to provide support to not-for-profit sports clubs. This is being match-funded with £200,000 from Sport Wales.
Sport Wales and Welsh Government have worked together to identify an initial fund of up to £8.1 million in addition to the Emergency Relief Fund. This will be used to support sports clubs and well-established partner networks who are so vital in ensuring the nation is able to remain active.
Sport NI is getting monies, already allocated through Lottery funded programmes, to eligible governing bodies of sport and sports clubs and organisations, as announced by the Minister on 30 March, both for the last year (ending 31 March 2020) and this year (starting 1 April 2020). This is to ensure sports will have money to pay staff, alleviate cash-flow concerns, provide assurance to staff, and keep the organisations afloat. Sport NI is working hard on a range of ways to flexibly support your organisation through this crisis and beyond, and commits to having a single point of contact within the organisation for such situations. Please discuss any issues with your point of contact within Sport Northern Ireland.
Sport England have announced a 195 million pound fund to help sport and activity providers through coronavirus, the full announcement can be read here.
Beginners welcome
Having lost the Big Weekend in May, Archery GB's best promotional event for potential new members, now's a good time to redress the balance and think of what your club can do to inspire new archers through your door when life returns to normal. This could be a combination of things we've mentioned above, including using social media and your existing members to help spread the word through their own channels or getting in touch with your local newspaper about a special public event that you might later stage at your club.
Keep fit
Don't let the lockdown keep you from staying in shape. There are plenty of home workout ideas out there, including from our very own Archery GB athletes. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @ArcheryGB to see our latest training videos to help maintain those archery muscles, and don't forget to check Sport England's Join the Movement campaign for more fitness ideas. See all the latest social posts: #stayinworkout
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