NORTH SHORE NEEDS HELP FROM NORTH SHORE
We’ve been very successful in building our footy programs at North Shore in recent years to provide playing opportunities for people at all levels, while also improving the quality of what we provide for talented players aspiring to higher levels.
However, behind that good news story we have reached a critical position with off field support that, if not addressed, will jeopardise the future of our onfield programs.
What was a reasonably healthy off field support base a few years ago has been eroded through two really difficult years during the ground redevelopment and then by two years of Covid. This has been compounded by some great volunteers being impacted by ill health, relocation, work commitments and so on.
The nett effect is that in 2022 a relatively small number of people were required to do an enormous amount of work each week to make sure we were able to field teams, run match days and meet our commitments to the AFL, the Council and others.
The load carried by individuals in 2022 isn’t sustainable and it’s also known that the ranks of those that were involved 2022 will be thinned out further in 2023.
So we have to address this and North Shore needs to help North Shore, because no-one else will. If you care about the club and would like to see our programs continue to improve, then we really need your help.
There are a wide range of ways to pitch in and a number of which are listed below.
If you are in a position to help, or would like further information, please email John Goode at president@northshorefc.com.au and cc Liz Fitzgerald at secretary@northshorefc.com.au
Match Day Management – Help with set up, pack up and oversight of match days. This would typically be a block of a couple of hours. Staffing of various roles and management of the canteen are organised separately, but Match Day Management coordinates and supports onsite volunteers as required.
Timekeeping – This a reasonably straightforward, but very important role to ensure that games are timed properly, the match day runs on schedule, the scoreboard is correct etc.
Events Management – We have excellent Events management, but would like more help so that we can do more in this space. There are a variety of ways to help out, including assisting with existing functions, or helping with new, round specific initiatives like Anzac Day, Indigenous Round, Junior Club Day and Pride Day.
Sponsorship & Fundraising Support – We’re looking to put a team together to help optimise support for our existing sponsors, as well as to capitalise on new opportunities. We also need to identify and capitalise on fundraising opportunities.
Club Umpires – We have some fantastic club umpires, but most are players and with the scheduling of games often overlapping, managing players to club umpire can be very difficult. In view of that, we’re looking for people who would like to get involved and get some fitness work in while they’re helping out.
Merchandise Management – This involves the ordering, control and distribution of club attire and jumpers. A team approach would be ideal for this.
Pathway Coordinators (girls and boys) – Some great work has been done in this space and a very good template has been established. However, due to the sheer size of the girls and boys pathways now, we need more people involved to ensure the right level of engagement for each junior club/school. A fair amount of this can be done remotely.
Footy Operations Coordinators – Our teams are grouped into 3 senior men’s squads, 2 senior women’s squads and 1 under 19 squad. The operations coordinators for each squad coordinate training times/space, equipment, etc, manage/notify milestone games and liaise with other coordinators and the Executive – Football Operations to resolve issues that might arise.
Assistant Treasurers – To help the Treasurer with a variety of tasks. Virtually all work can be done remotely.
Council & Government LIaison – We’ve been keen for some time to build a team to lead Council and Government liaison. With the size of the club and its associated pathway, North Shore is a significant stakeholder in sport on the North Shore, but our connections and visibility at Council and in Government don’t reflect this.
North Shore Network – The club and some key people associated with it have been keen for some time to formally build a North Shore Network that provides professional, business and personal connections through association with the club. This clearly requires a team effort, but would provide significant benefit to past, present and future North Shore people
Website Management – We would like to add to the team who help create/update our website and have a single point of contact to provide information to. This role can be undertaken completely remotely.
Compliance Management – The AFL and the Council have a range of requirements the club needs to comply with. This includes things like our license to hire the facility, submission of accounts, team nominations, ensuring coaches are accredited, WWC checks are done and so on. In most cases the actual work is done by others, but we need to ensure we verify we’ve done all that we should have, by the required dates. This role can be done entirely remotely.
Milestone Games – As the name indicates, this role involves tracking the games played across the club and notifying coaches, coordinators and players of impending milestone games. This role can be done completely remotely.
