Rowing Ireland has announced the launch of the Club Culture Toolkit. The aim is to assist clubs to achieve a great club culture and improve gender equality through a 12-step process.
It was designed through a process of research with the membership of Rowing Ireland via a survey of over 1150 members including junior rowers, masters rowers, senior rowers, coaches and committee members.
The results highlighted gaps between the genders in terms of perceptions and attitudes with this toolkit designed to address those.
The research project began in November 2021 after a successful application to the innovative research scheme run by Sport Ireland and Healthy Ireland. The project was led by fellow Sport for Business member Leading Sport and the project was completed in November 2022.
A series of workshops will be held to support clubs through the process. These will be led by the Rowing Ireland women in sport officer Ceara O’Connor and and expert external facilitator Dave Denieffe of the South East Technological University.
‘’ Rowing Ireland are thrilled to have completed this significant project that will support our clubs,” said CEO Michelle Carpenter.
“Thank you to everyone who took part and provided valuable insights. The vast array of our membership who took the time to input into this shows the importance for everyone involved in our clubs.”
“This toolkit will now support our clubs to develop their own club culture strategies and refresh their club culture. I am delighted that this initiative will further support our clubs by providing recommendations on how to influence culture and ensure the greatest lifelong participation with the club and our sport.”
I want to thank Sport Ireland for once again supporting us in funding this exciting project under the Women in Sport initiative. A huge thank you to Ceara O’Connor who supported and took the lead in completing this project. Thank you also Claire Lambe who supported the project with the collaboration of Maeve Buckley. The findings of the project will provide great insight for our clubs as we strive to support them.
“The Rowing Ireland Club Culture Research Project is one of the few projects of this nature to be delivered by an NGB but perhaps one of the most important,” added Nora Stapleton, Women in Sport Lead at Sport Ireland.
“While the research analysis highlighted several positives within clubs, it also highlighted gaps between the genders in terms of perceptions and attitudes, particularly in relation to inequality perceived by female coaches and how they are treated, as well as females not feeling comfortable in providing honest feedback to the club leadership.”
“Positive club culture and gender equality practices are essential for progressive clubs in Ireland today and Rowing Ireland have taken an innovative approach to addressing these issues. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being part of this worthwhile project and I’m looking forward to seeing the toolkit being implemented across clubs in Ireland. I think this project has highlighted the value of conducting projects on your club culture and perhaps something other NGBs might consider.”
Sport for Business Perspective:
It takes a degree of courage to look within to see where things might be done better. This is a fine example of a project where no blame is attached to the way things are, but steps are put in place to make them better and more equal. It could well create a template for other sports to follow and continue making progress toward a truly equal sporting environment.
