Survey of Sports Clubs 2011

19th October 2011

A review of clubs, facility access, finances, challenges and opportunities

Since 2007 the Sport and Recreation Alliance has been surveying sports clubs every two years in order to understand the financial health, membership make-up and facility usage of community sports clubs, as well as identifying challenges and opportunities they face moving forwards.

This information is vital to the Alliance as it informs and shapes the policy work it undertakes. Not only does the data highlight where the Alliance should focus future efforts, it also allows the organisation to model the potential impact of particular financial changes on sports clubs to provide informed recommendations and proposals.

The findings from this research are also valuable to the members of the Alliance, with many national governing bodies (NGBs) of sport supporting the survey and promoting it to their clubs.

Each NGB was offered the opportunity to include three of their own sport-specific questions in addition to the main body of the survey. This research therefore also provides detailed sportspecific information, which the Alliance makes available for NGBs to utilise.

The results presented in this report are based upon responses from 1,942 sports clubs across over 40 different sports. The data has been independently analysed and weighted to deliver a representative sample of the estimated 150,000 clubs that operate in community sport in the UK. This replicates the process for the 2009 survey in order to provide reliable comparisons over time and to identify key trends impacting on the sector.

It should be noted that the 2009 survey gathered data for the full financial years 2008 and 2007.

Headlines from the Survey findings:

• Club surpluses fall by almost half to an average of £1,091
• More than a quarter of clubs are running at a loss
• Annual incomes fall 15% to £35,736
• Local authority and educational establishments provide half of all playing facilities
• Annual membership fees increase to £76; up 9% since 2008
• Adult membership levels have declined 11% since 2008
• Volunteering remains critical to club survival; many clubs now have dedicated co-ordinators
• Attracting and retaining new members is a major challenge for two in three clubs
• 84% of clubs do not see the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as an opportunity

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