Sport and recreation organisations need to be in the business of communicating information to members, participants, spectators, the public, government, sponsors and otehr stakeholders. A lack of communication quickly brings complaints.
The information communication tasks of a sport and recreation organisation includes:
Basic Information includes the name of the organisation, how to get to facilities and/or clubs, benefits and costs membership costs, fees for facility usage, coaching costs, etc. This information might be published in a club handbook or communicated to prospective new customers in person, or by telephone.
The purpose of a policy is to control the behaviour of individuals within the organisation, and thereby the organisation itself. For example, a Junior Sport Policy seeks to influence how children experience sport by controlling the behaviour of coaches, parents, referees, and determining how facilities and equipment are modified. Policies need to be thoroughly communciated otherwise they do not work.
The principal activity of any sport and recreation organisation is to organise events, programs, activities for its members or customers. The organisation must inform potential participants when and where these events, programs, activities will take place. Forms of communication might include a fixtures list, a newsletter, a brochure, a poster and a club handbook.
It is commonplace in Australia for sport and recreation organisations to have a plan for the growth and development of the organisation. This is often referred to as a Development Plan and it will contain goals and objectives to be achieved within a given timeframe (often 3 years). The preparation of a Development Plan is extremely important and requires very considerable and complex communication with members, sponsors, government and other stakeholders.
Sport and recreation organisations are always recognising individuals for their achievement, dedication and/or work. This is accomplished in a variety of ways such as giving prizes, mentions in the newsletter and announcements at special events. These forms of communication help to ensure that members / customers are sufficiently happy to want to keep coming back.
Identifying and negotiating with sponsors is a difficult communication task. Sponsors need to be invited to purchase a package of benefits that will have a promotional benefit for their company and its products or services. Invitations to sponsors usually require tact and shrewd business thinking on the part of whoever is representing the sport/recreation organisation.
Formal reporting includes providing members with annual reports at the Annual General Meeting, the Auditors Report, acquittal reports to funding agencies on how their funds have been used, reports to sponsors and reports of employees to management or committee of management. These types of communication are usuaaly mandatory and sometimes they are legal consequences if not properly undertaken.
Sport/recreation organisations need to publish results, rankings, records, competition entry lists and other data about the organisation, events and participants on a very regular basis. There is a thirst for this sort of communication. Participants generally like to be informed about their sport or recreation.
In any sport /recreation organisation, the informal communication network (or grapevine) plays a major role in dispersing information among the membership or customers. People who hold high office or are employed by an organisation would especially do well to recognise the power of the grapevine. News and gossip often travels very fast!