Boards and committees

Within sports clubs and associations, structures need to be in place that promote and maintain sound governance and administration.

A club’s board enables the organisation to be run effectively by applying good governance principles and practices. The board’s role is to govern and should not be involved in management or operational decision-making.

The trend today is for sport clubs and associations to have far smaller boards with greater use of committees for planning purposes. Generally, committees should report to the board once a year on their annual plan and periodically report to the board through the executive officer.

Role of the board

A board is made up of directors and committees of management.

Main roles and tasks:

• Set objectives, define policy and develop strategic direction
• Incorporate good governance and ethical standards into daily activities
• Specify the delegation of the chair, executive officer (whether paid or volunteer) and board
• Ensure the executive officer provides satisfactory leadership, planning, organisation, control and succession
• Monitor the performance of management and volunteer team
• Monitor the performance of the organisation against the agreed goals
• Ensure present plans and actions provide for the organisation’s continuity
• Manage communication with members and other stakeholders including government, sponsors etc
• Manage risk
• Clearly indentify board and management responsibilities
• Ensure compliance with policies, laws and regulations
• Emphasise and concentrate on long-term goals
• Undertake a regular review of the organisation’s finances.

Role and function of the chair

The main role is leadership, ensuring effectiveness in all aspects of the governance role. The chair manages meetings and ensures that the board is balanced and board discussion is open and includes all directors. It is also the chair’s responsibility to ensure that relevant issues are included in the agenda and that all directors receive timely information for meetings.

Board size

There are no hard and fast rules regarding board size. It should be appropriate for the size of the organisation. Five is a good rule of thumb for small to medium sized organisations.

Appointment and selection of board members

For small clubs, term limits of three years is preferred to ensure the board maintains a level of consistency in decision making and stability and is held accountable for policy and strategy.

Role of board members

Board members must meet regularly, ideally monthly. As a general rule, an organisation must provide its directors with sufficient freedom of action to exercise the leadership necessary to ensure successful implementation of strategy.

Ethics and code of conduct

Your club should consider developing a code of conduct that defines acceptable standards of personal behaviour.

Board composition

The board should comprise of people with an appropriate range of skills. Generally they should:

• have the ability to think laterally
• have good communication skills
• be financially literate
• be able to understand and relate to stakeholders
• be ethical, honest and trustworthy
• be a team player.

Members of the board should be given title of Director, and if elected or appointed a portfolio, the title of that portfolio eg Director of Finance. The board should not bind itself to out of date terminology such as treasurer or secretary. Ensure there is an independent chair.

Board independence

The majority of individuals on the board should be genuinely independent and not people who are retained as professional advisers.

Role and function of management committees

Committees should relieve the board of certain tasks and be developed to capitalise on the specialist skills of people willing to contribute their time and expertise. Committees should create terms of reference and circulate minutes of each meeting to the board and management as well as report to the board at least once a year.

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