Volunteering: How to get involved at NSAC
Supporting the club is not just needed, it’s valued– Kelly Challis on why she loves volunteering at NSAC.
Kelly Challis has always loved athletics, so when her daughter Serena-Summer, now 12, joined NSAC three years ago, she often stayed to watch the sessions. She could see a lot of hard work went into running the club but could also see how much the volunteers were getting out of it, so it wasn’t long before she decided she’d like to get involved too.
“Serena-Summer joined as soon as she could, aged 9 and immediately loved it,” said Kelly, “so I could see us being a part of the club for many years to come. I work in education, I wanted to help, so just made sense to become more involved.”
Kelly soon started to volunteer when she could and started to get a hang of all the different competitions.
“Serena-Summer started competing in the Quad Kids events when she first joined, and we’ve been enjoying athletic competitions as a family ever since. In fact, my husband, Paul, also competes, and they have even competed at an event together, which was a very proud moment for us all.”
Team managing
Kelly is a team manager and says that while being involved in competitions and seeing NSAC compete is a highlight, she really enjoys all the training and planning too.
“There is a lot of work that goes on to get the teams ready – from the training programmes, which Chris tirelessly works on, to the organisation of the teams – who can compete, when, and what events they can do – but I really enjoy being a part of it.”
“As a team manager this year, I have been much more exposed to the logistics involved in an athletics season and the breadth of talent in the club and it has been great to support older athletes and see what challenges Serena might face in the future. All the planning is done through email, and as a complete novice, it hasn’t taken me long to understand what needs to be done and when.”
Coaching
Kelly has also recently trained to become an assistant coach, and says the training was ‘outstanding’, particularly the face-to-face session.
“The course taught me so much about coaching and how to scaffold the different events,” said Kelly.
So far, Kelly has been supporting the Long Jump group on a Monday evening and says she would be happy to develop her knowledge in jumps and take further qualifications in this area.
“When the opportunity presents itself, I will be happy to take more of a lead, but, I didn’t compete when I was younger – it is all new to me – so I am happy watching and learning from Chris, and look forward to using my qualification more when I feel ready.”
Officiating
Kelly has also completed her Level 1 officiating qualification, and while she prefers to team manage, she knows officials are in high demand, and is growing in confidence at each event.
“I will be honest, officiating is nerve-wracking, but I know quite a few events struggle due to a shortage of officials, so completing the qualification felt like the next step to me.
“The courses are online and run regularly on a choice of dates and times. They include a self-directed course and lots of resources that can be used when officiating.”
To find out more about officiating, read NSAC parent Carolyn Devereux’s story Officiating: Easier Than You Think!
Kelly has a level 1 field qualification and has only officiated at a couple of events, but says her confidence is growing.
“I have found it is well supported, with everyone doing their utmost to offer knowledge and guidance, knowing I am a novice. Recently, I was officiating a discus event and saw one lad from another club achieve a PB. I now follow his progress and enjoy catching up with him at different meets. It’s an added bonus to an already exciting day.”
Kelly concludes: “There are so many ways to support the club, and that support is not only needed but really valued. If you want to find out more about any of the ways you can get involved, I am more than happy to chat.”
Come and join the club as either an athlete, coach or volunteer by dropping us a line at our online contact form.