Kembla Joggers - Fun and friendly focus
by Cathy Reid
It is not just the well-organised competitions that keep the 400 members of the Kembla Joggers coming back - it is the people.
'Our club prides itself on its friendliness. It's like one big family, a really big one at that. Our members don't care about running ability. They are comfortable with each other and everyone just mixes together,' said Club President Neil Barnett.
Kembla Joggers is much more than a jogging club. It is a network of people that share a love of running and enjoy each other's company on the track or road, as well as at the club's many social events.
This is one of the aspects that earned acknowledgment for the club at the 2003 Athletics Australia Club Development Awards, with Kembla Joggers taking out two prizes, in the 'People' and 'Planning' categories.
When we think of our people it's not just the athletes, but all the people who combine to make the club a success,' Neil said.
This happens with the support of many sponsors.
They can see the benefits their sponsorship brings and we give them recognition wherever we can. We always try and give our sponsors more than they ask.'
The club does this by recognising sponsors on their extensive web site, in their handbook and in the regular newsletter, The Fox .
We also offer free advertising and exposure whenever we can. Last year we also gave each of our sponsors a plaque to thank them.'
Sponsors are asked along to social functions and invited to give out awards at the presentation night. Members are also encouraged to take advantage of discounts offered by sponsors.
We do regular membership surveys, which are like a report card for us, and last year 95 per cent of our members said they supported the businesses which sponsor the club.'
The surveys are a useful tool for the club committee.
We use the feedback to review our decisions and plan for the future. Often some great ideas will come up in the surveys. It really gives our members a say in how the club is running. It's important to involve everyone in the decision-making, even if it is only in a little way.'
It is this approach that won the club their second Athletics Australia award for planning.
We plan 18 months ahead and we keep an updated list of projects we want to get up and running.'
These can range from the recent acquisition of an equipment van to their most ambitious project to date, lobbying the Wollongong City Council to buy a parcel of semi-rural land for community use, where the club can develop a national standard cross-country course as well as a clubhouse.
It'll be a great facility for the whole community and I envisage we will be part of the management team.'
As for their own administrative structure, the Kembla Joggers have a committee of 16 who fill traditional roles as well as having various other responsibilities. There are also eight sub-committees.
We introduced the sub-committee structure when our normal committee meetings started dragging on for hours. There were a lot of things that didn't really need to be discussed at the general meetings so we decided it would be better to get sub-committees to look after some of the other areas, like race organisation, juniors and social events.
This spreads the workload and sub-committees just report back to the main committee when necessary. This has streamlined our operations and made us more efficient.'
It has been a huge turnaround for the club that was floundering just a decade ago when Neil and many of the current committee members took over and worked to change the focus.
Back then the members were predominantly men in their 30s to 50s. Now we are very junior driven, and in fact 40 per cent of members are kids. This has created a very family-friendly club and now instead of parents dragging their kids along, the kids are dragging their parents along. Our membership of women has also skyrocketed.'
One of the reasons for the boom in numbers is the focus on participation and fun for runners of all ages and abilities. The events are run on a handicap system, where runners go off at different times worked out by a computer system.
It is a great leveller. Any runner can finish first, second, third or last on any given day. We also encourage people to stay and talk after the events by providing free refreshments. The social part is very important.'
That is not to say the club does not have a vast array of sporting talent. Honorary members include Dave Power, a British Empire dual gold medallist and Olympic bronze medallist for the 10,000 metres, former World Duathlon Champion Jonathan Hall and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kerryn McCann.
It's great to have people from so many different sporting backgrounds. That really brings something to the club. But our social runners and juniors are just as important.'
For those who do want to be more competitive, the club has an Athlete Development Fund and a Junior Assistance Fund to help offset costs. Financial support is also available to coaches, officials and administrators.
'We'll provide support for anything that will be of benefit to the club.'
Many of the funds are provided by fund-raisers and in particular an annual trivia night. This is just one of many regular social events, which also include monthly Friday Night Feasts, theatre nights, barbeques, weekends away and even overseas trips, culminating in the club's night of nights - the annual presentation night.
This year is the club's thirtieth birthday and celebrations will be fairly low key, as the committee is 'still recovering from the twenty-fifth birthday'! But there will no doubt be many future birthday celebrations as Kembla Joggers continues to thrive and expand, expecting a record membership for 2003.
For more information on Kembla Joggers Club: www.kemblajoggers.org.au.
