Establishing an AU Sport Club

Establishing an AU Sport Club

In this section:

Over time the popularity of the type of sports that people like to participate in changes.


At AU Sport we encourage and support students who want to establish a new affiliated sports club. For those wanting to undertake this process, we ask that you look at the following to assist you with your understanding of what is involved in establishing and managing an AU Sport club.


Benefits of being an AU Sport affiliated club:

There are a number of benefits to being an affiliated club of AU Sport which include:

  • Association with the University of Adelaide and AU Sport

  • Access and support from AU Sport

  • Access to grants and insurance programs

  • Access to AU Sport facilities

  • Access to AU Sport events and leadership opportunities
     

New Club Criteria

To qualify for affiliation, clubs must go through a probation period and:

  • Be constituted

  • Maintain a 50% student base membership

  • Comply with AU Sport policy and practices


People considering forming a new Club need to consider the following:

  • AU Sport only considers sports and recreation activities as defined by the AU Sport Club Affliation Policy

  • AU Sport will not establish or affiliate new clubs where an AU Sport Club already exists for that sport

  • For martial arts clubs: AU Sport has previously recognised a national style as being sufficiently different to qualify for acceptance as a separate club. For example, the Tae Kwon Do (Korea), Karate (Japan) and Kung Fu (China) clubs are regarded as three different martial arts Clubs. Due to the increasing interest within the University community in several different styles of martial arts, AU Sport will consider on merit, new applications from martial arts Clubs based on the number of members, its capacity to have a long term future and its general organisation.

  • Depending on the size of the club at least 6 people should be involved at committee level

  • AU students need to be involved in the process

  • It is recommended that those establishing a club should source Directors and Officers Insurance, as probation club are not covered under the AU Sport insurance scheme. All club members are also not covered by this scheme and the club should investigate its insurance options

  • Work with AU Sport staff and be aware of affiliated club requirements

  • AU Sport will not provide financial assistance for clubs until they are affiliated

  • New clubs will need to seek approval from AU Sport for the limited use of the name ‘Adelaide University’ and of AU Sport branding

  • In line with the ‘AU Sport Affiliation of Clubs Policy’, if a ‘probation’ club does not meet the AU Sport requirements for new clubs within 18 months, eg not reached required membership percentages for students or a stable committee has not yet been formed etc, the Club will be given an additional 12 months, at the discretion of the Board, to meet these requirements.


If the club after the further 12 months period still does not meet the requirements, the affiliation process will cease. This means that the club will not receive support from AU Sport in the form of promotion, access to AU Sport events and use of the AU Sport website membership system. The club will also have to cease using any AU Sport or University of Adelaide branding. This could mean a change in name, uniform and colours.  Any costs involved with this change are the responsibility of the club and its members.

The club will not be able to seek affiliation with AU Sport within the next 12 month period. After this 12 month period, if the same or a different group of people want to again seek affiliation for the club, the club will need to undertake a further 18 month probation period. 
 

How AU Sport can help

As stated, AU Sport does not provide financial assistance to probation clubs, however, assistance can be provided in the following areas:

  • Guidance to those managing the club

  • Access to the AU Sport website and online membership system (which must be used by all AU Sport Clubs for membership from 2020)

  • Access to promotional opportunities (i.e. O Week, Clubs in the Hub, Facebook)

  • Advice on merchandise options

  • Postal address for mail

  • Support to access facilities (where possible)
     

What next?

To start the process, please:
- Look over the 'New Club Check List'
- Complete the 'New Club Application' form
- Arrange a meeting with AU Sport staff member (sdo@theblacks.com.au), to discuss your application


To re-start an AU Sport affiliated club that has been inactive:

For those who would like to establish an affiliated club that has been inactive, they should consider undertaking the same process for a new club. They should at least:
 

  • Elect committee members

  • Recruit members (remember that half of your membership base should be students from AU)

  • Comply with the club’s constitution (can be obtained from the AU Sport office)

  • Re-open a club account, preferably with a Bank SA branch