CASE STUDY
St Peter’s GAA Club Warrenpoint
St Peter’s GAA Club Warrenpoint operates a fully integrated one club model for GAA, Camogie and Ladies Gaelic Football with one Senior Management Committee (SMC) and 9 core sub-committees. With a large club operating with many teams and volunteers, creating clear terms of reference has allowed the club to provide good governance and leadership with appropriate control of the club’s activities.
The SMC is the controlling body of the club with all the business and affairs of St Peter’s GAA Club Warrenpoint under its ultimate control. The SMC is supported by Executive Officers, responsible for areas of development within the club that align to their skill set. Officers are provided with documented roles and responsibilities, allowing them to report back effectively to the SMC. One key responsibility is outlined throughout each role description and that is to support the implementation of the club’s 5 year development plan.
St Peter’s also provide significant information on its website. All members of club committees from the SMC, Executive and subcommittees such as Hurling, Football, Camogie, Finance, Communications, Cultural and Social, are listed on the website so members are aware of who is responsible for specific activities. Subcommittee Chairpersons meet with relevant members of the SMC to agree on activities for the year ahead with all activities linked to the club development plan. Members can also find the roles of the Officers and Committees on the website.
Recruitment of members to the club is clearly outlined through a structured process and newly recruited coaches to the club have to go through an application process requiring coaches to abide by several club policies and procedures. Applications must be accompanied by a reference form from another member or relevant person. The club has a comprehensive set of policies and procedures which include Disciplinary, Complaints and Appeals, Equal Opportunities, Codes of Conduct for Administrators as well as relevant safeguarding policies. All of these are again found on the club website.
Risk Management is considered pivotal to promoting future growth of club and preserving existing assets. An annual risk assessment is carried out reflecting the club’s risk appetite and risk management is embedded in club strategic planning and corporate governance including club policies.
The club operates strong financial management controls incorporating annual budgets, financial reports at bi-weekly SMC meetings, Quarterly Accounts, Financial Commentary and Variance Analysis Reporting, in addition to Internal Financial Control Procedures covering income, purchasing, expenditure and banking. St Peter’s have a strong ethos of communication with its membership. The clearly outlined roles and responsibilities allow the SMC to effectively manage activities throughout the year.
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