Noarlunga United Soccer Club is very proud to announce that we have gained full accreditation as a STARCLUB. Several months ago the Management Committee appointed me to undertake the project management of gaining accreditation as a STARCLUB, a government of South Australia initiative of the Office of Recreation and Sport. 

My first thoughts were that this project would be reasonably straight forward, and to be completed within a few weeks. I vastly underestimated the project and the detail required in each element of the project. Current statistics from the Office of Recreation and Sport show that that there 2094 registrations in the program of which 1650 are clubs and to-date only 377 have achieved STARCLUB recognition. So 1 in every 5 applicants so far has got a Guernsey! NUSC Management Committee are very proud to announce that we are one of those clubs.

What is STARCLUB? A STARCLUB has proven that it is a well-managed club, with quality coaches and officials who work alongside valued volunteers in a safe and welcoming environment. By NUSC being a STARCLUB we are setting benchmarks for the club for continuous improvement and ongoing development. We can continue to measure NUSC against the STARCLUB criteria, to enable us to provide the best environment possible for our members and the wider community.

The Office for Recreation and Sport believes a successful club is one with clear vision going forward, one which is financially stable and has a strong membership base with a pool of volunteers sharing the workload.

In brief NUSC was required to answer 25 questions under 5 key headings from the STARCLUB Program, the Office of Recreation and Sport has built a profile of what a successful should look and act like. The 5 key elements to the STARCLUB are:

•     Well Managed
•     Coaches and Officials
•     Volunteers and Officials
•     Positive and Welcoming
•     Safe for All

In answering these questions it became evident that we needed to do more, so for each of the questions asked a new NUSC policy has been developed and written, 25 in all. They reflect all of the above STARCLUB key elements and they will in 2015, impact not only on NUSC as a club, but every member, player, official, volunteer and spectator. Codes of Conduct now apply, a Members and Volunteers Protection Policies now apply, Complaints and Conflict will now be dealt in a structured manner. Junior players and “Mum and Dad" Coaches and Officials will get access to training and have a stronger voice in the running of the club. NUSC will encourage the general community to become involved as Volunteers, Spectators or drop in for cup of coffee. The club will be provide equal opportunity for people with disability to give us hand and enjoy the social aspects of the club and hopefully, one day join in a small sided competition. To move forward NUSC must have an emphasis on the community and develop relationships with local schools, the council, other sporting clubs and the general southern populace.