All clubs, parents and coaches will be given access to a customised Gymnastics  Australia platform which includes all of the exclusive WWPIS content featuring over 250 blogs, videos, podcasts and infographics.

Included in the platform are two of our main resources: Great Sports Parenting and Engage.

Workshops and webinars will be delivered across the country to bring these resources to life and it is hoped that the project will create a real sense of partnership with clubs, coaches and parents working effectively together to create the best possible environments for young gymnasts, putting them at the heart of the sporting experience.

Also available for purchase for clubs and parents is the ‘Our Sporting Journey’ series for Under 5, Under 7 and Under 9  gymnasts which incorporate two gymnastic years in each book.

The ‘Our Sporting Journey’ is a series of interactive books for children, putting them at the heart of the sporting experience, allowing them to have plenty of fun, grow as people both on and off the field and immerse themselves in their sporting experience as they progress through their sporting journey.

The books all have plenty of activities for children, encourage positive interaction between children and their parents, require plenty of parental involvement whether that be in having positive conversations, playing in the garden or helping to stick in the pictures that will allow everyone to build up a memory book that will last a lifetime.

Gymnastics Australia, General Manager, Member Services, Bradley Low said the partnership is yet another important step in the organisation’s ongoing commitment to ensuring members can safely enjoy their sport.

 ‘With 97.95% of our national membership under the age of 18, Gymnastics Australia is excited to partner with Working with Parents in Sport, an organisation that aims to empower clubs, coaches and parents to work together to support and encourage a safe and welcoming environment for young people,’ said Low.

Gordon MacLelland(CEO of WWPIS) said,

‘It is really exciting to be working with Gymnastic Australia and see the passion and determination shown by the National Governing Body to create the best possible environments for young gymnasts and their support networks. We are looking forward to being part of this incredible project and can’t wait to see the positive impact it has on the whole sport over the coming years.’

The current development focusses on a suite of bespoke resources, parent workshops – including webinars – and these will be launched over the coming months as Judo Scotland member clubs return to judo activity.

Once launched, the resources will be available to all parents of young judoka in membership of Judo Scotland, providing practical hints, tips, guidance, support and advice to maximise the opportunities for the holistic development of their children whilst they take part in the sport.

CEO Gordon MacLelland said,

‘This is an extremely exciting partnership.  A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes and we are thrilled to be working with an organisation who aligns with so many of our core values.  We look forward to seeing a really positive impact in the coming months and years.’

Tony Penfold (Head of Business Delivery, JudoScotland):

“WWPIS have been leading the way internationally over recent years in this area, and we are excited to be working with them to deliver this valuable resource. Our coaches are doing amazing work and by providing parents with some tools to support that we can only improve the experiences in judo for young people.

We see this as a key area of development over the coming years and, with support and direction from WWPIS, look forward to far greater engagement with parents and coaches to ensure we are providing exactly what they need to support their young judoka.”

Ronnie Saez, Judo Scotland Chairman, reflected that:“Parents do an absolutely amazing job in supporting their children’s sporting endeavours. Myself and Judo Scotland are proud to be at the forefront of developing and providing specific assistance and support to these members of the wider Judo family.”

We

In this episode Scott Hann and Gordon MacLelland discuss sports parents and the role of clubs and coaches in helping to support parents through their sporting journey.
They discuss the importance of running an effective parental engagement programme and provide some support and advice for organisations, coaches and parents.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• The challenges of coaching during the lockdown period
• Giving parents a clearly defined role during the sporting journey
• Managing the challenges of puberty
• Having effective communication strategies in place between all stakeholders
• Having an open door policy and complete transparency between organisation, coach and parent
• The importance of using the sporting journey to equip our children with amazing life skills
• Recognising and managing ‘The Chimp’
• Including ‘parental engagement’ as part of coach education
• Having an organisational hierarchy to help support young coaches

You can hear more from Scott in our brand new product ‘Two Hats’ featuring advice, support and encouragement for all parent coaches including 23 interviews across 14 sports from leading figures in the sporting world.

“It is a great privilege to be part of this project alongside so many leading figures from across the sporting world covering such a wide range of sports. It is certainly enlightening seeing so many similarities across sports in terms of coaching your own child as well as some of the uniqueness that each sporting environment can provide.” Harry Redknapp

Order your copy today by clicking here.