New voluntary governance code for sports bodies published

The Sport and Recreation Alliance has published a new voluntary code for sports bodies in an attempt to improve their governance standards.

The code seeks to improve accountability and transparency, set recommended board sizes, with the right balance of skills and experience and improve diversity.

Sport and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: “This code will help make sure that sports have the best possible governance structures in place to meet the challenges and opportunities of the coming year. I want our governing bodies to have an appropriate level of both sport specific expertise and independent governance challenges.”

Alliance chair Brigid Simmonds said: “Sports want to be more accountable and more transparent so that participants better understand what they are doing.  “Some UK sports bodies can already boast some of the best standards of governance in the world but the code can help every organisation reach those standards.

“The new voluntary code is a welcome addition to the support available to sporting and recreational bodies.”

The code is built around seven principles:

• Boards must uphold the highest standards of integrity in their actions and in the wider environment of its sport, recreation, activity or area.
• Boards should understand their role in contributing to their organisation.
• It should be a board’s role to set the high level strategy and vision of the organisation and ensure that it is followed without becoming involved in the operational delivery.
• Board members should exhibit the right balance of skills and experience to meet the needs of the organisation, including independent expertise and diversity.
• Standards should be set to which boards work in exercising appropriate and effective control over the organisation.
• There must be openness and accountable to the sport’s membership and participants and the board’s actions should stand up to scrutiny when reasonably questioned.
• Awareness is needed of the external domestic and international sporting worlds.

A copy of the code is available from the following link: http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/smart-sport/voluntary-code-good-governance