Ulster Council: Getting the most out of your development officer

GAA CLUBS are generally good at seeking advice for queries they may have regarding club development. However, it is notable that a small number of clubs interact very little with their county board or the GAA at Ulster or national level.

GAA clubs excel in club development largely due to huge voluntary effort being invested in clubs throughout the year. This is helped by the clear GAA structures in place to support clubs at county, provincial, and national level. However, it is imperative that clubs link with this support in order to avail of expertise and resources available. Indeed, in many instances GAA rule will require the input of officials at county, provincial, and national level.

Central to this within counties is the County Development Officer. Although a voluntary role, the County Development Officer has a remit to advise clubs across many areas of club planning, Club Maith accreditation, development of facilities, funding opportunities, financial borrowing, and much more. The County Development Officer usually is the chair of the county’s development committee, and links closely with the GAA at provincial and national levels. In Ulster, the nine County Development Officers convene at least three times a year to discuss the main issues facing clubs, where additional assistance is needed, and share experiences so that learning can be extended through-out counties.

Some of the particular programmes which Ulster GAA ask County Development Officers to undertake relate specifically to club development plans and Club Maith. All clubs should have a club development plan in place, and the national club planning programme is the means through which to begin this process in your club. Each County Development Officer holds a bank of trained ‘club planners’ who will assist clubs through the 12-week programme; so get in touch with your County Development Officer to get involved. Additionally if you are interested in being trained to become a ‘club planner’ please get in contact with your County Development Officer.

Club Maith is an accreditation scheme for sports clubs, and on completion of Club Maith your GAA club will be accredited by Ulster GAA and Sport NI (for clubs in the six counties). Club Maith will ensure your club is working most effectively in all aspects of GAA business, and will also ensure you are reaching best practice standards across important areas such as child protection, health and safety, financial management and so on. Speak to your County Development Officer for more information.

Your county’s development committee deals with many aspects of club development, primarily the development and maintenance of GAA facilities. Major developments to GAA property should be made known to your County Development Officer who may recommend that you speak with the county development committee; where your club can receive advice and support for the work being proposed. Should the project require financial borrowing this will need to be approved through the office of the County Development Officer. They can advise if the issue needs to be approved at provincial and national level. Your County Development Officer should accompany you to any such meetings; this is important as clubs will not gain approval for borrowing if the county development officer has not been involved.

The County Development Officer also works closely with Ulster GAA in organising club officer training at the beginning of each year, so should your club have a need for training in a particular area they should feed this to their County Development Officer who will pass the information onto Ulster GAA.

From time-to-time various funding opportunities arise for clubs, and the County Development Officers are the first point-of-contact for Ulster GAA when such funding pots open. Thus all clubs with facility development plans in place should link closely with their County Development Officer to ensure they are in-the-know in terms of what funding is available.

Clubs can contact their County Development Officer on: developmentofficer.[insert county name]@gaa.ie, or visit your county’s GAA website.