Case Study: Women in Sport Leadership - NSW Rugby League
Overview
Women in Sport Leadership program designed to build the skills and confidence of women to explore pathways, refine their goals and pursue leadership roles in their chosen sport and explore more aspirational career opportunities.
The program was a great example of how projects can evolve despite having to pivot and adapt due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Initially consisting of in-person events and training sessions targeting current and aspiring women rugby league coaches. The revised version broadened its scope to include anyone who identified as a woman already active in coaching sport, and had an interest in pursuing coaching at the representative level, from any sport discipline.
Partnership with the University of New England (UNE) co-designed leadership program for elite female coaches.
Broadening project scope to include current and aspiring women coaches from any sport discipline.
Participants graduated with nationally recognised credit towards a Certificate IV or Diploma level qualification in leadership and management.
Results
The project successfully delivered a leadership program unique to women coaches, with a combination of face-to-face workshops, guest lectures and masterclasses, as well as self-paced online learning
- 13 women coaches, representing rugby league (9), rugby union (2), football (1) and Para-athletics (1)
- 20-week program held in partnership with the University of New England (UNE)
- 4 face-to-face workshops, webinars, and online learning modules and assessments
- UNE academics provided support to participants throughout the progam
"The program was initially developed for coaches in rugby league, but an offer was extended to other sports to increase numbers in pilot course, and this proved extremely worthwhile and beneficial to all participants. It highlighted a real need for a program like this for women in all sports."
Challenges
- Impact of COVID-19 restrictions with attendance rate and requirements, shifted to online delivery
- Recruitment and not enough lead-time as open to both rugby and non-rugby coaches
"People in regional areas rarely get the chance to have such professional development, and what I have learnt in the past about coaching has almost entirely been from men. It was amazing to learn from other women."
Evaluation
Participant satisfaction
- Highly successful concept and course content, mix of face-to-face workshops and online self-paced learning
- Content very relevant and vitally important, with a strong focus on emotional intelligence, self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship management
Feedback and learnings for future delivery
- Changes to delivery order of the workshops, incorporating a higher variety of activities, better shaping and framing of assessments
- Open course to other women leaders in sport, not just those in coaching roles
"NSW Rugby League is pleased to report that participants are currently able to use some of the tools and information gained from the program in their everyday lives, outside of coaching."
For more information, please contact: tedmondson@nswrl.com.au
Further Information: NSWRL celebrates Women in Sport Leadership graduates