Webinar series concludes with SideOut London manager sharing insights into the life of an all-year-round operating club

Mark explained the current landscape for Volleyball in London so that people had context in what scenario he needs to operate as a club. He offered a few ideas on how to be a club that offers both disciplines, indoor and beach, from official partnerships amongst different clubs, to take everything in house. He also addressed the benefit of playing both indoor and beach especially amongst youngsters to avoid early specialisation. 

Other benefits of operating as a dual-discipline club include broader player recruitment and improved retention, greater access to infrastructure (such as facilities, etc.), and even more funding opportunities - in other words, the bigger the club the stronger the game! 

Such a structure allows the club to share coaching resources, and introduces a new perspective and philosophies in both disciplines. There are more opportunities for coaches and the approach will improve their retention because there is more work available all year round. Moreover, Mark discussed economies of scale as well as opportunities for sharing equipment costs, venue hire, personnel, technology, and overheads. In such environment, there is an all-year-round income, and all of this is managed by shared operational resources.
 
Mark mentioned that by operating both indoor and beach, SideOut are now counting 1000+ members in their clubs and their reach spans across east and west London. He also showed how the Beach Volleyball side can help attract more sponsors than the indoor game (at least in the areas in which he operates) and that he has managed to secure a lot of visibility through it. SideOut have been organising international competitions and events, including a CEV Continental Cup qualifier in 2019, and King and Queen of the Court in Canary Wharf in 2024, thereby providing major visibility opportunities to the sport.
 
Kontopoulos highlighted that there is no one specific recipe that will always work, but was rather trying to spark ideas and provide food for thought for people running Beach Volleyball clubs to be able to adapt to their specific context.

This was the last of four webinars featuring highly qualified speakers and introducing attendees to a variety of topics to improve their daily operations and strategic approach. If you missed one or the other sessions, you can (re)watch them on our website here.