Partner Spotlight: Rebecca Shaw & Gymnastics NSW

Gymnastics NSW has developed an approach to club support that helps them understand strained administrators without being overbearing. Organising catchups with clubs to truly understand their challenges has been a key initiative of CEO Rebecca Shaw. A process that, Rebecca shares, has uncovered unsung administrators who are now helping other administrators automate their workload.

When we look for sporting organisations that dedicate their resources to club education and supporting time-poor administrators’ transition to digital processes, Gymnastics NSW is often on the list. So we decided to catch up with Rebecca Shaw, Chief Executive Officer, to get the inside scoop on her experience leading this long-time platform partner for this month's revolutioniseSPORT Partner Spotlight.

 

Q: What are your roles and responsibilities at Gymnastics NSW? 

Rebecca Shaw: Leading the sport to grow across NSW. This takes place in a variety of ways, including supporting clubs to be strong and resilient, promoting gymnastics to the wider community, providing education and safeguarding, staging exciting events and competitions, and much more. It’s been a privilege to take on this role.

 

Q: What’s your experience in community sport beyond Gymnastics NSW?

RS: I’ve been on the committee of my local netball club for almost 10 years in a variety of roles, including Secretary, Equipment Coordinator, Events Coordinator, and now Fundraising Coordinator. In addition, I’ve been a coach and team manager. I still pull on the dress on chilly Saturday afternoons in winter and play.

I’ve also been a director on the board of Royal Life Saving NSW for five years.

 

Q: What's your favourite thing about working at Gymnastics NSW?

RS: I enjoy the variety and diversity within gymnastics. There’s truly something for everyone, from KinderGym to the Olympics and everything in between. There are a range of disciplines, such as artistic, rhythmic, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatics and aerobics. Then you throw into the mix Gymnastics For All, with programs such as Free G (Parkour), GymAbility, Fitter for Life for older people, TeamGym and Performance Gymnastics. There’s something for every age and ability.

 

Q: Did you always envision leading a sporting organisation and what led you on this path?

RS: The simple answer is yes. I started working in sports administration 20 years ago and it is all I have ever wanted to do since. I love working with and leading a team, and in sport you can guarantee that no day will be the same as the next. I enjoyed sport as a child and teenager. However, it wasn’t really until I finished school that I considered it was a profession you can work within.

 

Q: Tell me more about revolutioniseSPORT, how has it assisted your clubs with their administrative work, and has it alleviated a problem facing your community?

RS: When I started in the position at Gymnastics NSW almost 18 months ago, I visited many clubs to understand the challenges and opportunities they faced. One of the first clubs I visited in regional NSW told me they really needed help to move away from manually processing registrations to using a database. And this is where the story begins. I discovered there were some clubs already using revolutioniseSPORT to varying degrees, some clubs on different systems, and some not using a registration system at all.

So, Gymnastics NSW worked directly with revolutioniseSPORT and one of our clubs that was using the system effectively. The club was so efficient they even had written a manual for use. Now, we have been able to roll out this opportunity to clubs across the state.

 

Q: What has been the response from your administrators about revolutioniseSPORT?

RS: We have had a really positive response. Clubs have been able to join the platform seamlessly and it’s made their work more efficient and solved many problems while providing opportunities they may not have considered previously.

 

Q: Do you know if club administrators in your community have a favourite feature on revolutioniseSPORT?

RS: Clubs have enjoyed the integration of an online management platform that can also create a website (Site feature). They enjoy the fact gymnastics members can register via their revolutioniseSPORT website, which then connects and sends member details to the revolutioniseSPORT administrator portal.

 

Q: How does your team support clubs transitioning to revolutioniseSPORT?

RS: Over the past 12 months Gymnastics NSW has worked with revolutioniseSPORT to provide an understanding to our clubs on how it all operates. We have run a number of webinars. The Club Support team is available to assist and align the right people across the organisations to assist individual clubs—no matter their structure—with the transition.

 

Q: What has been the secret to Gymnastic NSW’s success so far?

RS: The key to the success of this project, and others, has been listening to our clubs, identifying their needs, and helping find solutions. Every club is different. Despite the differences, we found several clubs had common challenges that were served by connecting them with revolutioniseSPORT.

 

Q: What excites you about the future? Any initiatives you want us to know about?

RS: There are a lot of things to come over the next 12 months… further club support across marketing, education, and business development, new and exciting competition structures and ongoing commitments to participation and high performance programs.

We also look forward to continuing to work with revolutioniseSPORT to support clubs across the areas of innovation, governance, and to create ongoing efficiencies.