I believe that in Drumchapel there has been a co-ordinated approach. Glasgow Life has been very supportive of all the clubs in the area. Through being chairperson of our group, I know that we have formed relationships with all the different people who have become part of the sport hub. There is a variety of different sports, and we are able to see at first hand the difference that having support staff makes, which is very good.
It is pleasing to hear from the other people who have contributed to the discussion that facilities seem to be good in other areas, and that there are different packages available for deciding who will get access to which let. However, bringing it back to Drumchapel, the issue for us was that for a long time the facilities were not up to standard. There were old-style astro pitches and gravel parks, which are not very suitable for modern sport. After realising that there was not much that we could do to improve them, we turned the focus to coach education and to improving the standard of coaching that volunteers deliver. That seemed to make a big difference. People were meeting other people in different sports, and we could see the difference that it was making. Whether it was people taking first aid courses or child protection courses, or progressing through the coaching pathway in whichever sport they belonged to through the national governing body, it all seemed to make a big difference.
Now, however, the facilities in our community have improved tenfold. A new 3G astro facility has been put down, there are better facilities available, Tennis Scotland has made a huge investment in the local tennis courts, and the local sports club has improved from a ramshackle building to a top-quality facility.
The people in our local communities have been campaigning on these issues for a number of years, prior to 2007 and 2008 when I first got involved in sport in my local community. Now that we have these fantastic facilities and they are the pride of the community, people love being there—for the volunteers, just having the opportunity to set foot on the new surfaces to do their coaching is everything that they have ever dreamed about—but the issue is that we are being priced out of using the facilities. People are travelling from other parts of Glasgow or outwith Glasgow to use the facilities in our local community. I do not have an issue with that. If someone wants to come and use the facility, that is great—it is populated, it is being used and there is a benefit to other people—but surely the people who live in that community and who used the horrendous facilities that were there previously should have an opportunity to get on to the new surfaces, to get into the new indoor facilities and to use the new equipment that has been bought for their benefit.
That is certainly not the case as we sit here today, which is tragic. On my way here this morning on the train, I received a number of text messages and phone calls about volunteers at the club where I coach who are looking at private sector facilities that are cheaper to hire than the Glasgow Life facilities in our local community. For me that is an absolute travesty.
Another issue in our community is the prescriptive nature of the support from whichever organisation is supporting us. Glasgow Life has been a tremendous support to us for a prolonged period, but the problem is that the staff who support us also have an agenda and, in order to receive their support, we have to do this and do that. That has been mentioned already.
However, we need to remember why people volunteer. For me and all the volunteers I have ever met, the reason is that we enjoy it; people have participated in the sport as a child, they had a good experience and they want to give that back to the community where they live. That is why it is important to them. As people who are giving up their time for free to pass on whatever knowledge, experience or expertise they have developed, the last thing that they want to hear from somebody who is—let us not beat about the bush—being paid to sit at the table with them is that, in order to receive support, the volunteers have to do this, this and this.
For example, someone might be told, “In order for you to receive my support, you have to go into the school and coach.” The volunteer thinks, “Wait a minute. I only volunteered with my club because I enjoy this. I don’t want to be told that I have to give up more time to go here and coach, and then to go there and coach, if I want to keep your support.” For us, that is another issue.