Dear Association representative, and/or Club secretary/instructor, The British Aikido Board supports the work of the Sport and Recreation Alliance (formerly CCPR) on its survey assessing the financial health of sports clubs in the UK (find out more about the Sport and Recreation Alliance ) In the last survey, in 2009, enough BAB Aikido clubs participated in the survey for the BAB to warrant its own report compiled by the Sport and Recreation Alliance. The report the BAB received was totally anonymous but did give us an insight into the types of training venues used and hall hire costs, etc. The information gained from the survey supports the lobbying work of the Sport and Recreation Alliance which aims to improve the lot for grassroots sport. It will also help us to understand your needs through (for example) informing us about changes in membership levels and the challenges you’re facing over the next couple of years. Why Complete the Survey? Whilst there will – for most aikido clubs – be some sections of the survey that apply more to other sports (e.g. football clubs with their own leisure facilities, the BAB hopes most clubs will participate in the survey – if only to make it a success for the Sport and Recreation Alliance. We appreciate your time is precious but to fight your corner we need as much real information as possible. The answers you give will feed into campaigning for reduced rates of VAT for sports clubs, lower utility rates, alcohol licensing costs, music licensing costs, drainage charges, Gift Aid, improvements to the CASC scheme, access to facilities and other important issues for clubs. Only with your input can the Sport and Recreation Alliance, on our behalf, campaign properly for sports clubs. We want the 2011 survey to provide us and the Sport and Recreation Alliance with facts and figures that will make politicians listen. The more clubs that complete the survey, the louder our voice will be. As a thank you, your completed survey will be entered into a draw to win one of a number of prizes including a session for your club with an expert who will advise on reducing your bills and provide money-saving tips, and two tickets to the Wimbledon Championships! To take part in the survey, simply click on the link below and complete the survey as best you can. It will really help if you have your club accounts to hand (don’t worry, all the information you give will be completely confidential) and you may need to ask other members for information about the club. You can save your responses and come back to the survey later if you need to. Click here to take part If you are unable to click on the link or if it is wrapped into two lines, please copy and paste the url into the address bar of your web browser. If you have any questions or need any further information please get in touch with Nicky Talbot at Sportswise on nicky@sportswise.info or 01603 283 592 If you have taken the time to read this e-mail, and have decided to complete the survey either as a Club and/or as an Association in membership of the BAB, may I say “thank you” Yours sincerely Vincent Sumpter