 Welcome to our first Sector Spotlight of 2025! This week we'll be focussing on Sports and Leisure, and we hear first from Elspeth McLellan, who works part-time as Club Manager of Orkney Gymnastics. She also holds a volunteer role as Treasurer, and in addition she is serving this week as the Gymnastics Co-ordinator for the Orkney 2025 Island Games. Look out for the Orkney Gymnastics Club competing at Stromness Academy this week! If you can't make it, you can access live streams of the Island Games events on YouTube. Can you describe a typical day in your roles at the Gymnastics Club?
I am responsible for the day to day running of Orkney Gymnastics Club. This is a part-time role which I am able to do the majority of from home and at my convenience, as it’s largely computer/desk based. In general terms, I deal with: - general enquiries (emails and Facebook messages) - memberships (waiting list, offers, classes, fees, holiday camps/trials) - staffing (contracts, timesheets, wages) - building (rent, maintenance) - administration (link between the Club, Trustees, Committee and members) - social media/advertising (Facebook and Instagram posts) - event organising (shows, competitions, fundraising) - finances (payments, receipts, bank reconciliations, funding applications, travel grants, budgeting) Most days there are general email and Facebook enquiries to be responded to, otherwise, my days are pretty varied – with some regular monthly duties, I am able to structure each day to work around me. At the moment, there definitely isn’t a “typical day” as I am also the Gymnastics Co-ordinator for Orkney 2025 (volunteer role) so, many hours each day are spent around the organising of this element of the Orkney Island Games. It is a great honour to be playing a vital role in this fantastic event for Orkney. How did you end up in this role? I left school at 17 (after 5th year) and got an administrative job at ICIT, Heriot-Watt University in Stromness. When I was 21 years old, the Head Office branch in Edinburgh had a role dealing with the finances for both the Edinburgh and Orkney offices and I was offered the job. Being a “home buddy” I took that up on the agreement that I’d would also study part time for an HNC in Business Administration at college for 2 years and at the end of it be allowed to come home with my job, which I did and loved for years. After many years working in admin and finance, I decided to become self employed, as a book-keeper, working with around 10 companies over the course of a few years. When my children came along, I took a break from work so I could be more available to them. My daughter took up gymnastics which was at Picky at the time and I was lucky enough to be asked by the Head Coach, if I would like to be involved in starting up Orkney Gymnastics Club by becoming the Secretary, which I was delighted to take on. Since the start up of the Club, it and my role in it has grown immensely. I feel very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, with the right set of skills and having a very keen interest in sports helped too. What is the best thing about your job? The growth of the Club in a relatively short space of time has been extremely rewarding. Seeing and hearing all the happy gymnasts when I go into the Club is fantastic and knowing they are enjoying what they do is priceless. What is the worst thing about your job? Not being able to give everyone on the waiting list a space is so disappointing as if feels like you are personally letting the eager young folk down. What skills do you need to undertake your role? To do my job, I need to be: - good at communicating (with parents, gymnasts, coaches, trustees, committee, suppliers etc) - very organised - discreet and keep sensitive information confidential - able to work as part of a team - motivated to work independently - able to help drive the continual development of the Club What qualifications do you have? I have an HNC in Business Administration, but I truly believe that getting out into the workplace with the right attitude to work, from an early age has been the best education for me. I love organising, so a job like this was always what I would end up doing, regardless of any qualifications. Would you recommend this job to young people? If so, why? I would absolutely recommend this job as it is so rewarding and varied. It is constantly growing and changing so there’s lots of scope for development (both personally and assisting the Club itself). If, like me, you love sport and you love organising then this is the dream job! Visit the Orkney Gymnastics Club on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057102444669 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orkney_gymnastics_club/ Comments are closed.
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