WSA Membership: All You Need to Know
The Welsh Sports Association (WSA) is the independent membership body for the sport and leisure industry in Wales and, through membership, provides NGBs and various organisations in the sector with advocacy and leadership as well as business support services.
The array of resources we offer represent the vehicle for our mission of enabling our members and the wider sport and leisure sector to become resilient, stronger, and more successful in order to set up a society that is fit for the future.
So, what do you need to know about the WSA?
What does the WSA do, exactly?
As representatives for the sport and leisure sector, the WSA works collaboratively with organisations throughout the UK and Wales – including key strategic partners like Sport Wales, Welsh Government, the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action and Community Leisure UK.
For our vision of a completely “Active, Vibrant Nation” to become reality, we ensure that the entirety of the sporting sector is provided with a foundation upon which long-term success can be guaranteed.
With that in mind, the WSA ensures that its support services are designed and continuously improved with its members’ specific needs at the heart of its thinking, so that the sport and leisure industry here in Wales is et up for a strong future.
If you’re reading this and are based outside of Wales, though, we can still be of service to you!
As long as you’re an organisation or body with presence and activity in Wales, the WSA will happily welcome you to the ever-increasing list of members.
The WSA team can advise on the specific regulatory landscape in Wales as well as a whole host of other issues relating to the sport and leisure sector in the country. The WSA are here to make sure you can operate effectively and efficiently in Wales and play your part in encouraging a more “Active, Vibrant Nation”.
What services does the WSA provide?
How long have you got?
We offer a plethora of services to members, with advocacy and policy as well as business support for those providing a healthier future to Wales at the heart of our mission.
To see the full list of resources available through WSA membership, please visit the WSA Services page.
From governance templates to preferential rates with our various partners, and from political monitoring to support regarding policies that affect the sporting landscape in Wales, the WSA provides a whole host of popular services – including…
DBS checks for sport and leisure
The WSA has been providing DBS checks since 2016 and offers Wales’ only bilingual service. It’s also digitalised to ease the administrative toll on your organisations and to maximise the efficiency of the whole process, as well as being one of the cheapest services on the market for both WSA members and non-members!
We don’t limit our service to Wales, either! As part of our commitment to ensuring that the sport and leisure sector is safe for everyone to enjoy, the WSA takes pride in offering an efficient and effective service available nationwide, with over 300 organisations across the UK currently carrying out their DBS checks with us.
Furthermore, our DBS Checking Service is not run for profit, meaning that the money generated is invested back into the services and resources that the WSA provide for the health and prosperity of the sport and leisure sector.
If you are not currently signed up to the WSA DBS checking service, check out the Vibrant Nation website to complete a non-obligation pre-registration application and a member of the team will be in touch.
And discover more about our widely utilised DBS checking service and safeguarding resources here.
Furthermore, courtesy of our collaboration with Community Leisure UK, the WSA is thrilled to be able to offer preferential rates to CLUK members too, allowing us to reach a wider audience in our mission to ensure that sport and leisure is safe for all to enjoy.
Discover more about this Memorandum of Understanding and the benefit available to CLUK members here.
What does WSA Membership Plus provide?
Our membership offer doesn’t end there! April saw the launch of Membership Plus, an extension on standard member benefits designed to drive and improve our support services.
Membership Plus comprises of two add-on packages (Advocacy Plus and Finance Plus), containing a selection of focussed and cost-effective services with the intention of optimising organisational efficiency and capacity where members require it most.
You can find out more about this exciting new offer by visiting our Membership Plus page.
It must be noted that this new service is already nearly at capacity thanks to the hugely positive response to its release, so we’d like to give a huge thank you to those that have signed up already and remind everyone else to act fast if either Finance Plus or Advocacy Plus is of interest to your organisation!
Visit the Become a Member page to find out how you can join us!
To hear what other organisations have had to say about WSA membership, check out our Membership Testimonials.
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