Workshops

Introduction

Workshops are one-off deeper dives into a specific area/subject that are paid for outside of the membership subscription. They are usually led by guest coaches and crop-up on an ad hoc basis depending on members interest and guest coaches interest/availability to lead. They're usually available for a limited time.

Workshops have previously been good for generating extra income, bringing members together and introducing more people to the gym.

Housekeeping & first steps

• Polls on Loomio have indicated that Saturday and Sunday late mornings work best for timetabling in workshops, and they tend to run for 2 - 3 hours: Loomio poll results on workshop timetabling
  
  

• When scheduling in a workshop, it's important to make sure the workshop content is in accordance with our aims and objectives: About Bristol Co-operative Gym. The best method for gauging content cohesion is to present your idea in a new thread on Loomio so that issues can be highlighted before the workshop goes ahead.
  
  

• It's essential to have a facilitator present at workshops.
  
  

• In the past we have run workshops in a 50:50 income split with the guest coach. With this in mind, it's useful to determine the minimum attendance requirements with a view to paying the guest coach the minimum they would require to attend for the day. However different guest coaches have different terms, and some may not have a minimum payment requirement. In this instance it is best to navigate on a case-by-case basis.
  
  

• If a 50:50 split is not implemented, then it's worth considering that this then falls out of the remit of a "BCG run Workshop with a Guest Coach", and instead becomes an External Hire situation. Therefore this will need a different approach (follow the link to External Hire for more information.)
  
  

• Standard practice is to engage in a trial before committing to anything long term.
  
  

• From a timetabling point of view, it has been our experience that July and August suffer from low attendance, and therefore the summer months aren't the best time to try something new and spend more money.

Past workshops

We've run a large number of workshops that have been successful in the past, so don't be afraid to share your ideas with the other members.

Previous workshops, amongst others, include:

·        How to lift weights with great technique – Jan - Feb 2022

·        0-5km running for beginners

·        Powerlifting workshop 2017

·        Mindfulness workshop Sept 2023 (upcoming)