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Kids' sports club sign-up checklist

Worth checking before the first fee is paid, not after — the kit, the cost of a whole season, and the questions that tell you whether a club is well run.

16 items

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

The items

  1. A trial or taster session attended before committingCheaper and faster than discovering after a term's fees that the sport or the club isn't the right fit.
  2. Coaching qualifications and safeguarding checkedDBS-checked coaches and affiliation to the sport's governing body — worth asking rather than assuming.
  3. Kit list checked against what the club actually requiresClubs vary more than expected on what's compulsory versus optional.
  4. Boots or footwear in the current sizeGrowing feet mean checking closer to the season than buying months ahead.
  5. Shin pads or other protective gearCompulsory in most contact sports, whatever the child says about needing them.
  6. Named kit bagKept packed and by the door, so a training night doesn't start with a search for one sock.
  7. Water bottle
  8. Registration form completedIncluding emergency contacts and any medical information the coach should know before the first session, not after an incident.
  9. Membership and match fees understood in fullAsk about the whole season's cost, not just the headline joining fee — kit, tournaments and away trips add up separately.
  10. Insurance checkedSome clubs include it in membership, others expect a family policy to cover it — worth confirming rather than assuming either way.
  11. Training and match days added to the family calendarClashing fixtures are easier to catch a month out than the night before.
  12. Lift-sharing arranged with another parent, if usefulWorth setting up before it's needed on a week nobody can drive.
  13. A spare kit item kept in the bag or the carFor the forgotten sock or the shin pad left at home — it happens to every family eventually.
  14. Photography or filming consent understoodIf the club posts match photos or results online, know what you've agreed to before the first one appears.
  15. Medical conditions or allergies declared directly to the coachNot just written on a form nobody reads before a session starts.
  16. A light conversation about good sportsmanshipHow to lose a match without it ruining the car journey home — better said once, calmly, than mid-meltdown after a defeat.

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

Questions people ask

What should I check before committing to a term's fees?
A trial session first, and a clear answer on total cost — kit, tournaments and away matches are often on top of the membership fee, not included in it.
What questions are worth asking about safeguarding?
Whether coaches are DBS-checked and the club is affiliated to its sport's governing body. A club that answers this easily has usually already done the work.
How should we handle losing?
Talk about it once, calmly, before it happens — a short, low-key conversation about it being part of playing beats anything said in the car straight after a defeat.