VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT BULGARIA

Transcription

1 VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT BULGARIA 1 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT Tradition and contextual background Definitions Number and profile of volunteers in sport Number and types of sport organisations engaging volunteers Main voluntary activities INSTITUTIOL FRAMEWORK FOR VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT Main public bodies and other organisations involved in volunteering in sport Policies Programmes REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT General legal framework Legal framework for individual volunteers in sport Legal framework for sport organisations engaging volunteers ECONOMIC DIMENSION OF VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT Public financing of volunteering in sport Other support schemes and benefits Private financing and support schemes Specific issues: state aid, public service and general interest Economic value of volunteering in sport SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIMENSION OF VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT Key benefits of volunteering for sport volunteers, the community and direct beneficiaries Factors that motivate individuals to volunteer in sport EU POLICIES AND VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT MAIN OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT Main challenges Main opportunities...13 SOURCES

2 1 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT 1.1 Tradition and contextual background Traditionally, the sport movement in Bulgaria has developed on a voluntary basis the freedom of association of people who want to practice physical exercise and sport, whose implementation is supported by national and local authorities, is one of the core principles in Bulgarian sport legislation. Volunteering in sport in Bulgaria developed throughout three main historic periods. In , when in the context of the Balkan Crisis Bulgaria was divided in two autonomous parts, a number of unions for military training were created to increase the military preparation of the population - volunteers were trained in gymnastics, shooting, combat, fencing etc. These unions established the organisational base of Bulgarian sport, engaging people from different social and age groups and later expanding their work to cultural and educational activities. By 1912 over 200,000 people participated in these organisations, contributing to various activities among which organisation of gymnastics events and training courses, construction of mountain huts or marking mountain roads and protected areas, construction of stadiums and playgrounds, establishing international contacts with international sport federations etc. During the second period, , volunteering in physical education and sport decreased but the areas of environmental protection and construction through voluntary labour saw an increase in volunteer involvement. Throughout this period systematic contacts with other European countries were maintained and the Olympic idea penetrated Bulgarian sport. Thus, the following period, , was characterised with the official recognition of Bulgarian sport and its strong international presence. The development of volunteering throughout this period, however, diminished due to the establishment of the first governing body in sport in 1945, the Directorate for Physical Culture and Sport. Its efforts to balance the development of this sector somewhat contradicted the voluntary basis of Bulgarian sport, albeit this was overcome in 1957 with the establishment of a number of public sport organisations (e.g. Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport, Bulgarian Touristic Union etc.). Some of the main traditions in volunteering in sport include: Organisation of sport activities; preparation and maintenance of sports base and equipment; competitions; sport propaganda; mutual help and cooperation between athletes, public sport actors and sport organisations; fundraising; 2

3 professional qualification, lobbying for extending the rights and influence of sport organisations in the socio-political life in the state and municipalities. Nowadays, most of these activities are undertaken by professional employees but the help of the so-called public sport actors (defined in the next section) is undoubtedly significant. 1.2 Definitions According to the additional ordinance of the Law for Physical Education and Sport (1996) 1, voluntary work is work which is in benefit to the public and is done by young people across Bulgaria or other countries without remuneration through programmes and initiatives for social, youth and sport activities, for which the organisation reimburses volunteers for their expenses on transport, accommodation, food and daily allowance. Sport organisations are sport clubs, unified sport clubs, sport federations, sport associations and national sport organisations. They are usually registered as legal entities with non-profit purposes according to the corresponding law. The Law for Physical Education and Sport also coins the term public sport actors who directly or indirectly support, organise and conduct different activities in the field of sport. These actors are people of all generations, age and social groups, with different professions, education and qualifications and they are not remunerated for their effort. They are the main part in all management, auxiliary and especially, control organs of sport organisations taking up both senior management and executive roles. Therefore, in Bulgaria the term volunteers/volunteering in sport has a broader meaning volunteers in the sense of people who help voluntarily in concrete short-term sport activities and events play a smaller role since physical education and sport is a typical public activity supported by the state and municipalities. 1 Law for Physical Education and Sport (1996), 3

4 1.3 Number and profile of volunteers in sport There is no official quantitative data on the number and profile of volunteers in sport in Bulgaria. Trends According to the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport, after the political changes in the period , the number of volunteers in sport decreased sharply. The reasons for this trend are multifarious - the major ones are outlined below: Change in the socio-political and economic system of the country transition to pluralist democracy and market economy. Sharp deterioration of the living standard and difficult economic crisis which resulted in the state, municipalities and private sector plummeting the allocation of funds to the sport system. Strong politicisation of the sport system and sharp structural changes which lead to a loss of resources (including human capital of over 1,500 elite coaches) and crisis in the Bulgarian sport sector. In the period , 95 % of the Unions for Physical Culture and Sport, which unify all sport clubs in municipalities across the country, were closed down. These institutions had administrative functions, provided a blend of sport services in the areas of children-youth sport, school/university sport, professional sport, Olympic sport, and sport for all, advanced international activities and cooperation and preserved sport traditions across municipalities. They were central to the activity of sport actors and volunteers. Since 2005 a process of rethinking of the strategy and practice in the Bulgarian sport system has started. Naturally, some of the public sport structures on municipal level have been restored as is the dialogue between the central state sport organ and public sport organisations. In fact, a new state policy emphasised by the latest national strategy on physical education and sport is the reestablishment of public sport relations within the Bulgarian sport sector. Among other things this is expected to have a positive impact on volunteering in sport. Scientific and technological development in the field of sport the advancement of new information and communication technologies and the theoretical and methodological development in all spheres of sport required professionalization and special training of sport personnel. Thus, it is expected that volunteering in sport will mainly have auxiliary functions. Volume of voluntary work Age Gender 4

5 Level of education Socio-professional status 1.4 Number and types of sport organisations engaging volunteers The organisational and management structure of the Bulgarian sport sector consists of a number of key actors, including state authorities acting in the field of physical education and sports, specialised public sport organisations, sport organisations with a special statute and private sport formations. The Bulgarian state authorities relating to physical education and sports are introduced in Section 2. Specialised public sport organisations include the following: Sport clubs, unified sport clubs which provide training (from beginners to sport mastership) and competitive activities to their members according to the type of sport chosen voluntarily by them. Sport federations which are voluntary, self-governing unions of clubs according to the type of sport. They organise and coordinate the overall activity according to the type of sport and present the national teams in all levels. They prepare the incountry and international sport calendar. Such federations are the Bulgarian Football Union and the Union of Bulgarian Automobilists, for example. Organisations at national level which consist of the Bulgarian Association Sport for Students and the Bulgarian Tourist Union. In general, these organisations unify sport clubs, unions, federations etc. on the basis of voluntary membership and equality. The subject of their activity is defined by the statutes adopted at congresses and national conferences. According to the National register of licensed sport organisations and sport clubs at the Ministry for Physical Education and Sport, to date in Bulgaria there are 105 licensed sport organisations: Sport federations and unions (one sport) 94 Sport associations 9 Sport unions sport organisations have been denied a licence permanently or temporarily. The number of registered sport clubs is 3,197 but in reality the figure is higher because the official statistic includes sport organisations who have not pointed out their member clubs. To the sport organisations with a special statute belong the following entities: 5

6 Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) whose work is defined by the Olympic Charter and its own statute. BOC is an independent NGO whose main goal is the development of Olympic sports in the country and participation of athletes at the Olympic Games as well as competitions by the International Olympic Committee. Bulgarian Sport Foundation which is a charitable public organisation with ideal purpose registered according to the Family and Persons Law. The work of the foundation consist of raising funds from different national and foreign sources which are used for supporting and developing Bulgarian sport and stimulating high sport achievements. Private sport clubs which are established and financed by private persons and take part on an equal basis with the rest of the sport clubs in the country in state championships and international sport events. Share of volunteers and paid staff in the sport sector There are no official figures but according to the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport the share of public sport actors against the share of paid staff in the sport sector is about 70 %. In the organisation of sport events almost 95 % are paid employees, sport judges and technical staff. Although short-term volunteers are not commonly used in sport organisations in Bulgaria, they are mainly engaged in such large-scale sport events where they help in activities such as opening and closing ceremonies, awarding of winners, relations with the media, transport, coordination between the participating teams and the organisational committee of the event, reporting activities etc. Short-term volunteering in sport has mainly developed locally through sport events at schools and municipalities. There are no official statistics but according to the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport the share of volunteering in sport in municipalities is about 70 %. 1.5 Main voluntary activities Level of volunteering in different sport segments There is no official data on the level of volunteering in the different sport segments but according to the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport: Voluntary sport medium to high level of volunteering Commercial sport low level of volunteering Professional sport low level or absence of volunteering Level of volunteering in different sport disciplines Type of activities carried out by volunteers Although there is no official data, public sport actors and short-term volunteers in sport may help in: 6

7 Club and duty management and administration; organisation of sports events; sales/fundraising; instructing and coaching; counselling; media/marketing; technical maintenance. 2 INSTITUTIOL FRAMEWORK FOR VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT 2.1 Main public bodies and other organisations involved in volunteering in sport In Bulgaria there is no specific public body responsible for volunteering in sport from a regulatory and institutional perspective. The State Agency for Youth and Sports now transformed into a Ministry of Physical Education and Sport used to partially deal with volunteering in the field of youth. Otherwise, a number of non-profit organisations are actively engaged with voluntary activities in the area of sport however, there is no concrete voluntary service or non-profit organisation authorised with a central state role in volunteering in sport. The Bulgarian state authorities relating to physical education and sports are the following: Education, Science, Children, Youth and Sports Parliamentary Committee which undertakes research and discussions of normative and legislative documents on physical education and sports and initiates the National Assembly s decision-making process on these. Ministry of Physical Education and Sports which defines the national strategy, the normative base, financing, international cooperation and academic research work in this sector. Ministry of Education, Youth and Science which is in charge of the mandatory form of physical education in pre-schools and schools through programmes, extracurricular and out-of-school activities, deals with the health condition of pupils and students, and maintains the school/university sports base etc. Ministry of Health which ensures the health condition of those involved in physical education and sport. This is done by the National Centre for Sports Medicine, the cabinets of medical wards, schools which monitor the medical state of pupils and students etc. Local state authorities i.e. municipal authorities which maintain the municipal sports base, propagate a healthy way of living, allocate funds to sports activities, organise municipal sports events, festivals etc. 7

8 Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior which provide the mandatory physical preparation of the Bulgarian army and respectively, the Bulgarian police and other members of the interior system. 2.2 Policies There is no policy for developing volunteering in sport in Bulgaria. The project for a National Strategy for the Development of Sport in Bulgaria introduced in September 2009 by the new Ministry of Physical Education and Sports is the key policy document in the field of sport. Although the priorities of the strategy do not explicitly relate to volunteering, the document recognises the role of voluntary assistants, instructors and other technical staff for the development of the area sport for all and envisions the setting up of a national non-government sport organisation (union, confederation), which would coordinate the activities of public structures, the public-private partnership, the economic enterprises, the voluntary work in the neighbourhoods etc. in close cooperation with the Ministry of Physical Education and Sport and the local government authorities. 2.3 Programmes In Bulgaria there are no programmes promoting volunteering in sport. 3 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT 3.1 General legal framework In Bulgaria there is no legal framework relating to volunteering in sport. Generally, the Law for Physical Education and Sport (1996) is the document which defines and regulates sport activities in Bulgaria. Besides the key definitions mentioned previously, Article 22 of this Law says that schools provide necessary conditions for extracurricular sports activities. Such activities are voluntary for students and take place through the school s sport section or club authorised by the school s headmaster. Students participation in extracurricular sport training with competitive purposes is also voluntary and organised by the school s sport club, section or team. 3.2 Legal framework for individual volunteers in sport There are no legal provisions for individual volunteers in sport in addition to the legal provisions for individual volunteers in general. According to the Law on Physical Education and Sport (1996), the organisation reimburses volunteers for their expenses on transport, accommodation, food and daily allowance. However, the Law does not include coverage of expenses relating to training of volunteers in sport or insurance, also in cases of medical emergencies. 2 National Strategy for the Development of Sport in the Republic of Bulgaria (draft) 8

9 3.3 Legal framework for sport organisations engaging volunteers There are no legal provisions for sport organisations engaging volunteers in addition to the legal provisions for voluntary organisations in general. 4 ECONOMIC DIMENSION OF VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT 4.1 Public financing of volunteering in sport According to the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport, short-term volunteering takes up % of the sources invested in sport events and public sport actors are allocated % depending on the type of sport, this percentage may reach % (e.g. football, basketball, volleyball etc.). According to the Law on Physical Education and Sport (1996), sport organisations registered as non-profit public benefit organisations have the right to state financial support which mainly comes from the state budget and the budget of municipalities, the Bulgarian sport lottery, and donations from Bulgarian and foreign physical and legal persons and entities. Article 62 of the Law specifies the means of financing for such sport organisations, which come from: 1. Membership fees and individual and collective fees 2. Transfers of contestants 3. Funds generated from participation in sport competitions 4. Funds generated from sport services provided to citizens 5. Funds generated from advertising and owning of TV and other dissemination rights 6. Donations and sponsorships 7. State and municipal funds 8. Management of property 9. Funds obtained from international sport organisations 10. Funds generated from other physical education and sport activities Statistical figures on the amount or share of these sources of funding are not available but the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport ranks them in the following way: State subsidies and grants (e.g. sport federations, sport clubs, unified sport clubs, national sport organisations). Municipal subsidies and grants (e.g. sport clubs, unified sport clubs). Bulgarian sport lottery (e.g. sport federations). The total share of these when it comes to financing sport activities is about 60 %. 9

10 Private donations and sponsorship 30 % (e.g. sport federations, sport clubs, unified sport clubs, national sport organisations). Sport organisations own financial resources (e.g. sport clubs, unified sport clubs, national sport organisations). International donations (e.g. national sport organisations). EU funding (e.g. national sport organisations). The share of the last three in financing sport activities is about 10 %. Official data on the trend in the level of financing of sport organisations is also not available. According to the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport, the trend in the level of financing of sport organisations is characterised by the following: The absolute values of state and municipal financial resources allocated to the sport sector in Bulgaria increase each year. Given the inflation rate as well as the increasing prices of goods and services, however, the current state funding is unsatisfactory. In comparison to the financing of sport in other European countries equal to 0.5 % of their GDP, the financial support of this sector in Bulgaria is insufficient. In the new project for amending the Law on Physical Education and Sport, the financial means for supporting the sport sector were planned to be set at 0.7 % of the country s GDP but recently, this text was dropped from the legislation. Although the financial support for the sport sector will be growing, the financial capacity of the country remains very limited. Reasons for the insufficient financing of sport activities in Bulgaria are the: economic crisis which has lasted for the past 18 years and the low standard of living of more than 90 % of the population; transition from centralised to market economy; inadequate investment in the public sport sector and infrastructure in comparison to the large-scale private sport construction in the touristic business; relatively scarce as well as poor quality provision of paid sport services; physical exercise and sport are not vital necessities for a large part of the Bulgarian population and in particular, youth; priority development of sport mastership in the past decades over sport for all and particularly, sport among school and university youth; changes in the organisational structure of the Bulgarian sport, especially in the period Tax exemptions 10

11 The provision of services relating to education, sport and physical education as well as fundraising through such services is free from VAT as stipulated respectively by Article 24 and Article 44 of the corresponding law. Donations made to registered non-profit public benefit organisations are tax-exempt at the rate of 10 % according to the Corporate Income Tax Law (year) and 5 % according to the Physical Persons Tax Law (year). 4.2 Other support schemes and benefits 4.3 Private financing and support schemes 4.4 Specific issues: state aid, public service and general interest Tax legislation in Bulgaria does not pertain to the type or amount of state subsidies and grants for sport organisations hence, there are no specific issues with regard to the rules on state aid. 4.5 Economic value of volunteering in sport There is no statistical data on the economic value of volunteering in sport. As implied by a study on the Economic impact of the activity of non-profit organisations in Bulgaria in (2002), 3 the share of community halls and sport organisations taken together as part of the country s GDP in the year 2000 was The contribution of sport actors at municipal level is difficult to assess as it depends on how active their policy on sport is and the amount of financing they provide to sport activities. Naturally, municipalities which do not have an active policy on sport or lack the financial means to support this sector rely more on voluntary labour. 5 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIMENSION OF VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT 5.1 Key benefits of volunteering for sport volunteers, the community and direct beneficiaries The benefits of volunteering for volunteers in sport include: Fulfilment of their vital necessities. Socialisation. Extending their general and specialised knowledge and experience. Opportunities for international contacts and access to events. 3 Economic impact of the activity of non-profit organisations in Bulgaria in , 2002, Bulgarian Centre for Not-for-Profit Law 11

12 Opportunities for demonstration of their knowledge, skills and specific abilities. For beneficiaries, volunteering in sport contributes to: Quality provision of sport services. Opportunities for new social contacts. Economic benefits. Opportunities for lobbying among certain economic and political environments. Improving the effectiveness of management activities in sport. Opportunities for selecting volunteers with relevant characteristics for successful professional development in the field of physical education and sport. Some of the main values volunteering instils in people are gratuitousness, harmonised personal development, responsibility, and civil engagement. Their influence on societal values means social responsibility, humanism, identification with Olympic values etc. 5.2 Factors that motivate individuals to volunteer in sport Personal reasons; favouring a particular sport, team, sport organisation or the scale and importance of a particular sport event. Moral values of volunteers in sport and satisfaction of voluntary labour and personal recognition for contributing to the activity of the sport organisation. 6 EU POLICIES AND VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT No information was available with regard to EU policies and volunteering in sport. 7 MAIN OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR VOLUNTEERING IN SPORT 7.1 Main challenges A specific legal framework and financial regulation of voluntary activities remain one of the major challenges facing volunteering in sport and non-profit organisations in Bulgaria, followed by more opportunities and programmes for volunteering, better qualified volunteers with particular foreign language skills, and adequate social recognition of voluntary labour. 12

13 The specific needs of the voluntary sport sector in the national and European policy-making consist of: Unified national and European policy on volunteering. Exchange of leading practices and successful projects. Increasing the opportunities for international exchange of volunteers in sport. Improving the propaganda and social importance of volunteering in sport. Addressing the challenges facing volunteering in sport is the responsibility of the Ministry of Physical Education and Sport and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science. The Council of Ministers needs to advocate to the Parliament a project for drawing up specific legislation on volunteering. 7.2 Main opportunities It is necessary to fully regulate voluntary activities in sport in relation to: Rights of volunteers additional qualification, insurance, financial compensation in case of temporary or permanent illness, full information about the voluntary activity and risk factors it entails, public assessment of voluntary labour. Duties of volunteers to maintain the property and technical base they use, to keep confidential information, to adhere to instructions of the organisational committees conducting events, discipline and punctuality in fulfilling their voluntary work obligations. SOURCES Bulgarian Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (2002). Economic impact of the activity of non-profit organisations in Bulgaria in Ministry of Physical Education and Sport, Law for Physical Education and Sport, 1996, Ministry of Physical Education and Sport (2009). National Strategy for the Development of Physical Education and Sport in the Republic of Bulgaria National Sports Academy Vasil Levski (2005). The sport system in the Republic of Bulgaria. Lecture notes by Prof. Yordan Kalaikov. Interviews 13

14 Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sport Ministry of Physical Education and Sport Prof. Raina Bardareva, National Sport Academy 14