The nomadic club that built its own home
Ever since Rugeley RFC was founded in a football-dominated Staffordshire mining community in 1947 they have struggled to establish a base.
For 65 years the players would change into their kits at a local leisure centre before walking half a mile to a park which were their playing fields. A pub in the local town acted as their post-match venue.
It was far from ideal says club secretary, Martin de Ridder. “We were a nomadic club for a long time. It was hard to attract and retain players without a base and at our lowest point we went down to one team.”
That was until 2013 when the club came across an unused, rundown wooden hut that had previously been used by sea scouts.
The club members organised together to totally renovate the interior of the hut, transforming the clubroom, kitchen and toilets.
‘WE NOW GET AROUND £18,000 A YEAR IN BAR REVENUE WHICH WE USE TO RE-INVEST IN THE CLUB”
“It’s made a massive difference,” said de Ridder. “Once it was converted it gave us a source of income which we’d never had before. We now get around £18,000 a year in bar revenue which we use to re-invest in the club and continually improving our facilities.”
From going down to one team the club is now able to field three regular senior teams and has a flourishing junior section.
The entire renovation cost the club £30,000 which they were able to fund through a £10,000 interest free loan from Staffordshire RFU, a £5,000 grant from the Rugby Football Foundation, a £1,000 grant from NatWest RugbyForce and £5,000 from Coalfields Re-generation programme.
“EVERYONE GOT STUCK IN AND IT HELPED MASSIVELY WITH MORALE”
“It’s helped bring the whole club together, ” said de Ridder. “About 90% of the work was done by our own members, everyone got stuck in and it’s helped massively with morale. We worked in partnership with the local playing field association ROSA who own the site and to whom we will be forever grateful. We’re proud to represent Rugeley in the National League structure and the clubhouse is such an asset to us.”
Having been through Rugeley’s redevelopment, de Ridder’s advice to any team considering it is to go for it. “My top tips to any club thinking of doing something similar is to be ambitious. It takes a lot of planning and it’s a massive help getting your members involved. “
Transform your club like Rugeley RFC
Involve your members: Your club’s facilities and the quality of the rugby experience will play a big part in attracting and retaining players, volunteers and supporters. Before you begin redevelopment, inform your members and get their support.
Run a survey: It is important that the facilities your club provides meets the needs of your members and users irrespective if you run one team or 30 teams. Think about running a member survey to gauge what exactly is needed and consult with RFU Technical Guidance to get the design right. For further information visit the RFU Facilities webpages
Think about funding: Good facilities show your club cares and there are many funding sources available to help you to upgrade and improve. To search through the thousands of grants and loans that could help your club visit RFU GrantFinder.
Get the right resources: Managing the facilities at a community rugby club can be a minefield of legislation and guidelines. To help you through the process, have a read of the RFU resources covering all aspects of managing and improving your facilities here.
From clubhouses and pitches to budgets and recruitment, our new series of guides will give your club the practical advice it needs to grow. If your club has a story of developing off the pitch then get in touch here to be included.
Find out more: www.englandrugby.com