To all players, coaches, parents, spectators, members and anyone associated with the rugby club.
As we exit September I wanted to write an open letter to people across the club to try and help provide some context to some of the things that have been happening. First of all it’s been great to see so many people returning to rugby after the summer break, especially as we have been able to use the new QEGS Boothby facility. We have an ever-expanding minis and juniors section, and a growing girls section. We’ve seen a return to being able to field 3 senior teams alongside the Colts, and we’ve started women’s rugby!
The future of the playing side of the club is looking promising and we are looking to build things further. However as with any amateur sports club the running and administration is reliant on people volunteering their time and effort to help. No one at the club is paid for their time and this in turn helps to keep costs down, but there is a growing amount of things that need to be completed week on week in order to keep things running smoothly, whether it be putting out and removing pitch furniture, helping at the Cock’s cafe with the relevant age group on a Sunday, or sweeping out changing rooms after games, it all needs to be done. So for anyone that is currently contributing in whatever way, thank you, your help is very much appreciated. However this can’t be completed by the current group of volunteers and exec committee alone. We need more help. For anyone feeling that they would like to get involved then please contact either myself or any of the club exec, and we will look at ways in which you can help.
We also need to secure the financial security of the club and honour the commitments that we have undertaken. Following a significant loan and investment in the QEGS facility it is important that we build and sustain a healthy income for the club. I know that this might be a little unconventional but I wanted people to understand what this actually means. My current estimate is that it costs somewhere close to £20,000 per season just to operate and enable rugby across all ages, this includes a £10,000 annual loan repayment to the RFU. Bizarrely the more rugby we play, the greater the costs. It is therefore important that we encourage everyone associated with the playing side of the club to pay the associated membership and playing fees. In addition to this we have done a lot of work over the summer to help boost the commercial side of the club but if there is anyone who feels that they are able to help or contribute please get in contact.
As we head into the rest of the season I would also like to look at ways to build the spirit of the club across all age groups. We can all do something small to help with this, whether it’s encouraging our players to stay with their team mates after a game, creating a guard of honour for the seniors, or the seniors and veteran players contributing to coaching the minis and juniors. We are also looking at running some more club events, more to come on that.
For now I want to end with a note of thanks and I’m looking forward to the remainder of the season. Up the cocks!
Yours in rugby,
Martin Clowes
ARUFC Chairman
As we exit September I wanted to write an open letter to people across the club to try and help provide some context to some of the things that have been happening. First of all it’s been great to see so many people returning to rugby after the summer break, especially as we have been able to use the new QEGS Boothby facility. We have an ever-expanding minis and juniors section, and a growing girls section. We’ve seen a return to being able to field 3 senior teams alongside the Colts, and we’ve started women’s rugby!
The future of the playing side of the club is looking promising and we are looking to build things further. However as with any amateur sports club the running and administration is reliant on people volunteering their time and effort to help. No one at the club is paid for their time and this in turn helps to keep costs down, but there is a growing amount of things that need to be completed week on week in order to keep things running smoothly, whether it be putting out and removing pitch furniture, helping at the Cock’s cafe with the relevant age group on a Sunday, or sweeping out changing rooms after games, it all needs to be done. So for anyone that is currently contributing in whatever way, thank you, your help is very much appreciated. However this can’t be completed by the current group of volunteers and exec committee alone. We need more help. For anyone feeling that they would like to get involved then please contact either myself or any of the club exec, and we will look at ways in which you can help.
We also need to secure the financial security of the club and honour the commitments that we have undertaken. Following a significant loan and investment in the QEGS facility it is important that we build and sustain a healthy income for the club. I know that this might be a little unconventional but I wanted people to understand what this actually means. My current estimate is that it costs somewhere close to £20,000 per season just to operate and enable rugby across all ages, this includes a £10,000 annual loan repayment to the RFU. Bizarrely the more rugby we play, the greater the costs. It is therefore important that we encourage everyone associated with the playing side of the club to pay the associated membership and playing fees. In addition to this we have done a lot of work over the summer to help boost the commercial side of the club but if there is anyone who feels that they are able to help or contribute please get in contact.
As we head into the rest of the season I would also like to look at ways to build the spirit of the club across all age groups. We can all do something small to help with this, whether it’s encouraging our players to stay with their team mates after a game, creating a guard of honour for the seniors, or the seniors and veteran players contributing to coaching the minis and juniors. We are also looking at running some more club events, more to come on that.
For now I want to end with a note of thanks and I’m looking forward to the remainder of the season. Up the cocks!
Yours in rugby,
Martin Clowes
ARUFC Chairman
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