Tower and Town, October 2023 (view the full edition)Running The ClubAlthough Marlborough Rugby is an amateur sports club there is more to it than two senior teams and twelve age groups just turning up on the Common every weekend to play rugby. Below is a look at just three aspects of running the club. Funding With the Club's recent promotion to RFU Level 5 it is expected that it will cost around £200,000 to run this season. What is the money being spent on? Big expenditure items include travel. In the new league, the 1st XV will be travelling over 1,600 miles this season with the closest game being against Bracknell (49m) and the furthest against Brighton (114m). Although we plan to put coaches on (to also accommodate travelling supporters) the resulting travel costs are around £20,000 for the season. At the other end of the spectrum, white line marking costs around £25/week just for the materials! The vast majority of the required funds are raised through three key sources: Player subscriptions: the club typically has over three hundred registered youth players (U6-U18) and about one hundred Senior players. Their subscriptions provide around 20% of the Club's funding each season. Bar revenues: Historically, the bar has made a modest contribution to the Club's finances and suffers from the same pressures that most licenced premises face. This is exacerbated by the Club bar only being open on weekends during the rugby season - the equivalent of only about 60 days a year. However, the Club has just appointed a new club house manager with a target to rapidly improve bar profitability. We hope the appointment will allow us to increase the number of local businesses and individuals who hire out our beautifully sited facilities for meetings and events. Sponsorship: The Club is extremely fortunate in having a fantastic group of around sixty local sponsors whose generosity provides around half of the Club's funding. These sponsors' logos can be found in and around the Club house, on the playing shirts and on the pitch-side advertising boards. Without the support from the sponsors, we would not be able to sustain the club. 
Age Grade Rugby Age Grade Rugby is the game for all players aged 6 - 18. The club has around 45 volunteer coaches who turn up on the notoriously wet and chilly Common every Sunday during September to April. The coaches are usually parents of players and are not allowed to coach unless they are qualified and accredited to minimum England RFU requirements. This includes Kids First Rugby Tag/Contact courses for the Minis and then moving on to the England Rugby Coaching Award for the older players. Everyone, regardless of role, must complete the Headcase Concussion Awareness and Introduction to Safeguarding eLearning training annually. Safeguarding of the age group players is paramount and all coaches must regularly be DBS checked and this is managed by a dedicated club Safeguarding Officer, without which the club is not allowed to operate. 
Volunteers Of course, in addition to the Age Grade coaches, the Club would not operate at all if it were not for the large number of volunteers who give their time for free to support the development of rugby in Marlborough: Committee members: Apart from the well-established "Golden Roles" of President, Chair, Honorary Treasurer and Secretary, the RFU website suggests another 30+ distinct roles that need to be covered to allow a rugby club to function effectively. These include communications, safeguarding, discipline, fixtures, health & safety, marketing and fundraising. Vice Presidents: called the "1871 Club" after Marlborough Nomad's participation in founding the RFU in 1871 (see accompanying article). Anyone can be a member on the basis that they love the game of rugby and want to support a local team intent on offering the game to the whole family: male & female, young & old. The 1871 Club are key supporters of the club both pitch-side but also contributing to the club via volunteering for odd jobs around the club e.g. putting up and taking down the pitch side railing every season or organising the Walking Rugby sessions on Monday evenings. In return, there is a highly active social side including trips to away matches, breweries and ale houses; suppers, lunches and events at the club; discount bar card and the opportunity to access tickets to England matches at Twickenham. Parents: another key group without whose support we would not only have no coaches but we would not have the facilitators to transport and support our 350 minis & juniors on the Common and at away games! Additionally, parents are often found supporting the coaches on Sundays or with helping feed and water the players after matches. |
