Covid19 losses and Ground Maintenance

Aim

The global COVID-19 pandemic has created a very uncertain landscape for Yarm Rugby Club and heavily impacted on plans to improve our grounds

The Club

Yarm Community Rugby Club is located near the town of Yarm in North East England. Established in 1997, this young club has had its fair share of ups and owns, but maybe nothing quite like COVID19. 

The club has a senior men's and women's teams playing on weekend and a strong youth set up with teams from under 7's tag up to under 16's. The youth set up has produced a professional rugby player and has has representatives at County level rugby.

Our aim is to encourage greater participation in rugby and to support our members in a physical and social perspective. We are proud to deliver an inclusive and fun atmosphere in which to take part in this great sport. We aim to be a part of our community and support local charities and businesses.

We are continually looking to expand our teams at all levels, age groups and genders. And we do all of this through a small group of dedicated volunteers and it is fair to say we are blessed with some of the best people involved in local club rugby. 

Covid19 Impact

Yarm Rugby Club have taken steps to improve their financial position through increased membership, local sponsorship and fun fundraising. The club are now in a very strong financial position and have made several important improvements to our facilities. The ongoing COVID19 crisis is having a big impact on our income and with the recent extension to when games can resume this impact is increasing. The club generates revenue through membership fees, matchday activity, the bar, social events and various fundraising activities throughout the year.

The majority of this revenue has been lost, but some of our fixed costs (those we must pay irrespective) have continued to be needed to be paid.

The loss of income could mean we have to scale back on some of planned maintenance and facility improvements as we do not want to impact on our players and members. We can change that through Crowdfunding!

Fundraising Aims

When the £10,000 target is reached will allow us to:

• Continue to cover our remaining annual ‘fixed’ running costs
• Purchase ground maintenance equipment to ensure the pitch is playable throughout the year and eliminate a fixed cost we are currently paying.
• Start our facilities maintenance programme again which will ensure our facilities are ready to be used when a full return to rugby occurs.

This is crucial in enabling the club to continue to provide rugby within the community to everyone who wants to participate. 

As a volunteer-run club, we need to generate donations from members, families, friends and the wider community to help us cover the shortfall.

You can donate however much you feel comfortable with; we are well aware that individuals  and local businesses have also been hit hard financially by the impact of COVID-19 and everyone’s individual wellbeing is the priority here. However, if you can spare any money to donate, we would really welcome any and all support, big or small, and encourage people to consider donating.

If you do, then you can pick from one of our rewards as a gesture of thanks for supporting us in our time of need. Rewards you can pick from include:

• Food and drink from the Clubhouse 
• Drinks 'Wheel of Fortune'
• Reduced membership fees 
• Reduced Ad Board rates

If you do donate in one of the above ways, please could you put a note in the comments box to clarify what/who your donation covers, and what reward you would like to claim, or contact us via [email protected]

This project successfully funded on 17th December 2020