Firwood Waterloo Rugby Club -Covid 19 support page

Aim

RENOVATION WORK - COVID-19 brought the 2019/20 rugby season to a dramatic halt. Massively reducing the clubs ability to survive financially

FIRWOOD WATERLOO RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

Firwood Waterloo Rugby Union Football Club is an historic sports and social club in the Sefton area of Merseyside. Having briefly trodden the treadmill of professional rugby and nearly succumbing to the pressures of trying to maintain that version of the game within a largely volunteer led structure, the club has re-established itself at a grassroots, amateur level with a strongly embedded focus and commitment to a whole of club ethos and family environment at the heart of the local community. The club is widely recognised as one of the leading North West based Rugby Clubs with a thriving mini and junior section. We are constantly striving to improve the health and wellbeing of our members, guests and visitors by creating an active community program, driving inclusion and diversity and providing a platform for participation in team sports and activities and opportunity for all.

At senior Men’s level the club currently has three active teams and importantly a senior Colts (U18’s) team providing the transition from junior to senior rugby. The Men’s 1st team are competing at Level 6 of the National  RFU Leagues in the North West One League and the senior Women's team will be playing in the National Women's Championship Competition in the forthcoming season.

The Mini and Junior section has 11 age groups from U7 to u18 Senior Colts, with 320 players and 55 volunteer Coaches participating on a weekly basis throughout the season.

We are very proud that many of the current 1st XV squad and coaches came through the junior set up at the club.

As a club we pride ourselves on inclusion and have invested heavily in training to ensure that everyone is treated equally and fairly and has access to sport in a manner that is relevant and appropriate to them. This can be evidenced, in part, by our work with the England Deaf Rugby Union; 2 of our current senior coaches have been part of the Deaf coaching team that has over the past three years brought deaf international fixtures to the club and over 6 deaf international players have been a part of our senior set up.

The club regularly host school events such as rugby fixtures, football competitions and end of year celebrations. We also have a Slimming World Group, running club, dance and fitness sessions that make regular use of our facilities providing a valuable link to the wider local community.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT NOW MORE THAN EVER

Six months ago COVID-19 brought the 2019/2020 rugby season and the club’s community, leisure and hospitality activities to a dramatic halt. Having survived thus far with the industry support provided by the Government, as things begin to return to a new “normal” we have to prepare the club to be able to operate safely and securely for the benefit of all its users; members, guests and community groups alike.

Following hundreds of volunteer hours over 5 weekends, preparing the external grounds and internal facilities, we have recently re-opened our doors again in line with the scheduled start of the rugby season. All sections of the club are now undertaking rugby related activities in line with the published RFU return to play pathway and we are already hosting our Slimming World group, running club, dance and fitness classes and have had a number of members, guests and visitors attend to take advantage of the ability to engage with each other in our socially distanced facilities.

Match day socialising, functions, facility hire and community events such as the annual firework display are what normally provide the bulk of our income, all of which is used to support the continued provision of our sports and social facilities for the enjoyment of all. These types of activities are all likely to be subject to restrictions for some time to come, so we need to adapt, both our thinking and our facilities to ensure we are able to generate sufficient funds to reinvest in our facilities moving forward. Examples of the type of work required are:

• Additional seating areas, inside and out, for properly distanced socialising need to be created which will require the acquisition of new (to us) tables and chairs

• Bar layouts need to be altered to ensure our staff can work in a safe environment

• Room layouts need to be altered so that our visitors feel comfortably secure and we are compliant with current regulations

• Till functionality needs to be upgraded to facilitate table service to help keep customers safe and queues to a minimum

• Clean, dry storage areas need to be created so that fitness and other equipment can be stored safely and doesn’t take up valuable internal space when not in use

• Changing rooms need to be modified and additional space created so that those using the facilities for sporting activities can do so safely

The above is not an exhaustive list and will require the repair, refurbishment and adaptation of existing facilities and spaces as well as the purchase of new and second-hand equipment and furniture.

Anyone over the age of 50 will well understand that bits start to wear and fail as the years advance and as our historic club enters its 100th year at The Memorial Ground it too is starting to creak and groan in its older parts. Six months of lying fallow have seemingly highlighted and laid bare areas of our grand old clubhouse that will need extra care and attention with various, previously unobserved holes and gaps appearing in the wooden floors, walls and ceilings, particularly in the changing room areas. The shower areas and elements of the external fabric of the buildings such as guttering, woodwork, windows and roof areas are also in need of some TLC.

If not repaired appropriately now, further unchecked deterioration will, in the not too distant future, affect our ability to provide a suitable and safe environment for our members, children and local community groups who use the club for their sporting, social and physical exercise activities.

We are, therefore, asking our local community, club members, players, supporters, residents and businesses to come together and help get us collectively through this challenging period in our history in such a manner that we can continue to develop the facilities at our club to support its community sports and leisure activities and aims. 

Any donations received will be used to undertake the works highlighted above, so please make a donation if you can and 'pass it on' to a friend or colleague to help spread the word.

USE OUR REWARD SCHEME

Club sponsors are providing rewards for donations and pledges, please keep a close eye on the rewards available as we are adding various supported rewards as often as we can, including great value sponsorship packages and use of our Marquee facility in June 2021

RECOGNISING YOUR SUPPORT

Aside from any reward you may obtain when pledging money, you will also get a warm, fuzzy feeling, knowing that you have contributed to maintaining this historic community asset and helping to ensure we can survive the immediate effects of this pandemic and come out prepared for whatever the future holds in what will undoubtedly be a changed world.

If you leave your name when pledging your support we will credit you in an article in the match day programme on resumption of the new season.

Any companies or individuals taking up the sponsorship rewards will additionally have their company logo or name featured on the sponsors page of the club website and in a sponsors article in the match day programme.

ATTEND THE CLUB

Please keep attending the club in a social or sporting capacity as regulations allow but also to view the work that needs to be carried out. You may have a skill or experience that can assist us and help any funds raised go further to benefit every user of the club facilities.

OUR PLAN SHOULD WE ACHEIVE BEYOND OUR INITIAL TARGET.

In the event that, through your generosity, we raise funds in excess of our target, we plan to ring-fence those funds for investment into the fabric of the club to continue to upgrade our facilities so that future generations can continue to enjoy the wonderful community asset that is Firwood Waterloo Rugby Union Club.

This project successfully funded on 5th October 2020