We are the Liskeard and Looe Mini Rugby Club girls’ section based at Liskeard in South East Cornwall. We currently have 23 players across the U12/U14/U16 and U18 age groups. We want to increase participation and become the biggest, sustainable girl’s section in South East Cornwall.
We believe rugby is an amazing outlet for all girls in growing confidence, team skills, pride, discipline, encouraging healthy bodies and minds! We want to be able to increase participation to as many girls as possible in this fantastic sport.
The girls’ section is welcoming and inclusive – the players have felt the benefits of rugby in their home, school lives and beyond. We have seen their team spirit and confidence increase as well as their aspirations for their futures. With everything our young people have faced over the last few years we feel it’s more important than ever to ensure as many girls from South East Cornwall have the opportunity to experience all of these benefits.
For 3 years Liskeard Looe girls has a stable contingent of just 4 dedicated and talented girls. Just prior to covid a group of 7 girls joined the U14 section. The club was beginning to build and have momentum. Covid slowed the progress but the club was determined. Regular sessions with virtual challenges were set through this time. On return many more girls expressed an interest and the club began to grow increasing by over 150%, expanding its age range to include U12's and supporting girls in the area to get back in touch with physical contact, team sports, socialising and physical benefits. The huge benefits for mental health and positive activity were in demand.
The club has continued to grow and with that additional demands on kit, equipment and support has also increased to enable more girls to benefit and to ensure the stability and profile of the team in order to continue to be able to benefit more girls.
We have also trialled work with a school to provide support for after school for rugby clubs to enable the wider community of girls in the area to re-engage in sport after covid, try something new and build bridges to the club if they enjoy. This wider benefit and the opportunity for more girls to be empowered through rugby has been brilliant and we want to reach out more in this way to have a wider benefit on our community and the communities our girls come from. They are becoming role models and support networks across the area.
We want to raise a total of £5000 to enable us to invest in the girl’s section of Liskeard and Looe Rugby Club. With funding we will be able to purchase more equipment and kit. We will be able to recruit additional coaches and coaching. We will be able to overcome barriers to participation and provide sessions within schools promoting girls’ rugby. We will be able to ensure that all girls have the opportunity to access the club regardless of background and financial limitations.
We also aspire to train the next generation of Cornish female rugby players and maybe, just maybe, see more local girls reach the national and international stage such as Amy Bunt (Cornwall 22/23 and Ivybridge) and Merryn Doidge (Exeter Chiefs/England) has – with your donation, you TOO could be part of that journey
Equipment - Purchase more training equipment that enables the girls to train safely and reduces fear of injury. As the section grows more equipment will be needed for them to benefit from each session. Fear of injury can be a barrier for potential players and a range of equipment that enables them to build their skills safely will build confidence in the game and confidence in themselves. £2000 of the target.
Building the Team - Providing (additional) match kit for our growing section, building that sense of team and camaraderie with kit they will be proud to wear. I’m sure we can all remember not having the right stuff and feeling awkward about that at some point in our lives - we want to ensure this doesn’t happen! We also want to be able to support team development over the summer months to keep the confidence high by undertaking some team confidence building at low cost so everyone can participate. £1540 of our target
Promotion - Promotion of the club and game through creating a campaign to ensure that girls across South East Cornwall are made aware of the club, can try out rugby for themselves and realise that it could be for them. This will include working with schools and other clubs, creating exciting imagery that establishes the identity of Liskeard and Looe Girls and makes sure everyone knows all about us! £1000 of our target
Coaching - We are really lucky to have Zoe and Jim our coaches we want to invest in them and support our coaches with training and development. We will be able to invest in specific trainers to upskill players and coaches in key areas of the game (e.g. conversion kicks). We will also be able to support them to attend specialist coaching sessions with clubs such as Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates. We will also use funding to recruit and invest in new additional volunteer coaches to enable the girls’ section to grow and ensure the section’s future. £460 of our target
What happens if we raise less money?
We will use all investment wisely in the above areas but hold back on further promotional activities in order to balance the amount of kit and equipment we have resources for against our outreach and growth ambitions.
What happens if we raise more money than our goal?
After being hugely appreciative and spending lots of time thanking profusely all supporters, If we over achieve- we will invest further in all of the above areas- particularly supporting our coaches and finding new ones to support more girls joining us.
Why Us?
Over the last 2 years the girls section has steadily grown and we want to ensure that all girls have the ability to access the club regardless of background and family circumstances. We keep subs to a minimum but costs are increasing and if we want to grow, we need to invest.
With your help we will be able to grow this club and enable these girls to ROAR!
The benefits to the girls are clear to see, here's some quotes from them:
'I love Liskeard-Looe girls, because everyone is so supportive, everyone will always help each other and will make sure you're OK'
'Liskeard-Looe Girls is great if you're trying something new, everyone will always be supportive of others and it's an amazing community to be a part of'
'I love Liskeard-Looe girls, because we have great communication and teamwork with each other and everyone's everyone so supportive and helpful, overall, it's just the best team ever'
'Liskeard-Looe girls makes me overwhelming me happy and has brung an incredible group of people into my life who I would never of befriended otherwise. I feel so grateful to be a part of the team and I love it more everyday'
We Need You!
We need you and have some great rewards in return! These fantastic rewards have been donated (with thanks) by a small but growing set of supporters- please join us- find a reward, donate, share, promote or offer to fundraise for us.
Rewards - a massive 'Thank You' to all of our reward donors
The Wetsuit Factory
Amy Bunt Sports Therapy
Whyfield
Merlin Cinemas
Cornish Pirates
Sharps Brewery
Real Ideas Organisation
Exeter Chiefs
Plymouth Albion RFC
Mark Lowe @ Trevenna
Karen Bunt Art
Cornish Orchards
Theatre Royal Plymouth
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, maybe a sponsored activity or similar, use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
