Oldershaw RUFC Shower Fund

Aim

To install showers in the current bath area of the rugby club to enable us to restart rugby safely

Who we are – and what we do…

Oldershaw Rugby Club has been a club at the centre of the community since its inception in 1924. The heart of our club is its ethos of inclusivity and respect for all. We welcome anyone and everyone to come down and get involved, be it to play or stand at the bar with a beer. We are a traditional club who aim to promote the core values of rugby – Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Sportsmanship and Discipline. With the club based in an area surrounded by areas of deprivation we feel these are important values to promote within the community and beyond.

We currently have two senior men's teams, multiple junior teams and in recent years we have developed a thriving women’s section with 50+ playing members, with the intent to develop this further. 

We are also the walking rugby hub for north Wirral, working with Sale Sharks to provide sessions. This provides opportunities for members who can no longer participate in contact rugby for a variety of reasons to continue to play the game they love.

We have also recently linked with a local junior football team which lead to the creation of Oldershaw CAFC. The football section has 6 junior teams with a mix of boys, girls and mixed teams.

Additionally, as part of branching out into other sports we also have a cycling club operating out of the club.

Of course, along with our sporting activities we also offer a range of social events, such as our November Beer Festival and our summer Cider 7s tournament combining 7s rugby with a Cider festival. Unfortunately both had to be cancelled this year meaning we missed out on thousands of pounds of revenue. 

We also get actively involved in raising money for charities on both a local and national level. We regularly hold a “Pink Day” in October each year to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness. Alongside this we support local charities such as The Hive Youth Centre in Birkenhead, local food banks and also healthcare settings such as St Johns Hospice and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. 

But now we need your help...

As our members will no doubt be aware, our changing facilities are less than ideal. We currently have two large baths and no showers. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic these were antiquated and desperately needed replacing. The pandemic has now made this an urgent priority. With the increased emphasis on social distancing and hygiene these facilities will no longer be able to be used once rugby restarts. As such, we need to install shower facilities or we will be unable to play out of our own club. 

This would have a massive effect on the club, not just on the playing side in terms of morale, but would also be a huge hit in terms of revenue generated on home match days which would ultimately cost the club thousands upon thousands of pounds. It is not an exaggeration to say that without this investment that the club may well disappear in the coming years. 

Our goal…

As a club we have 3 major goals:

1) Renovate the bath area into showers  

As we would be unable to play home games without this important development this is obviously our number one priority. As well as providing up to date changing facilities for our men’s senior section this would also allow us to develop our Women’s section further. We have had a long term goal of starting a contact team but due to our level of facilities we have held off on this. Updated facilities would enable us to progress with this with the goal of beginning a contact side by the 2022/23 season. 

2) Installation of a disabled toilet & renovation of gents toilets 

As part of our drive to increase inclusivity we would install a disabled toilet cubicle in the gents toilets by knocking through the current cubicle set up and extending outwards to the boundary wall of the club. As part of this project the gents toilets would also receive a full refurbishment.

3) Replace roof on back store 

The roof on the back store currently leaks and as such is unsuitable to store equipment. This has meant one of our changing rooms is currently having to be used as a store room. Fixing this roof would enable us to clear this changing room, providing more changing space and allowing for more social distancing

Please help us return to Rugby…

We are looking to raise as much funding as possible for these projects with a Crowd Funding goal of £7,500 from our members and supporters. This will hopefully be combined with the match funding we are applying for from Sport England, along with other grant applications we are working on. We aim to complete these projects by the start of the 2021/22 season in order to ensure the safe return of rugby to Oldershaw Rugby Club and give our Men’s, Women’s and Junior sections facilities to be proud of and ensure their continuing growth. 

COVID-19 has had a massive effect on the club and in turn affected all our members and supporters in some way. Be it the sporting or social side, we all miss it and with your help we can ensure its successful return. 

We therefore ask you to please give generously to continue to progression of the club now and for all our future generations of players and supporters. It could well be now or never!

This project successfully funded on 12th March 2021