Pontefract RUFC Modernising the Future Fund

Aim

We are calling on you - our wide community of players, members, supporters & friends - to help raise £20,000 to help modernise our clubhouse

Who are we? A Brief History

Pontefract RUFC is a community rugby union club based in the five towns within the Wakefield District of West Yorkshire. The club’s purpose is to provide the opportunity for local people to enjoy the benefits of playing rugby union. Currently we field three senior men’s teams and age grade teams for boys and girls between the ages of under 7’s and under 18’s.

Rugby Union has been played in Pontefract for well over 100 years. Indeed, a Pontefract Team won the Yorkshire Cup in 1891. The club was however disbanded during WW2 and was reformed in 1947 as Old Pomfretians, reverting to Pontefract RUFC in 1967.

Pontefract have enjoyed considerable success in recent years and presently the 1st XV are preparing for their first season in North East Regional 1 (Level 5) having had back to back promotions, the 2nd XV recently won their YRFU Merit Table and the U17 Colts reached the Yorkshire Cup Final.

Off the field the club is fortunate to enjoy financial security. Our predecessors had the foresight to secure full freehold ownership of the grounds and clubhouse, meaning that we have a low fixed cost base, which meant we coped with the impact of the pandemic well. The clubhouse is an important source of revenue, derived mainly from matchdays, training nights and social functions.

To create additional revenue, we have also partnered with Yorkshire Ambulance Service RFC and Wakefield Raiders British American Football Team who both train and play at Moor Lane. Their activities are complementary to our own. Pontefract Athletics Club which has a large female membership who also use the club as a base but tend not to use the social space very often.

The club has made serious attempts to establish a senior women’s team, and this remains a key objective. We hope this will become a reality in 2023-24 season. We recognise however that to achieve this we have several improvements to make. We are working on developing a coaching structure, but we also need to improve the clubhouse facilities to be more appealing to women. Our proposal to achieve this is detailed below.

Our club has a strong ethos and remain committed to our values, which we can summarise in three words:

1. Community 

2. Opportunity

3. Inclusion

Right now, Pontefract RUFC really needs YOUR support....... 

Back in April 2021 we closed our Return from Covid Crowdfunder after SMASHING our original target of £10,000. 

Our committee came up with the daunting task of Crowdfunding to help support Club Projects that had been severely financially impacted by the Covid Pandemic. 

Our final figure was £37,810 PLUS £4,790.50 in GiftAid. We were very proud to show that this had been contributed from 251 DIFFERENT SUPPORTERS. 

These funds made a HUGE difference. Not only supporting the Club projects initially highlighted but we have seen the wider POSITIVE impact that this had on everyone including PLAYERS, MEMBERS, SUPPORTERS, SPONSORS and our extended COMMUNITY. We returned from the Cover Pandemic on the front foot with an increase in members especially on the playing side resulting in HUGE success at ALL levels.

The only way this type of fundraising works is by a HUGE TEAM effort from everyone involved and connected to the club.... WE NOW NEED THIS SUPPORT AGAIN!

Clubhouse Improvements – Summer 2023

At this stage we are intending to revitalise the clubhouse without making significant structural changes. Having considered various suggested options from members, and via the RFU Advisor Michele Wraith we propose the following:

• Creating a Sense of Arrival and a Welcoming Environment
• Revitalise the Club Room 
• Providing a Greater range of Food & Beverage Options

The Current Clubhouse

The current clubhouse was constructed and opened in 1967. It was constructed by our members and has had minimal upgrades since then. It consists of changing rooms, a club room, a separate lounge bar, kitchen, bar and toilet facilities. Whilst we have maintained the basic décor, and recently upgraded the women’s toilets (at a cost of £5K) it is now long overdue a more comprehensive refurbishment.

The clubhouse provides a very traditional rugby club social space, which is mainly geared towards vertical drinking. We know from feedback received from members and guests that some women find it unwelcoming. Such comments frequently suggest that the clubhouse is tired, cold, dark and male dominated. We aim to address these issues.

Our Membership

Pontefract RUFC has a total of 302 members including age grade players. Of these around 20% are female. We also have approximately 1120 followers on social media. Of these approximately 40% are female. However we can see from our analytics that female engagement in the 18-34 demographic falls to less than 10% of our total followers. We believe therefore that women’s rugby presents the greatest opportunity to grow our membership.

According to Sport England, the number of women participating in rugby union has grown from 25,000 to 40,000 over the last five years. The RFU have plans to achieve further growth of up to 100,000 players by 2027. The benefits of women’s participation in sport are well documented. They include physical and mental health wellbeing, and improved confidence and self-esteem.

We believe that Pontefract RUFC is lagging this trend and is therefore not adequately serving the local female population. We do however have plans to remove the perceived barriers to participation and also see it as a tremendous opportunity to increase membership and club revenues.

Our project will be United by the Birmingham 2022 MISSION 

Our strategy will be in three distinct parts inline with Birmingham 2022 Mission by aiming to increase Female Participation & Membership following the success of the Women's Rugby Sevens;

1. Bringing people together

Firstly, we will aim to bring more people together by providing more playing opportunities especially for girls and women at Pontefract RUFC. This will be kick started by the delivery of the Allianz Inner Warrior Programme in advance of next season, the introduction of non-contact games such as the Touch Union, and the further development of Senior Women’s Rugby.

2. Improve health and wellbeing

Secondly, we will use the above to Inspire, engage and connect females within our community and promote athletes to realise their full potential and live happier, healthier lives.

3. Be a catalyst for change

Finally, but not least, we will strengthen our local community by working together to improve the social space within the clubhouse to make it more welcoming to women and families. 

Greater detail of our proposed clubhouse projects are detailed below.

Clubhouse Improvements – Summer 2023

At this stage we are intending to revitalise the clubhouse without making significant structural changes. Having considered various suggested options from members, and via the RFU Advisor Michele Wraith we propose the following:

Creating a Sense of Arrival and a Welcoming Environment

The entrance lobby has been identified as needing attention. The issues to address are:

• Dated décor and floor coverings
• The proximity of the men’s toilets creating odour issues, with sightlines into the room
• Imagery focussed on the senior men’s teams.

Revitalising the Club Room

There are several issues to address in the Club Room. These are:

• Underutilised space caused by the presence of the TV projector screen which dominates one end of the club.
• Haphazard and disorganised storage of furniture.
• Unattractive and tired furniture
• The clubhouse is widely perceived as dark and old fashioned. This is partly because of the dated décor, floorcoverings and the presence of vertical blinds on the front facia. These are presently require to enable the projector TV to be seen during daylight hours.
• The separate lounge bar is used mainly by our older members and is wrongly perceived as being a private space. This space and the bar facility within are therefore underutilised.
• The walls are covered in memorabilia which now prevents us from giving wall space to celebrate the more recent achievements and the diversity within the club.

The Projects YOU are funding...

The funds raised through this crowdfunding initiative will go towards revitalise the clubhouse without making significant structural changes. Having considered various suggested options from members and via an RFU Advisor, we propose the following:

Creating a Sense of Arrival and a Welcoming Environment

• Installing a second door on the Men’s toilet room to prevent sightlines into the room and odours from permeating the entrance lobby.
• Install contra vision decals to show club/sponsor branding on the front façade whilst allowing natural light into the lobby.
• Creating positive imagery of female and junior participation in rugby within the entrance lobby. This will be achieved by exchanging some of the current images which focus entirely on senior male participation.

Revitalising the Club Room

• Installation of a new floor covering throughout the room
• Creating a more welcoming link between the main club room and the lounge bar. This will be through stopping up the existing door and the installation of double door/partition that can be opened or closed to suit different uses of the lounge bar.
• Replacement of the projector TV system with three modern flat screen TV’s (1x 75” and 2 x 60”). To be used for showing sports within the clubhouse. A fourth existing screen to be utilised for showing club news and sponsors etc) which can be tailored to individual matches and occasions.
• Removal of the blinds from the front façade of the room (to the veranda) to enable more natural light. Install contra vision decals to show club/sponsor branding on the front façade. This will allow natural light into the clubhouse whilst reducing glare.
• Rationalise our existing furniture stock and dispose of any that is redundant or not fit for purpose. Replace furniture with a combination of fixed and freestanding furniture, including poser tables to create more usable space within the clubhouse.
• Create a dedicated furniture storage space adjacent to the ladies toilets (will require the relocation of memorabilia and heating radiator).
• Reviewing and rationalising memorabilia to create additional wall space which will be allocated to age grade and women’s rugby.
• Install a ‘floating ceiling’ with modern lighting to replacing dated and non-matching light fittings throughout the clubhouse.
• Redecorating the walls.

Providing a Greater range of Food & Beverage Options

Remerchandising the bar with a greater range of product to include quality wines (red, white, rose and sparkling,) specialty gins and a range of low and no alcohol products. These should be given equal prominence to our traditional range. This is likely to require the purchase of new dispensing equipment and drinkware for the bar. 

• Installation of a Bean to Cup vending machine to enable a consistent high quality hot beverage offer at all times. 

Community impact....Why Should You Help?

It is difficult to overestimate the value of our rugby club in our community. 

What seems to be merely recreational on the surface has a real effect on the lives of everyone involved. Sport improves your mood, your concentration levels and your sleeping habits. It reduces stress and depression. It has links to leadership traits and, most of all, it brings people and communities together. 

We cannot be more emphatic about the last point. Many of us that are part of Pontefract RUFC will say that we are not just a rugby club, we are a family. In fact, for many of us, to be without our club would be unthinkable. 

Our central catchment area attracts people from all over Yorkshire. It is a place where Public School and State School kids come together. It is a place where all are welcome: regardless of ethnicity, upbringing, gender, social status, religion or nationality.

This is made abundantly clear when you consider the diverse variety of sports teams that use out facilities. 

Without Pontefract RUFC, our local community would be without: 

• 3 adult male teams and plans to field a senior womens team in the near future.
• 10 youth teams, including 2 girls' teams and our newly developed and unique JET (Junior Elite Training) programme

• A 1st Team playing in the Level 5 of the National League structure.
• One of the fastest growing youth sections in Yorkshire. 
• Grounds for local primary and secondary schools
• The home of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service RUFC
• The home of the Wakefield Raiders English American Football Team
• The home of various community clubs such as our local Running and Dance club to name but a few
• An established social membership of over 300 people, many of which are ex-players or the friends and families of ex-players.

• Over 60s 'Friday Gang' Social Club

Our clubhouse needs to be brought into the modern era to reflect the astonishing work the volunteers do on and off the field of play. 

We want to ensure that we create an environment that is welcoming to all our members, supporters, families and other visitors and guests through a conducive, safe and enjoyable environment for all. 

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! Please contribute (no matter how small, all donations will be really appreciated). We have many great and exclusive rewards available to claim whenever you make a donation. 

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!

100% off all donations will go to our club, and our club only. As well as this, we have many great and exclusive rewards available to claim whenever you make a donation. 

Please let all your friends and families know about this CrowdFunder page, including the many that no longer live in our area, but who enjoyed attending and playing at the Club over the years. 

Let’s show what a great sporting community Pontefract is and help the Club MODERNISE IT'S FUTURE!

This project successfully funded on 4th August 2023