Who are we?

Paignton RFC is a RFU affiliated grass roots community rugby club in the heart of Paignton in Devon. Known as “The Cherries”, we live the values of Rugby, (Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship). We work closely with our community for the enrichment and enjoyment of all. 

With over 18 teams within our club from our Senior, Ladies and Youth sections we consist of over 600 members (400 of those are active playing members!). As well as matches or training taking place on most days from September to April, Queens Park is also host to a range of social and educational activities throughout the year.  

Community impact

Our community impact exists beyond the game of rugby itself. The provision of a broad range of teams ensures there are opportunities to take part in physical activity no matter you age, size, level of fitness or experience - there's a place for everyone at Queens park who wants to join us. We know we are contributing positively to both the physical and mental wellbeing of our community. We not only provide opportunities to take part in rugby based activities but a wide range of volunteering and developmental roles within the club - building leadership skills, practical skills and resources within Torbay.

Whilst a love of rugby is what builds a common purpose within the Cherries family, being a reliable and valued member of our local community is central to the club spirit and ethos at PRFC. The club and Queen's Park host and facilitate a range of community events and groups ensuring we play an integrated role within our community. Individuals and community groups (such a the Veterans Breakfast Club), local schools,  businesses and organisations all use the club for a wide range of activities including:

• Social gatherings, events and celebrations
• Training and educational sessions
• Sports days/events
• Remembrance Events

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are raising money to undertake a range of pitch side and facility improvements at Queens Park that will:

• improve player and spectator safety and wellbeing
• increase the numbers of those both participating and watching rugby at PRFC
• improve access to club house facilities and viewing for games for those with physical disabilities
• improve the appearance and maintenance of facilities at PRFC

How we’ll spend the money raised

The Money that we raised will be used to:

• Extend the rear club house patio area
• Install new and improved disabled access ramps to the patio area - improving not only access to the club house but also ability to view games from a raised elevation
• Install new DuraLock fencing system to the main pitch - including 2 dugouts to improve safety.
• Install new fencing from the club house across to the cricket nets area to improve safety and appearance.

Picture 1 - Current pitch side railing and team dugouts. We want to replace these old style timber frames which are at the end of their lifecycle, with a new DuraLock fencing system like this one -

Picture 2 - This is the rear of our clubhouse. We have already began our improvements by installing a covering to the current upper level. We want to extend the patio further out and also install a permanent access ramp to the viewing area. 

You can also see to the left of this picture the area adjacent to the clubhouse where we want to install new fencing to improve the safety and appearance of the pitch area.

Birmingham 2022

How our project will be united by Birmingham 2022.

Rugby 7's has been a part of the Commonwealth Games since 1998. In 2022 Birmingham saw 20 different commonwealth men's and women's team entered for the tournament - with home nations from England, Scotland and Wales entering teams for the men's tournament and England and Scotland for the women's tournament.

The strong representation of home nation teams in both the men's and women's sides is testament to the hundreds of local clubs that encourages the grassroots participation in our sport. Rugby is an inclusive sport and encourages members from all segments of our community to participate.

By making the improvements to our pitch side areas we hope at Paignton to increase the membership and participation of the local community in our sport and provide a home where we can build the commonwealth champions of the future.

Our Ultimate Goal! 

Ultimately these improvements and the money we raise is aimed at three core areas:

• Increasing membership and participation within the club
• Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of members and visitors
• Investing in our infrastructure to enable us to plan for the future of our club and community.
• Providing a grass roots club for future Commonwealth champions to build their love of rugby.

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!