Sports Equipment for Strathendrick RFC Children

Aim

Our aim is to raise money to pay for sports equipment for Strathendrick Rugby club minis and midis. These are boys and girls between 6-18.

What is the need for your project in the community? How will your project improve local life?

Strathendrick Rugby Club is the largest sporting club for young people in this rural and diverse region of Scotland. We have over 200 boy and girls playing rugby ranging from 6-18.

The sport provides an important place for young people to make friends, challenge themselves when learning a new sport and to provide physical exercise to keep the young people active, fit and healthy. 

The rugby club provides a place where children get to train and play fixtures on a weekly basis throughout the season. The club also facilitates touch rugby in the summer for 8 weeks where all ages are invited. Sometimes as many as 100 people will turn up from aged 6 to 70 years old.

What support do you have from the local community for your project?

The rugby club and this project have a strong backing from the community with over 30 volunteers helping run the club. The Club has a partnership with local secondary school Balfron High School and with the wider primary schools from the surrounding villages. 

The children from 11-18 play in the Scottish Schools Barbarian conference under the title Balfron Strathendrick. The rugby club also conducts outreach rugby taster sessions at all the local rural primary schools. This activity culminates in a primary school rugby festival organised at the rugby cub in Fintry.

Who will benefit from your project?

The project will benefit over 200 children who come from 10 different rural villages in the Trossachs. Our equipment is also used for summer touch rugby where all ages take part.

Tell us more about your project and how it will benefit your community if you are successful.

We run 10 different age group rugby teams throughout the season from age 6 to 18 years old. The boys and girls play each week and there is significant wear and tear of equipment which needs regular replenishment to keep our club going. 

Our objective is to run an inclusive rugby club that is affordable by all, regardless of circumstance or background. For this reason we like to fund raise to pay for equipment instead of asking for more money through membership fees where some parents/carers may not be able to afford membership fees. With training sessions and fixtures each week through the season and summer touch rugby for all ages for 8 weeks in the summer, the club provides opportunities for young and old to keep fit and healthy throughout the year and also a way of connecting people from different rural communities around a central purpose. The project equipment will be used and accessible by all people across our community who wish to take part.

Please give a breakdown of the costs of your project.

Our requirements are fairly simple. These include :Rugby Balls £2000, Rugby Post protectors £1000, Synthetic pitch lines £1150, Bibs £100, Cones £100, Tackle pads £400, Rugby Strips (shirts)£250

This project successfully funded on 16th July 2020