Rossendale RUFC COVID-19 Recovery Fund

Aim

Help us recover from COVID by buying rewards or donating to improve our facilities and help us hit our target within 6 weeks

Who are Rossendale RUFC?

We are a local rugby union club who would have celebrated our 50th anniversary during 2020 had it not been for COVID-19. We run 3 senior teams in the RFU and Halbro leagues and have a very strong Mini & Junior Section, often seeing 200+ youngsters playing and training on Sundays. 

The impact of COVID-19

In March 2020, the rugby world came to a grinding halt as Covid-19 took its hold. This meant the suspension, then cancellation of all rugby and affected everyone from Under-6s through to the 1st XV. It must have been so disappointing for the youngsters to have had no rugby for such a long period - we just hope that the enforced break hasn't meant us losing young players for ever. So we really want to drive to improve our facilities further to help encourage the retention and further growth of the Mini & Juniors. 

The lockdown also significantly impacted our income stream, as match day sales and proceeds from 'The Wagon' and sponsors' meals dried up. 

We missed out on the 50th Anniversary Summer Ball, the Sportsmen's Dinner, New Year's Eve, and many other great events that we could have enjoyed together as a club.

But we still needed to maintain the pitches, and in fact improve the pitches. Our groundsman has worked tirelessly throughout the shutdown to make pitch improvements on the main pitch and on the Meadowhead pitches. 

What are our challenges?

But because we have such a large Mini & Junior section, we struggle for decent pitch space, and a couple of the pitches rented from the local authority are often waterlogged and very difficult to play on (as you can see below).

 The lack of income throughout the last 12 months has severely stretched our ability to invest into our plans for pitch improvements.

Our plans to improve our facilities

We also have ambitious plans to

• take over a long-term lease of an additional pitch from Rossendale Council
• invest in the drainage
• improve the playing surface

This will help ensure that as many of our youngsters are able to play on grass right through the season. 

We want to get from this....

To this.....

So the aim of the funding raised here is to rebound from COVID-19 and gain the long-term lease on an additional pitch and to use the money to significantly improve the pitches available to all of our players. 

Once the long-term lease is secured, the first steps of this will be to install significantly better drainage to get rid of the excess water before working on improving the playing surface. We'll then establish a maintenance routine that has really borne fruit in the quality of the other pitches.

How can you help?

So this plea is for all friends, supporters, players and members to do what they can to ensure that the club recovers and continues to thrive for our youth community. 

Some of the merchandise available includes limited edition "Supporting the Club through COVID" Polo shirt (bearing the example logo below), clip-on club ties (ideal for juniors) and branded reusable water bottles (essential under
 COVID restrictions). We will contact you to arrange collection of merchandise from the club.

We are also delighted to be able to pass on some great deals, thanks to the support from our friends in the following local businesses:

• Alannah’s Bakes and Cakes - Alannah's Bakes & Cakes we specialise in brownies and blondies, which are made by using only the finest ingredients, and who promise to provide you with a product that will tantalise your taste buds and to provide the service to go with it too.
• Fresh Café Deli is on Bank Street Rawtenstall serves a range of breakfasts, light snacks, lunches and a tapas menu in the evening, as well as Moo 2 You Ice Cream - ice cream sundaes, etc
• Marl Pits Garden Centre is perched high above the Rossendale Valley and is proud to offer a comprehensive range of hardy plants including various rare varieties through to the commonly recognised favourites. They think if it grows well up there at altitude, the chances are it will thrive in your garden.
• Nila Indian Restaurant in Rawtenstall has built up an enviable reputation for authentic Indian cuisine since opening its doors in July 1991. They are a totally committed team, producing meals of exceptional quality, providing a friendly, efficient service with great value for money, making every visit to Nila an occasion to remember
• Paddock garage is owned and run by James Linton and is a local family run business offering a range of vehicle serving and maintenance for over 30 years that strives to help their customers and local community.
• Pizza Box is located on Rossendale Market and is an artisan pizza restaurant, offering a take-away service for hand-made pizzas using the finest locally sourced ingredients.
• The Coach is located in the village of Edenfield and is a delightful Gastro Pub that promises to deliver traditional cuisine albeit re-imagined. The welcome all, including walkers, dogs and their well-behaved owners.
• Thai Shack takeaway is centrally located in Rawtenstall market, Rossendale and their wonderful food brings together the authentic tastes of Thailand and Asia. They offer a selection of foods from numerous regions, cooked in authentic and traditional styles.

So please have a look at the rewards listed on the right of this page (or at the bottom if viewing on a phone) and buy whatever you can. It would also really help if you can share it amongst all your friends and family to help us attain our target within the 6 week timetable, and ensure that the youngsters of Rossendale can continue to drive our club forwards.

Thank you for reading and for all your support.

This project successfully funded on 19th May 2021