International rugby players aren’t just inspiring when they are on the pitch, doing what they do best, they also work at getting young people involved in the sport. Without the younger generation being influenced by the game or being encouraged to participate at grassroots level then the game would suffer at a professional level. The Welsh Rugby Union recognises this and has given a massive £27million in order to boost the grassroots projects in Wales. Therefore, the goal of international rugby off the pitch is to make the game available to everyone.
How international rugby helps
Many children watch the international rugby matches and dream of the day when they will get to pull on their country’s rugby shirt and join the field to the cheers of the audience. The flood of young, new, talented players coming to the game brings with it a renewed enthusiasm for children to dedicate their time to becoming a professional rugby player. In a move to increase participation, many local rugby clubs receive support from international rugby stars who come along and help coach and take drills on a semi-regular basis.
Improving the grassroots
When most people picture grassroots rugby they often think of a scraggly pitch with old wooden posts and barely visible line markings. International rugby sponsors such as HSBC, RugbyForce and SWALEC are working to change this image through corporate sponsorship of local rugby clubs. This sponsorship gives them more finances to purchase equipment, tend the pitches and even allow the club’s rugby kit to be sold at a discounted price. The WRU has directly employed over 50 people with the sole purpose of helping community rugby take place and recognise specific areas where more funding is needed. Many of the rugby sponsors see what they are doing as an investment in the future, as they know that without grassroots rugby there would be no professional sport.
Having the right tools for the future
Rugby shirts take a real battering; tough tackles, mud, grass stains, soaked with sweat, blood and tears. This typically means that there is a time span on how long these shirts will last, however some clubs are unable to replace or update their team’s rugby shirts to their detriment. Think about how much the kit has changed in the last 5 years, moving from loose-fitting cotton jerseys to skin-tight Lycra material. Without the vital funding from international rugby many clubs would still be sporting the older versions of the rugby jersey, which disadvantages them in games against more privileged clubs. Through sponsorship, local clubs have been able to boost grassroots participation by: improving the standards of their pitch, introducing floodlights, purchasing line marking machines, sprucing up or building clubhouses, purchasing training equipment and paying for coaches.
Transparent funding streams in Wales
The Welsh Rugby Union is at the forefront of the sport when it comes to potential sources of funding for grassroots programmes. In the last five years over 310 local rugby clubs in Wales have received £27 million in funding through the WRU, with amounts ranging from £100 to £250k. The funding is designed to help anybody access rugby, from helping clubs gain access to discounted equipment to purchasing land to be used as a community rugby pitch in areas where there are no nearby facilities.
Written by
http://www.rugbyclearance.co.uk/
photo by Murky1 via Flickr (creative commons license)
