Rugby Football Foundation awards £430,000 to English clubs
DEC
The Rugby Football Foundation has approved grants and loans of more than £430,000 for English clubs in its latest tranche of awards.
Increasing participation and retention of players in community clubs is the key objective of the RFF, which makes awards to the 1175 clubs below level three in the English Clubs Championship.
The latest loans made include one which will help Yarm RFC in North Yorkshire get back on its feet, while Burton and Keynsham receive help funding land purchases.
Yarm were the 500th club to benefit from the Foundation's support as they recover and rebuild after fire destroyed their Wass Way headquarters earlier this year
Another 36 clubs share the £184,700 in grants to improve facilities on and off the pitch that will help increase the recruitment and the retention of players.
"Our clubs are ambitious to keep developing and by improving facilities and playing surfaces they make it possible for more people of all ages to enjoy rugby," said LeRoy Angel, the chairman of the RFF's Board of Trustees.
"Every grant or loan - no matter what the size - makes a meaningful difference to them. Now there are more with better clubhouses, more appropriate changing facilities, and better pitches available for longer because of the improvements in lighting that have taken place."
The RFF is a charitable trust funded by the Rugby Football Union's Community Capital Fund to promote and develop community amateur rugby in England and 514 clubs have benefited from £11,788,923 of the RFF's support since its launch in 2003.
A total of 176 loans worth £8.72million have been approved and 638 grants totalling £3.07m allocated to benefit English clubs.
Loans
Burton: £100,000 loan for land purchase
Yarm: £50,000 loan for purchase of modular clubhouse building, kitchen equipment and security fencing
Loans and grants
Coventrians: £50,000 loan, £6,000 grant for new car park
Keynsham: £50,000 loan, £6,000 grant for land purchase
Grants
Bletchley: £6,000 grant for training floodlights
Perranporth: £2,832 grant for pitch improvements
Basingstoke: £6,000 grant for replacement of flat roof
Avonmouth: £6,000 grant for shower upgrade and improvements
Windsor: £4,793 grant for replacement of hot water storage tanks
Kenilworth: £3,885 grant for pitch improvements
Northampton Casuals: £3,525 grant for pitch and training area improvements
Earlsdon: £6,000 grant for drainage, fencing and standing areas
Stowmarket: £6,000 grant for installation of match floodlights
Aldridge: £3,270 grant for changing room roof repairs and door replacements
Brentwood: £6,000 grant for clubhouse re-wiring
Mitcham: £2,942 grant for health and safety remedial improvements
Seaford: £3,151 grant for external brick repairs
Hendon: £3,500 grant for health and safety essential asbestos renewal
Silloth: £6,000 grant for pitch perimeter barrier
Wilmslow: £6,000 grant for health and safety improvements
Wensleydale: £6,000 grant for floodlighting for training pitch
Cirencester: £6,000 grant for pitch and facilities improvements
Cullompton: £1,750 grant for mobile training lights
Tiverton: £4,774 grant for upgrading clubhouse toilet facilities
Weymouth: £1,748 grant for junior scrum machine and trailer
Puddletown: £6,000 grant for changing room repairs
Witney: £5,670 grant for development of new field
Cheltenham: £6,000 grant for toilet upgrade including disabled facilities
St Brendan's Old Boys: £6,000 grant for mobile training lights
Bedford Athletic: £6,000 grant for refurbishment of shower blocks
Luton: £6,000 grant for floodlight upgrade, mower, line marker, and installation of posts
Coventry Saracens: £3,701 grant for replacement boiler
Skegness: £6,000 grant for new lease costs
Harlow: £2,000 grant for floodlighting upgrade
Bishops Stortford: £4,248 grant for rewiring and lighting of clubhouse
Cinque Ports (St Leonards on Sea): £3,500 grant for portable floodlighting
West Hartlepool: £5,183 grant for new shower heads and boiler system
Pontefract: £5,467 grant for repairs to Car Park
Leigh: £5,952 grant for ground improvement equipment
Old Brodleians: £4,619 grant for replacement floodlights
