vectis
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Vectis
V
ectis Rugby Club is committed to providing the Isle of Wight youth with the full experience of Rugby Football
Union and currently run sides from U7 to colts. Around 20 years ago, there were a few minis playing at each of the
(then 3) senior clubs on the Island, but not enough to run meaningful sessions or arrange fixtures, so the idea was
hatched to bring them together across the 3 sites.
Two of the key individuals were Ben Rouse and Eamonn Carey
with the numbers swelling and Vectis RFC was born, although
it wasn’t until 2004 that the club was officially recognised by
Hampshire RFU as an affiliated club. We recently caught up with
their Chair Sarah Kearney to find out more about the good work
that they’ve been doing lately.
Involvement
She started by telling us about her involvement with the club,
saying, “I have been involved with Vectis RFC for about 12
years. My eldest son started playing age 5 and very quickly
my husband got involved with coaching. When our second son
started playing I quickly fell into the role of Team Manager, then
bacon chef and before long I was on the committee as secretary.
When Craig Goldsmith stepped down as Chair I had been
inspired by his commitment to the club and to making us a
professional organisation striving to provide a safe but fun
environment for Island children to play rugby.”
50 Issue 57
The Role
“The time aspect is a real challenge. I have a full time job, two
boys and a husband who works away a lot. I don’t think I was
entirely prepared for the volume of emails and phone calls.
I’ve only been Chair for a couple of months but am enjoying
the challenge of working with the committee team to find
sponsorship ( to date we have none), source new, affordable
and durable kit and ensuring that the barrier of being an island
club doesn’t prevent our children from playing rugby against a
variety of opposition.”
Atmosphere
“With the world cup looming the atmosphere is buzzing. We’ve
just had a successful and well attended ۙۈ\