Rugby Club Issue 58 | Page 21

Biggleswade “I have been involved in the Club since 1977 when I started playing Rugby at Biggleswade, I have played for every side in the club and coached both at junior and senior level. I have been a society referee for the last 10 years and reffed both in the UK and overseas. I have also held various voluntary roles in the club and this year have been elected as club chairman which is a massive honour and challenge. The most rewarding thing for me is meeting all the great volunteers at Biggleswade and just being involved. The club is doing well; we have a new committee with some younger faces bringing fresh ideas into the club. There seems to be a good buzz at the club and everyone is looking forward to the start of the season. The off-season has been good; we have been running a summer touch competition which is very successful and also continued with work on the pitches which we pride ourselves on. We face some challenges and like any club funding is always a challenge. On the playing front we want to maintain our position in Midlands 2 and build our squad to enable us to challenge for Midlands 1 in the next couple of seasons. I would like to expand our coaching base and ensure we have qualified coaches in all age groups. Youth Rugby has to be the key in my view so we have players coming through not only to play senior rugby at Biggleswade but I want see players with higher aspirations to play a higher standard of rugby; it is about development of the player. We mentor players and talk with coaches and team managers and integrate them safely into senior training sessions. I think sometimes young players are pushed into senior rugby too quickly astakes time. I want to develop a buddy system so every junior player coming through into senior rugby has a buddy mentor. We are a community club and it is something we want to build on and we are working closely with a number of community groups Our ambitions are to be in Midlands One or higher and to have full disabled access into the club. I would like some more facilities at the club and a lot more community involvement over the coming years.” Peter Biernis, Chairman The ambition for all sides is to maintain their current positions in their leagues. With players coming up from youth to senior rugby, in the next few years we are hoping for the club to go even further, to the Midlands 1 or higher. We have fun at Biggy. Both in season, and outside of it. During the off season we run a successful touch rugby tournament, which not only keeps us fit, but attracts other people who would not necessarily be prepared for full contact rugby. We also have a large social side to the club, with parties and various social events organised for not only club members, but also open to the public. With the Rugby World Cup starting soon, there will be a lot more happening at Biggy starting from the opening game England vs. Fiji. We will be showing all home nations games on the big screen, welcoming club members as well as members of the general public. We are not just any club. We are Biggleswade Rugby Football Club. www.biggleswaderugby.co.uk- Twitter : @Biggyrugby www.sportip.biz 21