Rugby Club Issue 58 | Page 78

Stamford FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Stamford S tamford, an idyllic, stone built town, established on the river Welland in medieval times, as a halfway house between London and York. Rated in 2013 by the Sunday Times as “the best place to live in the Britain” it’s no coincidence that the town’s rugby community is also fiercely proud of it’s sporting heritage both on and off the pitch. We caught up with Stamford Rugby’s Press Officer, Pip Warters who told us, “Stamford has always been a rugby stronghold, with Premiership sides Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints both within striking distance of the town. We are currently boasting over 1300 members with our mini and junior sections positively buzzing on a Sunday morning.” The market town club has undergone an intense period of change over the last few weeks and months, largely thanks to a team of very forward thinking, dedicated committee members who are punching way above their weight in terms of what they have collectively achieved, in a very a short period of time. Financially, the club is pretty solvent too, plenty of sponsorship deals are coming to fruition and local businesses have been extremely helpful and supportive. Arbor - Heat and Power have been particularly generous over the past couple of seasons, committing to an invaluable three-year kit deal for the 1st XV. 78 Issue 58 A rebranding exercise in the off-season saw the club’s old logo get a much-needed redesign as Pip told us, “We wanted an eye catching modern design for the new kit, but with a nod to our traditional past. We managed to incorporate the original elements, including a slightly more sinister looking ‘Lincolnshire Imp’ and the classic ‘Stamford Lion’ as featured on the town’s coat of arms. It was a bit of gamble but has been very well received; we’ve also dropped the outdated ‘RUFC’ format in our name in favour of an allencompassing ‘Stamford Rugby’.” Securing a sponsorship deal with conglomerate BGL group, has also been an absolute game changer. The large multinational company, based near Stamford are currently undergoing an awareness campaign and are keen to be associated with grass roots sport in the area. The not inconsiderable cash injection has enabled the club to subsidise kit for the minis and juniors, meaning that every age group from Under 5s all the way up to Vets now plays in the same shirt. Ross Thain, minis and Junior Chairman said: “Rugby had become less popular in recent years, I think it’s because of the perceived physicality, but with England hosting the World Cup this year, I believe we’re coming out the other side. Many local sports clubs have been in the doldrums for some time, part of the problem is the social side, Stamford Rugby have capitalised on their recent success by offering an enhanced club experience, with lots of events filling our social calendars as well as the regular fixtures list.” Installing a state of the art audio-visual system has enabled the club to screen Rugby World Cup matches to the local community and has paid dividends on several levels. The bar takings alone have increased exponentially, but also, in an initiative devised by Honorary Secretary Rupert Gibson, each age group has been invited to ‘host’ a different RWC match. Rupert said: “It was great to see all sectors of the club represented, the idea was that individual age groups would take care of the catering for each game that we televised and were able to keep the proceeds in exchange for some help clearing glasses and the like. Some