Bredon Star
Midlands 2 South for the 2002 / 2003 season . They won this Title in the 2004 / 2005 season and progressed to play in the Midlands Leagues , Division 5 West ( South West ).
Throughout all this time , the club has utilised the local playing field in Bredon , moving from the Portacabin in the year 2000 to a purpose build changing room block on the same site . The Parish Council built the block and the club fully furnished the interior , from walls , toilets , showers and boilers . The club is very grateful to the parish for giving us the major step forward and to the club members for their magnificent fund raising efforts at that time .
Since 1991 to the end of the 2008 / 2009 season , the club had always socialised after games at the Royal Oak Pub in Bredon . A succession of Publicans have run the Pub in this period , and they have all served the club very well , always making us most welcome . A big thank you to Mike Hardwick , the Pub owner , for his support .
However , for the 2009 / 2010 season we moved into Bredon Village Hall , which backs onto the playing field . Again a big thank you to Bredon Parish Council for purchasing this facility for the Community at large , but also in letting the club be a new tenant and using the bar and kitchen facilities for after match entertainment .
For the 2014 / 15 season the club opened its first clubhouse above the existing changing room block . The formal opening was conducted by Ian Ritchie - RFU CEO on Saturday , 17th January 2015 .
The Senior Club has played in the Gloucestershire Leagues since 2011 as a result of yet another league restructuring within the Midlands . The 1st XV has now progressed to playing in the Gloucester 1 League .
Rugby Club Magazine was keen to find out more about how they were getting along and with this in mind we caught up with their Chairman Kevin Falvey .
Involvement
He told us , “ I have been involved since 1994 . I was 37 years old , still playing rugby and with a club formed in the village it made sense to join them . The most challenging parts of my role include senior player retention and recruitment as well as getting volunteer support for the numerous roles / activities in the club .
The most rewarding part is getting to see the club work on a day to day basis . Most members have no idea what is involved in running a rugby club or what it costs .
I also love watching rugby at either of our sites on a Sunday morning when we have visiting clubs / teams . To see first-hand the future of the playing side of the club just growing
there and then is brilliant . I even have a Grandson in our U6 ’ s now and his mum , my daughter is one of the coaches .”
Atmosphere
“ On the senior playing side , the mood is a little down . We are rebuilding our 1st team and have gone from an old side to a very young one . On the mini / junior side , things are very upbeat . We have 230 children playing rugby each weekend .
As for our Ladies Touch Team , then things are looking up . They formed a couple of years ago and are going from strength to strength , winning their first tournament at the end of this season .”
Present
Youth
“ I would say the season so far has been fair to middling based on the above . I guess it ’ s the success of the 1st XV that can define a club , but in reality the whole club together is very strong and growing and the community ethos and family spirit we engender is second to none . Project wise in 2018 we are looking to install drainage on the main pitch and also refurbish the changing rooms .”
“ Youth rugby is extremely important for us . We have 230 registered children this season and for a village of 800 houses in a Parish of 1100 houses it speaks volumes that we can attract families from other rugby club catchment areas . Reputation on how you coach and support the game of rugby is key ! On a normal Saturday , 15 of the 18 man senior squad are home grown players .”
Community
“ We are a community club . We are the largest sporting club in our community and have a family oriented welcoming approach . We built our first clubhouse in 2014 . We benefitted from an RFU and Sport England grant totalling £ 120k and other grants totalled £ 13k with the remaining monies being raised in one year to build our clubhouse .”
Challenges / Ambitions
“ One of our biggest challenges is space . With the Mini / Junior section growing , we need additional playing space . We are looking for ways to add pitches . We are talking to the local land owners and also exploring the possibilities of using school facilities .
Our ambitions are to add additional facilities with specific pitch concerns top of the list . We also want to grow our senior playing numbers and continue the success of our Ladies touch teams .” www . rugbyclubmag . com 31