Belper
Youth
“Youth rugby is the backbone to any rugby club. Belper is a
very small place and there are a few big rugby clubs around us
who are always going to recruit the main bulk of rugby players
in the local area, so our age grade rugby section is essential for
developing the players for the future of the club. Our youth
section is run by some amazing volunteers who kindly give up
their time on a Sunday to help out with everything. Without
those guys the club simply could not run!
Our Under 17’s team trains on a Thursday night just before
the senior section, and the guys are always encouraged to stick
around and have a run about with the senior lads after. We
always do club touch Rugby over the summer too. The under
17s are all invited to this, alongside the male and female senior
teams, which helps to familiarise themselves with the players
and coaches from the senior sides.”
Community
“Belper is the definition of a community club! We welcome
players of all ages, and all ability levels, and the club is fully
run by volunteers who give up their time free of charge for
nothing in return. As a venue we also host many events for the
local community which attract thousands of visitors each year.
These events include Belper goes green and the Belper
games. Again, these events are run solely by volunteers, and
everyone from the Belper community are encouraged to come
down and enjoy them. It is events like these that make Belper
such a great place to live.”
Challenges
surrounded by some big clubs who have big pools of players
in comparison to us, but I think we are going the right way to
make Belper as attractive of a place to play Rugby as possible.
We are keeping hold of our players well, where as previously
I think we have been prone to losing some to ‘bigger’ clubs.
Good rugby is being played and in the right spirit too, and I
think this is being noticed by people outside of the club which
has helped us from a recruitment point of view.
The same goes for our female section which in terms of
numbers is the best it has ever been. They are getting 20+
women down to training every week and performances are
getting better and better. Their next challenge will be when
they join a competitive league next season and play against
some stronger opposition, but I have no doubt by the time that
happens they will be fully prepared for it and will tackle any
challenge that comes their way.”
Ambitions
“Our main ambitions for the next five years are to continue
to develop our club in terms of facilities, with the development
of our old clubhouse building as additional changing rooms
and hopefully a gym facility for club members to use currently
progressing well.
Also, we want to improve our membership numbers across
all three sections of the club. This will mean getting teams out
at every age group consistently, getting a competitive female
team taking part in a local league, and hopefully getting three
male teams out week in week out. If we are successful in
achieving them then I have no doubt success will be replicated
on the pitch too!”
“In terms of challenges, I think our biggest one will be to
get a 3rd XV out on a regular basis. As I said previously, we are
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