Macclesfield
Macclesfield
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Dave Timmis is the Managing Director of Leasing.com and lives in the Macclesfield area of Mottram St Andrews. He is
a big supporter grassroots sport so was more than happy to take a little time out of his busy schedule to talk to Rugby
Club Magazine, saying, “It was really through a friend that I became associated with the club and was so impressed
by their community involvement and spirit that I decided to sponsor them.
“As a company we recognise the value and service provided by clubs like Macclesfield and the support they provide to
young people and I suppose older alike. This was emphasised recently when we announced a three-year sponsorship
deal with the EFL that will see Leasing.com become the Official Title Sponsor naming the EFL Trophy the Leasing.
com Trophy for the next three years!
“Being a father of three active boys, Finn 13, Milo 10 and Ted who is 6, I’m fully aware of the need to offer our children
as many active and healthy options as possible. Macclesfield Rugby Club are a great example of how to manage and
put these opportunities into practice.
“It’s great to hear that Rugby Club Magazine have chosen the club to appear within their RWC Japan special edition
which as a tournament was a great advertisement for a great sport. Myself and all our team at Leasing.com would like
to wish everyone associated with Macclesfield Rugby Club all the very best of continued success for the remainder
of the 2019/2020 Campaign!”
league. We believe we need to stick
to being whiter than white as our
aim is to get back into the league
above where these opportunities
are not there. It has also been a great
season for our local talent, each week
the majority of the squad are young
home grown lads, our approximate
match day average age flits between
22-24.
The boys are in good spirits and
keep pushing to be better after every
performance. We target our games
week by week so the full focus is
on us. We aim to play like we train
not how the opposition play which
I feel is powerful for us. Our aim is
and has been from day one to get
promoted in to National 2.”
Youth
“Macclesfield RUFC have a
thriving Mini and Junior section
with slightly shy of 400 kids
registered from U6 to Junior Colts.
The section follows the Kids First
approach to coaching, ensuring all
age grades have qualified dedicated
coaches able to promote the core
values of the game in a child
focussed environment, encouraging
development of all kids of all abilities
and skill levels. We are proud to
offer rugby to all throughout the
club and the quality and quantity of
the people involved shows through
the size and success of our mini and
junior section.
The importance of growing the
mini and junior section is paramount
to the club as we intend to get as
many of the youth players into our
senior squads as possible. As we
are growing things are becoming
more challenging. One of the biggest
challenges is training space although
we have plenty of pitches we don’t
have sufficient lighting, this will be
a project for the near future. We are
always on the hunt for more people
to come play so if you’re interested
please contact Mini and Junior Chair
- Phil Mason phil.mason2@gmail.
com.”
Integration
“Our senior section is now
showing that our transition is in
good health. In the 1st team alone
we have six boys who were playing
colts last season.
The way we aim to strengthen
the integration between senior
and junior is to create stronger
communication between the two
sections and for more shared
experiences. Our motto of One
badge, One Club, Once Voice plays a
large part in this! A few examples of
good practice we have so far would
Pete Harper has been associated with Macclesfield
Rugby Club for over forty years and is the club’s current
President. He recently spoke to Rugby Club Magazine,
telling us, “My dad, also Peter, asked me to step in and
play for the club’s 5th team on returning from school one
afternoon, I was thirteen at the time. My dad played full back
or winger and was skipper and President of the club over
the years, for most of my own career I was in the back row
up until my vet rugby days when I experienced the fun of
front row rugby.”
“It’s been a great club to be part of and apart from
captaining Macclesfield and being Chairman for seven
years I have had the privilege of being a sponsor too. Our
focus is, `One Club’ so whether you’re a six-year-old, ladies
team player, vet or senior player we wear all the same kit.
This season we have had a great amount of young players
coming through who started in our mini section and George
Lewis club stalwart and founder of our mini junior section
in 1971, who sadly passed away recently, will be greatly
missed!
“This season has provided an opportunity for our 1st XV
to field more young players and to learn the new attributes
needed to compete in the Northern Premier League but
we seem to be finding our feet and looking forward to the
games ahead. Don’t fix what isn’t broken would be my final
comments to all the great people and members that the club
currently have and who have been involved over the years,
best wishes to everyone at Macclesfield Rugby Club for
many more seasons to come!”
be our match day experience at each
home game. This gives a group of
players from the mini and junior
section the chance to meet the senior
players, help out with warmups and
for the younger ones run out with
the players then acting as ball boy/
girl. We hope this gives then a huge
insight into what it means to play for
the club as a senior.
We have also started to promote
the senior lads to help out with junior
sessions, on a few occasions this
has happened and both the juniors
and seniors have really enjoyed the
experience. We have more of this
planned.” is stable and we are self-funding is
the biggest challenge. We have some
fantastic sponsors and partners
who help us compete at this level
along with our superb volunteers
who work so hard to maintain and
develop our club for little or no cost.
To improve the rugby experience
for all we need to maintain this
investment of money and time but
also grow our club income as a
business to re-invest. We believe
we are on track and the future looks
bright but this is one of our biggest
challenges.”
Community “MRUFC
aims
to
be
a
welcoming, inclusive and successful
family rugby club at the heart of
the local community. We also aim
to be Cheshire’s strongest rugby
club underpinned by our clear
direction, quality rugby and social
environment, with the financial
strength to maintain and increase
investment in the club to develop our
professional, social and community
participation.
“We are definitely a community
club; we have some great links
with the local schools and we are
also supported by some great local
businesses. It’s very important to us
that we become a common interest
in the local community as the
support from the community will
help us develop in the future. This is
a priority in our strategic plan.”
Nigel Clerk of club sponsors RRG Group, Toyota is in his second year as a club sponsor and has a lot of respect
for the club and its members. Being an ex-player and former front row forward he appreciates the game very much
and said, “They are great at looking after you and create an excellent, friendly atmosphere for all. Best wishes for
the future!”
42 Issue 88
Challenges
“Like most clubs at our level
achieving a point where our income
pathway to senior rugby. Our
strategic priorities over the next five
years are to improve facilities, grow
rugby, perform on and off the pitch
and engage with the community.”
Ambitions
Most importantly we are focused
on being a leading family rugby
club, with the best Mini and Junior
section that has a clear enjoyable
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