Sport In Profile UK Issue 07 | Page 58

weavering warriors rufc FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/SPORT_IP This Season “Another title win and promotion says it all for the playing side. But more importantly the club now has a permanent home at Park Wood, Maidstone, after playing on council pitches and out of pubs for the last 10 or so years we have taken a lease on an old set of changing rooms that were not in use. The changing rooms are attached to The Royal British Legion Social Club and we have an agreement that we use the social club as our clubhouse. For us, this is a massive step and for me personally outweighs the great work we have done on the pitch as it gives our club the base it can really grow from and become an asset to both itself and the local community.” Community “We are very much a community club; since moving to Park Wood we have already attracted several players from the local estate. We will start a recruitment drive in the summer and one of the areas we will obviously be targeting is the local community. We have been very much welcomed into The British Legion and the two clubs go hand in hand nicely. We understand as well as anyone that to be a sustainable club we will need to develop a junior section, and our club development plan reflects this fact. We hope to have our junior section up and running in the next few years.” Challenges/ Ambitions Park Wood “Having our new home is a massive step for us; it gives us a base to build our club from. It will enable us to obtain increased sponsorship and grants for player development, coaching and in the future our junior section. We have attracted several new sponsors on the back of being at our new home and our commercial committee are working hard behind the scenes to attract more sponsors. We are looking to build long term relationships with our sponsors and make sure they get something in return for parting with their hard earned money.” 58 Issue 07 “Although we have seen a growth in our player base, other local clubs have seen a decline in playing numbers and I believe this to be the biggest issue facing grass roots rugby. Hopefully on the back of the World Cup later this year, which we actively recruit around, player numbers should increase. It is essential for the modern club to survive that a junior section is introduced. We want to firmly establish ourselves in our new home, to develop a 2nd XV, and then develop a junior section. The mood here is very positive and everyone is committed to growing our wonderful social rugby club.”