This article covers the trials and tribulations of running a small amateur sports club in today’s environment. In my case, the sport is rugby union, although many of the problems and uphill battles we face could apply to most other sports clubs that have their own facilities.
By Simon Peace
Club Love! I
have been a member of Woodrush Rugby Football Club in North Worcestershire (South Birmingham) for over thirty years, and have been involved in committee work covering most aspects of running the club over most of that time, culminating in five years as Chairman. Whilst I played the game to a very modest level for a number of years, I have never been involved in coaching or team selection etc., and will not therefore cover this aspect here - it would not be relevant in any event.
My whole driving force on the committee has been to run the club as a business, to increase turnover from all income streams and to keep a tight rein on overheads. Only by doing that can you provide funds for those involved at the sharp end, the rugby end, to purchase equipment, improve the training and playing areas and improve the quality of coaching, which all help to better the playing standard and attract new players. And it is only by doing that that you can ensure the future well being of the club.
Why would anybody want to ensure the
future of the club after they have finished playing? Well, quite simply, to keep in contact with like minded individuals with whom they have played the game and socialised with over the years, and who also want somewhere they can meet up and chat about old times. For it is not just a sports club or a business, but also a social meeting point, and it has to be to be successful.
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An attractive, comfortable, clean clubhouse and well run bar, with efficient staff and good quality, reasonably priced drinks, creates an environment in which the players want to socialise, and their relatives, friends and members of the local community also want to come and relax. Run properly, with accompanying social events, this will produce continual profit to be reinvested into the playing side of the club. Team performances will improve, more players and supporters will be attracted to the club and they, in turn, will spend money over the bar which increases profit levels and, so, the whole thing evolves.
The old fashioned image of rugby being played by overweight thugs on muddy pitches has, hopefully, gone. Today’s amateur players are fitter and more athletic than they ever were. They have to be coaxed to play for ‘your’ club by good quality, well drained playing surfaces, modern training equipment, qualified coaches, clean and up to date changing facilities and a comfortable environment to socialise after the game, enjoying their favourite drink at a cheaper price than the pub down the road. Get all of that right and you’re on to a winner.
My own club’s pitches were
notoriously bad during the worst months of the winter, with thick clay just beneath the surface making natural drainage almost impossible. Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent over the years on improvements and these continue. Regular cutting of grass during the
growing season has been one of the simplest and cheapest ways of improving the quality of the grass, and appears to have asisted with drainage. Similarly, an all-weather training area.
covered in a deep layer of bark chippings has given the coaches and players an area that is usable in most conditions, although, as I write this, it is under six inches of snow! Players that are able and willing to train and be coached regularly will improve without exception, so these aspects are paramount in running a successful club.
Another rugby image that has gone over the years is that of beer swilling players guzzling twenty-four pints of flat beer, before having a curry and going home to the wife sometime the next day. Wives, girlfriends and children are very much a part of rugby, as they will be with most sports clubs, and the social environment during and after the game has to reflect that. If the toilets are not clean and
presentable, the ladies go home with husbands in tow and bar takings drop. Put that right and families will be happy to stay around and spend their money across the bar. And the products on sale have to cater for all tastes. The old days of a barrel of mild, take it or leave it, have also gone. We have to cater for the ladies as well, and even the kids have their own choice of pops and sweets. And the players are also more discerning. It is no good trying to sell an unpolular brand of lager for £3.00 a pint when the pub down the
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