The “Gees” of WP Rugby remains high as we see several milestones and high’s reached for school, club and professional rugby.
This past week has seen additional clubs get to the training field for the first time in more than twelve months and some clubs have now progressed into phase two of the “Return to Training” programme.
Next week will see us host our clubs in the regional forum meetings starting with Super League, A, B and C on Tuesday 6 April and then City, Southern, Northern, Paarl, Metro & Simonsberg region on 7 April 2021 in the Railway Mall at DHL Newlands.
The forum meetings will give our member clubs the opportunity to engage on Club Competition 2021, Return to Play – COVID-19 Protocols, Player Registrations’ Referee Recruitment, Lotto Applications and Workshops.
Over the past few days, we’ve been inundated with clubs sharing pictures of their sessions, meeting friends and getting their boots on. It’s fantastic to see our members in such good spirits and this is again emphasising the importance of club activities. This return has not only lifted the spirit of our players and administrators but has also begun to pique the interest of sponsors as we hear that many clubs have connected with protentional sponsors.
We commend those clubs that have ensured their sponsors have activation opportunities and encourage all clubs to ensure they give their full support to their MMS ( Media, Marketing and Sponsorship) representatives.
Last week saw the launch of our club leadership workshops with our first session focusing on “The Constitution”. The session saw just over thirty clubs attend and get some very important exposure on club constitutional matters. Key factors such as club constitution alignment with the WPRFU constitution and the importance of establishing policy and bye-laws at the club were discussed. The latter being particularly important for the day to day running of any club.
Next week 7 April 2021, sees the next club leadership workshop with a focus on “The Role of the Executive”. As most club rugby administrators are volunteers this session is particularly important to ensure that each person on the executive committee clearly understands the role they fulfil and the expectations of serving in that position. We encourage all clubs to make every effort to sign up as soon as possible. Club Executive Committee members can sign up here.
Women’s rugby continues to grow, and this is our aim. We have set a goal that by the end of 2021 we will have registered five thousand women or girls interested in rugby via the club structures. This process has already unfolded as the clubs have begun appointing their Women’s Rugby Club Representatives who will then link up with the MMS reps at each club to help with the recruitment process.
This number might sound high, but we are working on the principle that each club need only sign up fifty women or girls to reach our first target. It’s equally important that all clubs commit to the process and understand that this drive is not immediately related to rolling out teams and playing in leagues, although that is a long term goal. Any women that would like to join any club as the club Women’s Rugby Champion can sign up here.
This past weekend saw several coaches complete the World Rugby Level 2 coaching course over two days at the HPC in Bellville. The course took on a new dimension this year with a higher focus on the practical component and the assessment of the practical component. This bodes well for future assessments as we continue to empower our coaches and drive for rugby excellence.
Our next course is the World Rugby Level 1 Fifteens course on 9 April 2021. This course is exclusively for Women. Any Women wishing to sign up for this course can click here.
Members wishing to sign up for the World Rugby Level 1 Sevens Rugby course on 16 April 2021 can click here to sign up now.