Season 2017-18 Issue 2 Gloucestershire GLOUCESTERSHIRE RUGBY FOOTBALL RUGBY NEWS UNION “More Players Playing More Often” WILL AGPS HELP? – SEE PAGE 3 Sponsored by Wadworth 6X COUNTY OFFICE NOTICES ARE AVAILABLE AT www.gloucestershirerfu.co.uk/county_office_notices NEW MARKETING & SPONSORSHIP SECTOR HEAD Having always supported England in their World Cups, Internationals Inside: and 6 Nation games, I became more involved in local rugby when Special Feature AGPs 3 my son started playing 6 years ago. Now referred to as “an active Women & Girls 4/5 member” of St Mary’s Old Boys RFC, I was honoured to be named Representative Rugby Clubman of the Year 2016. 6 Initiating O2 Touch at the club, I recruited operators and School Iniative 7 ambassadors as well as 153 players in the first summer, with 50+ University News 8/9 playing at some sessions. Our first tournament was great fun and Special Feature I was awarded RFU O2 Touch Operator of the Year 2017 - two awards for a non-player is something I’m very proud of! – More Players, Playing More Often 10 I enjoy helping Tony Fielding on the GRFU Communications Geoff Twentyman - Guest Writer 11 Committee, gathering news stories and helping to promote activity Mini and Youth within the Bristol Combination. Having gained sponsorship and 12/13 grants for SMOB RFC, as well as helping with fundraising and Insurance 14/15 promoting local sponsors, I now also support the Bristol Referees Referees 16/17 Society. Club News In my new role of GRFU Marketing & Sponsorship Sector Head, 18/19 I’m looking forward to establishing further relationships to benefit Sponsors 20 GRFU and the new companies I hope to bring on board as partners. Andrea Grant Combination News 22 Down Memory Lane 23 NEW DISCIPLINE SECTOR HEAD I’m an IT Director by profession and a late returner to rugby after giving up at university. A social 2nd XV player for Widden Old Boys Contact us: and junior coach for 10 years, until injury made me look for a way to still be involved in the game. I chose the discipline route as it GLOUCESTERSHIRE RUGBY NEWS matched my skill set and, having been Youth Secretary for GRFU is published by Gloucestershire Rugby Discipline, working with Bryan Parsons for several seasons, I was Football Union. pleased to take on the role of Discipline Secretary for the Union when Bryan resigned. Gloucestershire RFU, Old Stone Cottage, Orange End, Inglestone Common, Badminton, South Glos GL9 1BP. T: 01454 299215 County Office is open from 9am-1pm Mon-Fri. Mark Elton County Office request - CRC Stroud We are keen to hear from you if your club/school is celebrating anything special this season or you I was born in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire and educated at are involved in an event worthy of note. We Marlwood School in Alveston, Filton College then Loughborough would be happy to run a “Featured Club/School” College studying Sports Management. article in Edition 3, so if you have anything to Following a professional rugby career of 12 years for Bristol, share, please let us know ASAP so that we can Coventry and then Pertemps Bees (Birmingham & Solihull RFC), hold a page for you. We would need copy by 12 I spent 10 years within sales and business development, working February 2018 and jpeg format photos too please with global sales companies such as Brenntag Ltd and GSK Ltd. detailing who is featured. I have played and coached at Taunton RFC & Bridgwater & Albion Please send to: [email protected] RFC before embarking on a teaching and rugby coaching career at Bridgwater College. I then joined the RFU in January 2017 on a COMMUNICATIONS fixed term contract working as a CRC within Bristol. This led to my CHAIRMAN appointment as CRC for Stroud. Simon Martin Tony Fielding ALL CLUBS PLEASE BE AWARE OF GDPR! E: [email protected] General Data Protection Regulation Update from the RFU The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a new European regulation intended COUNTY to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals within the European Union (EU). CHAIRMAN This will also be transposed over the next two years into UK law as part of the Data Protection Bill. In simple terms the GDPR will help protect our players, members and clubs. Organisations Peter Williams holding personal data (including clubs and CB) will need to give more information to E: [email protected] people about what they do with those people’s data, why and for how long. The RFU, our member clubs and Constituent Bodies (CBs) process and control personal COUNTY data and are all required to take steps to be GDPR compliant, by 25th May 2018, when the regulation comes into force. ADMINISTRATOR The RFU will be providing further guidance and a toolkit for how clubs and CBs can work towards GDPR compliance in due course. However, in the meantime, if you receive any Tricia Perris enquiries within your area, please advise them that the best thing they can do is ensure T: 01454 299215 their data is up-to-date in GMS and ask that they contact the RFU Legal Helpline 0330 303 E: [email protected] 1877 for any general data protection issues. Over the coming months we will be providing further guidance to individuals across the Twitter:@GloucsCountyRFU organisation detailing exactly what they need to do to ensure compliancy and / or assist Facebook:GloucestershireRugby clubs in being compliant. 2 – Issue 2 - January 2018 Gloucestershire Rugby News SPECIAL FEATURE ARTIFICIAL GRASS PITCHES- AGPs - IS THIS THE FUTURE? ‘More Players Playing More Often’ Thinking of organising a game of rugby? After getting the players, what’s the most important next ingredient? OK a ref, after that what? A pitch, yes you’re there. Be nice to know a pitch was playable at any time wouldn’t it? That’s what is so special about AGPs (Artificial Grass Pitches) –playable all year round come rain or shine. No risk of drowning, getting stuck in a mud bath, the game being called off because the pitch is waterlogged, a more even surface, faster game and so on. Also players aren’t caked in mud afterwards. There are claims that injuries are minimised and that they are easier on the joints because of having a more consistent surface. All the new ones have floodlights allowing the utmost flexibility, in that they can be used 7 days a week from 9am until 10pm – when it best suits players. So what’s not to like? In Gloucestershire we are soon to be in a position to access quite a few strategically placed AGPs. This is as well as some self-funded AGPs at Dings Crusaders (to be completed early in 2018), the Bristol Combination ground at Lockleaze and those at Hartpury College, the Wise Campus at OFFICIAL OPENING OF OXSTALLS AGP, UGC. 5/12/17 Filton and at Coombe Dingle, belonging to Bristol University, which is also From Left to Right -Bernie Jones (Aspire Trust); Chris Kelly (RFU); used by St Brendan’s OBS. However, priority use of these AGPs lies with Stephen Marston (University of Gloucestershire); Alex Burnett (University the owning club or educational establishment. The exception is the Bristol of Gloucestershire); Anita Navin (University of Gloucestershire); Nigel Combination AGP at the Lockleaze ground which, although regularly used Wichall (University of Gloucestershire); Ashley Stephens (RFU). by Ashley Down OBs and Bishopston, is for the use of all Combination clubs and local schools. Rates will be given on application depending on the Currently, an RFU AGP at Cheltenham Newlands ground is due for hours required and this should be through: construction in the summer of 2018 for use from September 2018. Ben Ferris – Email: [email protected] Planning approval has been obtained and the RFU has also given the club Direct Line: 0117 244 8553 Mobile: 07919 177172 a grant of £85,000, to supplement the money raised by crowdfunding As mentioned above, Dings Crusaders RFC has recently self-funded and (reported in the last GRN) to re-build the changing rooms. The pitch installed a state of the art 3G artificial pitch, at the new Shaftesbury Park will be based on the current first team pitch, floodlit, World Rugby facility in Frenchay, Bristol. This RFU and FA accredited AGP will be ready compliant and available for hire for matches and training. Pricing is yet for commercial and community use early in January 2018. For prices and to be finalised but will be in line with other RFU facilities and will be availability please contact: reasonably priced, to ensure that local clubs will use it and help achieve Ben Lee, General Manager at Shaftesbury Park Email: the RFU’s ambition of ‘year round rugby’. [email protected] Mobile: 07480 268280 In addition, the RFU is considering the feasibility of 2 more Rugby Turf Additionally, the RFU is investing in 100 AGPs across the country with 2 AGPs in the county – one in Bristol and the other in the Forest of Dean. models - Rugby Turf and Rugby Share. The RFU has made an assessment The other model of investment by the RFU is called Rugby Share. of all clubs that might regularly use the facility. They have taken into In this model, a third party such as an educational establishment or a consideration potential overplaying of pitches (several adult teams and a commercial organisation, builds and maintains the AGP. For a significant large mini & youth section with perhaps just 2 or 3 pitches), the quality of investment into the project by the RFU, the local rugby partnership of changing rooms, parking availability and the number of clubs within a 30 clubs is guaranteed use for 16 hours per week at a cost of £36 per hour minute travel time that could form a local rugby partnership.