Small grants making a huge difference to community Rugby League

More than 30 Rugby League clubs, schools and community organisations from across England are the latest beneficiaries of small grants from the RLWC2021 CreatedBy programme.

The following awards total almost £230,000 taking the grand total of RLWC2021 small grants to more than £780,000 and the total number of award recipients to 129.

Cumbria

Cockermouth Titans ARLFC – £12,200 towards ball-stop netting and posts, fencing, posts and post protectors to help their pitch improvements.

Egremont Rangers ARLFC – £14,500 towards groundworks to create three new training pitches at their recently-acquired Malcolm Barr site. This will include one full size training pitch and two smaller pitches, which will enable the club to grow and offer more playing opportunities to the local community.

Roose Pioneers ARLFC, Barrow-in-Furness – £14,000 towards perimeter fencing to secure and protect the playing environment.

Whitehaven Academy – £1,400 towards goalposts and post protectors to increase the number of pupils having the opportunity to play Rugby League.

East of England

Eastern Rhinos Rugby League Club, Colchester – £4,300 towards kit and equipment to increase the number of younger players and teams with the creation of under 12s and 18s sides, and to run mixed tag competitions.

Lancashire and Cheshire

Ashton Bears ARLFC, Wigan – £9,400 towards refurbishment of their shower block and making it fully accessible from the changing rooms.  

Blackbrook Royals Junior RLFC – £3,000 towards kit and equipment to create a female junior section consisting of teams at the under 14 and under 16 age groups.  

Ince Rose Bridge Junior ARLFC, Wigan – £4,200 towards equipment to support the recruitment of more players and ball-stop netting to reduce the number of balls lost to the local housing estate.  

Liverpool Lions RLFC – £4,300 towards goalposts and equipment at their new Adlam Park home to help them grow the number of players and volunteers involved in the game.  

Liverpool St Helens ARLFC – £2,000 towards kit and equipment to help the club expand its playing and coaching capacity with the formation of a second team Open Age team and an under 18s team.

Rochdale Hornets Sporting Foundation – £9,500 towards kit and equipment to develop a series of new initiatives and offers to help get more people playing rugby league more often in the local area.

Saddleworth Rangers ARLFC, Oldham – £14,500 towards the development of an additional onsite training facility and the creation of a more welcoming pitch side environment for players to use throughout the year.

Tameside Knights RLFC, Ashton-under-Lyne – £2,700 towards kit and equipment to establish a new club which will create opportunities for adults and young people to play Rugby League for the first time.

London and South East

Brixton Bulls RLFC – £4,300 towards kit and equipment to create new teams and grow the game in Lambeth and surrounding areas.

North Herts Crusaders RLFC, Hitchin – £3,400 towards kit and equipment so that the club can offer younger age groups the opportunity to play Rugby League and increase the numbers of players participating in the sport.

Midlands

Bears in the Community CIC, Coventry – £14,900 towards equipment and kit to help establish three new satellite clubs to enter the Midlands Junior RL. This will also grow the Coventry Bears brand and fan base, increasing activity and access to Rugby League in the area.

Bolsover Bulls, Ashfield – £2,500 towards kit and equipment to help the club, formed in 2019, to grow its boys’ and girls’ teams following a successful debut season.

Sherwood Wolf Hunt RLFC, Newark and Sherwood – £3,500 towards kit and equipment to bring more Rugby League opportunities to people in north Nottinghamshire.

University of Leicester Rugby League – £1,100 towards kit and equipment to grow their men’s teams and aspire to create a women’s team.

University of Lincoln Rugby League – £700 towards equipment to raise awareness of the game via taster sessions and ongoing sessions to students.

North East

Hexham Hawks RLFC – £3,700 to support the creation of a brand-new community club with kit and equipment based out of Hexham Middle School.

Yorkshire

Calderdale College, Halifax – £3,300 towards kit and equipment to develop and improve their Rugby League offer to increase female participation and further develop their disability sport sessions to incorporate more Rugby League activity.

Doncaster Toll Bar ARLFC – £9,600 towards the installation of an outdoor obstacle course to engage new people and members to the club from the local community by offering an additional attraction.

East Leeds Community Sports & Social Club – £14,800 towards refurbishment of the clubhouse to coincide with the club’s 40th anniversary.

Eastmoor Dragons ARLFC, Wakefield – £10,700 towards clubhouse modernisation to create a welcoming environment for existing players and new members.

Fryston ARLFC, Wakefield – £2,200 towards goalposts and post protectors to for club’s 100 registered junior players and open age team.

Goole Vikings ARLFC – £6,800 towards kit, equipment, goalposts and a storage unit to help the club grow and continue in its next phase of development, creating a hub of Rugby League activity in the area.

Halifax Wheelchair Rugby League Club – £11,100 to help increase wheelchair Rugby League participation at several age groups and ultimately create a new development team and a junior squad of U16s.

Heworth ARLFC, York – £11,200 towards the development of an onsite gymnasium facility and a further £6,750 towards grounds equipment to help maintain three playing pitches and more than two acres of training fields.

Milford Sports Club, Leeds – £13,900 to refurbish and develop an unused and dilapidated area to create a more welcoming environment for training and socialising.   

New Earswick All Blacks ARLFC, York – £3,400 towards kit and equipment to support the delivery and growth of junior age groups, from under 7s through to under 11s.

Shaw Cross Sharks ARLFC, Dewsbury – £7,000 towards the renovation of the gym flooring, clubhouse hot water system and lift to create a more welcoming environment for a large community club supporting teams at all levels. 

Stanley Sports and Social Club, Wakefield – £10,600 towards improvements to playing pitch area via the provision of a ride-on mower and post protectors.

York City Knights Foundation – £4,300 to help expand participation among children and young people aged 4-16, and to capitalise on the impact of the RLWC2021 coming to York.  

Ralph Rimmer, Chief Executive of the Rugby Football League, said: “The Rugby League World Cup is going to be the nation’s biggest celebration of international sport this year and with these grants our RLWC2021 partners are also building a legacy for our game beyond 2021.  

“Once this pandemic is behind us, we will see more and more people participating in Rugby League, so it’s essential that the quality of facilities keeps pace. Even in the depths of winter, in the midst of another lockdown, Rugby League is building strong foundations for the future.” 

Jon Dutton, Chief Executive of the Rugby League World Cup 2021, added: “Our CreatedBy grants programme amounts to an unprecedented level of investment in the game, with every £1 invested matched by additional funding. Rugby League’s places are becoming even more welcoming and even more inclusive. More people than ever will be experiencing Rugby League and the social impact will be genuinely transformative.”

CreatedBy RLWC2021 is government investment delivered in partnership by Rugby League World Cup 2021, the RFL, Sport England and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Clubs, organisations and communities that run Rugby League activities are encouraged to apply for legacy funding online at rlwc2021.com/facilities

The Rugby League World Cup 2021 will kick off on 23 October 2021, with the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions taking place simultaneously, under one tournament banner for the first time.

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