A thriving Newcastle community rugby club is giving better protection to its most important assets with the help of a four-figure grant from a regional employer.
Gosforth Rugby Football Club has used a £2,000 grant from the Banks Group to buy new post protectors and flag protectors for use at its Broadway Playing Fields ground which help to prevent injuries if players collide with them during a game.
The customised protectors have been dedicated for use by the club’s newly-reformed 2nd XV, Gosforth Phoenix, to ensure that the right safety equipment is always available for the team’s training sessions and matches.
And the grant has also paid for new boundary markers which help to ensure there’s enough space between junior players on the pitch and their families supporting from the sidelines.
Originally founded in the 1880s, the modern Gosforth RFC was formed in 1996 after the amateur players’ split from what became Newcastle Falcons and moved to its current ground ten years ago.
After focusing on building up its junior section since the Covid pandemic, the volunteer-run club now has more than 120 younger players on its books, with teams running from under sixes to under 17 level.
Neil Jamieson, patron and funding coordinator at Gosforth RFC, says: “Safety is an absolute priority at all levels in the modern game and every club has to do all it can to minimise any risks to both players and spectators.
“Restarting our second XV is not only giving our growing number of senior players more opportunities to play, but also provides younger players with the chance to keep progressing with the club when their time with our junior section comes to an end.
“The new team is going really well while our junior section is absolutely thriving, but keeping everything going obviously comes at a cost, and as a small community club with a lot of costs to cover, our budgets are always stretched.
“Raising the money to pay for this essential equipment would have taken us a lot of time and effort and Banks’ support will instead help us continue to focus on taking full advantage of the momentum we’ve built over the last few years by maximising playing opportunities for anyone who wants to come along.”
The Banks Group is the business behind the nearby Kingston Village development, which will see around 900 new family homes being built on a 49-hectare site to the west of Brunton Lane, while it is also seeking planning permission for a further 74-home development at West Brunton, within the boundaries of the Newcastle Great Park.
Jamilah Hassan, community relations manager at the Banks Group, adds: “The passion that everyone at Gosforth RFC has for their game shines brightly and the amount of hard work that goes into making it such a successful community club is very clear.
“It’s brilliant to see how our funding is having such a practical impact on the facilities that the club can provide and we wish them every success for the rest of the season and beyond.”
The Banks Group’s community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation).
Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via its website enquiry form (www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/) to find out if their group or project is eligible.