Sandbach Rugby Club seek help of community for next tour
By Alex Greensmith
20th Feb 2024 | Local Sport
Sandbach Rugby Club are after the community's help to keep grassroots sport costs low.
Sandbach Rugby Club, of Bradwall Road, have launched a fundraiser for their Under 13s team.
It will help pay for dry robes for the players to wear, to help them feel - even moreso - that they are part of something.
The fundraiser will also pay for parts of their next youth rugby tour.
This is a weekend out, normally to one of the home nations, where the teens can face new opposition and bond in a new environment.
Sandbach Rugby Club Under 13s Coach Lee Pickles - who has been affiliated with the club for 29 years from when he joined as an 11 year old - spoke to Sandbach Nub News about this.
"There are about 35 Under 13s signed up as members," said Lee, who is a former Sandbach Boys School pupil himself.
"11 of the current Under 13s started rugby at Under 6s at Sandbach.
"The emphasis is to cater for everybody. We want to get the best of everyone we can.
"We have a mix of relatively new players, experienced, people that play at the Boys School and don't.
"We have a good ethos, work rate and everybody loves the club.
"The Under 13s play friendlies every Sunday, and have the occasional Friday night game.
"We went on tour last year in Wales, and we have decided we want to go back on tour again, hopefully this time to the Ripon area of Yorkshire.
"Rugby is a really social sport so hopefully we will play a team on the Saturday, maybe watch their senior team play later, do an activity in the evening, and play a game on Sunday and come back that evening."
As well as new opponents and a mini-break, Lee spoke of benefits the tour has to offer:
"The tour is great for the kids for the team building side of it," he explained.
"There are about 15-20 of the team that go to the Boys School, but the other half do not.
"But as a unit we are a real tight knit group of kids, so doing things like this allows them to get to know each other even more.
"Beyond Sandbach, we have kids from Alsager, Crewe, Holmes Chapel and Congleton as well.
"The other thing it is really good for is that it brings the parents together as well."
Lee himself has one child in the Under 13s and one in the Under 11s.
"How the club works is you pay a membership to the club," he added.
"We are not an expensive club, and for that £15 you will get a training session and a Sunday game.
"And every rugby club gives a meal after the game, we serve burgers or hot dogs, which is great for connecting everyone together.
"But what we don't want to do is raise the prices. We have families that have four kids that all play rugby at different age groups. It can really add up.
"If we can, we want to raise money to lower the costs of things. So we have a sponsorship for shirts so families of the kids aren't putting in loads of money.
"The money we raise means we can do more stuff on tour when we are there.
"For example, last year on tour in Anglesey, it was £50pp and we got to do rock climbing and coasteering.
"We will cost it up once we have a hotel, and either use the money to lower the price or make it a better experience for the kids."
Lee had this to say to those who donate to the JustGiving.
"Thank you for your support," he concluded.
"We hope you can see the good work that the club does. We do a lot of charity work as well.
"The club is a big club that is open to everybody. Rugby has prided itself on a sport that anyone can get involved with, whether you are small or big, struggle for money or rich. It is there for everyone.
"Anybody that can donate, we make sure it gets puts back into the kids and makes them have a better life experience."
Sandbach: You can donate to the crowdfunder on this link.
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