Wheatley Hills RUFC make rugby free for kids in response to pandemic

Minis and juniors aged from five to 17 will no longer be charged annual fees or weekly subs.

Instead the junior committee has voted in favour of raising money through fundraising and sporting events.

This Saturday will see junior members collectively run the equivalent distance from the club’s Brunel Road ground to Twickenham, the home of English rugby. A crowdfunding project is on target to raise more than £500.

“We know that sport for families and children can often have barriers for people to engage with and one of the main ones seems to be cost,” said Wheatley Hills RUFC’s junior section on their JustGiving page.

“This has become even more apparent in recent years with the impact of Covid and the rise in all of our living costs.

“Therefore as a junior section our committee made the decision to make rugby for juniors free for all. This means no annual membership fees, no weekly subs and that children are issued free playing kit.

“The feedback has been so positive and we have seen numbers start to increase which is fabulous and means that more young people not only get more active but will move forward in their futures with rugby’s core values of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship.

“For us to continue to do this we need to fundraise and do this by challenging ourselves both physically and mentally. The junior section will therefore be completing a run from Doncaster to Twickenham on Saturday. Each junior member will on average run a distance of four miles to ensure we hit the target.

“We will be leaving on the Trans Pennine Track from the rugby club, past Cusworth crossroads up to the 0.5-mile point and then return. Anyone who wants to cheer them on feel free to come down during the day and we will celebrate our success in the club afterwards.”

To make a donation visit justgiving.com and search for ‘doncastertotwickersrunning’.