Through Kick Start Grants, your clubs will be able to utilise funding for all types of projects, including rugby camps, open days and equipment hire, between June 2021 and May 2022.

Depending on the scale of your planned event(s), Kick Start grants could be used, for example, to support the costs of equipment hire, facility hire, staffing, catering or marketing materials, however this list is not exhaustive. Whilst clubs can only submit one application, this can be for a series of linked events or initiatives – they don’t have to be for a single, stand-alone event. We would love to hear about clubs being really creative with how they think they could encourage more people to try rugby at their clubs.

Scottish Rugby will be announcing a campaign that will kick off in July where all of these events and activities will be visible in the one space. This campaign will also help to increase the reach of your activations to a new audience.

Some examples of projects that the Kick Start grant would
support include:

• Rugby camps and events where the emphasis is on re-engaging current and new players and/or officials of all ages in fun activities.
• Alternative game formats sessions can be a great way of attracting a new audience by delivering a bespoke programme that targets a specific demographic, for example, walking rugby for those who may not be able to take part in intense physical activity.
• Refreshments, food and other social activity following a mini, youth or adult friendly fixture or rugby festival.
• Open days/family fun days to welcome back current members and recruit new members.
• Recruitment campaigns could help put your club or society’s name on the map. Your campaign could involve targeted marketing, using social media, local advertising and other digital tools to communicate upcoming club events, activities and opportunities.
• Club-School link activities, such as delivering taster sessions in schools at the start of the school term, and finishing with a festival at the rugby club.

To help you come up with some ideas about what events could
be run to get more people playing our sport, here are some case study examples:

Fit In The Time (FITT) Club

This club plan to establish a fitness group session for interested parents, supporters and locals as part of a two-tier programme. The target audiences include: individuals who have been out of work for a period of time, people looking for a gradual return to exercise, and individuals who already participate in regular individual exercise but who wish to push themselves in a group environment.

Tag & Takeaway – Introductory Club Rugby Programme

This club wished to use the power of sport to inspire young people to make positive lifestyle choices. This project will introduce Tag Rugby within targeted local SIMD areas, and will be delivered in a positive playing and learning environment created by the local rugby club.

The ambition is to provide an introduction to the game and create a direct link/affiliation to the local rugby club. There will be three 6-week long ‘come and try’ tag rugby programmes introducing the fundamentals of the game, targeting P6-P7 boys and girls living in the three SIMD areas of the city.

Return Of All Rugby (ROAR) Festival

With a full return of all rugby now complete, the committee of this club believe that the prolonged absence from the sport of rugby and its social activities requires a strong and vibrant event to reinvigorate and enthuse the members and supporters of the club.

The club plan to run a Return of All Rugby (ROAR) Festival during the last weekend of August to welcome back all players, coaches, volunteers and supporters, by creating an event which will raise the profile of the sport and reengage with the local community.

Girls Rugby Recruitment Event

This club have a 3-year development plan to establish a robust Women & Girls sections. With 23 players in the senior women’s section and over 36 girls in the mini and youth sections, the ambition is to have 3 established all-girl playing squads in both the mini and youth sections of the club.

To support this player-base growth, there will be a campaign to recruit both female coaches and volunteers to support and develop individual and team play within these expanded squads, along with the creation of a female player pathway as part of the club’s wider development programme.

The club will launch this campaign with a Women & Girls Rugby Open Day event, hosted at the club in late August. When registering, attendees will be sorted into their respective age groups. Each group will have a designated female lead as well as a community coach. The event will see the groups move through various different stations of skill, activity and play.

The day will finish with the groups playing small-sided games of tag/touch rugby. This will be followed by a club presentation for parents/guardians to learn more about the club’s wider activities. The presentation will take place inside where refreshments will be provided.

For more information on Scottish Rugby’s Return to Rugby fund, visit the information page