Latest News
November 2008
A number of clubs and individuals have been making efforts to raise funds for the charity. We would particularly like to acknowledge the following:
Louise Batty – Louise is the daughter of the late Hugh Batty from Stoke Poges who was a SPIRE client from 1984 till his death in 2002. Louise ran the Great South Run to raise funds for the charity in her father’s memory.
Renegades RFC, Cambridgeshire – Despite not having a permanent base for their club, Renegades used their match on 1st November 2008 against Old Cantabs RFC to raise funds for the charity. Various activities raised a total of over £800. The Renegades, who describe themselves as “North Cambridgeshire’s only social rugby side”, are pictured below:
Their efforts are greatly appreciated.
Grimsby RFC – This club are raising money through a calendar with funds being divided between our charity and a local hospice. If you want to help raise funds and get a fun calendar for 2009, copies can be obtained from the RFU Injured Players Foundation office (e-mail – postmaster@rfuspiretrust.co.uk) or the Grimsby fund raisers Maddy and Jennie on grimsbyrufc_pr@live.com.
October 2008
Following months of planning and negotiation, the charity has finally moved to Twickenham from 1st October 2008. The charity has also been renamed the Rugby Football Union Injured Players Foundation to reflect its closer ties with the RFU. The move has not just been a physical action as the role and scope of the charity has also been significantly expanded. As well as continuing its work of supporting the long-term needs of catastrophically injured players through its grant making programme, the charity is expanding its remit to include work previously managed through the RFU. The intention is to have a cohesive approach to all aspects of serious injury. There will now be 5 key strands to the charity’s work:
- Injury Surveillance and Prevention – research and prevention projects.
- First Aid & Immediate Care – First Aid and other Education resources.
- Immediate Welfare Support & Case Management – implemented when an injury occurs.
- Life-long Welfare Support & Case Management – the grant support programme.
- Fundraising – ensuring the charity has the resources to effectively support its work.
As well as supplying support in kind by funding office and staff costs, the RFU is increasing its contribution to the charity significantly commensurate with the increased remit of the charity’s work.
Ian Beer CBE, the Chair of Trustees of the newly updated charity says, “This is a tremendous opportunity to achieve the kind of impact that S.P.I.R.E. has dreamed of achieving for a number of years. We hope the charity’s work will lead to not only better support to those who are seriously injured but also influence the game in ways that reduce the likelihood of injuries occurring. Our work will benefit the whole rugby community in years to come.”August 08
RFU IPF clients' visit to Middlesex 7s
There were not many glorious summer days in August this year, but the 16th was certainly one of them for RFU IPF. As well as being supported by the Middlesex Sevens organising committee as one of the charitable causes supported by the event, RFU IPF used the event to give a great rugby day out to the RFU IPF clients newly injured this season. Jack Smith (17 years) from Stockton-on-Tees travelled down with his father and two friends for his first trip to Twickenham since his injury in a local junior club game. Jack still managed his GCSEs despite his injury and hopes to start a Sports Science college course in the autumn.
Arron Williams (23 years), a police officer from Basildon RFC in Essex came with his father, brother and a friend from the club. He has recently moved into adapted accommodation and hopes to resume his career with Essex Police soon. It was a real red letter day for Stuart Mangan (24 years), originally from Ireland but injured playing for Hammersmith and Fulham RFC, as it was his first outing from hospital since his injury. His parents, brothers and many friends came to support this big step in his recovery. Following lunch in Spirit of Rugby, the clients and families then enjoyed the feast of fast and furious rugby provided by the many professional and amateur teams taking part. Apart from providing a great day out, the day was an excellent opportunity for the clients and their families to talk through the experience of a catastrophic rugby injury and how they are coping with the challenges of disability.
All the families have received funding grants from RFU Injured Players Foundation and have the assurance of support in the future. It is a great comfort to all our clients to know that the rugby family still welcomes and supports them. Grants to injured players are made possible by the generous contributions made by many organisations, clubs and individuals. RFU IPF has made grants totalling over £300,000 to catastrophically injured players so far in 2008. The Middlesex Sevens was a fantastic day out for the newly injured players and their families and friends. RFU IPF is extremely grateful for the help from Chris Cuthbertson from Middlesex RFU who helped to make the day happen. Further thanks go to Brenda Hobday and all the members of the event organising committee for the contribution to the charity that will come from the event.
January 08
Following the Trustee meeting on 25th January, the final legal processes for the merger of the Rugby Football Union Charitable Fund and Support Paraplegics in Rugby Enterprise were completed.
The new charity formed has also agreed its business plan and budget for 2008. (document attached below)
The structure of the charity has changed with new sub-committees for Governance, Finance and Grant Making. Grant giving has increased by over £50,000 in the last year (2007) but we want to increase our spending even further in 2008.
Ian Beer, the Chair of the new Board of Trustees, said, “This is the most important change since the formation of SPIRE in 1994. We are now in a position to strengthen our work with the Rugby Football Union to improve the help package for seriously injured players. Our vision is to ensure that we can help any player from the point of injury to when they no longer need our help.”
December 07
In a new departure for the RFU IPF, we were asked to sponsor the Wheelchair Rugby Home Nations championship. This took place in Bath on 8th and 9th December 2007. Teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland took part. A number of team members are RFU IPF clients having received serious rugby injuries. A number have had their special chairs for the sport (which can cost over £4,000 and are custom made) funded by RFU IPF.
Games were played over the 2 days with a gala dinner in the Pump Rooms on the Saturday night. The guest speaker at this was John Taylor, ex-Welsh international and British Lion flanker and now ITV commentator. John has also made a film documentary about wheelchair rugby with the cameras following an overseas tour to promote the sport. The finals were played on the Sunday with Ireland emerging as the overall champions after a hard fought final with Scotland. England beat Wales in the 3rd place play-off match. Prizes were presented by ex-Bath player and England international Steve Ogjomu.
James Price from GB Wheelchair Rugby was presented with the sponsorship cheque at the dinner by RFU IPF Executive Officer, Tim Bonnett. In receiving the cheque, he said, “This funding has made the difference between this event being low-key and it being a real highlight of the year for our players. We hope that RFU IPF will support us in future as we look to send a team to success in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing."
A number of RFU IPF clients represent their home countries and Great Britain – as one said, “I never was good enough to be an international rugby player but with the inspiration I have got from this sport, I can go on to represent my country in the Olympics. RFU IPF’s funding and support has really helped me to get here.”
The BBC links are articles about the event.
If you are interested in reading more:
November 07
Following negotiations with the RFU, the charity is pleased to announce additional funding to support its work with injured rugby players. This income, based on the ticket donation of £1 per ticket for games last season, will allow the charity to increase its work with injured players. With immediate effect, the small grant limit has been increased from £1,000 to £2,000 per year for all clients. The charity is grateful for
this injection of funds and will ensure that it is used to good effect.
October 07
The RFU IPF was pleased to announce the appointment of a Chief Executive for the new charity, Tim Bonnett. Tim has recently retired from the Hertfordshire Constabulary after serving in a number of senior roles.
He is a Trustee of Hertfordshire Action on Disability and so has knowledge of the challenges of living with disability. He is actively involved in rugby as a volunteer coach, development officer and administrator at Hitchin RFC and is manager of the Hertfordshire School of Rugby for elite players (Tim is pictured below with some of the School’s players). He is looking forward to taking the charity into a new era, working closer with the RFU and its clients.
Tim said on appointment: “This is a dream opportunity for me to combine two passions: rugby and helping people with disabilities to have a fulfilling life.”