Open Door policy scores big for local rugby trailblazers

A rugby club in Somerset has won praise from the country’s leading grassroots sports charity for providing access to sport for kids from disadvantaged communities.

Chard Rugby Football Club’s history dates back to 1876 with its senior men’s team in the Tribute Western North division.

But its initiative to open its doors to young people with childhood trauma and mental health issues has been lauded as a role model by national organisation, Sported.

The youth section, reveals its chair, Billy Ellens, is growing by a child each week. The challenge they are meeting is never to turn anyone away.

“Our key thing was bringing their children into a sport where they can exercise, they can stay active, they can make new friends,” he said.” But most of all, they feel protected that they’re in this bubble.

“Dan, who was the chairman at Chew Valley at the time, saw this big, huge gap in the market for children with mental health or adverse childhood experiences and wanted to challenge that basically and bring children into sport.

“Children that come from all backgrounds, so whether it’s parents in prison, whether it’s an abusive relationship between mother and father, whether they’ve lost their parent at an early stage of their life, or poverty as well.”

It’s won support from Sported who back over 5,000 community groups across the UK to a difference in the lives of young people and communities.

Not only is Chard Rugby delivering priceless sporting activity but it’s showing other clubs how to use the game as a tool to shape the futures of our next generation, according to Penny Rabone, the charity’s Wellbeing Lead.

“Community sport and physical activity is just great for children and young people, to get them out, get them active,” she said.

“All of the hidden benefits that we don’t necessarily see, like social outcomes, for example, that can’t always be measured. Young people coming out of their house, making new friends, groups, friendships, these are the things that really enhance health and wellbeing for children and young people.

“I just think to get them out and get them active is really important for mental and physical health. And Chard is doing an amazing job in delivering that on the ground.”

Andy Teague, Coach for Under-12 Girls, has witnessed the benefits to members of being part of the girls’ team at the club.

“Something that I really see as a positive of the girls playing rugby is that they are turning up every week and they’re getting stuck in and they’ve got a really good routine,” he notes.

“They build relationships with girls that are of a different age group. So perhaps when they’re transitioning from primary school up through to secondary school, they already know people that are there.

“My daughters both play rugby. And even when we’re out in town at weekends, they’ll see the girls from the older teams and they are communicating with them and they’re friends- and it is absolutely brilliant to see.”