SCOTTISH SPORTS AWARDS 2016 Journey to the centre of Perth
More than that, though, it needs the right people with the community and its kids at heart plus the skills to turn the ailing into the awesome.
Which is why Perthshire Rugby have gone from a stagnating oldschool local club to a thriving volunteer-led and business-backed enterprise in three years.
As the Sunday Mail launches the 10th annual Scottish Sports Awards in association with sportscotland, we’re not just looking to reward our elite sportsmen and women.
We want to highlight the f lag bearers for forward thinking, the clubs and individuals who are the beating heart of Scottish sport.
And we want to put them on stage right beside the Andy Murrays and Katherine Graingers to showcase the best Scotland has to offer.
In the heart of the country few are doing it better than Perthshire Rugby, taking the simple principles of engagement with schools as well as communities and turning them into more than the sum of their parts.
As they joined the trawl for nominees, director of rugby Andy Cummins said: “Five or six years ago we had a dwindling number of players and volunteers and f inancially we were starting to struggle – we were going nowhere.
“A core group came on to the committee to make a change and we had to make some tough decisions, break some old habits.
“But we had four key characters with different skill sets – a guy from local business came in as CEO, I had a background in sports development, especially rugby, someone who knew fundraising and another guy who was involved with human resources.
“We got more volunteers involved in the club and worked out how to get into schools and raise the participation numbers at all ages.
“Now we have around 70 P1 to P3 kids every Sunday. From P4 to P7 we’ve another 300 or so then we have the Colts and two senior teams.
“Wehave twofull-timedevelopment officers and a community coach, go into all the schools across Perth and K inross , reach into the Highlands and organise all the schools’ festivals. We have 75 volunteer coaches and partnerships with Kinross RC and Blairgowrie.
“And overall we have more than 1300 members built up.”
None of it happened overnight, although Cummins says it can be repeated – if you understand what makes it tick.
He said: “To attract parents and volunteers we have to provide an experience they enjoy, so we make sure the coaches a re wel l trained, qualified and all buy into what we do.
“The key thing is making it fun. We provide a really good ser v ice in schools, which provides a link to the club, and when the kids come here they know the coaches and what they’re getting.
“And we engage the parents. Any of the courses they do, we make sure they’re free and guide them to where they want to go.
“Some just want to manage teams, do the admin, others want to do first aid, help out with the kit and others want to do coaching. And with that we now have a storyline we can take to local sponsors, businesses and national bodies for funding. And they’ve all bought in.
“That’s how we’ve offset a lot of the costs involved. Companies like Tiso and Pentland Land Rover love what we’re trying to do and have bought in. sportscotland have helped enormously with grant funding for a strength and conditioning suite, which up until a couple of years ago was an old shed but is now a facility we provide not only for our players but for other local sports like hockey and swimming who now use not only the gym but tap into the expertise of our qualified coach.”
They’ve had hiccups but the club aren’t about to stop and pat themselves on the back. Cummins, a Liverpool-born fish farmer who runs the place as a volunteer, said: “We’ve tried things and failed but you just try the next thing. Even when you complete small tasks and succeed, it’s amazing the impetus it can give everyone to get on board. And once the wheel starts turning you use the momentum.” Visit our website www. sundaymailsportsawards. co.uk or write to us at Sunday Mail & sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards, One Central Quay, Glasgow, G3 8DA, telling us why your nominee deserves recognition. The deadline is October 3, 2016. To order or for tickets enquiri sponso es, rship 0141 309 please 4906 call or Michele email . trinitym Aaen@ irror.com