Sarries committed to lifting community spirit
What does a Premiership club’s Community department do and why do lossmaking businesses invest in projects outside of simply playing the game? Despite their wellpublicised transgressions, Saracens’ efforts in this area are outstanding, and their Chief Community Officer is Gordon Banks.
“The question about why we have Community programmes is a really important one,” says Banks, below.
“I’ve been at Saracens for 17 years, so I’ve been asked it a few times.
“In the very early days of professionalism Saracens invested a lot of time and money into Community, and that was primarily driven by a need to grow the audience and fanbase. Nigel Wray has been behind this from the start, and Peter Deakin – sadly no longer with us – was very inspirational at Saracens in the early years, and had gained a lot of experience in America as a sports marketer. He came to Saracens and implemented a community marketing approach which Nigel got right behind.
“You won’t find a more committed rugby man than Nigel – he loves the game, loves the club, and loves the people. He’s said many times that the emotional commitment he has to rugby and to Saracens far outweighs the financial investments he has made. He has been our strongest advocate of the Community side of things.
“So, to answer your question, it’s a two-pronged approach: Community programmes are key to growing your audience, but they’re also just the right thing to do – once you understand the power of a sports brand, and the effect that can have on a community and on individuals, you realise how important this can be.
“This year we’re celebrating 20 years of the Saracens Sports Foundation. In the early days it was heavily rugby focused, going into clubs and schools with the aim of growing the game – something we still do – but very quickly we started to think about education, and working with disadvantaged young people, so the evolution of the charity means that it has become all about using sport to deliver social change and make a difference.
“We’ve got a very strong disability sports programme, where we have hundreds of young people, with a range of disabilities, involved in various activities including Sarries RFC, our disability rugby club for young people. “We’ve also developed some expertise in working in prisons. That started some years ago with Feltham Young Offenders Institution, and we now have our ‘Get Onside’ programme which uses rugby’s values to help them. Over seven years we’ve been involved with around 200 young men, and our reoffending rate within 12 months is about 15 per cent, compared to a national average of 65-70 per cent. “We also have our ‘Love To Move’ programme which helps tackle social isolation and improve physical and mental health with older people in our area. Around 350 people every week take part in a local Saracens Sports Foundation activity – that might be a dance session, or Nordic walking – obviously we’re doing them virtually at present.”
One of the club’s most eye-catching initiatives has been the Saracens High School, but why would a Premiership club go down that road?
“I was approached by Barnet Council in 2015, and they explained that they’d had a big bulge in primary education, and as a result they needed three additional secondary schools in the borough within three years. They also highlighted that a particular pinch point was the Grahame Park estate in Colindale, just a mile and a half from the stadium, and the most economically deprived bit of the borough. Nigel and I had previously had conversations about a Saracens school, because we’d worked with schools that had highlighted sport, and seen a big improvement in academic achievement.
“The local community was enthusiastic about the idea, so we involved Mark McCall, Alex Sanderson, and some players, to assess what rugby’s and the club’s values would look like in an educational environment. We’ve now got the Saracens Multi-Academy Trust, which currently just has the High School, but in 2022 we’ll open the Saracens Primary School.
“Colindale is going through a huge regeneration project and the schools are part of that. The high school will eventually have 1200 pupils in a new building – work will start on that later this year.
“When we were in discussions with the council about building Allianz Park the number one priority for the council was adding value to what was an old athletics stadium. We developed a Community strategy that showed how Saracens could bring profile to the borough, and help transform the stadium into a vibrant community hub.
“Part of that was maintaining and improving athletics at the stadium as it had a strong heritage through Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, but beyond that was how we could utilise the stadium to the benefit of the maximum number of local people – hence the artificial pitch that could be used in all weathers. I haven’t seen a stadium anywhere that’s as busy on a day-to-day basis.
“A couple of years ago we received the Freedom of the Borough of Barnet, in recognition of what we’d achieved on the pitch, but more importantly the added value that Saracens had delivered to the local community.
“We’ve always said we shouldn’t be afraid of pushing boundaries if it will lead to a better result. Innovation is a key motivator for us. An example of that is the Pioneers programme, and the praise for that should go to Herman Beetge, a South African who was introduced to us by Edward Griffiths. Herman’s an expert in volunteering programmes at major sporting events, and I think the Pioneers are a brilliant example of what our club is about.
“This wasn’t about delivering a cheaper solution – it doesn’t cost any less because we invest heavily in looking after the volunteers and making them feel part of the club. We’ve got about 200 active Pioneers on our books, and they are an incredible bunch of people of all ages, from all walks of life, but what they have in common is the energy they get from volunteering.
“We get together with them two or three times a year – Nigel always attends. The sense of family, the sense of caring, and of feeling part of something bigger, is at the heart of all of our Community efforts.
“The club has made some mistakes, and paid a heavy price, but what hasn’t changed is what we’ve always stood for. We’ve got great people at Saracens, and we’re focused on ensuring our Community efforts are maintained, and remain an essential part of the club’s DNA.”
“Community programmes are key to growing your audience but they’re also the right thing to do”