A rugby club in Forfar that received Direct Club Investment funding earlier this year has appointed a full-time community project co-ordinator to develop and run a programme of projects centred on rugby, health and the community.
Strathmore Rugby Club, working through the Community Trust, are excited to welcome Josh Gabriel-Clark to the newly-created role at the beginning of July thanks to the Lottery-funded programme that supports developing clubs across Scotland. Josh will be based at the club, working in partnership with Strathmore RFC, Brechin RFC, Scottish Rugby and Scotland Rugby League.
Josh said: “I’m very pleased to take on this role and look forward to taking the projects forward towards achieving the trust’s 2019 vision.”
Stuart Gray, chair of the trust’s board of trustees, added: “We’re delighted to have been successful in securing the Direct Club Investment from sportscotland which has enabled us to appoint someone with such a great track record in rugby."
Strathmore regard Josh’s appointment as a further step towards sustainability which has been enabled by the DCI funding from sportscotland, funding from the Forfar Common Good Fund and The Robertson Trust. Josh's key focus areas will be the further development of a rugby academy as well as establishing walking rugby and inclusive rugby for those in the community with mobility issues and disabilities.
Josh comes to the role with a strong background as a strength & conditioning coach for Scottish Rugby, Sale Sharks and Leicestershire County Cricket Club with additional experience in development roles at Leisure & Culture Dundee and his own S&C consultancy.
The trust was founded last year to increase public participation in sport, particularly rugby union and rugby league, in the Forfar, Kirriemuir and Brechin areas to benefit community health and wellbeing as well as develop young people into healthy, positive members of the community through the positive ethos and values of rugby.
Its vision is that by June 2019 it will have created a sustainable programme of projects centred on rugby, health and the community. Last year it created a rugby academy for secondary age pupils which has run weekly sessions during term time attended by 30 children.
Find out more
Direct Club Investment is sportscotland’s large-scale club development project which distributes National Lottery funds directly to clubs. In 2013, sportscotland announced that a £10million funding stream would be made available to clubs across Scotland looking to develop and meet expanding capacity.
Alongside providing DCI investment, sportscotland created regional development posts to directly support local sport clubs. This joined-up approach is reaping rewards, improving the quality of school to club to performance pathways and enabling Scottish Governing Bodies of sport to work more closely with their member clubs, and with local partners, to improve the opportunities for clubs to flourish.
Discover more about club sport in Scotland at the sportscotland website.
For more about the Strathmore Rugby Club Community Trust and how to get involved, go to its Facebook page, LinkedIn page or the club website.
