Scunthorpe and Crawley nominated for community awards
Scunthorpe RUFC and Crawley RFC are nominated in the 2023 Community and Recreation Awards, hosted at Twickenham Stadium.
The awards programme consists of eight awards categories and celebrates the work of grassroots sport and recreation organisations across the country. Nominees are invited to attend a ceremony at Twickenham Stadium on Friday 17 March, where HRH The Earl of Wessex will present the winners with their awards.
Scunthorpe RFC - Mental health and wellbeing award
Scunthorpe RUFC have been nominated for the ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Award’ for their dedicated work towards tackling mental health in rugby.
Director of rugby Tony Wilkinson said: “To be nominated for an award is beyond pleasing for a club of our size, tucked away in a corner of North Lincolnshire in areas saturated with football clubs we continue to bang the drum loudly for Rugby in the town.
“The Rugby club is an unofficial community hub, where everyone is welcome, we know have an added string to our bow with dedicated mental health first aiders.”
“The tackling it together group mission is to improve Mental Health and well-being through sport and social interaction. People have told us they feel alone or in a dark place, some feel like they need answers but what they’ll actually find are; they aren’t alone, they’ll find ordinary people at our club with different ways of letting the light in.”
If Scunthorpe RFC were to win the Mental Health and Wellbeing award, money would go towards “improving the sport and social interaction for the local community. We all know that exercise has a positive influence on mental health so we are looking at funding a pop-up gym.
“We would also look to utilise any funds to put 2 more people through the mental health first aid courses.”
Crawley RFC - Community club of the year
Crawley RFC have been nominated for the ‘Community Club of the Year’ award for their outstanding efforts in providing access to rugby to both disabled and non-disabled people. The two other nominees are QBar Junior Snooker Academy and Wyrley Juniors Football Club.
The club has established a wheelchair rugby team, who recently entered into their first league. They have purchased a set of wheelchairs to maintain the programme, and they claim to be the only rugby club in the country that offer those who use a wheelchair to play a team sport.
Club chair Dan McGurran said: "Being recognised for the work we do within the community means so much to us, as like all other club who rely on volunteers, being nominated for such a prestigious award pays homage to all the effort and time the volunteers put into the rugby club and local community, but also to all the players involved who work so hard to support the club.
"As a relatively small rugby club, our volunteers go above and beyond every day to ensure that rugby is available to all that want to take part, no matter your abilities, background or ethnicity.
"Rugby has a space in all our lives and further bring our community together in a place that is safe and enjoyable for all. Rugby and its core values are a true testament to how we as a community can work together and support one another in these challenging times we find ourselves in."
