Club Foundations
We have a created the Club Hub with new and existing wheelchair rugby clubs in mind. Here you will find a number of resources which will help with many aspects of starting, expanding or strengthening a wheelchair rugby club.
You may have only just become a club or may have been around for a while – either way there will be plenty of useful information and templates to help your club run sustainably, effectively and safely.
On this page you will find:
Managing Finance & Generating Income
Club Guide – Digital, Marketing and Community
Guidance on buying a Rugby Wheelchair from RMA Sport
If you require any further assistance, contact the Development Team.
Club Joining Pack
All clubs should consider developing or creating a club joining pack. This is a set of documents that can be given to new or existing members and will include vital information about your club.
The following documents have been developed for clubs to use as they wish – they can be adapted to suit the needs of an individual club and the resources can also be personalised with club branding.
The documents come together to form the Club Joining Pack, which can be either shared with members electronically or printed and handed out. Also included in the cub joining pack is a set of flash cards which can be downloaded and printed at your convenience: these can be used at training sessions, competitions or club events. These will give newcomers to the sport an introduction to the basics, and can provide a refresher to your current members, too!
Contact your local club development manager if you have any queries regarding the Club Joining Pack and its contents.
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Welcome Pack
The Welcome Pack should also include the Codes of Conduct – you can find templates to help develop these for your club within our Policies & Procedures section
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Club Membership Forms
The Club Membership Form templates are for clubs to use in order to collect the personal details of their individual members, including banking details in order to collect monthly or annual club subscriptions that your club may have in place.
Please note: These are not Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby annual membership forms and clubs are encouraged to remind their players and volunteers that they must also hold annual GBWR membership. More information on GBWR membership can be found here.
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Rules, Safety & Equipment
Basic Rules:
Safety & Equipment:
Club Structures
Wheelchair rugby clubs come in a range of different sizes and capacities, some have partnerships with, or are wholly owned by, larger organisations such as professional rugby clubs or universities. Some clubs are incorporated organisations with charity status, for example. The structural set up of a wheelchair rugby club is individual to each club’s requirement and goals.
Below you will find some brief guidance on possible structures that a wheelchair rugby club could adopt. These are guidelines only and clubs are encouraged to seek appropriate advice before committing to any particular structure.
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Unincorporated Members Association
Features & Responsibilities Points to Consider - The simplest structure for a sports club: workload is minimal for day to day running
- Simple management & administration as there are no legal requirements to file accounts or annual returns
- The rules can be whatever the members of the club decide – providing they are lawful
- No minimum income to run
- The club can hold funds in a bank account and produces accounts and financial reports for its members
- Can apply for grants & funding
- Not a separate legal identity: this means committee members will have to enter into contracts, or hold any assets, on behalf of the club, rather than the club itself; in the event of a claim against the club or breach of contract the members of the committee, or wider club, could be personally liable
- Some funding streams require a charity number in order to apply
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Unincorporated Members Association with Charitable Status
Features & Responsibilities Points to consider - Like above, simple management & administration
- Club must register with Charity Commission and send financial reports if annual income is over £5000
- Can claim Tax Relief and Gift Aid on donations.
- The club sets its own charitable aims
- The club can also set its own rules – providing they are lawful
- Increase in the amount of grants and funding available due to charity status
- Having charitable status does not automatically mean the club is incorporated, therefore it does not have a separate legal identity: this means committee members will have to enter into contracts, or hold assets, on behalf of the club, rather than the club itself; in the event of a claim against the club or breach of contract members of the committee, or wider club, could be personally liable
- To be registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission, the club would require an annual income over £5000; if the annual income is over this threshold, the club would need to complete the administration duties required by the charities commission
- If it is below £5000, the club would be an unregistered charity
- Once registered, your club will always be a charity and can not ‘opt out’ or stop being a charity
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Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Features & Responsibilities Points to consider - Separate legal identity meaning the club’s members / committee would have limited liability if club was to become insolvent and would not be personally liable for any debt owed by the club
- Club would register and report to the Charity Commission only: they would therefore, as the name suggests, have charitable status – making funding a little easier to obtain / find
- Increased administration when compared to an unincorporated association
- The club’s binding document would need to be updated to show their charitable aims
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Partnership with Existing Incorporated Organisation e.g University, Rugby Club, Charity
Features & Responsibilities Points to consider - Separate legal identity: members’ liability would be limited under partner organisation’s articles; this can be included in an agreement for clarification
- Partner organisation is typically a larger body and can do a lot of the admin on the club’s behalf
- The agreement can have a clause to say the wheelchair rugby club’s funds cannot be transferred to the partner in the event of insolvency / dissolution – safeguarding the club’s funds
- Backing of a bigger organisation – could lead to increased funding opportunities
- Club would manage respective annual returns and accounts & day to day running of club
- Funders will see you as a bigger organisation so may not want to donate as much
- The club may have to pay annual membership to the partner organisation
- Wheelchair rugby club may have to change identity & team colours etc.
- Restrictions on what the club can and can’t do – e.g. may not be able to apply for certain funding streams
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Company Limited by Guarantee
Features & Responsibilities Points to consider - Separate legal identity meaning the club’s members / committee would have limited liability if club was to become insolvent and would not be personally liable for any debt owed by the club
- Could still apply for grants &, funding etc.
- The club can own assets in its own name, can enter into agreements and contracts as a separate entity to its members; the club can also hire staff, e.g. coaches
- Club can make a profit through trading goods or services
- Owned by the club’s members / committee
- Can still apply for charity status
- Increased paperwork – legal requirements to submit annual accounts, annual returns and director’s information to company’s house
- Fines for missing deadlines associated with filing returns etc.
For more information on club structures, take a look at the additional resources below or contact your club development manager.
- Resources
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Case Study 1: Unincorporated Membership Association
Background
This wheelchair rugby club has only recently established and is currently operating a Wheelchair Rugby 5s team.
It is a relatively small organisation, and as such does not have a big group of volunteers managing its day-to-day running.
The committee has limited experience in operating a sports club, and its main interest was playing the sport and socialising as opposed to setting club targets and growing the membership to form a sustainable club; with this in mind, the club has opted to stay as an unincorporated membership association for the short term but does have ambitions to register as a charitable organisation with the Charity Commission at a later date.
This decision was based on ease and meant the club’s volunteers were not committed to produce any legal documents or professional financial reports.
With assistance from their local GBWR development officer, the club was able to produce the minimum documents required in order to form an unincorporated membership association. The club soon held a constitution, detailing who they were and what they did, and also a bank account, enabling the club to generate income from funding streams and monthly player subscriptions – this also allowed the club to hire a venue and purchase training equipment.
With this organisational structure, the club’s members and volunteers can concentrate on playing the sport, as opposed to managing a sports club.
Benefits for the club included:
- The workload burden for club volunteers is minimal
- No legal requirements to file accounts or annual returns
- The club’s committee sets its own club targets and goals
- The wheelchair rugby club holds a bank account in its own name and can generate its own income through player subscriptions and grants
- Club is still classed as ‘not for profit’ so can apply for most funding streams
Points the club had to consider:
- The club is not a separate legal entity: the committee members must enter contracts or hold assets on behalf of the club; liability of any claim against the club or breach of contract would fall on the committee or wider membership
- Some funding streams will require a club to be a registered charity
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Case Study 2: Part of a Host body (Rugby Union Club)
Background
This wheelchair rugby club was initially a stand-alone, unincorporated members association and had competed in the GBWR leagues for many years.
The wheelchair rugby club, with guidance from their GBWR development officer, opted to approach a local rugby union club to discuss forming a partnership between the two organisations.
The overall aim was to protect the club’s committee member’s’ liability if anything was to ever go wrong in the future of the club.
The wheelchair rugby club also saw an opportunity to work with the rugby union club’s community team in order to recruit extra players and volunteers, as well as utilising the rugby club’s paid staff to assist with the day-to-day running of the wheelchair rugby club.
Benefits for the club included:
- Incorporated under the host club, protecting the members and committee from any future debt liability
- Reputation is increased locally, and a wider audience can be reached
- Rugby union club staff can assist with various aspects of the wheelchair rugby club, e.g. website, social media and marketing
- Rugby union club provides playing kit at the beginning of each season
- Rugby union club assists with the grant finding and application
- Wheelchair rugby club holds a bank account in its own name and is financially independent from the host organisation
- Wheelchair rugby club benefits from access to the host body’s facilities, e.g. space to train within the stadium, usage of function rooms, meetings room access and access to club members’ bar
Points the club had to consider:
- Their identity completely changed, e.g. team colours and name
- The club cannot approach and apply for any funding stream they find; they need to check with the rugby club’s community team first to ensure the host body has not already applied to that provider
- Wheelchair rugby club can only purchase kit from the host body’s club shop
- Wheelchair rugby club must liaise on any future development plans with the host body and cannot operate independently or freely whilst hosted by the rugby club
- Any major changes within the club must be approved by host body
Managing Finance & Generating Income
To be sustainable, sports clubs need to generate enough income to pay for the things they wish to do, for example hiring a sports hall or paying tournament entry fees.
In order to manage their finances appropriately, a club should open a suitable bank account, allowing them to safely store club funds and pay for any outgoings.
Managing Finance
A sports club bank account should be opened in the name of the club itself and not individual club members; this shows a transparent difference between any personal funds and club funds.
Clubs are encouraged to open a dual-authorised bank account, meaning two independent club members will need to approve any withdrawals or outgoing cheques. This helps ensure club funds are managed safely and reliably.
Another key part of managing club finances is to produce yearly accounts, showing the income your club has raised and what the club has spent during the financial year.
Accounts are usually drafted by the club treasurer; it is a good idea to have them independently reviewed by a suitable professional to ensure there are no discrepancies or mistakes. The annual accounts, or a summary, can then be shared with club members.
More information, as well as workshops and online modules on managing club finances is available from Sport England Club Matters.
Generating Income
Wheelchair Rugby clubs generate their income from several different streams. Some rely on submitting applications to grant providers whereas others focus on sponsored events such as bag packs and bucket collections at a local supermarket, or fundraising evenings.
Whatever the method, generating enough income to cover the cost of the clubs outgoings is crucial to the long term survival of a club.
Visit the Sport England Club Matters website for helpful advice on generating income for a club.
Some basic tips for securing funding are:
- Highlight a Demand; funding applications need to highlight that there is a demand for the project, equipment, outcome etc.,which will benefit your clubs’ players / members
- Evidence the demand; demonstrate this demand with appropriate statistics, surveys or statements
- Explain how the funding will solve a problem and make a difference in relation to the funders’ desired targets or charitable aims
- Budget – Show what their money will buy or fund, include any quotes as well as details of other organisations that will be helping to fund the project. Some funders like to know they are not the only ones inputting money as this demonstrates a more achievable project
Club Guide - Digital, Marketing and Community
GBWRs marketing partner, TLA, have produced a Club Guide which is an essential guide for wheelchair rugby clubs of all levels and sizes.
We have developed this to provide you with tools to help build awareness of wheelchair rugby, forge links with your local community and grow your club membership. The idea is that you will to be able to dip in as required, taking support as and when needed from the guidelines, tips and templates we have provided. With only a small number of people eligible to play our sport, recruiting potential players will always be one of the biggest challenges. Whilst we have clubs throughout the country, we will always need to draw on people from a wide geographical area. This means our digital presence is key; we need to make it as easy as possible for people to be able to find out about us, whichever way they choose to do so. We also want to make sure that as clubs we are visible to potential funders or sponsors, and that our messaging is spot on and information readily available.
Online – whether that’s a quick google search, following on social media or via a shared link to a website – is the primary way people now research or find out information on businesses, sports, groups, activities and events with over 54% of us using social media to research products. There are currently over 53 million active social media users in the UK, equating to more than 77% of the British population and, on average, we each spend 3 hours a day on social media. Social media plays a significant role in marketing and we need to be making the most of this to maximise how we market and promote our sport and clubs. Research shows that over half of us get our news from social media and almost 80% of UK news consumers between the ages of 18 and 24 consider the internet their leading news platform. This guide aims to provide you with the tools to help you maximise your online presence and support you to use digital platforms effectively in order to:
- Raise the profile of your club and wheelchair rugby.
- Be more visible online to potential members searching for wheelchair rugby.
- Ensure you are providing all the basic information a potential new members is looking for.
- Promote your club’s events to existing and new players.
- Promote your club to local businesses and potential sponsors.
RMA Sport
RMA Sport is a privately owned UK company with its headquarters located in Bridgend, South Wales. The company offers a wide range of products within its portfolio, this includes high performance made to measure, generic club models, youth and active user wheelchairs. All products are designed and manufactured to the highest standard at its facility. GBWR is proud to partner with RMA Sport, and GBWR members can benefit from this partnership with preferential rates on rugby wheelchairs!
Clubs across Great Britain have benefitted hugely from the standardised ‘club’ chairs that can be purchased, these are available in a range of seat widths and are perfect for social players and newcomers. RMA Sport rugby wheelchairs are made from high quality aircraft grade aluminium and also include Spinergy wheels and full guards as standard. The latest innovation and design ensuring they are strong, reliable and give the best possible performance.
However, if you are wanting a more advanced or personalised chair then RMA also offer a bespoke rugby wheelchair. By utilising their patented technology, Contour Body Mapping, the team at RMA Sport are able to precisely measure a customer’s dimensions and create a completely bespoke and unique rugby wheelchair. The company also offers a unique second fit that enables a person to physically try out their chair prior to it being finalised, to ensure it is 100% correct.
If you are interested in purchasing a bespoke or a ‘club’ rugby wheelchair, you can visit RMA’s website where you can initiate your order and find more information on the products offered by RMA Sport UK or contact the sales team at sales@rmasport.com. RMA Sport will just ask us to confirm that individuals are members, or that you’re ordering for a recognised GBWR club, and eligible for the preferential rates. Alternatively, you can contact your local club development manager who can guide you through the whole process, and can also offer advice on funding.
