6. Progress on Our 5 Year Strategy

Rome was not built in a day, but we are pleased to report there has been a huge amount of progress in the first year of our Strategy. A huge thanks go out to all who have brought forward ideas, developed documents, gained support from members, found best practices, implemented technology, attended meetings, and more.

Below is a summary of some of the developments to date around recognition events and tipping points on our backcast plan.

Business like approach (RE6)

One of the biggest changes this last year has been the new website. It has only just gone live (Jan 2022) and I hope you will agree it not only looks great but provides a much needed single point of information. In the weeks and months ahead, this will transform the club's communications, finance, community, sponsorship, and more.

Other changes underway are around the governance of the club. We now have a new governance structure in place. This will allow easier and faster decision making and improved working across sections.

Communication has dramatically improved through the new website. We now have a single database with all members. This allows easy communications across the whole membership or select teams, sections, or roles within the club.

In addition, members can now access all contact details for our team of volunteers and paid staff on the website. So if they need to speak with someone about child protection, Junior Section, sponsorship, or lunches, for example, they can find them with ease.

Work is underway around policy, compliance, and procedures, to ensure we meet standards and provide a healthy, safe club for all. We are now starting to put this on the website so you can access any documents you are looking for and the whole process is transparent.

Volunteering (TP10)

We now have work underway around volunteering, to create a positive volunteering experience for all volunteers at the club. We want volunteers to love their role at Dundee Rugby Club. We will be providing better support for them, recognising their efforts, and supporting them to gain valuable skills, experience, and enjoyment in their chosen role.

We now have a staffing structure in place (see attached document at the bottom of this page) for all coaching staff and team admins. We are now working on a similar staffing structure for those working across other areas of the club including, committees, pitches, kitchen, international tickets, bar, and more.

Legacy (TP20)

The history of the club is important to many of our members, whether they have been at the club for a few years or many decades. It is also good to be able to share this history with those who are new to the club and share stories from years gone by.

We now have this underway with some great content on the website. The next steps here are to include sections on past captains and past presidents. If you know of anyone who has stories or pictures from years gone by contact Ally Geddes to get them on the website.

Inclusion (TP6)

One of our focus areas for the club is to ensure it is inclusive. We welcome all to the club and we are taking steps to make it easier for underrepresented groups and individuals to join us.
Over the last year, we have seen a huge growth in the women’s team to over 70 players, driven by social media marketing. There are currently two teams and plans for a third team next season if growth continues.

We are also working closely with Andrew Hamilton, rugby development officer, who is introducing rugby to schools in areas of deprivation. Steps are now being taken to help players make the move from school to club rugby.

There are also a number of changes to membership categories being proposed at a consultation in March 2022 to support a more inclusive club.

Joining because of Member Benefits (TP17)

We have run a membership survey to find out what members want for their membership. We are now collating results and will hold a consultation in March 2022 to get your input on proposed changes to membership categories and benefits.

Bring out the best in kids (RE5)

We continue to get excellent feedback from parents of the minis and juniors on the positive impact rugby at the club is having on their children. The next step here is to produce a video of parents sharing the positive impact the club has had on their children.

Demand was more than we could accommodate (TP12)

We are delighted to report one of our Eagles sections is over capacity with nearly 60 children in the P3 team. We are now sharing best practices from the P3’s to support growth across all Eagles and Junior teams.

We also have huge demand in the Women’s section that may expand to 3 teams next season.

Great Facilities (TP1)

Finally, we are looking at facility developments. We have immediate pressures in relation to pitches, floodlighting, and changing rooms and toilets for the women. To address these immediate needs steps are underway to address women's showers and toilets.

We are also spending time on a little “blue sky thinking” around facility developments. Others have managed to get great facilities including pitches, clubhouses, spectator galleries, and indoor halls, and we can too. This has involved speaking with members down at the club and considering other organisations we might partner with to make our vision a reality.

Would you like to help, have you got some great ideas to deliver our vision?

If you have any ideas around this please do pass it through your section head or catch one of the general committee members.