Within this section you will be able to access all the information that will help club volunteers run a successful club.
My WRU is the WRUs Club administrative system, it’s the home to important functions such as Online registration and verification.
The touchstone of the disability community is, “Nothing about us without us”. AccessAble is a disabled-person-led business and disabled people are at all levels of the organisation.
The organisation was founded in 2000 by Dr. Gregory Burke as a result of his own experiences as a wheelchair user and disabled walker. Gregory was frustrated to find that the best-case scenario when he looked for accessibility information was a few unhelpful words that only resulted in more uncertainty. At times Gregory felt he could not go out at all.
AccessAble’s mission is to collaboratively support organisations to see the value of change and bring a positive impact to the lives of disabled people and wider society.
AccessAble currently works with 500 + partners to support them on their accessibility journey. This includes household names such as Tesco, BP, M&S, Next, National Trust and Hilton Hotels, as well as 100+ UK Universities, 100+ Local Authorities and 1 in 4 NHS Trusts.
Working with thousands of disabled people and carers, AccessAble have developed a website which anyone can use for free. On the website are AccessAble’s Detailed Access Guides. These guides give detailed information about the access into and around all kinds of venues, including measurements and photographs. Each guide is created and updated through an in-person assessment by a trained AccessAble surveyor, using unique software technology that ensures consistency of approach. All AccessAble’s data is factual, it is not a review or someone’s opinion. It reflects a pan disability perspective and is quality assured using ISO 9001 accredited processes.
Detailed Access Guides are created for all types of places and spaces – from Leisure Centres to Cinemas, from Stadiums to Community Clubs, from Cruise Ships to Hotels and from a Streetscape environment to an EV Charge point.
AccessAble aims to serve UK’s 16 million disabled people and 4.9 million carers. AccessAble currently publishes Detailed Access Guides to 70,000 places across the UK on its website www.AccessAble.co.uk.
A recent nationwide survey showed 95% of disabled people check accessibility in advance of going somewhere new, and 77% have not visited somewhere new because they could not find the information they needed. (Accessibility and You survey 2023)
Disability is not a small matter;
• 16 million disabled people
• 4.9 million carers
• 1 in 4 households are affected by disability
• 45% of people aged 65+ have a disability
• £249 billion estimated value of the Purple Pound
Providing an accessible and inclusive experience is a fundamental part of –
• serving your existing supporters
• reaching new supporters
• Demonstrating your commitment to the wider community
So, a key question for any venue is how do we currently let people know about the accessibility of our club environment?
AccessAble serves over 6 million disabled people and carers each year. They tell us that they face a postcode lottery when it comes to finding quality, trusted accessibility information. This programme seeks to change that for all rugby clubs across Wales.
Booking a survey is simple – contacting Jo – who you met on the webinar at Joanna.Brett@AccessAble.co.uk where she can answer any questions and arrange for your club to undertake a survey managed by one of our experienced surveyors.
The costs are not prohibitive – for the majority of clubs this will be £175 (+vat)
There are now increased responsibilities on rugby clubs to maintain their own facilities as a result of Local Authorities transferring pitch ownership under the Community Asset Transfer Scheme.
In response to this, it’s important that the appropriate level of support is provided to our clubs and volunteers to ensure that grassed pitches are maintained correctly and to the highest possible standard.
This includes a suite of on-line resources and tools providing guidance for clubs to maintain pitches.
If you have any further queries, please contact the Places team via email clubdevelopment@wru.wales
Please find below resources for Pitch Maintenance and a recent interview with Lee Evans, Head Groundsman for the Principality Stadium.
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GMA Home – Grounds Management Association
The new Strategy has been developed to meet the needs of facilities providing rugby provision across Wales. We appreciate that the replacement of floodlights will be an ongoing exercise, and this is why the strategy has been created for the duration of 2024 – 2029.
As with all club development items we would encourage you to reach out to the Places Team for further information by emailing clubdevelopment@wru.wales to discuss support available for your facility and lighting requirements.