Rugby

TONBRIDGE Juddians Rugby Football Club have confirmed their status as a flagship rugby club by becoming the second in Kent to receive the RFU's Whole Club Seal of Approval.

The award recognises outstanding effort and achievements by volunteers in achieving the standards needed in developing and sustaining rugby union at their club.

Tonbridge Juddians join a select band of 41 clubs throughout England in achieving the Whole Club award. It was introduced by the RFU in 2009 to build on the existing Mini and Youth Seal of Approval, which recognised high quality provision of youth rugby.

The Whole Club accreditation requires evidence of good practice in areas including club management, player development and recruitment, child protection, sports equity, coaching and refereeing, as well as the recruitment and management of volunteers.

"This award recognises the amount of work and time that our volunteers put in," said Darren Grasby, Tonbridge Juddians's director of rugby.

"On the coaching side alone, we have at least four coaches for each age group at mini and junior level, which is quite a commitment. Each age group have managers and first-aiders, and there are administrators looking after the various mini and youth sections. On the adult side, all teams have dedicated coaches, which ensure that at all levels players enjoy well-organised coaching sessions.

"Overall, our club membership is 900-plus. The Whole Club Seal of Approval has enabled the club to focus on the way we manage and organise ourselves. We like to think we were always organised, but this process has identified gaps in certain areas, and it was good to get everything documented."

Tonbridge Juddians run five senior teams and a veterans's XV, as well as mini and youth rugby from under six to under 18.

The club has an academy side, which is a combination of the best under 16 to 18 in the club and plays six matches per year, in addition to training on a regular basis with the first team squad.

A TJs Exiles team, a mix of students and local players, plays fixtures in September, and at Christmas and Easter. The club has a thriving women's side, which recently achieved promotion into the London 2 League.

"Every club can make improvements in their organisation," said Grasby. "We realised last year that our database of new and existing players needed updating in order to ensure we can communicate regularly with them. This has ensured that we can track which players are playing regularly and that the club can field five sides every Saturday."

Andy Pratt, RFU rugby development officer for Kent (Rural), said: "Tonbridge Juddians RFC have worked particularly hard in recent years to ensure their mini and youth sections provide excellent opportunities for young people in the area and the senior sections can now also boast this hard-earned RFU accreditation.

"If you are a player, the club will know who is best to put you in touch with to get a game or to train to play. If you are a coach or a referee, they can sort you out with a programme of activities, and if you are a volunteer, they will get you a role description and on to a committee to make use of your skills."

Jez Allman, the RFU's head of club and constituent body services, said: "To earn the Whole Club Seal of Approval accreditation is a major achievement that underlines a club's commitment to excellence.

"The Whole Club Seal of Approval process is designed to encourage best practice in all aspects of running a rugby club, helping assess where they are and providing a template for them to move forward."