Formed 2004 ... Herts 7s U14 Runners-up 2005 ... North Herts U14 team, Herts Youth Games 2005 runners-up (coached by Letchworth)... Herts Superteams U14 Runners-up 2005 ... Herts SuperTeams "Fairplay" winners 2006 ... Rochford 10s U17 Champions 2006 ... East Midlands 10s U17 Runners-up 2007 ... East Midlands 10s U17 "Fairplay" winners 2007 ... National 10s U17 5th place and "Fairplay" winners 2007 ... Herts 7s U17 Plate runners-up 2007 ... National 7s U17 Plate winners 2007 ... RFU "President's XV" Award winners 2007 ... Herts Superteams winners 2007 ... Midlands 10s U18 Runners-up 2008 ... National 10s U18 4th place 2008 ... North Herts U11 team, Herts Youth Games 2008 runners-up (coached by Letchworth girls) ... London and SE 7s U18 Plate runners-up 2008 ... Herts 7s U18s runners-up 2008 ... National 7s U18s quarter-finalists 2008 ... Gloucester City 10s U18 Bowl runner-up (6th) 2009 ... Worthing 10s U18 Plate runner-up 2009 ... National 7s U18 Plate winners 2009... Worthing 10s U15 Plate winners 2010... Worthing 10s U18 Shield winners 2010... Herts 7s U15 and U18 Bowl runners-up 2010... National 7s U18 Plate runners-up 2010...

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

RFUW in good financial health - for now

Also in the Annual Report are details of the RFUW's finances, which shows that (not including the £50,000 grant to the World Cup) the RFUW made a profit last year of nearly £5,000 (compared with a loss of £10,000 the previous year), and now has some £343,000 in the bank. And this despite the cost of running the game, especially the elite game, increasing significantly (mainly due to the World Cup).

However, as the report itself says "RFUW's finances remain heavily dependent on grant funding" - the reason for  RFUW's healthy 2010/11 was almost entirely due to it negotiating higher levels of grant funding - and the worry must be that government cuts could significantly reduce this. The Report suggests that the National Lottery may plug the gap, but that is not guaranteed.Women's rugby in England costs the RFUW about £2.5 million per year - affiliation fees, sponsorship and all other income only brings in just under £300,000.

Where does the money go?

  • £1.25 million (about half) goes on the elite performance teams and systems (ie. England);
  • The club and coach development officers cost £460k, with another £320 in associated expenses
  • The old regional programme cost just under £130,000
  • Competitions (like National 7s) cost a remarkable £43,000 (Herts 7s makes a profit!); and
  • It costs £600k to run the RFUW.
On the plus side "integration" with the RFU will change all this, and - despite Rosie's expression of sadness about this in the report - the great thing is that the RFUW will not have to stand alone, and that many of these costs (especially development and administration) should now be shared, while supporting four divisions instead of 11 regions should also be significantly cheaper. You wonder whether this will be the last report like this from RFUW as separating out RFUW's own costs in the future will become increasingly difficult.

There is more to the document than money, with reports from all major officials. These are generally glowing, but contain little that is new, and sometimes it is the lack of information that is significant. For example, a programme to develop an England team for the 2013 Sevens World Cup is mentioned - but there is nothing about the Olympics, and how a Great Britain team might be formed. It might be argued that 2016 is a long way away - but most other unions have plans firmly in place. What is happening in England? The report does not say.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous7:15 AM

    Hrad to believe that competitions like the national 7s cost so much especially as the national 7s is the most expensive tournament to enter at £70 per team. They must make some profit from this competition

    ReplyDelete

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