Representatives have their say at Club Development Conference

Clubs from across Scotland visited the capital to engage with Scottish Rugby and voice their opinions on the direction of the game.

National team Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, spoke on the importance of team culture and invitees participated in a series of workshops focusing on the great work being done by clubs across Scotland.

Nick Rennie, Head of Club Services, said: “We want to thank everyone who came along to make the conference such a great success.

“There has been a lot of constructive discussion on how we work together to support clubs to grow the game in their local communities.

It is vitally important that we continue this dialogue as we move forward and continue to make Scottish rugby as strong as it can be.”

The Conference was opened by speeches from Scottish Rugby representatives including Head of Domestic Rugby, Sheila Begbie and Vice-President, Dee Bradbury.

Chief Executive, Mark Dodson, and Chief Operating Officer, Dominic McKay, also spoke, highlighting the progress made by Scottish Rugby in challenging times.

Both touched on the recent announcement of Scottish Rugby’s deal to extend its partnership with BT until 2021 and how it will offer greater stability and benefit the game at all levels.

Members were invited to discuss ‘Agenda 3’, Scottish Rugby’s club sustainability strategy, with each other and representatives from the governing body.

Through regional workshops members were able to gain clarity on the incoming changes to the structure of the domestic game and talk through their thoughts with neighbouring club representatives.

Further club-led talks on player retention, club culture, income generation and volunteer recruitment underlined success stories in the game and gave attendees an opportunity to see how good practice can be applied to their club and community.

An Expo area provided club members with an opportunity to discuss relevant topics of interest with Scottish Rugby departments and partners.

The annual conference was first held in 2016 and has built on its success each year, bringing clubs together to discuss the sport and give feedback.