The Growth and Participation fund, established from the £6.5M Scottish Government funding during the Covid-19 pandemic, was split into two streams with £500,000 allocated to each: Major Capital Investment and Growing the Game.

The Major Capital Investment strand is designed to support clubs with developments to their physical infrastructure including the purchase, upgrade or construction of an asset.

Two clubs will be in receipt of £250,000 of the Major Capital Investment fund.

Falkirk Rugby Club are the first set to benefit from this support, utilising the grant to transform their pavilion’s changing facilities.

Bill Faulds, President of Falkirk Rugby Club said: “The changing pavilion was originally used as a bathhouse for the foundries in the 50s, so the facility is very dated.

“When I was playing for the club in the 90s and 00s, the pavilion was under invested in then. Structurally it’s sound, but it needs some attention.”

The pavilion space will see the six changing rooms redeveloped into four changing rooms, a gym and a community space which can be utilised by the club for coaching, or local groups for meetings and presentations.

“We’re keen that the community space we will create can benefit local charities and work groups, particularly for those supporting people with their mental health. That’s really important to us at the club.

“We are extremely grateful to Scottish Rugby and the Scottish Government for this funding, which will go a long way to not only support the members of our club, but the wider community.”

Renovations to the pavilion will start later this month, and the club hopes to have it completed by the end of summer, ready for the 2023/24 season.

A second grant of £250,000 has been awarded in principle to a club in the Glasgow North region, details of which will be released in due course.

Under the ‘Growing the Game’ strand of the fund, more than £314,000 was awarded to support growth and development of the community game, with a focus on inclusion and diversity.

Amongst those who received funding was Kelso Rugby Club, who utilised £5,000 of funding to facilitate workshops and training for coaches, players and volunteers on mental and physical wellbeing, sleep hygiene, nutrition, and strength and conditioning to aid on and off field performance and help establish a more positive environment for everyone to enjoy their rugby experience.

Ross Sutherland also received a grant of £5,000 to support their women and girls programme, which now sees the club boast a thriving women’s team, girls’ section and school programmes.

Cambuslang Rugby Club were also awarded £7,500 to support their work in collaboration with Stonelaw High School, offering an expanded School of Rugby programme to engage more than 200 boys and girls in curricular and extra-curricular rugby activity.

The remainder of the funding from the Growing the Game fund was realigned to the Club Sustainability Fund under the sub-category of ‘Fast Track’, providing funding of up to £2,000 for club maintenance or improvement projects.

The Fast Track fund saw more than £116,000 awarded to 63 different clubs including North Berwick, who received funding to improve their strength and condition equipment and Montrose, who utilised their funding to build a new pitch on their grounds.

With just over £68,000 of funding left unclaimed from the £1M government funding in Phase 1, this will be rolled into Phase 2.

Clubs were invited to apply for Phase 2 funding via Club Communications on 18 October. The fund will remain open for clubs to apply to until 25 November. More can be found, HERE.

Gav Scott, Director of Rugby Development said: “I am delighted to share the outcome of the Growth and Participation fund as previously outlined in July last year. This vital stream of Government funding has empowered our clubs to make a real difference to their facilities and programme delivery, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

“I’d like to once again extend my thanks on behalf of Scottish Rugby to the Sports Minister Maree Todd, the First Minister and colleagues across Government for their financial and operational support, ensuring the community game could get back up and running in a safe and enjoyable manner whilst also enabling a significant level of new investment to improve facilities and attract and retain players and participants across the game.”

Sports Minister, Maree Todd said: “I am delighted that the funding provided to Scottish Rugby has been put to such good use – supporting clubs and the communities they serve.

“We know the importance of being physically active to improve our physical and mental health and I am encouraged that the funding will be used to advance diversity and inclusion, as well as making facilities across the country more welcoming and accessible.

“I would like to thank clubs for the fantastic work they do and hope the continued support allows them to grow and develop moving forward.”

A full breakdown of clubs awarded ‘Growing the Game’ and CSF Fast Track funding can be found, HERE.