EssexRL

Fair enough. Tell me what you think will change my mind - I really want to believe the best

Hoist? Lol.

I am, I hope, an open minded chap but looking at all that has happened recently it seems to me, in stark contrast to 6-7 years ago, that the sport has decided to essentially focus solely on where SL is played (or nearby*). If one is asked - what is the game doing to support RL in the south or Cumbria, or Wales or Scotland or London, the answer is "nothing". It seems a real disconnect that IMG were bought in to help is think about the future but we end up with a future that is a (much) narrower version of the present? Is this fair? *It feels that Broncos promotion doesn't fit the narrative and the ridiculous grading criteria, particularly in respect of catchment area, means that London is unlikely to have a major presence in the sport after next year,

There are shareholders (like me) and then there are Directors (and some ex-Directors like IM2). Most, maybe all, Directors are shareholders. I am not a Director. As with any company shareholders own the club but Directors run it on their behalf. People have supported the club in lots of ways including one off funds to help. The thing that impressed me about the club when I first came along was the overall passion for the game the people who run it had and how open they were to fans. It always felt much more than being just about Skolars. They were - and remain - committed to building the sport in a sustainable and sensible way. Although well off by many people's standards there was no way the owners could grow the club given the costs they faced, as explained. The last 4 years have been about trying to get new investment in. Twice we nearly got there but were let down. I am biased and I am sure that things could have been done better. I might also have offered shares rather than donations and I think it would be good to be specific about what the money will be used for on the funding page as IM2 has explained above. As an aside I do wonder if the latest era of RL in the capital had started with Hector and Skolars rather than Fulham whether things would have been different.

The circumstances of the last season or so has landed Skolars in a different position to other amateur clubs - hopefully temporarily. However if you want a positive incentive - today the club are hosting primary school children from Haringey in a tag RL tournament. There are 33 teams! I am not sure anyone else in London is doing that. As I have said before, keeping Skolars going is about more than the club. The club promotes RL in a borough with a population of 265,000. That is bigger than the pop of Oldham and Rochdale, for example. Honestly donating is voluntary; so if you don't think it is a good idea don't do it but if you are thinking about it think more widely than the club.

This isn't just about saving the club; it is also about the sport having a presence in one of the most populous areas of the UK. For the future health of the game, we need to keep a foothold in the capital beyond Broncos. The club has done an amazing job linking with the local community and raising the profile of the game. Please help if you can.

Have to say my commitment to the sport has been bashed and bruised in recent months but this feels very positive. Looking forward to this.

Doing ok in Cornwall apparently - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/67099742

Skolars linked with schools, colleges and the London/SE amateur leagues but that was not enough. Expansion needs wider support from the game (eg, marketing). More than anything though the game needs a plan and a vision about where it wants to be. If it is in a state of managed decline (actually it doesn't feel that managed) then at least be explicit about it. Last point when I went to watch the RLWC opener in Newcastle I was struck by how many locals were there. We couldn't sustain a semi-pro club there. There needs to be an honest open look at why that was?

I remain staggered at the poor quality of the leadership of the game. Did no one foresee the loss of clubs potentially happening and plan? Another example of rubbish leadership- when L1 was expanded concerns were raised in the south about where clubs would get high enough level players from to compete, given there was no player infrastructure down here - or money to bring players down. It is an obvious and sensible point but yet the expansion went ahead and, guess what, teams struggled to find enough players that could compete. Expansion could work given the quality of the product but it needs a plan, it needs to be realistic and its products need nurturing. The future of RL seems very narrow now. However well SL is doing, poor and shrinking foundations are not great.

There was scope to grow in Newcastle. When I went up to watch Skolars I was impressed by (1) the size of the crowd which was often well above L1 averages, (2) the knowledge and passion of the fans and (3) general awareness of the game there. I

Have not read the thread as too depressing (I really enjoyed away days to Newcastle), but how can the sport go from a push to grow the game (Oxford, Hemel etc) less than a decade to this? Skolars resigning was shrugged off. If Thunder's decision is not reviewed so lessons can be learned I will give up - although frankly it looks like RL is only interested in playing in a small number of places in a small part of the country so maybe the sport has given up on me anyway.

Indeed - is that though an opportunity?

…or not

I know this is a well trodden discussion but I am having a “WTF” moment. This season we have lost one club in the capital* but we may well have the other one in SL next season - despite only having 300-500 regular paying fans. Sport can be follow Darwinian principles and let things evolve as they might (leading to the loss of Skolars for example) but given the game has no meaningful presence in the capital** and given IMGs correct view that London matters - what should the sport do down here- if anything? Is London Bs possible promotion a wider opportunity ? *I realise Skolars continue but personally I think, at best, they will be an amateur team from now on, at worse they will fade away. **As far as I can tell there is no reporting of the match or what it means in the capitals media?

Shows the potential for decent support if the club does ok in Championship. Was struck watching the game on Sunday how many home fans had club shirts and the diversity of the support age and gender-wise (obviously not a scientific analysis just an impression).

Part of my drifting away is no longer reading RL media like League Express. Last years WC was a chance to reinvigorate and I felt very positive travelling home from Newcastle but then…

Yes I think that sums up how I feel.

A few but it’s not the same as watching Oldham or Rochdale or Whitehaven. I’ll certainly go to CC matches.

The demise of London Skolars will mean I watch a lot less RL than I did. If the game doesn’t pick up here it’s hard hard to see how I could continue to connect with it unless I fancied king train trips up north.

...because we were no longer sustainable. For most of the last decade the commercial side, frankly, has been incredible in terms of sponsorship and innovations like FNL. What was particularly impressive were the links with local businesses particularly given how few people had heard of the game. However it wasn't enough to meet the extra costs we (and any non heartland club) face(d). It was never going to be enough to raise the profile of RL in London. It was never going to be enough to pay the costs of moving players from the north down here (so we could be competitive) or the extra travel costs we incurred. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Skolars situation and I am sure the club got things wrong, the real question that needs to be addressed is does the sport have any ambition to grow? It is close to being only played in a small number of towns and cities in parts of the north (I would be less bothered if it was played all over the north but it isn't)?

All non heartland teams have not only to build support for their club but also the game itself. RL has zero profile down here. What was needed was some sort of strategy to build the profile of the game and recognition of the extra costs/challenges clubs like Skolars faced. It doesn't matter now though. RL down here is currently represented by just two semi pro teams and a small band of amateur clubs. Essentially it is resting on the shoulders of a very small number of people. I struggle to see where a pathway to exploit London as a market is going to come from.

Indeed - also wrong to say that we have been languishing at the bottom of the league for seasons. Also generally our crowds stood up to the average for league 1 even though we are out of the heartland. It sounds trivial but I think sums up the relationship that Skolars offered Bronco fans half price tickets to see us but we never had a similar offer. Of course a number of factors created this situation, most outside of the control of the club. 300 or so people watching Broncos, plus the end of All Golds, Oxford, South Wales (WWR), Hemel and now Skolars presence in L1 leaving just Midlands and Cornwall (for the time being) strongly suggests all is not well with the game outside any actions of these clubs. If the game is going to take its future seriously and the IMG recommendations it needs to think very carefully about how to scale and sustain the sport outside of a handful of northern towns and a couple of cities.

The RFL need to talk to the board and dare I say fans and learn from this. If the sport is serious about growing in London we can provide insights. If there is no attempt to reach out I will seriously question the ambition to grow the grave.

Thank you and no I’m not lost! I loved RL before Skolars existed (watching Halifax on Grandstand in 70s) despite growing up in Berkshire. What drives me mad is the lost opportunity that the team represented. A little more support and funding and we could have grown the sport.