Whitehaven in trouble , time for outside help in running club finances?

[Saint Toppy]

It's a 15 minute car ride from small individual Workington to Small individual Whitehaven.

I'm aware of the travelling times around Cumbria I lived in Penrith for 6 years. I went to a few games at Workington and it took me little over Half an hour. Somewhere like Lillyhall would be a good location to draw on the 4 main conurbations of Workington, Whitehaven, Penrith and Keswick.

Your right about Barrow though, it's in the back end of nowhere with 1 road in and out

Damn , didn't mean to type that response as a quote, it's hard typing on a packed London tube on a phone

[JM2010]

When I see news like this about Cumbria I'm somewhat torn about the solution.

Realistically none of the Cumbrian clubs are ever going to get back in SL (bar a miracle and several multi-millionaires) so if they all want to remain as independent clubs then they need to plan accordingly for a permanent life in the Championship. I get that the fans don't want to hear the dreaded 'M' word (merger) but they need to then accept the realities of where their clubs are.

If the fans in Cumbria do want to watch SL rugby in the future then the only viable option is to combine (at least Workington & Whitehaven) into a single club based somewhere between the two (as per previous plans for Lillyhall).

Putting club sentiments, aside I do think a Cumbrian SL club would be really good for the game and for SL.

Would Whitehaven and Workington dropping to the NCL be a good option? They could both set up junior sections and still compete at a decent level. A Cumbria professional side could then be set without any conflict of interests with the two clubs

[Davo5]

Would Whitehaven and Workington dropping to the NCL be a good option? They could both set up junior sections and still compete at a decent level. A Cumbria professional side could then be set without any conflict of interests with the two clubs

One of the few positives about rugby league in West Cumbria is that Copeland has 3 strong teams in the NCL premier division,all with pretty good youth sections,so sticking 2 ex semi pro teams in the league wouldn't serve any great purpose other than destabilising those 3 clubs who have worked hard to get where they are.

[JM2010]

So, do you think a meger would work best or just keep things as they are?

[Davo5]

So, do you think a meger would work best or just keep things as they are?

It's not that simple,the area needs a funded long term plan that engages all aspects of the game,schools,amateur and the pro clubs,just merging 2 struggling semi pro teams and hoping that it will attract good crowds and inspire kids to take up the game will not work.

[The Parksider]

It's not that simple,the area needs a funded long term plan that engages all aspects of the game,schools,amateur and the pro clubs,just merging 2 struggling semi pro teams and hoping that it will attract good crowds and inspire kids to take up the game will not work.

 

Great reality post.

 

A long term plan that seeks to maximise it's funding to bring together everyone with an interest in RL in the county, so as many people as possible can be facilitated to administer, organise, play and watch the game.

 

Not a fantasy in which it is assumed new people will flock to such a plan in their thousands, the idea that crowds for a Cumbria club even inside the SL would rival those for World Cup games is just wishful thinking.

 

If there was a way to make hundreds start playing and thousands start watching overnight it would have been done by now, it's clear the target isn't the stars, it's the best we can do, and even then we need money we may not have and people with the will we may have all too few of. 

[John Drake]

Anyone read the 8-page feature/investigation into the state of Rugby League in Cumbria in the current issue of Rugby League World?

 

In shops now, folks! Also available online www.totalrl.com/rlw

 

Would be interested to receive feedback on the feature and its conclusions for possible inclusion in the next issue.

 

[Davo5]

If you've spoken to 2 people involved with rugby league in the. county it will be double what the RFL report did

[John Drake]

If you've spoken to 2 people involved with rugby league in the. county it will be double what the RFL report did

 

We've spoken to people involved with all three pro clubs, the amateur game and players too. We've invited fans to have their say by responding to the feature.

[Davo5]

We've spoken to people involved with all three pro clubs, the amateur game and players too. We've invited fans to have their say by responding to the feature.

Very good,should make an excellent read,hopefully the RFL will read it too as it sounds like a far more in depth look at the problems we have up here than their poor effort.

[nadera78]

We've spoken to people involved with all three pro clubs, the amateur game and players too. We've invited fans to have their say by responding to the feature.

For me it just summed up the problem we face - 1 chairman was open to a merged/new club, whilst 1 was dead set against it. Similar split amongst community game people who were asked. Unless someone from the outside comes in and takes the lead it looks like the whole thing will simply continue to drift along as it is - and the end result of that seems pretty clear.