Community Teams that have ceased in the last year or two

[RoverBear]

Hi everyone,

With the Bristol news, it struck me that quite a volume of teams have gone to the wall/ stopped fielding first grade sides in the last couple of years.

I can't remember all of them so-

Bristol Sonics

Sussex Merlins

Surrey Sharks

Coventry Dragons

Gloucester Warriors*

Golborne Parkside,

Bamber Bridge,

Bank Quay Bulls,

Bold Miners,

Fitton Hill

Blackpool Stanley

Cambridge

Please add to the thread, I fear it could be lengthy

 

[RoverBear]

Northampton Demons

Leicester

 

[bbfaz]

Weald Warriors disappeared in 2016, never to return.

Invicta Panthers

Fleet Mustangs (though they've always been a bit occasional)

 

We're in decline.  It's clear that, at this point, expansion has failed and the RFL and the meddlers and the supposed self-appointed anointed ones are making things worse.

I have no solution.

[DoubleD]

9 hours ago, RoverBear said:

Hi everyone,

With the Bristol news, it struck me that quite a volume of teams have gone to the wall/ stopped fielding first grade sides in the last couple of years.

I can't remember all of them so-

Bristol Sonics

Sussex Merlins

Surrey Sharks

Coventry Dragons

Gloucester Warriors*

Golborne Parkside,

Bamber Bridge,

Bank Quay Bulls,

Bold Miners,

Fitton Hill

Blackpool Stanley

Cambridge

Please add to the thread, I fear it could be lengthy

 

Blackpool Stanley haven’t folded, they’re playing in NW merit this season with a view to rejoining NW men’s 5 next season 

[MidlandsRugbyLeague]

North Derbyshire Chargers

 

[kev p]

Far too many. Something has to be done. No sure what though. We had a similar problem at a local cricket club with no young players coming through. We had to go back to step one, building from the very bottom. Recruit very young players and keeping them. Not a short term solution though. All rl clubs need a youth policy to kick start the game. Otherwise no future. All pro & semi pro clubs should run reserves & youth teams, with grants to support them, it’s where the money should go. 

[bowes]

1 hour ago, kev p said:

Far too many. Something has to be done. No sure what though. We had a similar problem at a local cricket club with no young players coming through. We had to go back to step one, building from the very bottom. Recruit very young players and keeping them. Not a short term solution though. All rl clubs need a youth policy to kick start the game. Otherwise no future. All pro & semi pro clubs should run reserves & youth teams, with grants to support them, it’s where the money should go. 

Professional clubs running under 16 teams is what’s killing the amateur game (along with withdrawal of Sport England funding)

[DoubleD]

21 minutes ago, bowes said:

Professional clubs running under 16 teams is what’s killing the amateur game (along with withdrawal of Sport England funding)

None of those clubs mentioned above are impacted by that 

[DoubleD]

1 hour ago, kev p said:

Far too many. Something has to be done. No sure what though. We had a similar problem at a local cricket club with no young players coming through. We had to go back to step one, building from the very bottom. Recruit very young players and keeping them. Not a short term solution though. All rl clubs need a youth policy to kick start the game. Otherwise no future. All pro & semi pro clubs should run reserves & youth teams, with grants to support them, it’s where the money should go. 

Youth development is undoubtedly the way forward. It’s no coincidence that the majority of those clubs listed have only senior teams. You need that conveyor belt, stable home and development of a strong club culture so you have sufficient number of willing volunteers 

[bowes]

1 hour ago, DoubleD said:

None of those clubs mentioned above are impacted by that 

Leicester and Northampton both used to run full junior set ups 

[DoubleD]

13 minutes ago, bowes said:

Leicester and Northampton both used to run full junior set ups 

But professional clubs weren’t taking those players 

[PaulF]

All Golds have a plan

[bowes]

4 hours ago, DoubleD said:

But professional clubs weren’t taking those players 

The Midlands and Sheffield academies did recruit their players though 

[DoubleD]

19 minutes ago, bowes said:

The Midlands and Sheffield academies did recruit their players though 

I know but that’s not what you said. 

Anyway im firmly of the belief that the removal of development officers in these non heartland areas is what really led to the demise more than those academies

[Defender1]

Ideal and all Youth

Cottingham

Bilton

Plus all the A teams, just before the switch there were nearly 120 16-18 teams in the Yorkshire youth set up I know not all were thriving or fulfilling fixture but now around 50 now not thriving and not fulfilling fixtures, look at the state of the Hull Youth league these are the future players

[Marauder]

On ‎19‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 3:51 PM, bowes said:

The Midlands and Sheffield academies did recruit their players though 

Most of the Sheffield side came from Donny (4 from my area) and West Yorks

[Marauder]

6 hours ago, Defender1 said:

Ideal and all Youth

Cottingham

Bilton

Plus all the A teams, just before the switch there were nearly 120 16-18 teams in the Yorkshire youth set up I know not all were thriving or fulfilling fixture but now around 50 now not thriving and not fulfilling fixtures, look at the state of the Hull Youth league these are the future players

But summer is the way forward and if it isn't none of the powers have those things your short and curly's hang off to back track.

[Impartial Observer]

Yet again certain people turn a thread in a summer winter debate.

I've heard that wales rugby union are trailing summer rugby for some of their junior age groups 

[bbfaz]

For me, the concern is that there's not even a hint of replacements or volunteers that could keep a club running.  For all the talk of "steady juniors" you can only do that in the regions where you have full seasons.  The classic London junior path is to play until you're 16, get a Saturday job, go to uni, play a bit of union and get the bug back when you're 22.  There's no real point in having juniors in that case, especially considering the needs of a junior club are very different to those of open age.

A few years ago, there would be teams making noise every winter and then not making a start line.  Now, there's nothing.  Not a peep.  Not even a random bloke in some small town, talking big but delivering little to nothing.

[Marauder]

40 minutes ago, Impartial Observer said:

Yet again certain people turn a thread in a summer winter debate.

I've heard that wales rugby union are trailing summer rugby for some of their junior age groups 

So if the numbers have dropped since going t summer what do you think the problem is ?

[Marauder]

1 minute ago, bbfaz said:

For me, the concern is that there's not even a hint of replacements or volunteers that could keep a club running.  For all the talk of "steady juniors" you can only do that in the regions where you have full seasons.  The classic London junior path is to play until you're 16, get a Saturday job, go to uni, play a bit of union and get the bug back when you're 22.  There's no real point in having juniors in that case, especially considering the needs of a junior club are very different to those of open age.

A few years ago, there would be teams making noise every winter and then not making a start line.  Now, there's nothing.  Not a peep.  Not even a random bloke in some small town, talking big but delivering little to nothing.

The problem is these days you need a degree in everything just to start a club "WHY" the minimum should be a police check for kids teams.

[topcentre21]

i think clubs/numbers would still be disbanding or dropping wether playing winter or summer im afraid its just the time we live sport comes 2nd/3rd to everything else and its not just rl its same for union and football

[bazza_merged]

did any of these teams have juniors?

Did the juniors keep playing after the open age team folded?

[bbfaz]

Some cases they did, some cases they didn't. To both questions.

[Defender1]

Sorry to say more to do nowadays by far my lad plays to a reasonable standard and is missing numerous games because of these weekend events going to 3-4 concerts plus an Otley Run and then a summer holiday, he goes with his rugby mates so more players missing, in the past irrelevant of when these concerts were done there are a lot more now. We have just had magic Weekend players went to that and next week another bank holiday think he is going to Neighbor Hood Weekender, along with the coach of the A team. He is committed rarely misses training and travels with his mates when injured as he says I pay to play, love my rugby but I can’t help it when there is stuff I want to do