York City Knights are the Championship Club of the Year !

[clogdance]

Was it April 1st or have I missed something ? Finished 9th in the table after recruiting some rather decent ex Super League players. 

[bigbaldnmad]

The judges obviously reference this forum 

[Stirlin]

It is CLUB of the year not Team.

[AB Knight]

The award is not for which team has had the best 80 minutes every Sunday, it’s for the club itself. 
 

Men’s team - 2nd highest ever place in the championship, first visit to Wembley in 91 years. Consolidated their position as a championship club. 2nd best result against Toulouse, only Halifax pushed them closer (sorry Fev fans).

Ladies team - Gone from finishing bottom in previous seasons to challenge cup runners up and play off semi finalists. The team have picked up more wins in 2021 than they did in 2018, 2019 and 2020 combined.

Continued good work with the PDRL side , with the foundation (3 foundation players have come through into the 1st team) and with community clubs.

Hospitality - most matches have either sold out or been very close to selling out the 500/600 capacity hospitality area. Some clubs don’t even reach that with ‘normal paying punters’ coming through the gates.

Attendances - I estimate York have averaged 1800 this season, a drop of 10% from the last full season, at a time when a lot of clubs are posting 40% and 50% decreases. Away support (that old chestnut) has been 50-100 apart from Whitehaven who brought 150 ish and Bradford who travelled in good numbers as usual. 
 

We have our club name and colours all over the bus park and ride route between the stadium itself and one of the most visited cities (outside of London) in England, great for exposure.

Batley, Halifax, Whitehaven, even Bradford (plus as expected Fev and Toulouse) have all had great seasons on the pitch, if the award was purely for the 80 minutes the men’s team play every weekend then those teams would all be worthy winners and York would probably be 3rd or 4th bottom. However I genuinely don’t know how things are off the pitch for them too, more than happy to be educated.

[AB Knight]

Oh, and we have a train station too 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

8 hours ago, AB Knight said:

We have our club name and colours all over the bus park and ride route between the stadium itself and one of the most visited cities (outside of London) in England, great for exposure.

I was in York yesterday and I saw a double-decker completely liveried up in York City Knights advertising, has this got anything to do with this? 

[AB Knight]

1 minute ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I was in York yesterday and I saw a double-decker completely liveried up in York City Knights vandering, has this got anything to do with this? 

That’s what I was referring to, yes. It’s great marketing, no Eddie Stobart lorries needed 

[Man of Kent]

Has to be for their significant impact on the women’s game (Cup final etc.)

[cookey]

It's no good being the TEAM of the year,if you dont have a CLUB to build around.

There are numerous examples of a TEAM of the year,being in total disarray the following season.

CLUBS like york and Newcastle seem to me,to be going about things correctly.TEAMS that barely exist the next year are of no use to anybody.

[spanishknight]

2 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I was in York yesterday and I saw a double-decker completely liveried up in York City Knights vandering, has this got anything to do with this? 

Yes

[Damien]

Oh some will be frothing at the mouth at this.

Anyway well done York. The club have built and built from being a bit of a basket case only a few years ago and thoroughly deserve this recognition.

[clogdance]

That's why I asked the question. There was no elaboration on why York had been given 'club of the year', so technically a relegated club could win this award then ! 

[Just Browny]

1 hour ago, clogdance said:

That's why I asked the question. There was no elaboration on why York had been given 'club of the year', so technically a relegated club could win this award then ! 

Took me all of five seconds to find this on the RFL article:

York City Knights and Barrow Raiders were recognised as Clubs of the Year for Betfred Championship and League 1 respectively – in each case for their off-field dynamism which has led to increased attendances and especially successful seasons for their Women’s teams, with York also reaching Wembley in the 1895 Cup and Barrow securing the League Leaders’ Shield and with it automatic promotion to the Championship in 2022.

[clogdance]

Well done.

[RBKnight]

Before this thread descends into a personal spat, here are a few insights into why York might have been considered as Championship Club of the Year by the panel.

The Knights finished a tough and ultimately disappointing season in front of 2,000 cheering fans against London, part of a double-header with the Knights Ladies (about half the crowd stayed for their match against Cas). It didn't feel like a disappointed or discontented crowd....

Perhaps that's because they realised that this was York's 2nd best ever Championship finish, playing in a brand spanking new stadium. It was undoubtedly helped by the presence of 60 under-11s from four local community clubs, playing on the pitch at half time. Home fans would also have been cheered by the presence of three 18 year-olds, all products of the local Community game, playing well for the Knights (all signed on for next year).

A fortnight later saw the Knights Ladies miss out by a whisker to Leeds in their bid to reach the Super League Grand Final (having already reached the Challenge Cup Final earlier in the season). That same weekend, York Knights Foundation hosted a national festival of Learning Disability RL at its superb training ground (complete with new G4 pitch)

Ultimately, the Knights' will be judged by results on the pitch. The current club owner and management, IMO, couldn't be doing a better job in giving the team the platform to succeed. They also have grasped the nettle that, by helping broaden the base of the game in all its forms locally, it will enormously strengthen the professional club.

In a city used to hard selling, the Knights are doing a great job of promoting the club and the game in York, whether through the liveried bus, or the constant bombardment of their social media outlet. There's lots going on, and so much of it is very good.......

[clogdance]

45 minutes ago, RBKnight said:

Before this thread descends into a personal spat, here are a few insights into why York might have been considered as Championship Club of the Year by the panel.

The Knights finished a tough and ultimately disappointing season in front of 2,000 cheering fans against London, part of a double-header with the Knights Ladies (about half the crowd stayed for their match against Cas). It didn't feel like a disappointed or discontented crowd....

Perhaps that's because they realised that this was York's 2nd best ever Championship finish, playing in a brand spanking new stadium. It was undoubtedly helped by the presence of 60 under-11s from four local community clubs, playing on the pitch at half time. Home fans would also have been cheered by the presence of three 18 year-olds, all products of the local Community game, playing well for the Knights (all signed on for next year).

A fortnight later saw the Knights Ladies miss out by a whisker to Leeds in their bid to reach the Super League Grand Final (having already reached the Challenge Cup Final earlier in the season). That same weekend, York Knights Foundation hosted a national festival of Learning Disability RL at its superb training ground (complete with new G4 pitch)

Ultimately, the Knights' will be judged by results on the pitch. The current club owner and management, IMO, couldn't be doing a better job in giving the team the platform to succeed. They also have grasped the nettle that, by helping broaden the base of the game in all its forms locally, it will enormously strengthen the professional club.

In a city used to hard selling, the Knights are doing a great job of promoting the club and the game in York, whether through the liveried bus, or the constant bombardment of their social media outlet. There's lots going on, and so much of it is very good.......

Excellent post/explanation.

[fighting irish]

Congratulations to York on their club-building achievements.

I can never understand why clubs don't have an information swapping/pooling scheme.

When a club, is obviously doing something right why wouldn't they share their expertise with other clubs?

Or conversely, if a club is willing to advise/share methods why wouldn't a struggling club look the them for advice?

Surely, in this respect at least they don't see each other as deadly rivals. 

Finally, for those posters intent on personal insults, make sure you can handle the response.

I recently went to the doctors for a check up (after gaining twenty five pounds).

He told me to stick my tongue out, then put a wooden stick on it and said ''Say Oink!''. 

[wilsontown]

I think it's reasonable to point out that we've not been all that brilliant on the pitch, but what the club is doing is awesome. We have a Knights liveried bus running between town and the stadium and it looks mint. The football club would never have thought of that between now and the heat death of the universe.