Kendal Rugby Union football club

How the club started

Rugby has been played in Kendal since the 1870s, but the present club was formed in August 1905 and moved to its present site, Mint Bridge, in the 1925/6 season. The site has 8 acres.

The club is a limited Company with the ground held in Trust, to ensure the continuance of rugby within the town. The clubhouse was built in the 1960s with an addition in the 1980s. The facilities are typical of a community club with a single storey clubhouse with a flat roof and a two storey changing room containing 4 changing rooms, gym and showers. There is a main bar that can accommodate 150-200 people and a smaller bar for up to 75. The facilities are aging and the changing rooms, in particular, are in need of refurbishment. The costs of maintenance of the building and changing rooms are daunting and the club are aware that its facilities are not in keeping with the standards expected of a club playing National League rugby.

Community

The club is deeply embedded in the community and has strong local support, as there are around 200 paying members. The rugby club is semi-professional; the majority of players are from the local area with some representation from overseas. The club survives on a huge amount of goodwill and volunteer effort with recent projects including the refurbishment and decoration of the gym and replacement windows and doors in the main bar. They have also improved disabled access and have recently installed a disabled toilet with funding assisted by the RFU and Neighbourhood Forum.

The club is run by a Board of Directors whose main function is to ensure the financial security of the club and provide a firm foundation for success on the field. The club aims to be a successful local rugby club at National League level, providing sporting opportunities for the local community and a focus for rugby enthusiasts in Cumbria.

They have 3 senior teams and have a successful youth development programme with U14 and U17 sides as well as a women’s rugby squad. Their first team, achieved promotion from North 1 last season, winning every game, and now they play in the competitive National League 3 North. They have good links with local schools and some of their players are involved in youth development. The club has ambitions to remain the premier side in Cumbria and be a focus for youth development in rugby providing high quality coaching and training facilities.

The reality is that without investment and substantial capital expenditure the clubhouse, changing rooms and stand will gradually deteriorate over the next 5-10 years, so this is where the new ground comes into place if the green light goes ahead. Future

An opportunity to do so has presented itself in the form of an offer from a developer to purchase there current ground, with a view to obtaining planning permission for a retail development. The developer has undertaken to find and build a ‘state of the art’ clubhouse, pitches and car park on a new site within the town boundaries. A suitable site has been found and is subject to a contract to purchase. The Board of the club and the Trustees have been in detailed discussions about the move to another site and are convinced that this offers them the best solution to secure the club’s future and the continuance of successful community rugby within the town. The principle of the sale of the ground and a move to a new site has been approved by the club members at a recent EGM.

kendal moving to a new ground

Google map of Kendal rugby club moving to the new ground near Oxenholme railway station

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=112295433561417660183.00045cbdb78360e1e0efc&ll=54.30619,-2.724856&spn=0.002817,0.006727&t=h&z=17
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retiring

Naoko Takahashi, the Japan athletic, has announced her retirement.

She has won the 2000 Olympic marathon champion and she was the first woman to break the magical 2:20.

She was planning to run the upcoming Tokyo International Woman’s marathon and was training, but she had to pull out because she wasn’t able to get into shape.

She felt she had to retire because she feels that she can no longer run like a professional runner.

A true athlete she has been, as she had set a national record back in 1998 when she ran for 2:21:47 in the Asian games in Bangkok.

In 2000 and 2001, she became one of the best marathon runner in the world, when she won the Olympic title in Sydney, before she ran for 2:19:46 (world fastest time), at the 2001 Berlin marathon. In 2005 she won what was her last marathon in Tokyo.

She has said that when she has retired, she isn’t going to stop running.

coming back

Paula Radcliffe won the Great South run last Sunday in a new British record time.

Paula broke Jill Boltz’s 17 year mile national best of 51:41 by 30 seconds. This Sunday, Paula will run in the New York marathon.

This race was an impressive return from the disappointment of the Beijing Olympics in the summer, where she was hit by a leg injury.

From all the injuries Paula Radcliffe has had, this could be the return we see and more will follow. There will be more marathons next year, for Paula to get fit and to get back to where she was before the injuries came. She is fit now, but we will see an improvement as the London 2012 comes.

2012 will see the return of Paula Radcliffe, and she could win the Olympic Marathon in Britain.

The road to London 2012

At the end of January next year, UK Athletics indoor programme will begin in Scotland, as the road to London 2012 begins.

These athletics that went to the Beijing Olympics back in the summer, will be looking forward to play at three different venues (Glasgow, Birmingham and Sheffield) after the New Year. It’s the road to London 2012. It may be a long road, but the journey will be see some talented young youths and experienced athletes coming through the ranks, and we might see them when the time comes in 2012.

Hard work in training will pay off in the UK Championship and other competitions these athletes compete in the world of athletics. 2009 looks to be exciting year when the European Indoor championships begin in March, where GB athletes topped the medal table last time. The World Championships will take place in August, so there are plenty of events to look forward to.

The one that starts at the end of January is in Glasgow and it will not only see GB and Northern Ireland, but USA, Germany, Sweden will take part in a commonwealth team in a one day event.

Drugs

It was revealed a fortnight ago, that US sprinter Tim Montgomery has been jailed for five years for dealing drugs.

The former 100m world record holder previously pleaded guilty to processing more than 100g of heroin with intent to distribute it.

It seems that these days some athletes, (not all) have to take so sort of drugs, so they can win a medal. But, is it right to take some kind of drugs, whether its tablets, or injection? It becomes clear that they get find out at the end of the day and the medal (if they have won any) is striped, and the athlete can get banned from the Olympics forever.

This has already happened to Montgomery as three years ago, he was found to have used steroids and he was awarded a ban that saw his 100m world record stripped.

With Montgomery, he is already serving four years in prison for fraud and conspiracy offences for his role in bogus cheques, so overall he will serve around 10 years for the two separate charges.

What will happen to the 100m ex-world record holder when he is released from prison? Will he continue in the sport that he loved doing or will find another career path in the sport?