Hundreds of rugby players will benefit after Gilfach Goch RFC has overhauled a patch of land and turned it into a training facility for everyone to enjoy all year round, thanks to a £30,000 funding boost from Pennant Walters.
The club, which has teams from under 7's through to seniors, has worked hard over the past few years to secure the required funding to carry out the transformation. With the final amount forthcoming from ourselves they set to work.
Darren Hughes, Chairman at Gilfach Goch RFC, explains:
“We have the playing pitch, but training on it as well would mean that it would get churned up easily. So, during the wet winter months we would pay to hire an indoor facility and this cost would be passed on to our families.
“The patch of land at the back of the pitch was an ideal size for a training facility but we knew we would need to secure finance so that we could carry out the required work.”
Gilfach Goch RFC, which has a history of support from Pennant Walters through its community fund, set about making another funding application and was delighted to secure the money over two years.
Darren continued:
“The money has been fantastic, and we have completed a raft of work. It’s allowed us to put in drainage, resurface the area, and install floodlights. I Honestly can’t tell you the difference it has made to everyone who plays for the club.
“We all know how stretched things have been over the past few years, so to have this support is just great. Our players, from youngsters through to our seniors, now have a great facility they can access and benefit from all year round, without having to travel further afield.
“Having a facility like this in our village means that people coming through the sport will benefit for years to come. On behalf of us all, I’d like to thank Pennant Walters for their continued support.”
The sponsorship provided by Pennant Walters is from a fund linked to two wind farms in the Gilfach Goch and Blackmill areas, Pant y Wal in the county of Bridgend, and Fforch Nest, which straddles the border of Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taf. The two sites have a total of 21 turbines producing 53 megawatts of clean electricity – enough to power the equivalent of 25,000 homes.
Pennant Walters Managing Director, Dale Hart, commented:
“We know how much of a positive impact sport has on the lives of people and when we learnt of the project, we were only too happy to support it.
“Our wind energy project community funds exist to make a difference to the local communities in which we work, and this training facility is a great example. We’re delighted that this money has been put to good use - benefitting the club’s players for years to come.”
Picture caption:
Rugby lovers benefit from Gilfach Goch RFC training pitch overhaul