From left, David Godfrey and Steve Bold of North Bristol RFC.
NORTH BRISTOL Rugby Club has won £5,000 to improve its facilities for female players after coming out on top in a national competition.
The thriving rugby club managed to secure the most votes in Selco Builders Warehouse’s Community Heroes contest. North Bristol RFC was one of 12 good causes shortlisted by the leading builders merchant in the competition, with the general public selecting the winner in a month-long vote throughout February. The rugby club secured almost a third of the 10,000-plus votes cast.
Punk Against Poverty, meanwhile, won £1,000 as runner-up with a 12% share of the vote. The Community Interest Company provides support to families in Exeter and Torquay, including supplying free school uniforms to children in need.
Steve Bold, club chairman at North Bristol RFC, said the money would be spent on the women’s game. He said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won Selco’s Community Heroes competition and would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for us. This money will make a huge difference to the club and in particular our female players and spectators. It will allow us to upgrade the female toilets and changing areas which will be a huge boost. When our clubhouse was built in around 1986 women’s rugby was not considered, but that area of the game has grown tremendously. We need to keep investing and making improvements to our facilities so that we are accessible to all.
“The Community Heroes competition has been very exciting to be involved in. It’s fantastic that Selco is getting involved with charities and community groups right across the country.”
Selco has two branches in Bristol on Taurus Road in Filton and Cater Road in Bishopsworth.
Each of the 12 Community Heroes finalists had already won £500 worth of building materials from Selco before voting began.
Carine Jessamine, marketing director at Selco, said: “A huge congratulations to North Bristol RFC for being crowned our Community Heroes champions, and also to Punk Against Poverty for coming second. North Bristol RFC is a fantastic club with 21 teams across men’s, women’s and junior rugby. They make a really positive impact on their local community and this money will help them progress further. This year’s Community Heroes competition was extremely successful with more than 2,000 entries and 10,000 votes. Thank you to everyone who took part. It’s a great privilege to be able to support good causes in the areas in which we operate.”
The 12 finalists were: Bury Veterans Hub, 13th Warrington East Scout Group, Coventry Foodbank, Downham Men’s Group, Educ8/S.T.A.R.S, Haxby & Wigginton Youth & Community Association, North Bristol RFC, Punk Against Poverty CIC, Sirhowy Valley Hub, St John Ambulance Cymru, Up The Garden Bath CIC and Watford Mencap.
For contact details, see page 6 of our April/May 2023 issue on our Back Issues page.
