Club rugby: Big year for Te Awamutu Sports Junior Rugby committee

It has been a huge 12 months for the Te Awamutu Sports Junior Rugby committee, from buying a community BBQ trailer to winning The Young People’s Rugby World Cup in France.

With almost 350 kids aged 4-13, the junior club is one of the largest in Waikato.

They have three 12th-grade teams in the top-grade Waikato Central Junior Rugby alone.

“When we get full here, we see if Marist or Pirongia have got some spots for players,” committee member Ray Brindle says.

The committee say it’s all about community support, giving everyone a go, keeping positive and working together.

They’re overwhelmed by the help and support they have received from Te Awamutu in the past year.

In 2022, they raised over $12,000 to buy a community BBQ trailer which has far exceeded its intent. Saturday barbecues alone raised over $2000 to invest back into the club.

Vice-president Heath Lunjevich says they’re grateful to Caltex Te Awamutu, which supplies them with the gas.

Plenty of other community groups and events have made use of the trailer too – a great way to get the Te Awamutu Sports name out in the community.

Some of the generous sponsors involved with the BBQ trailer are LJ Hooker, Qubik, Filokreto, Empire Concrete Pumping, Luxe Designer Homes, Chris Odlum Electrical, TA Bulk Water Supplies, King Cooling, Deane Mark Auto Electrical, Bowers & Son Concrete, Wraptrade, OnPoint Earthworks, HB Farms, Fuel Storage, Work For You, TradeZone, Magills Butchery, Caltex Te Awamutu, FreshChoice Te Awamutu, Pak’nSave Te Awamutu and Vetora Waikato.

“It’s been a big asset for us because these days there’s limited funding for any sport,” Brindle says.

“That’s one of the big things in the last three years, the committee has done a big job of getting the support of the community and also looking at other avenues of creating those funds to keep our fees down. That way families can afford to pay.”

Their fees are as little as $50 with no charge for socks and shorts, kit that the players get to keep.

Other new supporters include Property Brokers New Zealand and Power Farming. The junior club are also making a shift to local company Kukri for teamwear.

They’re pushing to give their junior coaches club apparel to help them feel appreciated too.

“We’re heavily invested in trying to give them the tools or whatever they need to make it easier for them coaching. It can be a big job. We want to keep them wanting to come back,” Brindle says.

Players are the junior club’s biggest focus, though, making sure they have fun and retaining them for the future.

In 2017, the Year 8 players started receiving caps with their Te Awamutu Sports playing numbers on them.

“It’s a little token to reward them for their loyalty. Hopefully, that’s another tool of getting them to come back and play for Sports [after high school],” Brindle says.

After the successful trip to France for The Young People’s Rugby World Cup earlier this month, the junior club are now looking at future options.

There are talks of an annual trip to Australia for the older junior teams, but of course, they would have to fundraise as a team for this – a great opportunity to give representatives a goal to work towards before heading to high school.

Brindle has been a committee member for 15 years and will step down at the season’s end.

He has seen many changes to the face of junior rugby over that period.

“The biggest change would have to be that real hot topic, sideline behaviour. When I first joined, that was the bad old days of some pretty abusive behaviour from the sideline,” he says.

“In the last four years, we’ve started to see the change. You very seldom see that behaviour. That’s something we’ve all strived to be a part of.

“The other change I’ve seen is the success of some of the senior teams. It all stems back to the support we gave them as junior [players]. That would have to be the biggest success for us.”

Lunjevich says Brindle will leave a big hole to fill and they’re looking for a replacement.

“We’re a committee of 10 people but there’s always enough work for 20 people.”

The club would like to thank the community and supporters for everything they have contributed, whether it been time or money – without the community, they couldn’t exist. Parental support has also been massive this year.

The committee encourages members to support the people who support them.

“It’s not just us 12 that sit at the table once a month, it’s the whole community,” Lunjevich says.

If you’re interested in joining the committee, keep an eye on social media for the November AGM.

2023 Te Awamutu Sports Junior Rugby committee:

Larn Berge, Carla Botha, Ray Brindle, John Devoy, Ryley Emery, Alana Fisher (secretary), Nick Gold (president), Andy Gower, Heath Lunjevich (vice president), Renee Munce (treasurer), Eleri Williams.

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