CROWDFUNDING TO HELP maintain a playable Port-e-Chee .
BY Carl Murray
1 May 2020
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Website: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/carl-murray?utm_term=ZdyNAqbG9
We’re raising £9,500 to help Douglas Rugby Club maintain playable Port-e-Chee pitches.
During the 2017/18 season 3 matches were played at Ballafletcher and 1 in Ramsey, not to mention the many Celts & junior fixtures cancelled, here´s a couple photo’s from that season.
So where are we up to? Well, post TT June 2018, we sat down with UK pitch professional´s (TGMS) and prepared a cost effective plan to prepare the pitches for the 2018/19 season, ready for playing rugby September 2018. Douglas Rugby Club had initial plans to construct a state-of-the-art pitch (£150,000+), but a heavy price mark and lease agreement issues put a big holt on that. The below price list excludes vat and weekly cutting, but gives an overview of this summers plans.
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180 tonnes of sand (100 first pitch, 80 second pitch) |
£4,860 |
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Delivered and spread |
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Verti drain |
£400 |
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Brush pitch |
£75 |
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Harrow pitches |
£100 |
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Fertiliser (spread) |
£210 |
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Grass seed for both pitches |
£1,120 |
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Sow grass seeds |
£400 |
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REPAIR 2ND PITCH |
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30m tonnes soil (JCK) |
£450 |
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Estimate for work |
£300 |
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Total price incl vat |
£9,498 |
The key to all of this is the fact that we need to follow a procedure for the next 5 years to have a sustainable outcome. So it is imperative that the club raises enough funds (£10000) in order to meet the cost of this year’s maintenance.
The funding towards pitch maintenance comes from the TT Campsite & Bar Revenue. With Off-Shore travel costing the club over £42,000 including RFU contribution of £20,000, the pitch maintenance takes a back step. After conversations with our Grounds man Jasper Kirkpatrick, we´ve been warned that not fulfilling this year maintenance will cause 2 giant steps backwards. What Port-e-Chee has looked like since 2018 & 2019 ground works,
How do we do this? Apart from the strategy meetings, fundraising meetings, RFU funding applications, IOM Government communications, looking at how we promote and sell ourselves?
All done by our fantastic Committee who give their time and experience to the project.
This is a situation brought on by the coronavirus, but with club support we can continue to move forward. With no TT Campsite or Clubhouse/Bar Revenue the club has no income for our usual yearly pitch maintenance. We have made cost cuts from £15,000 to £9,500 at this stage.
We need your help, its necessary in order to ensure regular fixtures at Port-e-Chee in 2020/21 and the future.
Together we can achieve and ensure a playing pitch for 2020 and beyond.
Thanks & Best Regards
Carl Murray
Douglas Rugby Club CEO
