Agriculture and construction equipment and services group Agricar has joined our team of sponsors.
The trust was founded in 2017 to increase public participation in sport, particularly rugby union and rugby league, in the Forfar, Kirriemuir and Brechin areas to benefit community health and wellbeing as well as develop young people into healthy, positive members of the community through the positive ethos and values of rugby.
It’s since developed to run projects for people of all ages and abilities, including rugby for primary children with or undergoing diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their siblings, Walking Rugby for adults, Unified Rugby for adults and youths with disabilities and a Rugby Academy for senior school pupils to learn life as well as rugby skills. It also works with partners on projects to benefit older and isolated people through regular events to chat and enjoy group activities.
Award
The trust, which works in partnership with Strathmore RFC, Brechin RFC, sportscotland, Scottish Rugby, Scotland Rugby League and Sporting Memories, has had its activities recognised at the Scottish Charity Awards with the Pioneering Project Award in 2020 for the ASD rugby project, a Royal visit in July 2019 by TRH The Duke & Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke becoming its Royal Patron in August 2020.
The trust funds its work from a range of sources including grants, donations and events as well as sponsorship by companies including Stracathro Estates and Shepherd Chartered Surveyors. It has a range of opportunities for others looking to show their commitment to supporting community wellbeing.
Family values
Multi-award-winning Forfar-based Agricar Group has now joined the team of sponsors as part of its support for the Angus communities it’s based in. “As a family business strong on family values, we’re proud to support The Strathmore Community Rugby Trust and all it’s involved in because it makes a very positive impact on the lives of many individuals in the local area as well as the wider community,” said Agricar Director, Wendy Smith.
Trust Vice-Chair, Gordon Cairns, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Agricar to our team of vital sponsors as it’s a local company with a long history of being invested socially and economically in Angus and shares our ethos of developing the community through its people.
“There are a range of ways companies and other organisations can support the trust’s work. For more information, or for an informal chat, email”
For more information about the Trust and how you can support us, go here.
All of our projects rely on the support of the people in our community. Ian is one of our volunteer enablers for our Unified Rugby Team – the Strathie Clan. The Strathie Clan is a team for adults with additional support needs, and we also have a youth version for young people in S1-S6 called our youth unified rugby team.
Ian’s role as an enabler is to get the players playing rugby. It’s about getting the players involved in the game, getting the ball into their hands and getting them running round the park and scoring tries. Both teams train weekly on a Wednesday and we also arrange matches with other Clan’s throughout Scotland.
We are looking for more enablers to help support both programmes. Ideally you would have a little knowledge of rugby but it’s not essential. The players are supported by their peers so for the Strathie Clan we are looking for adults, for the youth unified rugby team we are looking for players in S1-S6. For more information about each programme click the links below.
If you think this is something you would like to help with we would love to hear from you. Drop us an email to info@strathmoretrust.co.uk or contact us through our social media pages. We look forward to hearing from you!
We have a number of fabulous prizes up for grabs in our Christmas raffle! For just £5 you’ll get 10 ticket entries and be in with a chance of winning prizes such as a 1 night stay in an Eco Pod, a pair of return train tickets to London, a rugby ball signed by the Scotland Team, fitness equipment from Always, Trust merchandise, Maasai Mass gymwear voucher and much more!
So don’t miss out, get your tickets here https://go.rallyup.com/scrtchritmasraffle
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR 2021
When: Saturday, 18th December 2021
Where: Strathmore Rugby Club, Inchmacoble, Forfar, DD8 1RL
Time: 10am (registration opens 9.15am)
Cost: Adults £10, children £5 with all proceeds going to Strathmore Community Rugby Trust
Earn that Christmas dinner! Join us for a morning of fun all whilst raising money for a great cause. Strathmore Community Rugby Trust will be holding a fun run around the Forfar Loch. Join us on the 18th December where you can run, jog or walk around our loop of the Loch and raise funds to help the Trust continue it’s great work and justify yourself Christmas meal.
The route can be viewed here: Strathie Jingle Jog. Mapometer.com running route #5321170
To enter visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/strathie-jingle-jog-tickets-211067708197
What your money will help us with:
We currently deliver 7 projects, all at no costs to our participants. This includes Autism-Friendly Rugby for primary school children, Visually Impaired Rugby, Youth Unified Rugby, Walking rugby, Unified Rugby and our Rugby Academy. Your support will help us continue to deliver these projects at no cost and therefore allow more people to get involved.
All participants will receive a santa hat to run in, a finishers medal and entry into our fantastic raffle! Prizes include:
Overnight stay in the Eco Pods Kilry, 2 return tickets to London courtesy of LNER, fitness equipment courtesy of Always and goodies courtesy of Scotmid.
We are delighted to launch our new rugby session for children aged 5 and under! The sessions will start in January 2022 and will initially run at Forfar Community Campus on Sunday mornings.
The sessions will provide an exciting new weekly rugby sessions for little ones who are keen to start their rugby journey. Our safe and structured sessions are run by qualified coaches who will introduce your little ones to the fantastic sport of rugby.
The sessions will cost £6.50 per session and will run in blocks. Children will learn skills, play games and take on the values of rugby all whilst having the most fun. Spaces are limited so book now to avoid disappointment by visiting https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/208671781917.
Dates: Sunday January 9th 2022 – Sunday February 13th 2022 (6 sessions)
Times:
Ages 2-3.5 years old – 9.45-10.15am
Ages: 3.5-5 years old – 10.30-11.15am
Location: Forfar Community Campus
More info: Contact Katie via info@strathmoretrust.co.uk.
Strathmore Community Rugby Trust are delighted to offer a new sport for visually impaired adults in Tayside, giving them the chance to improve their physical and mental wellbeing through specially-modified weekly rugby sessions.
The Trust is adding visually impaired rugby to the list of projects it already runs, including rugby and life lessons for High School pupils, walking rugby and our award-winning Autism-Friendly Rugby for primary pupils.
The sessions will be held every Sunday at Forfar Community Campus (starting on 21 November) from 10.45am till noon and will be open to anyone over the age of 18, regardless of fitness or ability level, whose visual impairment falls between B1 and B5 in the British Blind Sport sight classification system. Details of the classifications can be found at https://britishblindsport.org.uk/educationandresearch/classifications/
Wellbeing
The weekly event will aim to provide visually-impaired adults with an opportunity to be more active and improve their physical and mental wellbeing by playing a specially-modified version of the game. The first will be held on Sunday November 21.
Visually-Impaired (VI) Rugby is similar to touch rugby. Played seven-a-side, it uses a ball containing ball bearings and bells to make it audible. Players wear numbered bibs so the referee, who commentates throughout to help them know where the ball is and what’s happening, can identify players on the pitch.
Play takes elements from both the Union and League codes – so features uncontested scrums and line-outs, two-hand touch tackles after which the tackled player places the ball between their legs and the tackling team have to retreat five metres as well as a turnover ball after six tackles.
First in Scotland
VI Rugby is already well-established in England and Wales – with teams at Worcester, Swansea and Cardiff – thanks to the work of sports charity The Change Foundation. It’s working with Strathmore Community Rugby Trust to establish the game in Scotland for the first time, alongside the RNIB, North East Sensory Services, Scottish Disability Sport, Guide Dogs and Scottish War Blind.
Anyone interested can find out more here. If you’re interested in taking part, you should contact us by emailing info@strathmoretrust.co.uk or messaging us on Facebook, Messenger, Twitter or Instagram.
Local sponsor sought
Financial support for the new project has already been received from Angus Health and Social Care Partnership, The National Lottery Awards for All and the Colin Grant Trust. An extra local sponsor is also being sought. Any businesses interested should contact the Trust.
Community Trust Manager, Maggie Lawrie, said: “We are really excited to be bringing Visually-Impaired Rugby to Scotland. Rugby is such an inclusive sport and VI Rugby is another example of how the game can be made available to the whole community.
“For the Trust, providing this opportunity allows us to continue to fulfil our values of rugby, health and community. We’re really excited to be leading the way this and look forward to seeing where the journey takes us.”
Alex Bassan, Head of Business Development at The Change Foundation said: “We are thrilled to be working with Strathmore Community Rugby Trust to bring VI Rugby to Scotland.
“Our aim is to help change lives through sport and in doing so enable as many people as possible to reap the benefits of sport. I’ve seen first-hand the enjoyment players get from the game and the friendships which are created. It’s also great to see people doing something they never thought would be possible – whether that be enjoying a game they used to play before their sight deteriorated or starting something new.
“If anyone would like to find out more about The Change Foundation or VI Rugby, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
For more information about the Trust visit our About Us section.
