Long Term Development of the Bowdoin Men's Rugby Club

[Andy Palmer]

Hope you are good.  I had a chance to spend some time with this years undergrad club over the spring season (my son Jonah started playing 2nd row with the Portland Power Pigs U19 team).  I've been blown away with the strong camaraderie/brotherhood off the field as well as their performance on the field - clearly the club is as strong as ever - thanks in large part to Rick and the other coaches as well as the hard work of the undergrads and all of the alums.  

Over the past 5+ years, with tremendous support from alums from the '70s through to the '00's -  we've made significant progress in the development of the club - some of the outcomes of this work include:

  - Scoreboard sponsored by alumni (special thanks to the original founders of the club from the 1970's who stepped up and drove this effort)
  - Trainers for games and practices
  - Section on Bowdoin.edu website - http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/mrugby/index

  - Annual Alumni Match during Homecoming – regularly 30+ alumni
  - Annual Alumni Tour – USA 7’s in San Diego/Vegas or Six Nations – regularly 25+ alumni
  - Alumni Website, Facebook (186), Google (62) & Linkedin (21)
  - Alumni Contact List Development – 350+

The tone of our discussions with the college administration regarding the role of the club in the overall Bowdoin community has changed significantly in the past few years.  I believe that we've passed an inflection point where the folks at the college (both individually and collectively) now believe that rugby is not only a long term reality at Bowdoin (they are starting to understand that we're not going away ;) - but perhaps more importantly - they have begun to recognize that our club contributes significantly to the experience of many Bowdoin undergrads and creates unique interpersonal bonds which the college values greatly for a whole bunch of reasons.  An additional change over the past few years is the college's appreciation for the value of rugby relative to the cost of supporting the program - the college views rugby as similar to crew - which has been very successful club sport over the past decade - and they also view rugby as relatively inexpensive to support vs. crew or other varsity sports such as Football - a point that Morgan Binswanger and Tad Renvyle (aka Pisser)  have been relentlessly pushing on the administration for more than a decade.  

Based on the change in attitude by the college (validated all the way to the top of the administration) and the potential to get some significant improvements for the club - there has been a bunch of alums talking to various key folks at the college as well as long conversations with Rick and the other coaches about areas where the club could use support from the college and how the alums can also provide support - both financial and time/energy.  The college has embraced the idea of us promoting directed giving straight to the club (in addition to what people normally give as part of their annual giving) and that these funds would be matched with the administrative support required for the club to develop to the next level and ensure that the strong traditions that we all appreciate (both on and off the field) will continue for decades to come -  as a permanent and core part of the Bowdoin Experience.  It's critical to note that these proposed changes are intended to continue our traditions as a club sport - including the strong independent identity which is reinforced by players who work closely with the coaches to run the club themselves every year.  Also - everyone that we've heard from/talked to has emphasized the importance of the strong social culture of the club - the third half matters as much as the first two for many alums and players - and has always been a critical element of what makes the club unique and what bonds us all together (a little bit lounder and a little bit worse!)

I've attempted to summarize the list of items that have been identified as priorities for 2011 and also for the following 4-5 years - this is a list that results from great input and collaboration from many different alums, players and the coaches - but it's critical to get feedback from you to help ensure that we've got the right list.  I've also posted this to the Facebook group and will get feedback from there - but wanted to make sure that anyone who wasn't on Facebook had the same information.  I'll integrate feedback and circulate changes - ultimately this is a  list of stuff that - in order to support - will require all of us stepping up and writing a check or two - but no matter how big or small the check - participation from all will be essential for us to be successful in ensuring the future of the club.

Draft of proposed changes in 2011 for undergrad club:

+ Improvement to coach salary essentially = what women's coach gets paid as varsity
+ Office for coaches
+ Transportation for away games incl. post-season
+ Consistent compensation & expense reimb for assistant coaches
+ Incidentals budget for coaching staff
+ New kit for each new player each year
+ New Balls each year X 5
+ Players paid to do administrative/scheduling/communications like other sports
+ Scheduling support for all matches – regular and postseason
+ Video-taping of all home matches
+ Reasonable gym and turf privileges = other sports
+ Active discussion with admissions regarding candidates

Plans for 2012 - 1016
+ International Student Scholarship
+ 2nd Paid Coaching position
+ Annual Funded Undergrad Tour to rugby playing country
+ Annual paid visiting coach
+ Clubhouse with lockers and social facility @ field

Additionally - the list of items that alums have said are most important to them - include the following - which would be essential part of the development plan :

2011
+ Weekly email updates including pictures and video clips during the season
+ Alumni fundraising drive including matching program
+ Archive of pictures, video, Orient articles
+ Active outreach to and engagement of all rugby alumni from '70's through present

2012 - 2016
+ Comprehensive Club History + Video
+ Rugby World Cup Tour (probably in 2015) for Alums including players from‘70’s, ‘80’s, ‘90’s, ‘00’s, ‘10’s (could also imagine doing trip to Olympics for the Olympic 7's)
+ Large reunion event at homecoming coinciding with clubhouse – include families, etc.

Please send me any thought/comments and I'll aggregate/integrate feedback.

A

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Andy Palmer
603.505.7373
andy....@gmail.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/andypalmer

 

[Matthew Torrington]

go boy!

Count me in if you need help, but it appears you have things in hand.

peace

m.a.t.

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Matthew A. Torrington, MD

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