Cash Boost For Sport

Fife rugby club to receive six figure sum from SportScotland.

An ambitious sports project based in Cupar has just received a major boost with the decision of sportscotland to award it £350,000. The development will see modern changing facilities, fitness and meeting rooms, being built in a new sports facility at the Duffus Park.

Bill Robertson, president of Howe of Fife rugby club which is driving the project forward described the award as a tremendous boost towards creating the sports facility which it is estimated will cost £1.4 million; the biggest single investment in sports facilities in north east Fife for two decades.

The sportscotland award follows an offer of £450,000 from Fife Council Community Investment Fund along with a number of other grants and fund raising projects by the Howe of Fife RFC has pushed the amount raised so far to almost £1 million.

Bill said:

"I would like to thank sportscotland for this award. It makes it much easier to approach other funders knowing we have had such a strong endorsement from both the local authority and the premier sports funding organisation in Scotland. 

"A great deal of effort has gone into ensuring the sportscotland bid has been successful and I would like to thank the staff at Fife Voluntary Action in helping us prepare the bid."

Mr Robertson described the building of the new sports facility with its changing rooms and meeting facilities as 'providing twenty first century facilities for sportspeople in North East Fife.'

"The rugby club alone has upwards of 300 youngsters training every week and we desperately need modern changing rooms and back up facilities. Our current premises just cannot cope with the numbers of young people who now want to participate in sport."

He stressed that the new facility would be open to other clubs and sportspeople who would be able to benefit from the development.

Internally, the Howe of Fife have also set themselves a target of raising a substantial amount of cash and have a programme of events to help them meet their goal. Club members have already raised £30,000 through a number of events. This included a very successful fund raising dinner with former rugby Internationals, John Beattie and Doddie Weir speaking at the function.  

He also revealed the club would be selling its current clubhouse in Provost Wynd in the centre of Cupar as part of its fund raising efforts. 

"It is the best part of one mile from the Duffus Park and that makes it difficult for us to cater for visiting clubs.
“We hope the new facility with its community cafe will provide a point where those bringing youngsters in for training can have a cup of tea as well as those just using the park as a recreational area."
 
Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: 

"We are delighted that our investment will help to create a fabulous new facility which will become a crucial part of the Duffus Park Community Sport Hub.
 
"Sportscotland is investing £1.5 million of National Lottery funding each year into the Community Sports Hubs programme and the initiative is already providing more opportunities for communities to engage in an active, healthy lifestyle.
 
"Every Hub works on the same basic principles but each has the flexibility to identify the needs of the community.  This focus on local needs ensures that all partners get behind the approach and the work they do has the biggest impact."