Our Vision

Our vision is to create and support an environment that promotes, develops and sustains opportunities for women and girls to participate and achieve their potential in Rugby.

Our Mission

Our mission is for Rugby to be recognised as one of the most enjoyable and empowering team sports for women and girls and to advance the development of Women’s Rugby by:

·         Fostering international success

·         Growing participation and interest in RFUW.

Our Values

            Vision                                      Teamwork

            Leadership                              Accountability

            Trust                                        Humility

            Integrity                                    Inclusiveness

            Respect                                              Dedication

            Transparency

Interpreted for our external stakeholders that we will:

·         Be inclusive and responsive to achieve buy-in

·         Be responsive to their needs

·         Listen and communicate openly

·         Be open and transparent

Interpreted for our internal stakeholders that we will:

·         Strive for excellence and innovation

·         Be co-operative and work as a team

·         Listen and communicate openly

·         Value the well being and diversity of our people

Strategic Goals

Governance:                           Ensure RFUW provides effective management of the game for women and girls and for a sustainable organisation.

Development/Participation:     In partnership with regions, counties and clubs ensure that there are development programmes for women and girls which will lead to an increase in the numbers of women and girls interested in and participating in Rugby.

Competitions:                          Provide for meaningful international competition and the development of appropriate domestic competition.

High Performance:                  Raise the standard of performance of international teams, coaches and match officials.

Commercial:                           Maximise commercial opportunities for the women’s game.

Promotion:                              Raise the profile, awareness and acceptance of women and girls in Rugby.

Governance

·         RFUW will operate within an effective corporate governance framework in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, rules and regulations of the company as may be amended from time to time, by the membership.

·         Policies required by legislation, government or best practice will be implemented and maintained under continuous review.

·         RFUW will provide a safe environment for all to participate in Rugby at all levels of the game irrespective of age, ability, race, religion, ethnic origin, creed, colour, nationality, social status or sexual orientation.

·         RFUW will ensure that its Board has a range of experience and skills necessary to discharge its responsibilities and that appropriate attention is given to succession.

·         RFUW will manage employees and key volunteers in accordance with employment legislation and best practice management principles.

·         RFUW will operate a sound system of financial management including planning, policies, controls and reporting thereby ensuring the ongoing financial health of the organisation.

·         RFUW will ensure that conditions attached to grant aid or sponsorship are understood and are met.

·         RFUW will monitor the key performance indicators, which will measure progress towards delivery of the strategic goals implicit in this plan.

·         RFUW will identify the risks attaching to its business and to delivery of its goals and will seek to manage theses so as to ensure the sustainability of the organisation.

·         RFUW will create and maintain appropriate partnerships that will assist RFUW deliver its key strategies and objectives.  RFUW will in particular work in partnership with RFU to achieve integration at the whole sport level.

·         RFUW will embrace new technologies allowing it to enhance its communication with all its stakeholders.

Development/Participation

The RFUW’s role is to develop the game of rugby for women and girls and to increase participation in all areas of the game, whether this is playing, coaching, refereeing, administrating or watching the game.  We will be working with all partners to achieve this aim and in particular seeking to develop the relationship and partnership with the RFU as a critical way forward.

·         RFUW will adopt a collaborative approach to the development and delivery of national programme with regions

·         RFUW will aim to ensure that by working to a Development Plan current clubs are sustainable for the long term.  RFUW will work towards ensuring that there is coverage of women’s clubs across the country so that all women have reasonable access to a club.  RFUW will work with the RFU’s Constituent Bodies to ensure access to and development of girls’ rugby.

·         RFUW will support and maintain university participation through work with the RFU on joint development plans ensuring support for development of both players, coaches; and the recognition of safety issues for women recently taking up the game.

·         RFUW will encourage university sides to work with existing women’s clubs to ensure players are retained in the game when they leave university.

·         RFUW will work with the RFU to agree joint targets for girls’ involvement in Rugby at school and ensuring that participation at school will lead into ongoing participation at clubs.  Further work on partnership with the RFU will include supporting them with schools registration and teacher courses as well as providing an introduction to rugby to girls both in and out of the curriculum.

·         RFUW will work with the RFU to ensure an appropriate level of insurance is maintained to protect those registered participants in the game.

·         RFUW will work through the RFU structures and systems to increase both the quantity and quality of qualified coaches at all levels in the women’s game.

·         RFUW will work with the RFU to encourage participation and development of female referees providing opportunities for their progression through different levels of the game.

·         RFUW will work with the RFU to increase the number of volunteers working within the women’s game and ensure they have appropriate training to deliver their roles and recognition for the contribution they make.

·         RFUW will work with the RFU to improve access to participate in rugby for low participant and/or disadvantaged groups.

·         RFUW will support the RFU and the role of clubs in building and promoting informal participation for all sections of the community.

·         RFUW will provide a quality and sustainable player development framework to ensure all players have a chance to improve their standards of play and that aspiring and potentially elite players have early access to holistic player development opportunities.

·         RFU will fully participate with the IRB in development of the game globally.

Competitions

·         RFUW will seek to increase the awareness of women’s Rugby and the profile of the game in England through bidding to host WRWC 2010, the European Championships and participating in the WRWC 7’s as well as continuing participation in the six nations.

·         RFUW will organise and regulate in accordance with safe and appropriate regulations and boundaries, a comprehensive domestic competition programme for all levels (including age grades) of the game, ensuring a positive experience of the game of rugby for all that participate.

High Performance

·         RFUW will foster the success of England athletes at international level with the objectives of winning the WRWC 2010.  RFUW will provide direct athlete support services to enhance achievement of that goal.

·         RFUW will ensure the development of the next generation of high performance athletes by nurturing and developing the national youth programme and optimising the identification of talent through the development resources of regional programmes.

·         In support of athlete development RFUW will ensure a pool of quality high performance coaches and officials.

·         To seek competitive advantage RFUW will foster research and development initiatives in high performance in the field of sports science and medicine.

·         RFUW will adopt, implement and enforce anti-doping policies, rules and programmes that conform to and comply with the IRB and UK Sport anti-doping core provisions.

Commercial

·         RFUW’s aspiration is to reduce and ultimately remove its dependency on public funding.  This will necessitate RFUW identifying and growing new sources of revenue to support its strategic aspirations.

·         RFUW will use the unique aspect of Rugby for women and girls to attract commercial sponsorship maximising the market value of RFUW properties.

·         RFUW will monitor and seek to take advantage of funding applications, which include opportunities for women and girls.

Promotion

·         RFUW will ensure it has a structured approach to PR, which enables promotion of the game to create interest, attract new members and build a broader community awareness.

·         RFUW will seek to use appropriate curtain raisers to male matches  to maximise exposure, energy and acceptance.

·         RFUW will embrace new initiatives for information and communication technologies.