By Alastair May

Glossop Rugby Club members are celebrating the installation of their new match quality floodlights. Training had traditionally been with the aid of other peoples’ lighting cast offs, and “pretty unsatisfactory” according to project co-ordinator Steve Ford. “We can now play under lights as well as being able to see at training,” he said.
Director of Rugby Richard Thomas is excited at the prospect of what is to come. “It will open up a whole range of new possibilities.”

This is a big step forward for the Midlands 3 club, following close on this summer’s pitch drainage work. Said Steve Ford, “We wanted to go for lights, but not before we had made sure that the pitches could cope with the additional use. We live in one of the wettest parts of the country, and well drained pitches were the first step. Chairman Richard Parker managed that project via grants from Sport England and the Green Spaces Initiative Lottery Fund, and now with the aid of a grant and a loan from the Rugby Football Foundation, we’re going to be lit up! It really is fantastic news for everyone at the club, and a fitting testimonial to President John Shaylor who died in a tragic bike accident in the spring. John did much of the early work and would have been very proud.”