As a part of our commitment to Support the Club Community, Rugby Ontario developed the Club Development Self-Assessment Tool. The tool is built on the work of the emPowering the Prairies Club Development Series and Standards and designed to help clubs identify areas of strength and need within the club compared to best practices, and to measure growth and development over time. In addition, by submitting your results as a club, Rugby Ontario will be able to identify provincial trends as well as individual strengths and needs, which will help to focus club development efforts and resources and ensure that the needs of all clubs across the province are being met.
The tool is divided into the following ten sections:
Building from the Club Development Self-Assessment Tool, Rugby Ontario introduced the Club Development Series to support the growth and development of member clubs across the province. The first instalment of the series ran from October 2023 – April 2024 and consisted of free webinars to assist clubs in identified areas of interest and need. The sessions featured experienced speakers from within and outside the rugby community with lived and professional experience with the session topics.
With the goal of bringing our club community together to build relationships, learn, problem solve, and share best practices, the inaugural Club Development Conference was held November 25th 2023 as a hybrid event to increase accessibility for all interested in the development of club rugby in Ontario. The theme of the conference was Retain and Grow and sessions featured presentations from Rugby Development Manager, Jocelyn Poirier, as well as breakout group discussions on group identified topics related to retention and growth. The conference received positive feedback from all attendees and represented, along with other Club Development initiatives launched in 2023, a significant shift toward centering development work around community clubs as the foundation for all rugby in the province.