Newark Rugby Club is set to be open for business this Saturday after flooding for the sixth time in just over a year.
Last weekend’s matches were postponed with their Kelham Road site once again underwater.
The flooding at Newark Rugby Club peaked between a foot and 18 inches towards the end of last week. Picture: David Pick
The ground sits on a floodplain by the River Trent and has suffered badly in a changing climate.
Water levels reached between a foot and 18 inches at their peak last Thursday and Friday.
Of last year’s five floods, three reached 3ft, falling in the severe category.
The club were well-prepared for the latest flood, with facilities manager David Pick staying abreast of developments via the Environment Agency and by monitoring the river level at Farndon.
“We know when it’s coming and we can make preparations,” said Pick.
“We have some Portakbins that are at ground level that we have to lift up.
“We’ve got a cafe, the Heron Cafe, that we put in over the last 12 months, so we lift that up on its legs to about 1.2m.
“The first aid unit, that’s about half a Portakbin, we do the same with that, and I have to take the motor off the pedestrian lift.
“Then we literally pick everything up that’s going to float away, like road cones, rugby post protectors, tackle bags, the corner flags, all that sort of thing.
“We did all that on Monday afternoon then we couldn’t do anything but sit and watch the water come through.”
Last year’s floods kept the ground closed for a total of 12 weeks and cost the club between £40,000-£45,000 in lost matchday revenue and social events which had to be cancelled.
But Newark teams are set to be back in action on home territory this Saturday (2.15pm).
The 2nds are due to host Birstall while the 3rd entertain Maltby Development.
There’s also a youth cup match scheduled for 1pm between Newark Colts Year 12/13s and Moderns NLD.
“We’re hopeful we will be playing games this weekend coming,” said Pick.
“I’ve had delivered four temporary toilets which we will have to use this week and for the next two to three weeks because our septic tank will be full of riverwater and it’s pointless us emptying it because it will just fill up again with groundwater.
“That’s going to cost us money but we look to our members and sponsors to support us where we can and we’ll do some more fundraising.”
There are no plans to move from their home of 75 years despite flooding issues.
Newark canvassed members a decade ago before going ahead with a refurbishment project which included raising the height of the clubhouse to 1.8m above ground level to protect against flooding.
Kelham Road is home to hundreds of senior and junior players and the membership understand the situation.
“Our players are accepting of that, they know we’ve got what we’ve got,” said Pick.
“What we have to do is pray we don’t get much more rain.
“I’m sure we will be going under again. I’ve been telling the board for the last three or four months.
“Last year may well have been an exception in the case of five floods but I’ve been telling them since October/November we will definitely flood again, it’s a matter of when.
“We’ve messed the climate up and we’re getting wetter winters and drier summers.
“In 2014/15, we did a survey of members, before we started the refurbishment project.
“There was a question on the questionnaire, saying we could look at buying an alternative ground, but the members, almost to a man, said, ‘No, Newark Rugby Club is Kelham Road, we want to stay there’.
“There’s no plans for us to move anywhere unless we’re flooding every week and then we might have to potentially.
“If we’re going to have two or three floods a year, with the help of our neighbours and friends, we’ll manage with what we’ve got.”
The club was well prepared for flooding after last year’s events. Picture: David Pick
Those neighbours and friends include The Magnus Academy, and other local schools, in making training facilities available.
Newark Showground have been the major support while Kelham Road has been out of action.
“During the 12 weeks of the five floods last year, we used the grass at the showground quite extensively,” said Pick.
“I’m on the showground council, as well as the rugby club, and we’ve got an arrangement with them.
“We’re just having some floodlights put up so we can train.
“We train on a Tuesday night, which is the seniors and the colts, and on a Wednesday night, the women train and the under-13s, 14s, 15s and 16s.
“We’ve got floodlit areas at the rugby club but when we can’t be at Kelham Road we have just sorted out with the showground for us to be able to go there to do evening training.
“We’ll be using the grass at the showground, particularly on a Sunday, when we can get 400-450 kids down between the ages of five and 18, and we don’t want to disappoint them.
“We must thank the showground because their support is absolutely unbelievable.
“Our big concern is, if we can’t train, that members will either stop coming down or they will go to another rugby club.
“We don’t want that to happen so we’re constantly trying to find areas to train.
“The schools at Grantham and Sleaford are good to us, the Magnus Academy is very good and the Newark Academy let us use their grass.”
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
The post Newark Rugby Club set to reopen after sixth flood in just over a year at their Kelham Road ground first appeared on Rugby 247.
—-
Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2025-01-15 07:54:56
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.