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Links to:
- Lancashire 'Blacksticks
Blue' Junior Challenge
(home page)
- Lancashire's Junior
County Squads
(sponsored by
Butlers Farmhouse
Cheeses)
For more about the sponsors:
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- The Barclays Under
11s and Under 12s
Mini Festival Cup
For more about the sponsors:
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(scheme now closed)
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Barclays & Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses
invest distinctive flavour to Junior Rugby
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Lancashire’s Junior Rugby has attracted two significant new sponsors in recent weeks, kept under wraps until the deliberations of the final Sportsmatch Panel meeting were published.
News of Lancashire’s successful application to be included in the very last list of matched-funding awards made by Sportsmatch, the Government agency that for 15 years has promoted business backing of grassroots sport, is a welcome boost to the growth of junior rugby in the County.
Two competitions: the hugely successful format developed by the County three years ago and a new, innovative tournament for Mini Rugby, are both set to benefit from two three-year sponsorship deals, as will the extensive development and representative programme offered the Red Rose County.
In a major investment, the award winning cheese maker, Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses of Inglewhite, near Preston, has agreed to support the County’s season-long ‘BLACKSTICKS BLUE’ Junior Challenge for the Under 13s to Under 16s age groups.
Thirty-five clubs, over 100 teams and well over 2000 players are involved in an competition which starts in September and reaches its conclusion at the end of April with two strongly-contested festival days, both providing a celebration of junior rugby in Lancashire.
Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses, with dairies in Preston, Cheshire and South Africa, is well known for its “Blacksticks Blue” variety and the brand takes a distinctive position on the cheese counters of most of the UK supermarket shelves.
In addition to sponsoring the 375-match competition, the company will also be supporting the Junior County squads as ‘headline’ sponsors. ‘BLACKSTICKS BLUE’ will appear on all the Lancashire shirts worn by the Under 14s to Under 18s representative sides.
Colin Hall, Managing Director of the family company, was delighted to learn that the three-year investment had attracted the eye of the Sportsmatch Panel during a very competitive bidding process.
“Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses is delighted to be associated with Lancashire County RFU, and to take the thriving junior competition forward for the next three years. ‘Blacksticks Blue’ is one of our principal brands, and we are looking forward to our association with Lancashire rugby and the players involved.”
Image: County Treasurer, Bob Grant & Colin Hall in Butlers' Preston dairy
From the same Sportsmatch meeting, Barclays Commercial’s interest in the new series of Lancashire Mini Festivals for Under 11s and Under 12s was also recognised.
With informal triangular fixtures played regularly throughout the county, Lancashire has arranged a series of ‘festival’ days to take place during the season. Each club will play in two such events, the outcome of which will determine the participants in the first ‘BARCLAYS’ Minis Triangular Festival Cup to be held at Blackburn on Sunday, 30th March 2008.
Jeremy Smith, Regional Director of the Barclays Commercial Finance Team, based in Manchester, is very pleased to be involved with the youngsters’ rugby matches.
“Barclays Commercial is delighted to support and invest in new ideas. Lancashire approached us with an innovative structure to develop competitive rugby for the ‘mini’ age group, emphasising the traditional fun and family atmosphere.”
Barclays Commercial Bank provides relationship banking to 151,000 larger and medium business customers in the UK (£1m to £1bn turnover). Jeremy Smith and his Corporate Finance team provide local business with asset-based lending – a form of finance which allows businesses to borrow money based on the value of the range of assets that it has, from debtors to stock, property and/or plant and machinery items.
County Treasurer, Robert Grant, is very appreciative of the two companies’ involvement.
“We have set ourselves a long term-aim to build lasting and productive relationships with major commercial partners.
Both Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses and Barclays Commercial are now key members of the ‘Club Lancashire’ team.”
