Before Tynedale RFC became incorporated, Full members of the club were the only category of membership with voting rights at Annual and Extra-Ordinary General Meetings. Since incorporation, however, every category of membership is now enfranchised. At present, Full membership brings few benefits which are not available to any other adult members - apart from the self-satisfaction which comes from paying a significant amount of one's hard-earned cash to help to keep Tynedale Rugby Club running.
The club needs a greater income from membership subscriptions and in order to attract more Full members, a Tynedale RFC Full Members' Discount Scheme is to be introduced at the start of next season which will make Full membership of the club very attractive. Full members will be able to buy goods or services from a number of reputable organisations in the Tyne Valley at a discounted price. A list of firms and organisations with whom discounts have already been agreed, is shown at the end of this article and all of these companies are now offering discounts to Full members. Negotiations are ongoing with a number of other organisations to arrange further discounts.
The discount to be given by Leisure Tynedale is particularly attractive to members with families who use the Swimming or Fitness facilities at Wentworth Centre, Hexham or Waterworld, Prudhoe. Full members of Tynedale RFC can claim a 15% discount by completing an application form available at the two centres.
There will also be a number of other important benefits available to Full members. This season the club introduced reduced-price season tickets to Full members. Acquiring these tickets gave Full members an immediate financial saving of £10. The Adult season ticket price of £80 was reduced to £70 for Full members and a reduction from £50 to £40 was made to Full members entitled to the Concessionary rate.
Tickets for Six Nations International Rugby Match tickets and for the very attractive Autumn Internationals, are now in great demand and the RFU are not able to meet the increased requests; clubs rarely receive the number of tickets they require. Full members of Tynedale RFC will now be given the first chance to acquire International tickets.
The operation of the Discount scheme will be very simple. Full members of Tynedale Rugby Club, and that includes all senior playing members, will be issued with a plastic card the size of a debit or credit card which will fit easily into wallets and purses. The card will be annotated "Tynedale RFC Discount Scheme" and the individual member's name will be displayed. To claim any of the discounts included in the scheme, the Full member will show the card, or his or her Fixture List and Membership Book, when he or she is ordering the discounted goods or services.
Tynedale supporters are able to apply for Full membership at any time by completing the membership application contained in most match programmes or available on this website. Existing members now wishing to become Full members should contact Membership Secretary, Mike Coulson (01434-633058) who will be only too pleased to facilitate any changes of membership.
I hope this explanation answers any queries but if you require further information about the Full Members' Discount Scheme or about any aspect of membership of Tynedale RFC, please do not hesitate to contact me at the club, at john@jlaidler.wanadoo.co.uk or on 01434-632139.
Click Here to view a list of Firms and Organisations Offering Discounts