NORTH Tawton Rugby Club have launched a desperate plea for sponsors for their 120th season. The club has a long and proud history, but is now in need of financial assistance to keep its three pitches up to standard to keep rugby in North Tawton alive. Rose Crisp, of the club said: ?Our biggest job is a continuous one ? ground upkeep. We would like to get this done professionally, but to get the ground in the condition required this first year will cost £2,000. ?Foot and mouth hit us very hard. We are a club in a farming community and many of the farms diversified or disappeared altogether and as a result we lost so many players,? she said. The club runs a men?s team, a ladies? team and nine mini teams, all with their own associated costs. Rose said the club has around 100 members but the improvements could help bring in more. ?If we can get the pitch looking good and start getting people coming back to the club, that would bring in more money as well,? she said. Rose said at the moment the club?s stalwarts took care of upkeep of the ground and other costs, but there were ?only so many hours in a day and only so many pennies in your pocket?. The club moved to the ground it now occupies seven years ago and the is still paying back a loan which enabled it to switch to a new ground. If you think you could help with sponsorship, please ring Rose on 07971 048343.
