If you would like to join us either as a new player or transferring from another club, please complete our joining form so that you can start your trial with us. We will contact you as soon as possible to arrange a mutually convenient time to visit us.
What’s Next
Step 1
After your trial session, we will need to affiliate your child to the club on the RFU GMS (Game Management System). This system has been set up for grassroots rugby to track the player’s career from junior to senior and maybe even to a professional level in the future. Please complete our joining form so that we can start your membership.
Step 2
On receipt of your joining form, we will send you a link to create an RFU account. Please follow our tutorials on how to add your child/children and another parent/carer/guardian. On first creating your account you should receive an email asking you to verify your email account please make sure you verify. If you get into any difficulty we are here to help so please contact us.
Step 3
When you have successfully created profiles on GMS you will need to affiliate your child/children to play at the club. You will also be able to pay for player memberships through GMS. If you are joining mid-season please contact us to discuss membership fees. Please refer to our online tutorials for help in affiliation and purchasing membership.
Step 4
On receipt of payment of your membership fees you are all set to start playing rugby. You can purchase a wide range of Tewkesbury Tigers kit through our online shop. We also have a selection of second-hand items available through the clubhouse on a Sunday morning.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I join Tewkesbury RFC ?
We offer all new players and anyone transferring from another club an opportunity to come down and “try” us out. Parents must complete a joining form prior to arriving at our grounds. If you would then like to join follow the steps shown on this page.
Are you an accredited club?
Yes. We are the junior section of Tewkesbury RFC an accredited club of both Gloucestershire RFU and England RFU. You can find more information in our About Us section.
What is GMS?
The RFU’s Game Management System (GMS) is the primary platform to support the grassroots game in England. A multi-functional system, GMS has a variety of modules that allows us to manage our operations, specifically player affiliation to the club.
All participants of the game must have an RFU ID and be “Registered to Play” at the club in order to play. All players and their parents/guardians have the ability to login to GMS to update personal details and ensure their communication preferences are up to date.
Note: It is the parents/guardian responsibility to ensure that their child/children are Registered to Play at the club within GMS. Children who are not Registered to Play will not be allowed to take part.
What happens if I join from another club?
GMS has been developed by the RFU to track a player’s rugby journey from the day they start playing rugby to the day they retire. Each player will have one unique record within GMS that will follow their career. Players that are already playing at a Rugby Club and subsequently move to Tewkesbury Tigers can be transferred on GMS from the old club by us. A new player profile does not need to be created if you already have an existing RFU unique ID on the GMS system. Please contact us for further details
What happens if I leave the club?
If you decide to leave Tewkesbury Tigers to move to another club or have decided rugby is no longer for you please make sure that before you move to a new club you contact the registrar of your new club who will help to organise the transfer on GMS. A new player does not need to be created the record should exist on the system. If you are no longer going to play rugby then please send us an email so that we can update the system.
Unfortunately, we are unable to refund membership fees.
Do you play tag / contact rugby?
Visit Our Teams page which will give you a full overview of the different stages of the age groups and what they learn and when.
What kit do I need to buy?
You can purchase all the Tewkesbury RFC branded kit through our online shop. All children playing contact rugby i.e. U9 upwards are required to wear a gum shield at all times whilst training or on match days. Head protectors can be worn.
Matchday team jerseys will be issued by the coach and returned to the coach at the end of day.
We also operate a “second-hand” kit shop on Sunday mornings where you can purchase a range of kit items which are reasonably priced
Rugby boots should be worn (except when training on the Tewkesbury School all weather pitch).
How much does it cost?
Membership is set at the beginning of the season. You can find the latest membership fees under our membership section or please just ask the coach or team manager.
We also offer a discount for each additional sibling. As part of your child’s membership, you will receive 2 social parent/guardian memberships which will entitle you to bar discount in the clubhouse (excludes food) We usually try to provide each player with an item of “kit” as part of the membership package.
What if I join mid-Season. If you join the club mid-Season (January onwards) then our membership fee is reduced per child and/or sibling Mid-Season memberships do not include parental social membership or “membership kit”.
Membership fees must be paid in full within 4 weeks of the season starting or from joining the club.
Financial Hardship
We do recognise that the cost of living is causing both emotional and financial difficulties. We do not want any child to be excluded because of financial difficulties, therefore we would strongly urge you to contact us, in the strictest confidence, if you are unable to pay membership fees so that we can discuss what support might be available. You can email our Safeguarding Officer and Chairman safeguarding@tewkesburyrfc.co.uk in the strictest confidence to discuss how we might help.
How can I keep up to date with what's going on?
The club use a sports management app called “Spond”. Each team has their own group. When you join you will be sent the link to join your age group. You can receive notifications via email or via the app. The junior section also has their own Facebook page which you can follow to keep up to date with our activities.
Safeguarding?
All our coaches and volunteers are DBS checked. If you have any concerns or queries regarding Safeguarding please contact our Safeguarding officer.
Safeguarding Officer: Rich Barber
Photography Permissions
We regularly use photographs of all our teams to promote our activities. However, we will NOT use any photographs unless you have given your permission/consent through GMS.
If your child takes part in any competitions they will need to have a match card issued with their photograph in order that they can take part. This can be uploaded through GMS.