"From what we offer here, there is a direct link into a professional world"

What Steven asked Tracy Bullock, Chair of Medway Rugby Club.

Tracy Bullock is an accountant with a family history centred around Medway, a place she returned to when it came to raising her own family. Now the Chair of Medway Rugby Club, Steven met with her at Beantown in Rochester to discuss how she came into the role, how Medway rugby can lead to playing rugby nationally and if she is any good at rugby herself.

Tracy Bullock

What is Medway Rugby Club?
We are a rugby club who provides sports for under six and through to seniors. At every level, there's an element of the game that you can get involved in and enjoy. That's for girls and boys across the youth sections. It's a community, a coming together of like-minded people who enjoy the sport and can enjoy playing the game, watching the game being involved in the rugby club. It's much greater than just a rugby club in its title.

You are based at Rochester Priestfields. Why is it not Rochester Rugby Club?
It used to be Rochester Rugby Club. I believe it changed its name in the ‘70s from Rochester RFC to Medway RFC. That change was brought about, I think, to have a broader appeal.

What is your role within the club?
I'm the club Chair. I oversee all of it. The buck stops with me, frighteningly. But also, it's much more. I've got a really good team of an executive committee that are in charge of all the different sections. I just oversee it, supporting and driving the club forward, making sure that we've got a vision for the club, of where we want to take it and ensuring that all that we're doing well.

How did you come into the role?
This is my fourth season. Before that, I was a treasurer. I became a treasurer in 2011 when my husband actually stood up and said he'd become the treasurer. I was like, You really don't have time for this in your job,’ because he does a lot of travelling and working away. And I'm an accountant, so I said, ‘I'll do it, I'll just take that over.’ I did all of that, and I was doing that for about ten years and then thought that stepping into the club Chair then wouldn't be that different, but it's incredibly different.

Can you give us a couple of examples of the differences?
Well, I was really focusing on the accounts and just making sure that everything was financially stable and sustainable. Whereas now, everyone used to come to me with loads of issues and queries and questions. Whereas now, the breadth of my role seems to be, what's the strategic plan for the club? Where do you want to take us? What social events are going on, and what about the issue with the plumbing in the ladies toilets? That gives you a little bit of the breadth of some of the queries that I get, which is all valid. We're a members club. People are really invested and want to feel some ownership towards the club as well, which is what you want.

How did you first get involved with the club?
I took my sons. I don't come from a rugby background. I've grown up in Medway. Never had any connection to the club, only a few friends that I knew when I was at school who played. I went to a few 21st or 18th birthday parties at the rugby club, but never played. My husband, he used to play rugby in Bristol. When I met him, we moved here after a short spell in London after we had the kids. As soon as they started school, somebody said to me, ‘They can play rugby from this age.’ I took them along. That was 20 years ago. My eldest has stopped rugby now, but he's moved down to Bristol, and because of his work, he can't play anymore, but he was playing into his teen years. My youngest, he's 24, and he's still there. He's in the first team at the moment.

You spoke about the age groups, from the minis and youth leagues, then the men's and women's. How old are the oldest people playing?
There was a photo a couple of seasons ago where I think our front row had a ridiculously combined age of quite high. I mean, the vets team and the Crusaders, people are still playing into their 40s. Even later, some of them. The Crusaders are almost a social side. They don't train, but they play in a merit league, and they have a really good culture in the group. There's a lot of minis and youth coaches that all play in that team and have a lot of fun. That's the oldies, but the vets as well. One of our vets must be coming up for 60s. We do a touch rugby session on a Monday that's a non-contact version of sport, and that's different. You can play at any age as long as you are capable of running around.