A big crowd gathered to see the re-opening of Haddington Rugby Club's remodelled
and refurbished clubhouse by Provost John McMillan, who follows in the
footsteps of the late Provost Harvey Gardiner who opened the original Clubhouse
in 1963.

The new disabled lift was fittingly opened by Kris Paterson, last season's vice
captain who has made a miraculous recovery from a serious spine injury and North
Berwick man Jim Littlefair from the Hearts and Balls charity who helped fund the
lift, and also helped Kris earlier in the year in his hour of need.

The latest work is the third stage of a £350,000 redevelopment over the last
four years, the seventh major alteration in the Club's history.

Club President Clifford Livingstone said "We are delighted to finish this
important work, providing modern extended changing rooms for both sexes; and
mobility access to all levels of the club."

There were also messages from the major funders Viridor:
"Viridor Credits are delighted to award funding towards the upgrade of these
facilities and we know that this will encourage more people to use them and
sustain the club in the longer term. It’s great that the club has been so
forward thinking in seeking improvements and the funds, obtained through the
Landfill Communities Fund, have gone a long way to making Haddington RFC one of
the best equipped clubs in the area."

and the Scottish Rugby Union:
Scottish Rugby’s Head of Club Services, said: “Through our Club Sustainability
Fund, we’re pleased to be helping a hard-working club like Haddington improve
their facilities to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible. They have seen
the development of their social areas at the club make a substantial difference
recently and we’re sure that this latest upgrade of their changing rooms will
help them grow the game even further.”

Notes

Haddington RFC has been at the heart of the community since 1911. Aside from its
senior teams, the club has over 110 players in the Mini Rugby section and over
90 players in the Haddington School of Rugby, including 20 girls (which was
launched in 2011 with the support of the SRU and Knox Academy).

Haddington RFC is the first ever Scottish club to have joined a growing family
of rugby clubs across the UK and Ireland who are members of the Wooden Spoon
charity’s exciting Partner Club Programme, providing an opportunity for rugby
clubs and Wooden Spoon to work together to change disabled or disadvantaged
children’s lives, and secure mutual long-term gains
throughout joint fundraising initiatives.

Haddington were awarded £25,000 towards their improvements as part of Scottish
Rugby’s Club Sustainability Fund, set up to enable clubs to improve their
infrastructure and of that of domestic rugby as a whole. The simple process
allows clubs to apply for both the Club Sustainability Fund and the matching
sportscotland lottery fund in a single process. For more information please
visit:http://www.scottishrugby.org/domestic-rugby/club-services/club-sustainability-fund.