Knights unveil new £120k facilities
Normanton Knights officially opened their new £120,000 changing rooms and invited along two former junior players.
Ben Westwood, now of Warrington Wolves and England, and Castleford Tigers’ Oliver Holmes were guests of honour at the grand opening.
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Hide AdThe revamp was funded thanks to funding supplied by Sport England, Wren, RFL Facilities Trust and Wakefield Council.
Work has seen four separate changing facilities created for both male and females plus different age groups as opposed to one shared facility beforehand.
Neil Durant, facilities officer at the Knights, said: “The facilities that we had before were nearly 25 years old and they were constructed in the days when people would share baths.
“Obviously times change and the facilities that we have now are secure and much more usable.
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Hide Ad“The problem with amateur clubs is that money is needed to keep it going.
“In my role, I’ve spent two-and-a-half years trying to push this through so it’s nice to finally see it happen.
“For Ben and Oliver to come here, it gives the kids something to aspire towards.
“A lot of rugby league players go back to their old clubs and it’s nice of them to lend their time.”
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Hide AdNeil now hopes that more women and girls are tempted to join the club in the future.
He added: “We are trying to open a junior girls’ section and we also want to develop the women’s side of the sport here.”