How to join for the 2023/24 season *updated 6 August 2023*

If you just want the how-to-pay bit, scroll down to: Arrangements for start of the season 2023/24

WELCOME
Wimbledon Rugby Football Club, and especially our thriving Minis and Youth section, is a great place for kids to play rugby! We're one of the founding clubs of the RFU (we celebrated our 150th anniversary in 2015). So if you live in the Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Earlsfield, Southfields, Coombe, Norbiton, Kingston, South West London or the North Surrey area, come on down and play rugby at Wimbledon RFC. We benchmark our membership fees against other local clubs and ensure that the fees we charge are competitive. See below for full details. For the 2023/24 season we are introducing a new Club Membership card which gives a 10% discount when used at the bar for food and drink purchases. Each family needs to have one Club Membership as well as the relevant playing membership for their child(ren).

The culture of the club is very much one of parental involvement. If you can help out by volunteering please email volunteers@wmrfc.co.uk - we can never have too many helpers!

JOINING WIMBLEDON RFC
For newcomers, any appropriate clothing can be worn and you are welcome to a couple of try-out sessions before deciding if you want to join. Please take note of the requirements for gum shields and appropriate footwear below. A player without a gumshield (under 9 and beyond) will not be able to take part in any contact drills or games.

To get in touch, and to arrange a free try out, contact the relevant age group manager here or just turn up every Sunday from September to late April. You can try out and join at any stage of the season.

Here's how to find us. Typical pitch arrangements by age group are here

REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR THE 2023/24 SEASON Membership (your fees to the club) and registration (of your children to play rugby) are both organised via England Rugby's Game Management System (GMS). Details on how to log in, update your details and pay your annual subs are below (scroll down!).

KIT
Club colours are claret and Cambridge blue. Shirts, shorts, socks and training tops are from Akuma. Our online kit shop is now open The Wimbledon Rugby Club Kit Shop is here. There are sample sizes to try on at the clubhouse (most Sunday mornings). Players are expected to wear full kit, especially when representing the club at festivals and matches with other clubs. As well as new kit via the club shop, second hand kit is often for sale via the clubhouse on Sunday mornings. Donations of second hand kit are always welcome.

See the Kit page for more details.

All players U9 and above must have - and wear - a mounthguard (gumshield) before being permitted to take part in sessions. The heat-moulded mouthguards are adequate, but older players are recommended to have correctly fitted mouthguards. To buy a Wimbledon RFC-branded Opro mouthguard see details of how to order here.

Rugby or football boots can be worn, but must be fitted with rugby studs or have moulded plastic studs or 'blades' with no sharp edges. We recommend the one-piece aluminium studs that carry the BSI Kitemark. Trainers should not be worn as they do not provide enough protection and are not much use on wet grass or mud. Conversely, if the ground is very hard it is better to wear firm ground (FG)/moulded studs than old-fashioned metal rugby studs.


Arrangements for start of the season 2023/24

REGISTRATION AND MEMBERSHIP
Signing up for the season is a two-step process. (1) REGISTRATION: Having a parental GMS account - which means that your child(ren) are registered to play with the club; and (2) MEMBERSHIP: Paying for your subs with that GMS account. Players must have paid their subs to the club and have their details registered on England Rugby's Game Management System (GMS). Every player in the club must be registered on the GMS system, even those in the U5s & U6s. Please note that parents should NOT press the 'register' button for themselves unless they also play in an adult team (yes, it's a bit confusing, sorry)

*We are introducing a new Club Membership from this season*. This terrific new scheme gives you a Members Card for your family to use at the bar. It is pre-loaded with £30 of credit and when used to pay for bar purchases gives you a 10% discount on food and beverage purchases. Club Membership costs £30 - each family needs to have one Club Membership as well as the relevant playing membership for their child(ren), as follows:

Club registration and membership needs to be renewed annually, and for 2023/24 subs will be:
Individual membership U5s & U6s – £150 - Playing membership for a single player
Individual membership all other age groups – £195 – Playing membership for for a single player U7 and older
Family membership - £300 – Playing membership for 2 children
Family membership - £350 – Playing membership for 3 or more children
Inclusive rugby membership - £120.
There are no additional match fees.


Step-by-step guide to registering (previously called affiliation) and paying for your membership

There are three steps to sorting out your annual membership - logging into the GMS, player registration and paying for your membership on the GMS.

Step 1. Log in to Game Management System (GMS)

FOR THE MAJORITY OF PARENTS: Every existing parent needs to log in and confirm and/or update their and their kids' details - click here

OR: If you are new to the club or have never registered - click here

PLEASE BE HELPFUL. If your kid(s) have played at Wimbledon RFC before it is is highly likely that you have previously had an account and perhaps have forgotten your password. Please press the "forgotten password" link and you will most probably find the reminder email goes into your spam. Please, please put in the effort and find it and log back into your existing account (rather than just creating a new one). The impact on club volunteers of lots of duplicate entries is pretty significant - please help us out here.

See this guide on renewing your kid(s) registration, or this guide on registering your kid(s) if you are new to the club/don't have a GMS account.

If you are struggling with using the Game Management System (GMS), there are lots of helpful tips here

https://help.rfu.com/support/home

Step 2. Pay your subs via the GMS

Our treasurer, Nick, has created this how-to-pay doc to help you pay your subs

Wimbledon are committed to making rugby accessible to all young people, regardless of ability to pay. Membership fees can be reduced for those who would not be able to participate otherwise. Requests should be made to age group managers - each case will be considered individually and confidentially.

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AgeGradeRegistrationsStepbyStepGuideforParents_English.pdf429.58 KB
How to buy GMS membership.001.jpeg158.26 KB
GMS Subs payment explainer.docx_.pdf595.05 KB
Affiliation for Wimbledon RFC.doc36 KB