Page 17 - All Shapes & Zebras From Treorchy

But, there’s no denying that it feels unfamiliar. On cold winter days, the away changing room feels an even colder place - and you feel, quite rightly, as if you don’t belong there.
And then clubs all have their committees. These organisations, or more specifically, rugby club committees, generally have a reputation for being officious and stuffy organisations but perhaps the cliché of blazer wearing old men with their pint of bitter ruling over all facets of the club belongs in the past. Nowadays, rightfully, there’s a whole spectrum of people on committees, discussing everything from club membership to maintenance, beer tokens to club bans, post-match dining to fund-raising discos - and everything and anything else in between. Most, if not all committees, are democratic in nature and if wanting to be elected to a certain position on the board you’ll need to be nominated and ‘seconded’. Subsequently, there’ll be politics, crossed words and tension lingering in the air throughout much of the season.
Committees will meet once a month, sometimes more often than that and will attempt to put the world to rights whilst sorting out the business of the club. They are a place to discuss passions and projects. You’ll get your characters - both good and bad - on them, and there’ll inevitably be cliques and grudges on them that seem so engrained and entrenched that it’s as if they are part of the clubhouse furniture itself. They can be a strange thing, but at least they’re our strange thing.
These places, these clubhouses: the heart of a rugby club. Go in and sit a while; enjoy a few pints. Keep the thing beating!
ALL SHAPES & ZEBRAS FROM TREORCHY 15