The House Of Pain And Its Volunteers
‘This Old House ’ as Shakin ’ Stevens once sang about, in this case The House Of Pain, needs a lot of looking after and every Monday and Thursday morning, rain or shine, a small group of us come in to carry out general repair and cleaning work, tidying up after a game or an event or preparing for the next one. Myself and the Club are very grateful to the dedicated volunteer crew who give of their time to help in this way.
The stadium is of course home to Pontypridd RFC and to other teams such as Pontypridd Schools, the Pontypridd Pendragons, USW and Coleg y Cymoedd and needs to be maintained to the required standard.
Some of the projects that we have recently undertaken or are still on on-going are replacing cladding to the side and roof of the Grandstand, installing a new toilet block and changing room, fitting double doors to the front (sponsored by Friends of Pontypridd) and new lighting to the back of the Grandstand and providing an upgrade to the furniture in the Clubhouse Lounge. We are also looking at introducing a pay to park ’ system in the car park to the front of the club.
A major upgrade to the stadium which we undertook a few years ago was of course the laying of a top class 3G surface to replace the old grass – and mud – pitch, which all too often fell foul of the wet weather that we endure in this part of the world. At last we consigned the nickname of Dan s Muckhole ’ to the past where it belongs! The 3G pitch requires regular maintenance and inspection to ensure that it remains within World Rugby specifications. The surface was follow follow-up tested
last year by the installers South Wales Sports Grounds and everything at the moment is in good condition and up to standard but will require further testing later this year to maintain its World
Rugby certification. Whilst the pitch is holding up well we are only too aware that it will need replacing, either partially or totally, some time in the not too distant future and that is something that we as a club, along with our partners, are preparing for. For now, the pitch is good, the rugby being played on it is good, and even the lights shining down on it are good as we recently installed new LED ’ floodlighting on both sides of the stadium.
Its very much a labour of love to keep the stadium, the bars and the pitch at Sardis Road fit for purpose and in good condition. That essential work is carried out week in week out by a small crew of volunteers and for that, the Club is truly grateful.
Jack Bayliss – General Committee
*If you would like to support Pontypridd RFC by joining the current team of volunteers that carry out jobs in and around Sardis Road throughout the week, the club would be delighted to hear from you – for further details please contact us via Email at: club@ponty.net
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