Top Tips for Communicating with Fresher’s
Take yourself back to when you found out you had been accepted into university and you were one of
a thousand new and eager students looking forward to getting into university life and being a fresher!
As a club, this is a great opportunity to make a positive first impression and recruit players. Whether a
student has a background in Rugby League or not how you communicate, promote and market your
club will have an impact on a successful player recruitment drive.
As a club be personable and welcoming with everyone you come across even those who don't
necessarily want to play Rugby League, for they can be your greatest asset.
Be the club that
everyone wants to be a part of, it will make your club and time spent at university better!
Remember these University Rugby League facts:
‘80% of URL players play Rugby League for the first time while at university’
‘2/3rds of URL players joined the Rugby League club because the club was
welcoming’
Before Fresher’s Arrive
You can communicate and influence freshers before they arrive on campus by being proactive and
promoting your Rugby League club via social media and website forms. Some good examples are
below, before implementing any of these make sure you consult your AU/SU and gain their
permission and support.
Facebook:
•Post in official university fresher’s pages.
•Ask the university page admin to post about Rugby League.
•Set up a group and invite members to join.
•Promote a social event or training session on the first day ahead of fresher fairs.
Twitter:
•Find the university twitter account and ask for a retweet.
•Tweet the RFL or local community clubs to see if any of their players are moving to the university
next year.
•Get retweets from celebrities/professional players and clubs promoting your club.
Club Website:
•Make sure your club website or information is up
to date on all platforms regarding contact details,
training timings and locations and an overview of
what’s on for your season and what your clubs
about.
Potential members will be more inclined to join a
club if they know what’s on offer, information is easily obtainable and are made to feel welcome.
Fresher’s Week
Fresher's will experience a load of new things during their first week and be sold a thousand different
messages mostly from other clubs and societies vying for their involvement.
How can your Rugby League club standout from the rest from the time those new students drive
through the gates for the first time up until your first training session? How can you get your message
across to give you the best chance to recruit potential players to your club?
•Get the Rugby League club posters or banners up around
campus especially near the entrance to halls and Student
Union common areas.
•Get club players in your Rugby League kit to help with
unpacking of cars on student’s arrival.
•Organise a game of touch or BBQ on the first day
somewhere central to promote your club and invite people
to get involved and have a break from unpacking.
•Ask Halls reps for a shout out or find out when meetings are and send a Rugby League committee
member along to promote the club and invite people for a drink or game of touch.
•Get club players along to the student union bars and cafes. Don’t sit in a big group which is
unapproachable spread yourselves out and get around the tables to chat to potential players.
•Don’t be the drunken team that are causing trouble. Be the sociable team who are approachable,
talk to fresher’s and give them some advice, buy them a drink, take their number and text them
during the week to see how their getting on.
Again it’s important to run any of these ideas past your AU/SU to make sure they’re okay with you
doing it. Why not at the same ask your AU/SU if you can help in anyway and volunteer the clubs
services, this will help your relationship with them and also give the club a potential way to
communicate to the students on campus!
Fresher’s Fair
While we can have a big impact on people in the lead up, Fresher's Fair is and will always be the best
time to sell your club and get your message across to all fresher's in a short span of time. The most
important thing here is to make sure your message and communication stands out from the rest!
The following tips will give you the best chance to make sure your message is getting across and you
can communicate effectively with interested players which will help you engage and entice them to
the first training session.
•Make sure your stand is well manned with members (in club kit) who are approachable and can
engage in conversation. Ask open questions, take an interest and give advice where possible to help
make their first week better.
•If allowed have players at hot points around the fair helping
students and mentioning where the Rugby League stand is
located.
•Have important details displayed and to hand such as club
contact details, training times and locations, upcoming
social, taster and first training session details and also
further opportunities the club has for its members. Make sure
this information is clear, concise and to the point.
•Make sure you take down any interested students details (email and mobile) clearly, recommend to
use a laptop of tablet for ease, efficiency and clarity. Get out a text (either on your phones or through
a bulk sms service) or an email to all who have showed an interest with a thank you, any further club
information and good luck with whatever clubs they decide to join.
It’s a good idea to have something organised straight after your fresher fair whether it be a taster or
touch session or an open social event. This will allow you to give another positive experience to those
who are thinking of joining your club or who are new to the university and might not know many
people and looking for something to do.
Remember all students will have different thoughts and motivations on joining a club when new to
university. Whether they have played Rugby League all their lives or they want to be involved in a club
that is welcoming and friendly make sure they receive the same clear and friendly communication…
that the Rugby League club is the club that everyone wants to be a part of!
If you need any support or further help and advice, contact your Regional Education Officer.
RFL Education Officer Contacts
North West and North East - Peter Brooke, [email protected]
South East, South West and Wales - Stephen Guan, [email protected]
Yorkshire and the Midlands – C/O Adam Hughes, [email protected]