Club explains why they didn’t attend crucial IMG vote

The Rugby League Council, the sport’s decision-making body which comprises representatives from all three professional competitions and the community game, have today voted in favour of Club Grading – the first recommendation from IMG, the sport’s long term strategic partner, as part of the Reimagining Rugby League strategy.

In a Special General Meeting in Huddersfield, the Yorkshire town where the rebel rugby code was formed as the Northern Union in 1895, the recommendations were supported by a majority of clubs in each of the three professional competitions, and received unanimous support from the community game.

The majority voted in favour of the changes with just six clubs voting against and a few abstentions.

Meanwhile, Whitehaven didn’t attend the meeting at all and have made a statement explaining why this was the case:

“Whitehaven Rugby League have made the following statement after yesterday’s Rugby League Council meeting. We decided not to attend for numerous reasons. Firstly, we as a BoD are fighting a daily battle to secure funds to support the club and allow it to continue.

“We felt our time and effort was better placed in continuing to do so. Given we have a BoD compromising 3 people, it was a decision we had to make as to where was the most appropriate place to give our time and effort.

“On how we would have voted, we feel that without understanding the guaranteed funding allowances against the grading criteria, we couldn’t make a judgement one way or another. Therefore we would have abstained.”

Serious About Rugby League understands that it wasn’t communicated to the RFL yesterday.