Watt an Asset

 

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs are always looking to keep ahead of their rivals in the Aviva Premiership and this week they have been given a significant boost thanks to the fundraising efforts of the club's official Supporters Club.

Renowned for their support not just here in England, but Europe too, the Tribe are there every week to show their support for Rob Baxter and his team as they tackle the demands of the top flight rugby.

However, now the Supporters Club have offered their help to the off-field preparations of the team by providing the finance to purchase two, new state-of-the art Watt Bikes and large TV screen for the club's gymnasium.

The Watt bikes, which form part of British cycling's cutting-edge equipment, will help the Strength and Conditioning staff monitor all aspects of player power development, as well as conditioning sessions closely. The new large screen TV will also allow players to race against each other live on screen with interactive displays and scores of how they are performing.

In a special handover presentation at Sandy Park, Head of Strength  & Conditioning Mark Twiggs, along with colleague James Parkes and club captain Tom Hayes, met with senior officials of the Supporters Club to receive the new bikes, before performing a short demonstration on how they will operate within the squad.

Commenting, Mark said: "All of the S&C department are extremely thankful to the Supporters Club for all of their help with the funding of this equipment. We have a great relationship with the Supporters Club and only by working together are we are able to achieve such things. On behalf of all the players and conditioners, I would like to offer each and every members a huge thank-you."

Over the years the Supporters Club have invested in the region of £30,000 into various projects, not just for the Chiefs first team, but for the club's Youth and Community sections.

ECSC Chairman John Lockyer added: "As a club we are delighted to have been able to provide the support for Mark and the Conditioning team to have these new pieces of equipment. Over the years we have been able to provide support to a number of different areas within the club - and on this occasion we've been delighted to help the Conditioning staff in getting the bikes for the players.

"However, all of the donations we contribute to the Chiefs are down to the support of all our members - not just on away-day coaches, but at our various events throughout the year. Without that backing we wouldn't be able to do anything like this, so our thanks goes to each and everyone who has supported us again over the past 12 months."

To find out more about the Exeter Chiefs Supporters Club and how you could join up, click here