Mark Carrick

Community and collaboration are alive and well in Ayr sports.

In another step forward for multisport relations, Ayr Cricket Club will adorn the mighty Pink and Black this season in an acknowledgement of the strong links between the two clubs.

Brian Williamson, Ayr Rugby Club Chairman said, “Ayr Cricket and Ayr Rugby Club share the same values and community ambitions, both clubs have achieved a lot on and off the field over the last year. It makes sense to play in the same colours.”

Ross Mitchell, Ayr Cricket Club, said “We are delighted to adorn pink and black in recognition of the close connection between the two clubs.”

Sunday, April 28^th, Western House Hotel

The Macdonald Legacy kicked off its £1 million fundraising campaign on Sunday the 28^th of April with a prohibition-themed lunch at Western House Hotel in Ayr. The event was organised by Alan Macdonald who invited 120 of his friends and business network to attend a lunch in memory of his son, Barry Macdonald.

The event opened with a champagne reception as guests arrived in 1920s attire. Entertainment was provided by jazz and blues pianist, Joplin Parnell, who set the scene for the rest of the day.

Guests were then welcomed by Mr Macdonald, followed by a delicious 3-course meal served in the ballroom. The MC, former Scottish Rugby Internationalist and TV personality, Andy Nicol introduced a short documentary entitled, “The Macdonald Legacy” which explained how the legacy began and what it hopes to achieve in the sporting and local community.

Next up was an hour of big band red hot jazz music which delighted guests and filled the dancefloor. During the interlude, Andy Nicol introduced a slideshow of images entitled “The Vision of Millbrae” which showed impressions of what the Millbrae clubhouse and facilities might look like once complete. Alan Macdonald spoke to the amassed guests about the importance of the project and asked for their support.

As the band started up for the second time guests generously showed their support for Ayr Rugby Club, the Macdonald Legacy and the wider community as pledges were made to help fund the project.

There will be a series of information and fundraising events taking place over the coming months for club members and the wider community to get involved with The Macdonald Legacy and the redevelopment of Millbrae.

More information on how to donate can be found here:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ayrrugbyclub

Here’s our squad for the FOSROC Super Series 2024 with Round 1 taking place on Friday 19th April at Millbrae.

Get tickets and hospitality on our fanbase app: 👇
https://loom.ly/Ly5x6rY

Members of Ayr Rugby Club have always been able to apply for international tickets, however, it was a manual process and time-consuming for club administration.

For the upcoming Autumn Series, we are trialling the application process via our new app. There is no purchase at this stage, you are simply selecting the tickets you wish to apply for.

If your application is successful you will then be sent a link from the SRU to complete the purchase.

Our fanbase app: 👇
https://loom.ly/Ly5x6rY

If you’d prefer the normal ordering method, here is the form to do so: 👇
https://loom.ly/fRWaJP0

For more information and ticket pricing: 👇
https://loom.ly/_FqyX7g

The deadline to apply for tickets through the club is the 8th of May to allow processing.

It’s been all go at Ayr Rugby Club with phase 1 of the Macdonald Legacy development underway on the 11^th of March. The main contractors, WH Malcolm have been busy on site, constructing a new barrier into the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum car park and installing safety fencing in the Museum grounds to keep the attraction safe for visitors. Tree surgeons have been busy removing trees and scrub from the footprint of the new access road which will connect Millbrae with Murdoch’s Lone.

Thursday the 4^th of April was a historic day for the club as a section of the red sandstone wall that separated Millbrae and the Burns Museum came crashing down with the help of a 14-tonne excavator. Within seconds the new opening was created marking a new dawn for the club. The proceedings were watched by Ron Lidell (Project Manager, Rydens), Brian Williamson (Chairman, Ayr Rugby Club), Alan Macdonald (Macdonald Legacy), and Walter Malcolm (Managing Director, WH Malcolm)

The ambitious plan to develop Millbrae as a sporting and community development is now a reality with phase 1 (New access road & car parking) and phase 2 (All-weather pitch and floodlighting) expected to be completed by November 2024. This will be followed by phase 3 which will include refurbishment and extension of the current clubhouse to make a new gym, café, studio and gender-neutral accessible changing facilities.

Brian Williamson, Ayr RFC Chairman said, “All of this has only been made possible by the funding provided by the Macdonald Legacy and the assistance given by the National Trust for Scotland and South Ayrshire Council. Together we have worked through complex negotiations to secure the necessary land and servitude rights to form the new access road from Murdoch’s Lone to Millbrae. This will be a game changer and make the facilities of Ayr Rugby Club accessible to all for generations to come.”

Alan Macdonald, who set up Macdonald Legacy in memory of his son Barry said, “This is a significant moment for Ayr Rugby Club and the wider community. I am delighted that work has started and would like to thank everybody who has helped us get to this point.”

We have successfully moved over 90% of our memberships to our Fanbase app. If you were still on one of our old platforms you will have received a notification saying all memberships are now on Fanbase. Please rejoin on the link below in your relevant category. Having everyone on one platform makes it easier for club administration and particularly the gate volunteers.

Link to our app:

https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Memberships?clubId=187

Ayr Rugby Football Club are delighted to announce the appointment of David Beattie as Director. The opportunity was created by the recent resignation of Billy McHarg, who is still very much involved in the rugby side of the club.

It was identified that there was a requirement for an experienced business person, preferably with a sporting background to help direct Ayr Rugby Club’s commercial activities.

David Beattie has an impressive track record in business and sport. Since 1980, David has started and sold a number of companies in the food & drink sector including the Enterprise Food Group. David also served as Chairman of Partick Thistle football club for over 11 years, seeing off substantial debt and leading Partick Thistle into the 2013-14 Scottish Premiership.

David hopes to bring the benefit of his commercial and sporting experience to Ayr Rugby Club and assist the board in continued success both on and off the pitch.

Club Chairman, Brian Williamson, said “We are incredibly fortunate to have a person of David Beattie’s caliber join our board of Directors. David was responsible for bringing Glasgow Warriors to Partick Thistle’s ground, Firhill where they were based, from 2007 until 2012. David’s experience and network in both business and sport will be a great asset to the club.”

David moved to Alloway from Glasgow two years ago and has been a regular at club games ever since. A lover of all sport, David said “I actually prefer Rugby over Football as a sport, when I moved to Alloway it was a great bonus to have Millbrae on my doorstep. When I heard about the exciting developments that were happening around Ayr Rugby Club I knew I had to get involved. I am looking forward to helping the board of Directors with their vision for a self-sustaining sports and community facility.”

The Board of Directors

Brian Williamson (Chairman)

Drew Young (President)

Dave Wilkinson (Marketing/Digital Media)

Neil Reid (Finance)

David Beattie (Commercial)

We start our season on April 19th at 7:35pm at Millbrae vs the Stirling Wolves.

Link to tickets and Hospitality:

https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Fixtures/Index?fanStoreType=Fixtures&clubId=187

After three tireless years of negotiation and planning the new road from Murdoch’s Loan to Millbrae is to become a reality.

With South Ayrshire Council discharging the final planning conditions this week, work is scheduled to commence on the 11^thof March if not before.

It will be business as usual at Millbrae with the clubhouse and 1^st XV pitch unaffected during this phase of construction.

Safety Fencing will be erected  between the 1^st XV and 2^nd XV pitch and will remain in place until the new access road, car parking and all-weather pitch are completed in late Autumn 2024.

Ayr Rugby Football Club, President, Brian Williamson, said,

“This is a momentous moment for our club and the wider community, by the end of this year we will have vastly improved access, an all-weather multi-use sports pitch and new low energy floodlighting. This has all been made possible by the generosity of the Macdonald Legacy in memory of Barry Macdonald and the unwavering support given by Alan Macdonald.”

The Project Team are now focusing on the plans for phase three which encompasses the clubhouse, café, gym, changing facilities and spectator stand.

Williamson added, “We will be in a position to reveal plans for phase three soon and will be organising events to raise the funds required to complete the project.”

If you would like to get involved please email info@ayrrugbyclub.co.uk

Ayr sporting groups got together last year to organise the 2023 Ayr Santa Dash which took place on Sunday the 17^th of December.

Working together, Ayr Rugby Club, Ayr United & Ayr Cricket Club encouraged their fanbase and the wider community to take part and raise money for local charities and organisations.

Despite the biblical rain, the dash was a great success with over two hundred Santa’s making the treacherous journey from Millbrae to Somerset Park.

The headline charities were The Ayrshire Hospice, Ayrshire Cancer Support and Whiteleys Retreat who benefited from a share of the entry money. Thanks goes to the event sponsor Shoot Soccer plus the many volunteers who marshalled the road crossings in terrible weather.

The organisers hope this year’s event will be even bigger with a return fixture from Somerset Park to Millbrae.

Ayr Rugby Club Chairman, Brian Williamson, said,

“In the last year, sporting clubs in Ayr have started working together to encourage community and togetherness. These fun events give people the ability to raise funds for what is important to them, be it a charity, a local organisation or a sporting group or team. The entry money raised £900 for the headline charities and over £10,000 was raised by runners for their charities. We were amazed and delighted by the turnout and intend to make it a bigger affair this year.”

Cheque presentations

Brian Williamson (Ayr Rugby Club)

Martin Tocker (Ayr United)

Ross Mitchell (Ayr Cricket Club)

Elaine Thomson (Ayrshire Hospice)

Nicola George (Ayrshire Cancer Support)

Gillian McNeilly (Whiteleys Retreat)