Wharfedale have become only the ninth club in Yorkshire to receive the Rugby Football Union’s Whole Club Seal of Approval.

The Greens’ president John Spencer and Toni Birch, who was the driving force on their committee, were given a plaque at half-time during last Saturday’s first-team match against Blackheath by Yorkshire RFU president Trevor Kent-Jones.

The Whole Club Seal of Approval recognises clubs at the pinnacle of the community game.

The accreditation recognises the effort and achievement of volunteers in reaching the standard required in the development of rugby across the whole club, and to plan for the long-term sustainability of the club and rugby union.

The Whole Club Seal of Approval accreditation was introduced in 2009, and clubs, who are assessed by the RFU, must demonstrate evidence of good practice in areas such as club management, player development and recruitment, child protection, sports equity, coaching, refereeing and volunteering.

The RFU introduced the Seal of Approval programme in association with Sport England and the Clubmark scheme in 2002, and the Whole Club Seal of Approval accreditation came along in 2009 as a method of ensuring high-quality provision of rugby in clubs.

It built on the established procedures of the Mini and Youth Seal of Approval.

Wharfedale acknowledges the contribution of Skipton Building Society in supporting the SBS Wharfedale Rugby Academy, which now takes the game into more than 50 schools, and wishes to thank Toni Birch, who, in collaboration with RFU rugby development officer Hamish Pratt, took the club through all the procedures involved.

Only 89 clubs in England – about four per cent of the total – have been awarded the Whole Club Seal of Approval.