Huddersfield Giants Women will move into a new era from December when the club turns professional.
Huddersfield Giants Community Trust, the club’s charity arm, has run the women’s team for the last five years.
But from December 1 the ownership passes to the main club in what has been described as a “seismic change.”
Giants’ managing director Richard Thewlis said: “We’ve had to recognise that the women’s team no longer fits the charitable aims and objectives of the Trust and simply had to move across to the main club itself.
“Their development as a team and the wider growth of the women’s game has been monumental in such a short period of time and it’s one that we want to embrace and grow with.
“We are already a Women’s Super League Club by right given our level of performance but we now want to press fast forward and really crack on.”
Giants Women, who finished sixth and bottom of Group One of the Betfred Women’s Super League in 2023, will be part of an expanded eight-team league for 2024.
Mr Thewlis added: “We have met all the increasingly costly standards set by the Rugby Football League for the women’s teams and will look to further commercialise the opportunities that this presents.
“We will shortly be announcing a number of full-time opportunities within the women’s operation which will include a dedicated manager and physiotherapist as well as stand alone doctor.
“We’ve seen positions shared with the men’s game in the league but at Huddersfield it will be the other way around.
“These people’s primary role is with the women’s teams. The Huddersfield players at Super League level will have the access to the very best medical care in the game which is something we believe strongly in.”
Mr Thewlis pledged to invest in the playing squad and facilities in order to keep the best talent at the club.
He added: “We will reward those players who attain international honours financially and contract them as such so that mid-season movement as has currently occurred is a thing of the past.
“Our developing Laund Hill complex will become a real home for the team with the state-of-the-art brand new 4G pitch being a focal point.
“There will be a huge challenge for us to incorporate an additional 50 players into our systems and it is one that will require increased commercial support.
“I do hope, though, that the current sponsors and volunteers can stay involved and help us grow and go forwards.”
Main image: Steve Biltcliffe Photography
