Our new ‘Volunteer Corner’ feature sees us introduce all the volunteers who help out at Farsley Celtic, getting to know them and their role at the club.
This week, it’s Media Assistant Mark Rawlinson.
How did you get involved in volunteering at Farsley?
The first Farsley game I came to was the first pre-season fixture (against Bradford City) ahead of the club’s 2007/08 Conference Premier season.
I came to most of the home games that season and steadily got to know some of the key people at the club.
My brother and I both got season tickets for the following season and that pre-season I began helping out with a few articles and interviews for the match day programme.
When the club re-formed for the 2010/11 campaign is when I started to do much more on the media side for the club, such as writing match reports for the website and for the next couple of seasons, I was match day programme editor, whilst studying for my A-Levels.
What does your role at Farsley involve?
I support Tom Ritchie and the media team in the online output on both social media and the website, whilst also continuing to help out in a smaller way with the programme.
Since I started volunteering for the club as a teenager, it started opening doors for me to gain experience in the sports media industry, such as a placement at Stoke City when they were playing at Premier League level, whilst I was at university.
As I moved into full-time work, firstly with the Rugby Football League and Super League, and since 2019 Haas F1 Team, I’ve had less time to devote to Farsley, but still help Tom and the team out, specifically on the branding of social media graphics and the look of the programme.
What do you enjoy most about the role?
I enjoy giving back to the club, which inadvertently gave me the opportunity to learn my trade and give me a pathway into the job I’m currently in.
It’s also been nice to be the one breaking the news to those following on social media online, particularly when the club has achieved something special, such as winning a cup or winning promotion.
What do you get up to when you’re not at the Citadel?
As mentioned above, I’m fortunate enough to work for Haas F1 Team as their Social Media Manager.
This entails attending most of the races over the course of the Formula 1 season, whilst planning out, creating and posting content across our social media channels.
Away from work, I enjoy travelling which fortunately falls hand-in-hand with my current position, as well as getting out cycling on the beautiful roads in the North of England.
What does the club mean to you?
Being part of a community club like Farsley is like an institution, and I always enjoy catching up with the regular faces when I can make the games.
I’m sure he gets a lot of mentions in this article series, but people like Josh Greaves who have been around the club for well over 15 years, and others I work closely with such as Tom, Caroline Harriman and Rob Winterbottom, are always good value for a catch-up at games; and the one thing that connects us all is the football club.
What’s your favourite Farsley memory?
Again, I’m sure that this is probably a repeat answer in this series, but for me it has to be the 2016-17 Evo-Stik Division North Play-off final, when we beat Ossett Town in extra time to win promotion at Throstle Nest.
If memory serves right, Ossett had scored a late goal which put them 2-1 up and looked to have sent them up.
But we scored in stoppage time to take it to extra time and then scored a late double at the end of the 120 minutes to clinch promotion, right before penalties.
I remember running up and down in front of the main stand as I couldn’t contain my excitement!
It was a fitting way for Neil Parsley to bow out as manager (stepping down that summer due to personal reasons), after he’d brought the club back to life in the summer of 2010 and had been a great servant to Farsley.
Who is your all-time favourite Farsley player and why?
I think I will say Dave Syers on this one. I remember what a good player he was in our ill-fated 2009/10 season when the old club faced liquidation and it was clear to see he would go on to achieve bigger and better things.
I followed his full time playing days whilst in the Football League with Bradford City, Doncaster Rovers and Scunthorpe United, from a distance and was excited to hear that he was returning to the club as a player a couple of years ago.
Seeing him step up as a leader in the interim period between Neil Ross and Russ Wilcox when the club was at one of its lowest ebbs since I’ve been coming to watch, also shows how much he cares for the club, which I respect very much.
Interested in joining us as a volunteer?
We have a wide range of matchday roles available, with something to suit everyone – if you’re interested, don’t hesitate to get in touch via jgreaves@farsleyceltic.com.
