Privacy notice
Your information, looked after
What personal information Gardens RFC collects through this website, why, where it is kept, and how to see, correct or remove it. This notice follows the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
Who we are
Gardens Rugby Football Club (“the club”) runs this website. Under POPIA the club is the responsible party for the personal information collected here. The club’s address is 20 Seagull Crescent, Rosedale, Kariega (Uitenhage).
What we collect, and why
The website only collects personal information when you fill in one of its forms. Each form asks only for what the club needs for that purpose.
| Form | What we ask for | Why | How long we keep it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member registration | Name, date of birth, gender (optional), email, cell number, address, membership type, team and position (players), and an emergency contact | To manage your membership, contact you about club matters, and reach your emergency contact if you are hurt or unwell at the club. Players’ details are also used to register them to play. | While you are a member, and for two years after you leave |
| Newsletter story or community activity | Name, who you are (for example fan or parent), email, cell number (optional), and the story or activity | To review it and, with your permission, publish it with your name. Your email and cell number are never published. | Published stories stay in the newsletter. Your contact details are deleted after 12 months. |
| Newsletter sign-up | To send you Gardens Monthly | Until you ask to be taken off the list | |
| Predict the Score | Name and cell number | To allow one guess per number and to phone the winner. The winner’s first name and surname initial are shown on the website. | Deleted three months after the match |
| Visitor counter | Nothing about you | It only counts visits | Not applicable |
The club does not sell, rent or trade personal information, and does not use it for advertising.
Children and junior players
POPIA treats anyone under 18 as a child. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian to complete the member registration for you: their consent is needed for the club to keep your details.
Where your information is kept
Form entries are saved in a Google Sheet in the club’s Google account. Google may store this on servers outside South Africa, under its own security and privacy commitments. POPIA allows this when the information stays protected to a standard similar to POPIA’s.
The website is hosted by Cloudflare. Like any web host, Cloudflare’s servers handle technical details such as your device’s internet (IP) address to deliver the pages and block attacks. The club does not use these details to identify you.
Who sees it
- Club officials who need it for their role, such as the secretary for membership and the newsletter editor for stories.
- Eastern Province Rugby Union and SA Rugby, for players the club registers to play.
- Nobody else, unless the law requires it.
On your device: no cookies
This website does not set cookies and does not track you. It keeps two small notes in your own browser, which never leave your device:
- Your visitor number, so that moving between pages counts as one visit. It is cleared when you close the tab.
- If you enter Predict the Score, which match you entered and your guess, so the page can show that you are in. You can remove it by clearing this site’s data in your browser.
Other websites
On match days the live stream comes from YouTube or Facebook. When it plays, those services may set their own cookies under their own privacy policies. Links to social media, WhatsApp and other websites take you to sites the club does not control.
Your rights
Under POPIA you may:
- ask what personal information the club holds about you, and get a copy;
- ask for it to be corrected or deleted;
- object to the club using it, for example by asking to stop receiving the newsletter;
- complain to the Information Regulator.
To do any of these, contact the club’s Information Officer. The club will reply within 30 days. If you are not happy with the reply, you can complain to the Information Regulator.
Keeping it safe
Only club officials who need the information can open the Google Sheet, and access is removed when someone leaves their role. If personal information is ever lost, or seen by someone who should not have it, the club will tell the Information Regulator and the people affected, as POPIA requires.
Changes to this notice
The club will update this page if the website starts collecting anything new. Last updated 16 October 2026.