This is a big thank you for all the fantastic support we’ve enjoyed from within our club over the last nine months to keep the club going and thriving. So many of you have supported various events and that makes all the difference

We’ve had record numbers of Minis playing rugby and participating in a record number of tournaments - each of which takes a huge amount of organising from volunteers – and we have maintained a coaching ratio of one per seven players; all volunteers with huge patience and dedication.

Our Juniors and Colts have won many leagues, cups and gone to final stages of National competitions. Three current Colts have played for our First XV this year as our Academy continues to bear fruit.

Our Seniors still put three teams out despite a big injury list and the First XV will hopefully maintain our position within the National Leagues, so we can offer a pathway to our talented youngsters to stay and grow with our club - not have to move to rival clubs to develop their rugby skills and experiences.

Our club takes a lot of effort to keep on track. As it grows, so do the responsibilities of management; and again a volunteer framework is behind this effort. We say thank you this summer to Stephen Lawrence our Commercial Chair, Jane Grundy our Treasurer / Finance Director, Ross Thomson our websmaster and as Charles Owen-Conway reduces his involvement as Chairman of Rugby, these posts need to be filled and ideally each workload broken down into smaller manageable pieces.

I will send out a list of jobs which need to be filled over the next month to help us stay on course and I invite you to come forward to do your bit. Please don’t be put off by the thought you’ll be given more than you can cope with. Quite the reverse.

The alternative is simple - we have to increase our revenue (subs) to pay for work which needs to be done yet where there are no volunteers. No-one likes this, especially the Chairman, because volunteer involvement brings proximity, ownership and pride in what we do. One volunteer is worth 10 pressed men or women, and all that. So, more anon.

Yours aye,
Spike Stevens
Chairman A&C RFC