Chairman’s Newsletter

September 2014

Introduction – Robin Poynder, Chairman

As your new Chairman, it gives me great pleasure to welcome everyone to the first edition of the Chairman’s newsletter for this coming 2014/15 season – our 20th Anniversary year! Before we get into the rugby I should introduce myself… I am a referee and only occasionally a (not very good) player. I am passionate about rugby in general and have gone through the various roles at my past club (HHRFC) player, coach and referee. I moved up to the island last summer and wandered into Millwall Rugby Club. I was made to feel welcome immediately and this ethos of openness made an impression. I played in the open day touch tourney and became a member that night – there may have been alcohol involved. We should be proud of the inclusive positive ethos that is clearly part of the Millwall DNA, and I would like to see that consciously taken on board by everyone – only positive comments on and off the pitch please. I am still learning the club’s background details as well as some names, so please forgive me if I don’t know you personally yet – I am looking forward to meeting everyone over the coming months.

Chairman’s aims for the year

I have two primary goals this year: 1.  We will maintain our

status as an Essex 1 team

2.  We will finish the year on a sound financial footing, prepared to kick on into the following season

We also have a host of wider targets such as: a)  Broaden and grow youth

rugby at Millwall b)  Develop Touch rugby

under the O2 banner c)  Develop/grow a

structured sponsorship programme

d)  Celebrate our 20th anniversary in style!

Know any other clubs or local groups who might want to take advantage of our great clubhouse AND prices? Encourage them to come along. At £50 per year membership it’s fantastic value for money.

RFU Grand Draw Thanks to all who sold tickets in this year’s draw which took place in March, especially our star sellers Brigitte and GG. We raised £841.50 for the club. You’ve got to be in it to win it, so your support for the 2015 draw will be appreciated. If you can assist with the Grand Draw please get in touch with secretary@millwallrugby.com  

   

Help  Needed  

Open day on 6th Sept. volunteers were required on the day to help things run smoothly. Many thanks to those who s tepped up: BBQ, Touch Tourney, Cleaning up…

Minibus Driving Fisher is arranging a possible self-drive minibus alternative for the away teams – hooray! But we will need drivers with a D1 on their license. Keep an eye out for his mail…

Bar staff While we are looking good for bar staff at the moment, Gareth and Fisher would always welcome a few more…

End of season Dinner This feels like ages away however the dinner is always a major undertaking. If you would like to help organise this with Ed, please do reach out and let him know.

20th Anniversary Ed will be starting the planning for this now. Any ideas for events and/or help please contact Ed

Report: pre-season friendlies

30th August A good number of players travelled to Hackney marshes on 30th August for a friendly against Southwark Lancers. Result: 33 – 5 From 0-0 at half time, a strong performance followed. Started by the forwards’ power and them opening the scoresheet, the backs joined in. We saw scores from Matt Hopkins x 2, Sean Edwards x 2 and Shaun Cook and 4 conversions from George Conway All in all a positive start for the guys, but with plenty to keep the coaches grumpy and true to form!

6th September The pre-season continued in good form with a home game against Greenwich. Result: 31 – 7 Pre-match the coach made it clear he wanted an early statement of intent – done as Greenwich powered in for the first score after 5 minutes. Happily the guys then worked out the new captain’s Welsh accent and things improved… A good day at the office in the end, but again plenty to work on (‘patterns’ the coach kept shouting as he threw his toys in the air) There was a rumour that the coach smiled at full time – but that is only a rumour!

Bowls    

The local Bowling club were most welcoming hosts on Saturday 30th August. Following a generous all-you-can-eat BBQ (which may have been part of a cunning plan to remove some of our possible fitness – and there fore qu i te unnecessary) was followed by a very social bowling s e s s i o n d u r i n g t h e afternoon. We mixed up teams from both clubs and had a blast. Beer flowed throughout and we are looking forward to the return match!

Open  Day  

The time is upon us.... In our 20th anniversary year the celebrations start now! The Open Day was for Millwall rugby club members, past and present, to get together at the start of the season and bring friends, family, colleagues and even vague acquaintances round, for a great Millwall Rugby experience! Under 16 year olds were very welcome during the day, and it was great to see some families join us to join in the fun. Fancy dress rules state that this was an Open day and as such everyone was required to at least attempt to wear one item related to, or from, the 90’s. Oh dear…  

Timetable: 11:00 Clubhouse open, youth Touch Rugby on the pitch 12:00 BBQ starts and Grand Open Touch tournament 14:00 Senior Men’s team pre-season f r iend ly Rugby vs Greenwich L a t e r… . W e l c o m e s a n d celebrations continued in the Clubhouse until the wee hours… One word Iwan --- MOP  

In  the  Press  

Maintaining   a   strong   media  presence  is  a  vital  part  of  the  club’s  recruitment  and  reten7on  strategy.  This   doesn’t   happen   on   its   own.  Volunteers   take   the   photos   and  spend   7me   up load ing   and  ‘cleaning   them   up’.  Match   reports  have  to  be  wri?en,  no7ce  of  events  need   to   be   given,   papers   need   to  be   primed   and   rela7onships  cul7vated.   Sophie   and   Andrew   do  an   incredible   job   in   ensuring   we  receive   lots   of   posi7ve   media  a?en7on   which   in   turn   helps   to  a?ract  bigger  sponsorship  deals.    

End  of  Year  Dinner  &  Awards  

We  had  a  wonderful  end  of  season  dinner  at  Devonport  House  in  Greenwich.  The  awards  as  voted  by  you  were  Most  improved:    Michael  DelasEe  Best  new  player:    George  Conway  Under  22:      Michael  DelasEe  Players  Player:  Sean  Russell  Clubman:      Gareth  Hargreaves  Players  awards  went  to  1st  team:    Sean  Russell  2nd  team:    Alessandro  Penna  3rd  team:    James  Gough  Venus:    Amy  Trakos  Youth:    ScoS  Vinnicombe  Unsung  Hero:  Chris  Adams  Chairman’s  Award:  Sophie  Morris  /  Sophie  

   Buckman  Honorary  Life  Membership:    Mike  Beech  

Why  you  should  pay  your  membership  and  your  match  subs:  

Costs  per  match  per  team  

Home  pitch  hire            £40  

Referee                                        £30  

Transport  (Ave)            £280  

Food                                                £88  

Laundry                                    £15  

Penalty  drinks                £15  

Other  costs  -­‐  

Tackle  bags,  bibs,  balls,  shirts,  water  boSles,  phsyio  and  coaching  costs,  flood  light  running  costs  and  maintenance,  insurances,  clubhouse  rent,  rates,  first  aid  kit,  markeEng  flyers  and  posters,  subsidised  training  courses…  

Contact  Us  

Send  us  an  email  for  more  informaEon  

info@millwallrugbycom  

www.millwallrugby.com  

 

   

   Paul Gossip and Karen Anderson helped present the Honorary Life Membership to Mike Beech, shown with Club President Jim Fitzpatrick MP.

2015  RWC:  20th  Anniversary  

Millwall  Rugby    20  Years  Strong  The   organisaEon   for   our   20th  year  anniversary  needs  to  start  now,  and   it   coincides  with   the  Rugby   World   Cup   here   in  England!    Please  register  your  interest  to  g e t   i n v o l v e d   w i t h   a n y  commiSee   member,   either  personally   or   by   email   at  info@millwallrugby.com    We   can’t   make   it   happen  without  you.    

                 Who  knows  –  some  of  our  friends  and  ex-­‐members  may  make  the  trip  to  join  us  for  the  RWC…  

Clubhouse  Chat  

Hooos for an Orange 'ooooch?? Now in stock at the club. (as well as the old favourite – Skittlebombs!) For your viewing pleasure of various rugby games played by the professionals, we now have a choice of BT sport as well as Sky  

Kit is also now in stock - so throw away those worn out socks and shorts – and get some spanking new ones for this season…    

Treasurer’s  notes  

The changes that Robin announced in late August are planned to put us on a sound footing for the season and I will be producing the more fo rma l accoun ts shortly. Many thanks to those who h a v e r e n e w e d t h e i r membership and to those who have signed up to the Standing Order initiative. Not only does it save you money but it also helps us budget more accurately.

O2  Touch  Rugby  

We have recently aligned our T o u c h R u g b y t o t h e RFU O2 Touch banner and Flex is coordinating this for us. Borrowing from his recent words… As a Club, Millwall has a long history of successful Touch Rugby without necessari ly following any kind of procedure. We attained success essentially by doing and learning. We will attempt to blend the best of both methods in our quest to become the best O2 Touch centre on the Isle of Dogs – and beyond! Our aim is to find a balance which best reflects our aims of coaching, playing and competing in Leagues, allied with an environment that welcomes everyone, whatever their desire or ambition.

We run touch every Sunday afternoon starting at 1PM, come rain, come shine. Please bring yourself and any family or friends that are lying around the house and making the place look untidy… You will have fun!

Youth  

    Coming  next  ediEon!!  

Development  

Cuddles is leading the charge for us and doing a cracking job as we head into the season. He is focusing his efforts on recruitment across the teams; so expect new faces to start turning up at both Men’s and Venus rugby – and make them feel welcome! More to come next edition…

Temporary Membership Card/ Receipt Thank you for supporting us.

Category: Amount Paid: Name: Issue Date: Temporary card valid from two days after issue for a period of 60 days only. If you have not received your permanent membership card after 60 days please contact gareth@millwallrugby.com

Millwall Rugby Club Application for Membership Thank you very much for your support!

Your first name

Your last name

E-mail address

Mobile phone Male (tick)

Home phone Female (tick)

Home address including postcode

We’ll email you information about the club and social events unless you write “no” here

Signature of applicant Date: / /

Counter signature of a current, paid-up sponsoring member

Date: / /

Printed name of sponsoring member

In applying for membership of Millwall Rugby Club, I agree to adhere to the club’s rules of membership and be bound by the club’s code of conduct and disciplinary policy, a copy of which is available from the club website or by contacting the club secretary. I agree to behave in a manner that will not bring the club into disrepute and to uphold the RFU values and ethos of the sport of rugby. I consent to photos/videos of me being used from time to time on the club’s website(s) and/or promotional material. By becoming a member the undersigned will be a member of Millwall Rugby Club Ltd and liable for £1, being the amount that each member undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Club, in the event of its being wound up while he/she is a member or within one year after he/she ceases to be a member, as per the Articles of Association 4.1 and the Companies Act 2006. I understand that my membership will be considered (if sponsored and counter-signed by a current paid-up club member) from TWO days after application and may be terminated by the club at any time.

Amount paid

Method of payment Cash / Card / Cheque

Name of member

Date paid / /

Category (circle)

Full / Concessionary Child / Youth Standing Order / Life

Place in till drawer with membership payment. Do not ring memberships through the till. Use NO SALE.

Amount paid £ by Cash / Cheque / Card (please circle)

The part of form above to be given to Clubhouse Officer – leave in pigeon hole in office

Please tick category remembering to write the category on both counterfoils below

Employer (optional)

Profession (optional)

Are you willing to help the club professionally?

Child (under 6) (£10)

Youth (6 – 18) (£20)

Standing order (£25 p/m)

Life Membership (£1000)

Full (£50)

Concessionary (£25)

Please note: You will be asked to provide suitable evidence if you are applying for a concessionary membership (Student/Unemployed/Pensioner)