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Chairman's Update

Chairman's Update

Ian Thurloway16 Dec 2014 - 08:20
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End of year message from Crawley RFC Chairman, Paul Chapman

Dear Crawley RFC member

With the season now well underway with our two regular senior sides both competing well in their respective leagues. As we stand today the 1st XV in Sussex 1 are 4th but the league table remains tight with all 4 top teams playing each other before Christmas, if results go our way we could be second heading into the festive break. The 2nd XV are working hard for results and are doing well despite inconsistent numbers sitting mid table in Sussex 2 West. Both our teams have done commendably well despite the sometimes depleted squads the coaches have had to work with due to the seemingly never ending catalogue of injuries. Well done to coaches Steve, Josh and Guy and the players who have worked hard in training and on the field and thanks to team managers Dave Bowen and Philip Searle for their efforts getting in the teams out and organised. We are also indebted to many of our veteran players who have made exceptional efforts to play for the senior sides, we would not have been able to field teams without them.
The game of Rugby is facing challenges from many other activities and sports attracting our participants away from the game. The RFU has identified the age group 16 – 24 years as most at risk and at Crawley it’s particularly critical for our club when you consider the age profile of the players in our senior sides. Rather than the committee deciding what needs to be done to make these players stay in the game, we want to ask them and listen to what they have to say. To this end there is a RFU online survey that I ask all 16 to 24 year old members to complete at and will be emailing them directly with details. We want these players tell us what they think we are doing well, what we can do better and how we can help them play more and get more enjoyment from our club. The information received will be used by the club and the RFU to make the game and our club better and retain players longer term.
Our youth teams are all performing well with improvements in playing numbers and performance across all sides. This season has seen the introduction of the “Micro Tryers” group for 3-5 year olds with numbers growing far in excess of where we expected. Congratulations to Liadan Currie, Arthur Rees and the team for this is hugely successful initiative.
A special mention has to go to our U16 Team. They finally won a 15-a-side game and are stringing together a run of consistently competitive performances. This group of players have stuck together through some bleak seasons and this year have worked exceptionally hard for their new coaches Deron Croft and Mark Keeley. Very well done to all concerned!
The management committee have been discussing the future development of the Club and we have concluded that we cannot let the possible threat of a runway expansion that may or may not happen prevent us from moving forward. The council have finally, at our request, just had the clubhouse independently valued. When we know what the valuation is, it will form the basis of future negotiations on our possible future strategy, direction and leasing options. Additionally the committee is looking into funding sources for facility improvements, e.g covering/extending the balcony, hard standing between the clubhouse and pitch 1, the gym, possibly a 3G surface for pitch 3, etc. More to follow on these and other initiatives in the coming weeks.
The Club finances are ticking over but despite the bar looking better than ever, function bookings are down on last year. I would urge all members who know someone looking for a place to book a party or function to contact Ian Hodder to discuss what the Club can offer as a venue.
Remember as we go into the holiday season the club will have its usual Christmas festivities, Ian H’s famous “pork and port” on Christmas eve and the new years party to mention just 2. The club needs your support as do the teams from all age groups, remember to keep an eye on the website for fixture updates and get yourself down to support Crawley Rugby Club whenever you can.

That just leaves me to wish you all a very happy Christmas and prosperous new year and to stay safe and well over the holidays.

Regards

Paul Chapman
Chairman Crawley RFC

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