The evening opened with the Chairman, Kevin Attree expressing disappoint with the final league position of the 1st team but the hope that there may be a reprieve to remain in the Ryman League when the league structures at Step 4 are announced by the FA.

Kevin then went on to praise both the Under 21/Reserve side who have managed to extricate themselves from the relegation zone of the Almary Green Anglian Combination Premier league. Under the stewardship of joint managers, Kaine Challen and Damian Didwell the side has risen from bottom of the league and seemingly doomed to relegation to finish in 8th position.

The final side at the club has been the most successful this season. The Under 18s under managers Mark Wilkinson and Russell Barnes finally, after 2 near misses, were champions of the Eastern Division of the Thurlow Nunn U18 League. A well deserved round of applause followed and wasn't going to be the only one of the night.

The chairman then proceeded to present gifts to some of the hard-working volunteers behind the scenes of the club.

First of the managers to take the microphone was 1st team boss Damian Hilton. Damian came into the role part way through the season and went so close to automatically securing the side's Ryman League status. It all came down to the final game and Wroxham (as it turned out) just need a win but unfortunately a goalless draw away at Romford saw the side finish third from bottom. He was hopeful though that with the league alignment he would be managing the club in the Ryman League again next season. The club and history of the club is massive locally and it is important that it plays at the highest level it can.

Damian went on to praise Cassie Wildey, who is stepping down from her role as lead sports therapist at the club after 5 years. A presentation was then made to Cassie on behalf of the club.

Next to receive praise was the Under 18 management and he looked forward to the future when many of these players will be representing the first team in the Ryman League.

Damian then reflected on the Under 21s and again heaped praise on the joint management team. He was present at the final Under 21 game the previous night and in his view the atmosphere was like a cup final as the side scored a late winner.

Behind the scenes staff and volunteers were next to receive the manager's praise and thanks. People behind the scenes put hours of work into the club without many being aware of it. Those volunteers received a deserved round of applause.

Reflecting on the season as he presented the Player of the Season Award, he said that despite it being a difficult season there were some high points. Turning to the announcement, he praised the winner as a model player who attended all training sessions, putting himself out for others and was a professional about his performance. Wroxham Football Club's Player of the Season was awarded to Elliot Pride.
Damian finished his speech with the thought that he was looking forward to the next season and progressing the club.

Next manager to take the microphone was joint reserve team boss Kaine Challen. He and his co-manager Damian Didwell had come in part of the way through the season. They were confident that the players were good enough to take the team forward but just needed a bit of guidance. To that end, he persuaded club legend Shaun Howes to re-lace his boots and come out of retirement. As the side was 6 points adrift, he felt that the young side made up of a number of the Under 18s just needed that experience to help them out. As it was shown, the side finished 8th and ended 6 points ahead of the bottom side. A run of 10 games without defeat at the business end of the season saw the side pull themselves clear.
His hopes for next year is that the side would be challenging for honours in the Anglian Combination and that some of the players would be playing for the 1st team in the Ryman League. A number of players were then individually praised and mentioned by Kaine. His first award of the night was for Under 21 Players' Player of the Year which was awarded to full-back Tom Rampling. The second award was for Managers' Player of the Year which was awarded to Jack Lincoln.

The next manager to take the microphone was the most successful in the club this year. Mark Wilkinson pointed out the the side had held a get-together earlier in the week as a number of the players were not available on the night. He praised his side who after 2 near-misses had finally won the league under his management. He couldn't have been more proud of his lads and felt they were just absolutely brilliant all year. Those players present on the night were called forward to collect their league champions trophies.

Turning to the awards for the season. Players Player of the year was awarded to Bradley Spooner.
Managers' Player of the Year was awarded to Luke Holland.
A special award went to Warren Preston.

Turning back to the first team, the final set of awards to be announced were as follows:

Supporters Player of the Year - Elliot Pride
Committee Player of the Year - Stephen Taylor

The evening finished with everyone looking forward to August with the hope that all of the sides will be able to play at the highest level they can next season and the pride of being a Yachtsman!

https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/wroxhamfc/photos/presentation-night-2016-667090.html

Report by Adrian Gowling