Like all individuals and organisations Allan Glens Sports Club and our playing and social membership community face significant challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our clear priority as the collective of our Sports Club and Sections is the well-being of our membership and staff and the financial security of our Club.

We are in an unprecedented time of uncertainty and anxiety and we are seeking to adhere to all requirements as advised and required. Some of our members, in their professional lives and as volunteers, are actively involved in the fight against COVID-19, and the threats posed by it, and we would like to express our thanks and admiration to them and others who are working in frontline healthcare and other essential services.

As President of Allan Glen's Sports Club I would like to formally place on record sincere thanks to all who have assisted our club to date for their hard work and effort since this pandemic started. I shall not name individuals however many have expended significant efforts, and continue to do so, to assist with the future safeguarding, recovery and ultimately growth for our community club. Our team of volunteers communicate regularly to maintain our position within various organisations and we have lodged application for relevant funding streams. We have furloughed all of our staff and thank them for their understanding of our position. We have minimised all costs and outgoings whilst our solitary source of income via Club turnover has been reduced to nil. We have volunteers cutting the grass and ensuring our building is in best position for once notification of possible reopening becomes formally known. A word of thanks to our landlord partners Allan Glens 2012 Trust for their gesture in agreeing to cist our rental dues at this time.

We follow the announcements made by the First Minister and our government advisors and in addition we receive SRU, Sport Scotland and SFA communications aimed to bring about the safe reopening of community sport facilities at the earliest time. Some planning documents will not form part of general media reporting and they arguably give a much more detailed and accurate information stream. All guidance recognises the lead in time needed for reopening and makes clear that decisions shall be based on scientific and medical evidence aimed at avoiding a flare up of the R rate and with complementary public health measures in place. This means that whilst dates may appear in the press, they have yet to be confirmed as definite by the Scottish government.

In the meantime, we are working to understand how we can train and get sport played once the conditions are right. We do not have a clear insight into the timescales on a return to training nor playing and the resultant vital revenue that rugby and football fixtures and other club events create. The fact that AGRFC and Glasgow Harp participate in contact sports means we may have a longer wait than other participation sports until we have a clear forward view on when our sports will resume, and on what basis.

The financial sustainability of Allan Glens Sports Club and our Sections is a priority for us and we will continue our efforts on our collective behalf. We applied for and received the East Dunbartonshire Small Business grant. We await response from SRU Club Hardship Fund where we applied in partnership with our rugby Club. We were refused our application to 3rd Sector Resilience Fund. If you consider that you can assist us as we progress towards recovery and growth we would be delighted to hear from you. Some members have kindly offered to make donations or coordinate collections to assist our club. Whilst we would normally refuse nothing but blows we currently have adequate funds for the immediate short term. It may be that subscriptions due in September shall be required to be timeously paid to aid our ongoing survival. There is however a lot to consider before then.

A couple of additional points.

There are no functions nor club events planned within our Clubhouse at this time. Once we are in a position to project with some certainty we shall keep you informed via official club channels.

During this Lockdown period we have been pleased to welcome responsible visitors to exercise within safe distancing at Bearyards. Unfortunately, as always, the minority of antisocial individuals ruin that goodwill with inappropriate actions. To avoid repetition of car damage to our parks and the risk of fly tipping we have installed chains and locks to our gates. We actively discourage the bringing of dogs to Bearyards without taking them elsewhere initially to ' toilet '. We are not a public park. If your dog does foul, which can happen, please bag all waste and take it off site with you. The answer is not to toss waste in the grass verges. We should all ' police ' our club and please speak courteously, politely but firmly to anyone not adhering to these requirements.

Please listen to all current guidance, stay well and be safe and I hope we get the opportunity to participate in sport and social activities in the near future at Bearyards.

Cheers

Steve McConnell
Allan Glen's Sports Club.