End of Season 2011
Welcome to our first Galaxy London Newsletter. It has been a very busy year of touch and we wanted to summarise the events and achievements of the season so far. On the field, we have had a very successful year with our teams and players performing at all levels.

League nights – In 2011 we have had many wins across our 3 venues, Regents Park, Wandsworth Common and King Georges Park during the winter, spring and summer season. Congratulations to all players who have contributed to these successful teams. Autumn 2011 League has just started and we are still in need of players, please let us know if you are keen to sign up.

National Touch Series – 2011 NTS series has been Galaxy London's most successful year. It’s has been fantastic having two teams playing in the NTS series, as this has created a great atmosphere both on and off the field when the two sides are together. Both teams are at different stages in their development; however both have achieved huge success. Welcome to all the new Salmon’s that have been Insalmonated this year. It is now the responsibility of our newest members: Tournie Secret Weapon, The Jawbreaker, The ‘Grin’ Reaper, Touch Tart, Salmon Pouter, Benita-peter-eater, The Interceptor, Welsh Mandarin Salmon, Galaxy money bags, Snakie skulling pro and Token Guernsey Guy to keep our traditions going.

Old Skool – Winning all five NTS finals is an incredible achievement, no team to date has done this before. Also, this year’s NTS series win, means Galaxy have been the overall winners for the third year running.

Newbie’s – Awesome first year, 2 wins at NTS level in your first year is a great achievement. On a number of times we were tantalising close to making semi and final spots. We hope you will continue to build and create your own team identity. First thing you need to do as a team is to decide on a name. You can’t be called Newbie’s, The White team or Galaxy 2 in 2012. One of the Club’s goals for 2012 will be to help and support the Newbie’s team next season at tournament level.

Once again our club has achieved great results in the NTS series, however other teams are training very hard to change this. We as a club and individuals need to keep developing, strengthen and improving our game to stay ahead.

Europe - Galaxy London have been very successful in European tournaments in 2011 including;
Galaxy London @ Paris GIF - Finished 8th
Galaxy London Women’s @ Free Touch Paris - Finished 1st
Galaxy London @ Valencia - Finished 2nd
Galaxy London@ Budapest - Finished 1st
Galaxy London @ Vienna - Finished 1st
Galaxy @ Channel Island Champs - Mixed Finished 1st, Men’s and Women’s Finished 1st
Galaxy@ European Club Championships - Finished 1st= Now European Club Champs

Galaxy London players have also been involved in coaching sides in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. Anyone wanting to get involved please get in touch.

Internationally - I would like to make a special mention of Galaxy players that have achieved selection at International level and whom attended the World Cup in Edinburgh this year. England squad members are: Marnie Wills, April Keeman, Benita Lee, Linda Tamakaha, Daniel Farrar, Quentin Peri, Nic O’Brien, and myself. Welsh squad members are: Kieran Hopkins, Rachel Viles, Richard Phelps and Dafs Woodward. Teariki Mahutariki who is a member of Cook Islands Men’s Open team. And, finally we can’t forget our international, international, the Dubai based Jean Schutte who played in the England Men’s Open team.

Off the field 2011 has been very productive. In February the Committee needed to officially formalise the Club’s status and appoint people to carry out our club’s administrative responsibilities. These included formation of a Club Constitution, Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. The arduous task of setting up of a business bank account for the Club. This resulted in many trips to HSBC and hours spent on the phone on hold! The club’s website and central email addresses have now been set up and this has helped greatly with communicating to our members. Now that these tasks have been completed the foundations have been laid for our future successes.

Also, short term goals were set for 2011 which were:
1. 2 teams in 2011 NTS
2. Aiming for 3rd NTS series win
3. Increase player numbers
4. Make sure all players are enjoying their touch rugby
5. To hold a 2nd annual Galaxy tournament

We feel we have achieved the first three goals. We hope you have enjoyed your touch rugby this year and there was enough variety and tournaments for everyone.

England Touch Association – The ETA is responsible for the governance and development of Touch in England. They are a Non-Profit organisation currently funded by membership fees and managed by an Executive Committee selected by their members. The ETA is also responsible for the selection, coaching and management of National teams to take part in International competitions. The ETA is a member of the Federation for International Touch (FIT). As a Club we pay an annual affiliation fee of £50 to the ETA.

Currently the ETA is appointing new people at Board and Director Level. Once these positions have been finalised more information regarding the 2012 season should start coming through. We will put together a Pre-season Newsletter for everyone (around February) with as many dates and information to help you plan your 2012 season.

EUROS - The 2012 European Champions are to be held in Rome. There will be trials for all 8 England squads. These are likely to take place later this year, however the exact format, dates and locations are yet to be finalised. Usually, train-on squads of approx 20 players are selected for each team. The squads will then train over the winter/spring months with final selections and naming of squads prior to the Euro’s. If any Galaxy players would like to trial, please contact myself or Marnie. If you are eligible for another country, again let us know as we could provide help with contacts. It would be great to have more Galaxy players within international squads, as this would help with training, fitness and give players exposure at a higher level.

Galaxy Playbook – Peter Walters has kindly sent us the Galaxy Playbook they will be using for their upcoming summer season. Galaxy London will be looking to introduce this from spring 2012. There will be pre-season and training nights covering all aspects of the Playbook. It is proposed that we make Wednesday nights our club training night at Wandsworth Common. We will enter 3 teams into the spring and summer leagues for 2012. This will provide an opportunity for players to have coaching and be familiar with our policies. The 2012 Spring league will start in April. The trainings sessions are designed to help all players understand and bring consistency to our game policies. The training sessions will be made up of fitness, ball skills and drills, defense and attack policies. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter for the help and support he has given us this year.

Finally, I would like to thank the committee for all their hard work and dedication to the club. Everyone has done a fantastic job to keep the club running smoothly and successfully.

2nd Annual Galaxy Touch Tournament

This year the event is being held at Linford Christie Stadium. As the World Cup Semi Finals are being played we have decided to have registration and Captains briefing at 11.30am with the first round starting at 12 and Finals finishing by 6.00pm in time for the presentations. The Walkabout in Shepherds Bush is opening early and will have coverage of the game. After the game you can get to the playing fields either by taxi or bus. There is a taxi place right next to The Walkabout and the 220 bus stop is right outside, both are a 5 – 10 minute journey to the playing fields.
Currently there are 10 Mixed teams, 6 Men’s and 6 Women’s teams so far. This is an amazing opportunity for us to hold a good tournament and raise funds for the club. We need as many people as possible to help on the day to make this a success. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of a few to raise money for everyone. Please contact us if you can help.

Mike Roa – Club President & Marnie Willis – Club Secretary

End of Season Partay

The Great Galaxy Ghost Race, 29th October 2011 from 3pm till late (HALLOWEEN WEEKEND SAVE THE DATE!). £400 summer season bar tabs, plus prizes for winning teams and best Halloween costume. Please get back to Kate kate_scheres@hotmail.com or Rae rachael.viles@eyc.com, if you are keen. More details to follow closer to the date, as we will need to have confirmed numbers before the day!

Kate Scheres and Rachael Viles – Social Secretaries

Financials - Firstly I’d like to say thanks to all the venue managers and tournament organisers who have helped me chase late payments, your support has been greatly appreciated. Secondly thanks to all those who’ve made an effort to get their payments in on time. I’ve definitely noticed an improvement and my spreadsheets now show much more green than red! :) However, there are still a few of you out there who are consistently late with paying, so please can you try to get them in quicker. If you have any issues with payments please let me know as I am more than happy to work out a way to help you manage what is owed. Getting those payments in on time really helps me keep track of our cash position. Also it ensures that we are able to pay for tournaments as quickly as possible, making sure we don’t miss out on a space (like some teams did at Bath NTS this year).
Since we set up the Galaxy account we have accumulated a balance which is surplus to the tournament and league entry fees we’ve paid. This surplus has been important, as it has enabled us to manage our cash flow effectively. It has also meant that the club has been able to purchase: white tour kit; hold some extra kit for people to purchase if they missed out on ordering themselves and contribute towards galaxy events like the lawn bowls at our summer party.
As well as being able to give back to the players we have a number of other outgoings that we need to pay for using surplus cash. This includes our ETA affiliation fee, which allows us to play in the NTS series and some other tournaments.
As we currently have a surplus of approximately £995. The Committee have proposed we spend the surplus funds on the following items, as detailed below. If anyone has any other good ideas on how we can invest our funds back into the club then please email me at galaxytreasurer@gmail.com.

Kat Ferguson – Club Treasurer

2012 Expenditure – Based on the above financials we have agreed to do the following with the surplus funds.

• Retain some funds within the account, so we start next season with a float. This would provide some buffer against early payments needed for league/tournaments. Also we need to retain 2012 ETA Affiliation fee. Therefore we are looking to retain £500.

• New playing tops are need for the Old Skool team at tournaments. The team has achieved great results on the field, but sadly we have a mismatch of uniforms and it’s not a good look. We are looking to get 16 new playing tops for next season. The tops will be given out and returned at the end of each tournament. We are likely to use TRU Sports again. However, will we require certain assurances from them about the quality and timing of our order. We have budgeted £350 for tops.

• We will be getting an invoice shortly from the ETA for payment of our 2011 Affiliation fee. We have set aside £50 for this.

• We will put together a tape/strapping/first aid bag together for 2012. We have budgeted £50 for this.

• We want to put £200 towards the End of Season party on 29th October for food and prizes. We already have a bar tab of £400 and if the Autumn league does well possibly more.

• Order more Galaxy t-shirts or something similar to give away to people who have helped the club. We have set a budget of £200, again we are likely to use TRU Sports and combine this with the playing tops order.
To purchase all the above items we require £1,350. We hope a successful Galaxy tournament on 15th October will raise a profit to cover the shortfall. So please support and get involved with the Galaxy tournament to help make it a success so we can get everything on our wish list. If our tournament raises more this more could be used to reduce player’s league and/or tournament fees. We are keen to either provide more for our players or reduce fees so the overall cost comes down.
As a final note, please be assured that we will not purchase any items for the club if we do not have the funds or they are not within budget.

Everybody - Club Committee

Winter Training

Hey Guys, it's the end of the regular season, well done to all the players who have been a part of the NTS tournaments. This is just a heads up for all those players who are going to continue with the club next year. Being coach and player I want to see both teams raise the bar from our achievements this year.
As a Personal Trainer I know the benefits of training and how much this can help with fitness and skills. Off season training can really improve your lifestyle, your individual fitness and your touch game. This is the time to get fitter, stronger and mentally ready to play touch at the highest level. To get the most out of the winter months you should do the following:
1. Join a gym
2. See a Personal Trainer
3. Start a strength training program
4. Start running, which can be combined with your strength training

These are all great things that will help you play and enjoy your touch more. If you have been disappointed this year by your performance or you feel you haven't played to your potential, now is the time to train and get ready. NO MORE EXCUSES.

Thanks for a great season and all the effort everyone has put in this year. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call or email me johnhoodpt@gmail.com

John Hood, Personal Trainer at GYMBOX – 07789 228376

On the Bench

Touch rugby is thought to have a similar incidence of soft tissue injuries to its full contact cousin’s league and rugby union. The reason for this is the relative speed and intensity of the game, the stop/start nature of plays and the lateral/rotational forces that are imparted on players' lower limbs. Joint injuries, predominantly the ankle and knee are the most commonly injured sites.

Common injuries include:
• Lower leg - injuries include sprains, strains, dislocations and fractures of the knee and ankle.
• Hand - such as sprains, strains, dislocations and fractures of the fingers.
• Hamstring - soft tissue injury to the muscle at the back of the thigh.
• Head - injuries include black eye, split lip and concussion.
• Impact injuries - from falling over or colliding with another player. For example, the shoulder can be injured from a heavy fall.
Factors that can increase your risk of injury include:
• Certain manoeuvres - such as diving for the ball, changing direction and touching.
• Lack of fitness and strength - a certain level of fitness and strength is required to play touch.
• Inexperience - beginners may be more likely to be injured because they do not have the skills or technique to meet the demands of the sport.
• Poor technique - holding or moving the body incorrectly can put unnecessary strain on joints, muscles and ligaments.
• Overtraining - training too much and too often can lead to a wide range of overuse injuries.
The off-season is the best time to prepare yourself for the intense nature of competitive touch rugby. In coming newsletters we will cover specific joint and soft tissue injuries and ways that you can prevent them through better conditioning.
If injuries occur the team at Crystal Palace Sports Injury Clinic (www.cpsic.co.uk) are able to offer fast and effective expert treatment to have you back on the playing or training field as soon as possible.

Nic O’brien – Physio at Crystal Palace Sports Injury Clinic – 077768 193069

Help needed - If any club members would like to help with the running of our club please let us know. We would like as many people as possible to be involved to share the load, broaden the decision making and provide new and constructive ideas.

1. As Kate is leaving us in February 2012 , we need a person to help Rae orgainse Galaxy social events. If you like to help please let us know.

2. We need a person to help Jo/Kate run and manage our Website and/or Facebook. Our Facebook page is where all results and game times could or will be posted each week and other club notices. Also we can become friends of Galaxy Worldwide and let all the Galaxy clubs know what were up too. If Galaxy players have good photos from tournaments or modules that they would like to share then speak to Jo or Kate. We do have a new web presence on http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/galaxylondon/

Good Byes - Sadly, Lionel Taparizza is leaving us and we would like to thank him for all he has given us both on and especially off the field. After 14 amazing years in London town Shannon is swapping us for the good life in OZ. It’s been wonderful have you here for so long. You both will be hugely missed and good luck for the future. If you can, please get down to the end of season partay for some final snakies.

Committee Members

Mike Roa – President
Marnie Wills – Secretary
Kat Ferguson – Treasurer
Joanna Cremin – Vice Treasurer
John Hood and Benita Lee – NTS Selectors
Kate Scheres and Rachael Viles – Social Secretaries