Dear fellow Accies,
Well, that’s me nearly 18 months into my Presidency, not that I’m counting! It’s been quite challenging but I am enjoying the role and, along with the help of the other committee members and volunteers, strive to take the club forward and ensure it is sustainable.
The coronavirus pandemic has really put a spanner in the works but I hope that everyone remains well and healthy during this difficult time. Just when it seemed that things were improving, it would appear that this is the 2nd wave that we were dreading, has arrived. I really hope that this situation will resolve in the near future and an efficient vaccine can be produced, that will enable us to return to some sort of normality again.
With everything that’s going on, there have been some positives over the last few months.
We recently had the AGM. Although the attendance was not great, we were able to discuss a few points for the year ahead, which was worthwhile.
The youth section has been back training for the last 6 weeks and the ladies and senior sections have been back for the last 4 weeks, which is great. It’s brilliant to see rugby back on at the club, although there are still restrictions in place.
The ladies section has been running their RugbyFit programme since mid-September and there have been great numbers turning up, and hopefully the section will gain some new players from this. The enthusiasm of the coaching team has been fantastic, so well done to them.
I also have some good news on the senior men’s section. We welcome Mark Senter, our new coach. Mark has great experience, having coached at a number of clubs, including Whitecraigs and Falkirk, as well as being a part of the Scottish Rugby Glasgow and West FOSROC Academy coaching team. Mark has settled in very well and we are very hopeful that we will have the opportunity of putting the good work on the training field into games. Welcome Mark.
I was hoping that the season for all sections would start at the end of October, but unfortunately circumstances have meant that senior rugby at least has been delayed until January.
There have been a number of changes to the season ahead, with all sections playing in smaller regional leagues. As much as it is disappointing that the full season and league cannot go ahead, it is obviously understandable. To be honest, I’ll just be happy to see club rugby this season. We will keep you all updated via the website and social media, so look out for information on fixtures.
Unfortunately, the bar is now closed until October 25th at the earliest. All going well, we will open on Thursday 29th October, and we await to see what hours of opening will be permitted. I welcome all members down to the club. We are ensuring that we adhere to the guidance in place, so I would urge members to follow them too. I hope that we will be in a position to see you down soon.
One negative is that our income this year will be greatly reduced due to the lack of functions etc. I would ask that all members pay their membership, as these are now due. If you pay via standing order, then no action is required. For those who normally pay as a one off payment, I would greatly appreciate if this could be paid as soon as possible please. We are relying heavily on subscriptions this year.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for their continued support. Despite the likely impact that coronavirus has had to businesses and the lack of rugby ahead for this season, our sponsors continue to back us and I am so grateful for their generosity.
Our floodlights are also now barely fit for purpose and we have a team working on upgrading them. This may be of significant cost to the club. We will endeavour to search for grants to aid in financing these, but we will also require the assistance of all members to help in fundraising efforts. All ideas are welcome and I’m sure the will and generosity of our members will enable us to raise the required amount. Having the option of floodlights is extremely beneficial to the club, ensuring training for all of our players can continue and allowing evening games to take place, which is my hope. If anyone has any ideas, please contact me on gossy09@yahoo.com .
As I have already said, please keep a look out on the website and social media for continued updates.
Please take care and I hope to see you all soon,
Peter Gossman
President AARFC