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A Festive Message From Kingswood RFC Chairman, Jim Stacey

A Festive Message From Kingswood RFC Chairman, Jim Stacey

Alan Bell26 Dec 2015 - 08:20
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https://www.kingswoodrfc.co.uk

What happened in 2015 and what can you look forward to in 2016 at Kingswood RFC.

2016 is going to be another challenging year, but one in which I think the club can progress even further
- Jim Stacey - Chairman

Hello to one and all.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas Day and are looking forward to spending more precious time with your loved ones over this festive period.

At this time of year it’s always good to reflect on what has happened over the last 12 months and start to plan for next year.

2015 has been another busy year for the Big K, both on and off the field.

On the field at a senior level, we had a tough period up to the end of last season that resulted in the 1st XV being relegated, however, we have bounced back positively this season and reached Christmas lying in 3rd position in the league and poised to challenge for promotion in 2016. With a strong effort from all players to support each other and the coaches, I remain confident that we can gain promotion back up to Gloucester 1 for next season. We also have a cup quarter final to look forward to, so we remain in the hunt for silverware in two areas. The 2nd XV have grown in strength and continue to have some very encouraging results.

The Touch team have competed in both summer and autumn leagues and go from strength to strength as well. They have performed really well and even won some silverware! They have also hosted their own tournament which they hope to do again in 2016.

The mini and juniors have also had an incredible year, with a record number of children training and representing the Knights, ranging from the Micros to the newly established U15’s Boys, as well as the Girl’s U13’s and U15’s squads. 2015 has seen 2 of the U15’s Girls, Grace and Tia, play representative rugby for Somerset and Gloucestershire respectively, which is a fantastic achievement and everybody at the club is very proud of them.

The U13’s Girls hosted their first ever festival, attracting over 10 clubs to play on the day, and several Boys from the junior section have been recognised and are now training with the Bristol Academy. All of the age group teams have put in fantastic performances over the first half of this season. A fantastic effort by all involved, players, coaches, parents, volunteers and supporters. A huge thank you for all the work you have done.

Off the field, the club became a limited company and celebrated its 60th Anniversary with a range of events, culminating in the end of season celebrations at both the senior and junior 60th Anniversary Dinners. As a club in 2015, due to the effort in raising money through various grants and fundraising efforts, we have been able to spend over £35,000 on ground and pitch improvements, including drainage for the bottom pitches, improving the training area and floodlights, as well as reclaiming a lot of land through the removal of bushes and trees. We have spent in addition over £35,000 extending the clubhouse social space and kitchen and completely redecorated the clubhouse, installed heating, improved the ladies toilets (long overdue so I am told) and purchased new furniture which I hope you all agree is a massive improvement on the facilities we had last year. We now have a clubhouse to be proud of and a social space which is a nice and welcoming environment for one and all. It’s really important that all of us now take the time to make sure the clubhouse remains clean and tidy and a space we can be proud off. Can I encourage all members to police this and treat this space as you would your own home and try to keep as much of the mud and mess out of the club as we can. By doing so this will ensure that the furniture lasts longer, allowing the club to concentrate on spending money on future developments and not on having to redecorate the clubhouse again. So to all players, please no kit or boots in the club and no dirty bums on the new seats. Parents and supporters, please bring a spare set of kit for the children to change into after the game and if you can, a spare set of shoes to put on to come into the club. It sounds a bit trite, but this will make a massive difference to the longevity of the chairs, tables and flooring and keep the clubhouse in great condition.

In other off the field events, we had a fantastic 2015 World Cup, although the less said about England the better! I do believe the Welsh contingent of Kingswood RFC enjoyed it slightly more that the English contingent did!

The club also received national recognition after being nominated for Community Club of the Year at the National Rugby Award, which was a fantastic achievement.

Sadly, 2015 also marked the passing of a former club captain and Kingswood stalwart, Mark Arnott. Arnie, as he was known, was a fantastic player for many years and in recent years he was seen at the club supporting the senior teams and attending the Old Boy’s reunions. A nice man that will be genuinely missed, and at this festive period, our thoughts are with his family.

Of course 2015 also saw a very serious incident when our own Ian ‘Dar’ Hardwell was taken seriously ill with a cardiac arrest just after he had finished running on some water for the 1st XV players. Thankfully for Ian and everyone at Kingswood RFC, we had a hero that day in the form of our Physio, Sarah Shaw, who reacted straight away to perform CPR on Ian until the ambulance arrived. Sarah’s actions saved Ian’s life that day and highlighted the need to have other supporters CPR trained, something which we have now done. Sarah’s actions have not only been officially recognised by her University, but also by the Bristol Post, who awarded her with the Gold Star 999 Award at a recent ceremony. Sarah and Ian will be in the studio of Radio Bristol in the New Year talking about that day, so stay tuned for a date and time to tune in. Thanks to generous donations from hundreds of people, including Ian and his partner Julie, the club have now installed a defibrillator at the club, and even though we hope it should never have to be used, having such equipment on scene will make a vital difference to anyone in need.

So looking forward to 2016, what’s on the horizon?

On the field, the 1st XV push towards promotion and have two crucial league games at home against the 1st and 2nd placed sides, Ashley Down and Spartans. It would be great to see as many members as possible down the club cheering them on and making Grimsby Road a fortress. They are currently unbeaten at home and let’s hope, with our help, that they can keep that record for the whole season. We will be looking to put out 3 sides after Christmas and possibly a Vets side, so if any of you fancy a game, please let Jim Hacker, Stan Bailey or myself know and we will get you a game. The Knights I know will continue to go from strength to strength and hopefully 2016 will see the U15’s Boys take the field in a Kingswood shirt for their first game.

We have the senior and junior tours to look forward to, both are set to be well attended and should be fantastic for all involved. In addition to this, both the seniors and juniors (U14’s) are hosting touring teams, so let’s make sure we give these teams a good Kingswood welcome and ensure their tour is a memorable one. At this point, as a tour judge, I would like to welcome Junior Chairman, Derek Golding, to the senior tour. I look forward to seeing you in court. Derek will be a tour virgin and the tour committee are accepting sealed bids for him already. I expect this one to raise a few quid!

Off the field, in the early part of 2016, and after more than 2 years of hard work, we will hopefully have the new lease agreed and signed for the ground with South Gloucestershire Council, have agreed plans for the new clubhouse and changing rooms and have planning permission in place which will allow us to start to plan and raise the money required to move the club forward and on to the next level. So lot’s going on and it’s great to see the club is continuing to move forward. It’s the people that make this club a great place to be and all of us have a part to play in the future success of Kingswood RFC & Kingswood Knights.

Finally, I would like to personally thank all of the management team for their hard work in 2015. To Karen and her team that keep us refreshed, well fed and manage a great clubhouse. To all coaches and volunteers that work so hard to keep all our players improving, the players for their efforts and successes on the field and to everybody else that contributes to making this club a great place to be. And finally a special thank you to all our sponsors, without your help we wouldn’t have been able to make some of the advances and improvements this year. Your support has been very much appreciated.

2016 is going to be another challenging year, but one in which I think the club can progress even further, both on and off the field.

So to finish, I wish all members of Kingswood RFC a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year. Enjoy the festive season, but for those of you lucky enough to still be playing, please don’t eat too many mice pies (yes I mean you Coey) and remember that all roads lead to the Big K.

All the best,

Jim

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