1) AGM

The Club AGM was held on May 21st where a review of the season and Club accounts were submitted. An ambitious plan for investment over the close season was tabled and this will be discussed in later newsletters.

The club has generally had a good year on the field with the 1st team keeping its place in its league after promotion the previous year and the 2nd team having an excellent season being runners up in its merit table and gaining promotion. We also managed to field a 3rd/Vets team during the season that successfully integrated the older club stalwarts with our Colts and occasional players.

The Colts maintained their position in Division1 of the HertsMiddlex League and for the 3rd year running got to the final of the Middlesex Clots cup losing 15-12 to Twickenham in the final.

The mini/Youth Section has continued to grow and gain more success.
We have over 400 registered players with most Mini squads putting A & B and in some cases a C team into festivals and tournaments.
This growth is now making inroads into the Youth section with the U13 and U14 sides putting an A & B team into the leagues this year.

There are at least 12 new pieces of silverware behind the bar or in the cabinet. At County level the festivals were very successful; the U8s were runners up and the 11s losing semi finalists (2nd and joint 3rd in the county respectively; in the U12s county championship the A team came fourth and the Bs third. The season ended on a high for the minis with three squads (U9, 11 and 12) winning the Eton Manor Festival, with the 9s and 12s not conceding a try. I look forward to ordering a new trophy cabinet.

Off the field we kept finances under control that has allowed us to investment in the club in a difficult economic environment. I must thank our club sponsors for remaining loyal and supporting the club during this difficult time.

The AGM then voted in the Committee members for 2009/10:-

President Fergal Madden
Chairman George Loureda
Secretary Geoff Ottley
Treasurer Ed Buxton
Chairmen of Sponsorship Martin Kiddle
John Carver
Chairman of Facilities Peter Miller
Chairman Mini/Youth Andy Stone
Club Captain Ollie Richardson
1st Team Captain Lawrence Hewitt
Middlesex RFU Reps Clive Roberts
Colin Seabrook

A number of other club members were voted on to the committee to support the running of events and fundraising of the club; Carl Elliott, Phil Todd, Fergal Shaw, Chris Galvin, and Eugene Linden. In addition I’m pleased to welcome Olan Kerrison who takes up the new position of Assistant Club Secretary.

We have ambitious plans for the Club in the next 3 years and I’m pleased to welcome John Carver on to the committee who will be focused on bringing new sponsors to the club in addition to the excellent work Martin Kiddle already does in generating from international ticket sponsorship

2) Director of Mini/Youth Rugby

The AGM also voted to have a new position as Director of Mini/Youth Rugby. This is a very important role and will support chairmen Andy Stone in further improving the quality of our Mini/Youth coaching and playing standards. We have the best Mini/Youth section around the area, however, many of the best Mini/Youth setups in the wider Herts/Middlesex area have this position including Ruislip, Bishop Stortford, Saracens, Hertford and Harpenden. If we are to compete with these teams in the Division 1 of the Herts/Middlex leagues we need to support our coaches and players with the education and training to achieve this. I am pleased to announce that John Casalaspro has agreed to fulfill this role; John has strong ties with Middlesex RFU having coached county teams and is a Level 3 coach with strong technical skills. John will work with our coaches at all age groups and also interface with the senior setup to ensure we have a consistent coaching approach throughout the club.

2) New On-line Shop and Supplier
As the club membership grows we have found it increasingly difficult to stock and run the Finchley Club Shop so we have decided to change the way we do things. We have partnered with RugbyTech the up and coming rugby brand that will design and produce the new Finchley range of rugby training and leisurewear.

This is an exciting development as RugbyTech will produce and maintain a Finchley on-line shop where members can order and pay for stock on this secure site and receive their goods with 5 working days.

We will have one consistent, professional look across the club that will enhance the Finchley RFC brand and will be the envy of other rugby clubs in our area.

We will continue to stock “basic” items in the clubhouse shop including mini playing shirts, socks, gum shields, boot studs that will be sold on playing and training days.

The new online shop can be accessed via our club website www.finchleyrfc.co.uk (The Club/Shop/Shop Link). Please visit the shop and see what it has to offer.

3) Big Investment in our Club

As mentioned in the AGM article above, the close season has seen major have investment of over £15,000 in maintaining and improving our infrastructure and facilities. Detailed below is a summary of the activity that has taken place:-

a) Top pitch
An investment of over £5,500 has been made to improve the top pitch that includes leveling, fertilizing and seeding the pitch.

b) Changing Rooms
We have again decorated the changing rooms to ensure our facilities remain the best in North London. This is a major investment and we ask all coaches and players to respect the facility and to keep them respectable

c) New Cooker, Boiler and Glass Washer
We have upgraded theses key elements in the clubhouse so we can cope with the increasing number of members and visitors that use our facilities. The new boiler will overcome the heating problems we experienced last winter.
We would like to thank Mr Martin Sheppard for his kind donation for the new cooker that now holds pride of place in the kitchen.

d) Glebeland Training Lights

In the dark winter months teams train on the Glebeland under inadequate lights. We have already made some improvements to these lights and will carry out further upgrades in the autumn. This will mean a larger area will be lit, enabling more teams to train in the evenings and allowing coaches to move sessions around to prevent the ground becoming a bog!

e) The Rhino Rebel 3 Scrum Sledge

Of paramount importance to the club is the safety of our players and with this in mind we have been concerned about the younger age groups using the large scrum machine for training.
We have therefore invested in a bespoke scrum sledge for the Mini/Youth section, ideal for players in the age groups up to 17 years old and sourced from Rhino.

f) New Padded Coaching Jacket

For the start of the new season we have purchased new jackets for all the coaches at the club so we can present a professional consistent image for the club and the jackets are made by Rhino and will have the Finchley Club crest on the left breast panel

4) Subscriptions for 20009/10

We have pegged subscriptions at last year’s levels to do this we must ask players and parents to make the payment promptly at the start of pre-season training to ensure we have the necessary funds to run the club.

Mini £50 per annum
Youth £70 per annum
Senior £180 per annum
Student £60 per annum
Non playing Member £50 per annum

As per RFU guidelines, any player who has not shown some commitment to pay will not be allowed to play competitive rugby as they will not officially be covered by insurance.