Club Captain Update - welcome to the 2012/13 season

Men, women & children of Millwall,

So it’s time for my first email as Men’s Chair - I hope you are as excited as I am about the season ahead. I’ll try to keep this short and sweet, but there are a fair few points to cover so here it goes:

Pre-season

Venus and Youth have already started their pre-season on Wednesday nights and Men’s training will start from Thursday 2nd August on Millwall Park at 7.30PM. Touch will continue to take place this Tuesday night (31st July) and there’s talk of a reporter from one of the major UK papers being there for interviews/photos, so make sure you get yourself down to Millwall Park. Time for us all to work off the summers excess and get stuck into some good training!

The clubhouse will be open afterwards, so please make the effort to stay down and give any new members a good old Millwall welcome. This Thursday (2nd Aug) we will be kicking off the summer (it’s been so hot we even had a tropical storm today) with a BBQ after training, so come down to the clubhouse and unwind with a refreshing drink and some great food - the clubhouse will open from 7:30pm for those not at training. We will also be hosting a toga party at the clubhouse on Friday (3rd Aug), so keep an eye out for further details and kick off the weekend in true Olympic style!

Club Open Day

On Saturday 18th August, we are opening our doors to the whole community, helping attract new players, and welcoming back old. The Youth will be kicking off the day in the morning and this will be followed by a touch rugby tournament in the afternoon. There will also be lots of other entertainment going on during the day so don't miss out!

The sun will be shining all day, so get it in your diary and make sure you send me your team entries (teams are allowed six players on the pitch at any one time with at least one being a woman)!

New Coach

We are making good progress with appointing a head coach for the coming season, so look out for the big announcement over the next couple of weeks.

Recruitment

We will send more details of organised recruitment events shortly (Bobfish and Sophie have already been busy organising), but please can everyone make an effort to get onto your mates/colleagues/boyfriends/girlfriends to come down to throw round the ball this season. We don't care if they've never played rugby before, or are a retired international; there is room for everyone at Millwall.

Fixtures

We will be starting the season with our traditional club trial game, with both the men’s and women’s sides playing Hackney RFC on Saturday 1st Sep.

The leagues start on Saturday 15th Sep for the Llamas & Odd Socks, with the 1st XV hosting Dagenham on the 22nd. The Youth (U14s) will host Chelmsford on the 30th September and then Venus will return to a league competition after 4 years, on the 7th Oct against Barking.

I appreciate there’s a lot going on so here’s a summary of key dates for the diary:

Thur 2nd August: Men’s Pre-season training starts & Summer BBQ a the clubhouse
Fri 3rd Aug: ‘It’s all Greek to Me’ Toga Party at the Clubhouse
Sat 18th Aug: Club Open Day
Sun 19th Aug: FindRugbyNow London Sevens (Venus and a bunch of the guys will be entering teams)
Sat 1st Sep: First adult games of the season for Mens and Venus at Hackney
Sat 8th Sep: Matt Shorrock’s testimonial on Millwall park (incl. Kev’s 200th cap)
Sat 15th Sep: First league games for Llamas & Odd Socks
Sat 22nd Sep: First league game for 1st XV
Sun 30th Sep: First league game for the Youth (U14s)
Sun 7th Oct: First league game for Venus

If you are still reading, thanks for sticking with me and I hope to see you all down the club in the very near future!

Shaf

Clubhouse Openings!

Hi Everyone!!!

Finally the nice weather is smiling down upon us and what better way to enjoy it than coming down to the clubhouse and enjoying some good food and great banter.  Some things to be on the lookout:

Thursday 26/07/12

The Clubhouse is open tonight with £1 Guinness pints (while supplies last)! Who can beat these prices? Chef Shezza will be once again cooking down at the clubhouse.  This night will be a taste of Italian with a Pasta Puttanesca served with garlic bread and a side salad. Clubhouse will be open from 7:30 until 10 pm.

Wednesday, 01/08/12 - Wiggy Wednesday

Be on the lookout for information regarding next Wiggy Wednesday.

SAVE THE DATES!

Thursday 02/08/12 –  BBQ at the Clubhouse

Further details to come!

Friday 03/08/12 – ‘It’s All Greek to Me’ Toga Party

It’s Friday night and what should I wear???  Hm… I know a sheet!  It’s time to TOGA!!!  What better way to celebrate the Olympics than dressing like an Ancient Greek.  Yes, the time has come to don your favourite sheet in a toga fashion and watch the Olympics.  Chef Shezza will be on hand serving up some delicious Greek food.  We will have more details soon!

Isle of Dogs Big Weekend/Hospitality Houses

Hi All!

As we all know the Olympics are gearing up and there are some wonderful free events going on in the area and around London.

Isle of Dogs Big Weekend

The Isle of Dogs Big Weekend hosts 3 events right in our own Millwall Park which are completely free!

·         Fun in the Park – A giant Family Fun Day on Saturday 28th July 12.30-4.30pm

·         Quiz in the Park – A Multi-Media Sports Quiz specially created for 2012, Saturday 28th July 7.30-9.30pm

• If you’d like to book a team please either telephone 0207 0931212, email info@stpetersbarge.org or use the form on the website.

·         Together in the Park – A celebration hosted by six Island churches, with Team GB Paralympic world record holder Stef Reid, Sunday 29th July 11am-12noon

Re. the quiz night, if people want to book in their quiz team they can do so by calling 0207 0931212 or emailing info@stpetersbarge.org, or by using the web form on the website.

Please visit www.isleofdogsbigweekend.co.uk for more information

Olympic International Hospitality Houses

There are a variety of countries hosting hospitality houses around London during the Olympic period offering cultural events along with food and wine.  Please click on the links below to find ones that you might be interested in attending!

http://www.visitlondon.com/london2012/national-hospitality-houses-for-london-2012/

http://www.londontown.com/London/Olympic-National-Hospitality-Houses

Clubhouse Keys & Access Cards Amnesty

The change over of the Committee for the coming season is now well under way.  With that in mind we are asking for any of our members (or other volunteers) who have keys to club that are no longer required to return them to the Clubhouse Officer.

Keys are only to be held by Members of the club who require regular unattended access to the clubhouse  (they are not given to anybody by default).


You may also remember that the Clubhouse Access Card policy was changed last year.  New members are no longer given access cards & instead are given regular membership cards.  The cost of access cards is very high and we simply cannot afford to replace a large volume of them.


Generally access cards are now only used for the main entrance (plus for the rear door for authorised members and suppliers only).  The rear access door is NOT to be used as a through fare when the clubhouse is open, members will be politely reminded of this during opening hours.


If you have not been to the clubhouse for a while you card has now probably expired, this will also be the case if your membership has expired.  Again we are asking for all members & volunteers who have a card but no longer need it to return it.  


We are desperately short and require new cards for incoming officials.
If you have either Keys or a Card to return please email clubhouse@millwallrugby.com, or simply drop them in to the Duty manager the next time you are in & they will make a note of the return.


Thanks in advance,

Ryan, Clubhouse Officer.

Chairman's Update and Committee Handover

Hi All,

Welcome to my last Chairman's update, the incoming Committee officially take over today and I would like to wish them all the best for the coming season, I'm sure with your help the Club will continue to grow and overcome the challenges we have continued to be challenged with over the last couple of years.

Annual Dinner
Thanks again to Jim, and Sheila for hosting a great event and the highlight of our social calendar. Tim our incoming Chairman, Kathy, Sophie and Andrew also deserve thanks for their hard work in organising the event.
Sophie's raffle raised over £800 and I hope it will become a regular event! Sophie?

Honorary Life Memberships
Congratulations once again to our newest Life Members, Larry McCabe, Darryl Gera and Gloria Thienel

End of Season awards
Congratulations again to the following people who all won awards this year -
Most improved - Kirstie Hargreaves
Best newcomer - Tom Ronayne
Young Player of the year - Michael (Tank) Delastie
Venus Player of the year - Hayley Whitehead
3rd XV Player of the year - Jack Rowland
1st XV Player of the year - Jamie Rickman
Players Player - Louise Norris
Unsung Hero - Martin (Wiggy) Ward
Youth Volunteer - Zoe Arnold
Chairman's award - Andrew Hesselden
Clubman - Ryan Kuleska

Pre-Season
Shaf and his team will soon be announcing their plans for the pre-season and I know they are looking to organise an open / registration day on the 18th of August and pre-season games are also due to start mid August.
Don't forget our first league games are 7 weeks away!! More from them shortly I'm sure.

Sponsorship & Partners
As you know we are constantly on the lookout for new partners to help us run and fund the Club, so if you have a skill that you think might be useful or work in a firm that maybe willing to help us practically or financially please let us know it doesn't matter if its an hour a month or a big or even a small sponsorship deal we are always happy to hear from you.
Please email Sophie at devlopment@millwallrugby.com

Social events
I've been reliably informed that Wiggy's Wednesday will continue through out the summer and that Brigitte and the gang are looking to open the Club on Friday evenings if there is the demand. I'm sure that we will also here about some social plans for the Club open day on the 18th of August. More from the Social team shortly.

Clubhouse
We continue to work with Council to resolve the Clubhouse rent negotiations and hopefully we'll have some good news soon.

Mudchute Park and Farm
The port-a-cabin on the lower paddock has been condemned and will be removed shortly, thanks to Tim, Randall, Tom, Paul and Gareth for helping empty it out on the weekend. If you know where to get hold of a replacement changing room and toilet blog free or at a good price please let us know asap.

Touch Rugby
Don't forget that touch is happening through out the summer and with the improving weather is a great opportunity for a bit of exercise.

Lastly to all the members of the CMC, the youth committee and all the other volunteers that have helped out throughout the year without whom nothing would get done and we wouldn't have such a great Rugby Club, I hope you'll join me in thanking them all for their efforts last year.

I also hope you'll also join me in wishing the new committee and the Club all the best for the coming season.

Thanks and I hope to see you for a very relaxed pint or two down at the Clubhouse in the coming season......

Cheers
David Leftley
Chairman
Millwall Rugby Club

Minutes from the 2012 Annual General Meeting

On 23rd June 2012, the Annual General Meeting of the club was held.

Here are the minutes and documents from the meeting:

• Minutes
   
• Agenda
• Secretary's Report

As part of the business of the meeting the following officers were duly elected:

• Chairman – Tim McDonagh
• Secretary – Paul Fisher
• Treasurer – Edna Schweizer
• Men’s Chair – Shaf Visram
• Ladies Chair – Louise Norris
• Youth Chair – Scott Vinnicombe
• Communications Officer – No candidates stood (Vacant)
• Development Officer – Sophie Morris
• General Committee Member 1 – Ryan Kuleszka 
• General Committee Member 2 – Gareth Hargreaves 

The above officers sit on the Club’s Management Committee.

Other elected officers:

• Social Secretary – Brigitte Cirilli 
• Fixture Secretary – Ruth Hartley
• 1st XV Manager – Tom Ronayne
• 2nd XV Manager – Roberto Pescador
• 3rd XV Manager – Kevin Doherty
• 4th XV Manager – n/a
• Venus Manager – Caroline Dieleman

Published Summary from June and July CMC Meetings

On 13th June and 4th July meetings of the Club Management Committee (CMC) were held.

Here are summary minutes for your interest.

• CMC 4th July 2012  (with new incoming CMC members in attendance as guests)
• CMC 13th June 2012

The full, unedited minutes are available to members upon request by email to the secretary.

For convenience here are links to previous sets of minutes/updates:

• May 2012 CMC
• April 2012 CMC
• March 2012 CMC
• Feb 2012 CMC
• Nov 2011 Clubhouse Committee

Secretary's Report 2011/2012

After three years on the Club’s Management committee, I have decided to step down for a break from the Club Management Committee.  

I have offered my ongoing assistance to the incoming committee as a volunteer on the Communications Subcommittee in a number of ways including, managing the clubs website and social media.

Here's a summary of the year in the 2011/2012 Secretary's Report, as shared at the Annual General Meeting in June.

A big thank you to everyone who’s helped me out this year and please support Paul Fisher, who takes over the job from 24th July!

Best wishes

Andrew

Clubhouse Sub Committee - Opinions Wanted!

Make You Opinion Heard!

As you may know the responsibility for the day to day running of the Clubhouse now comes under the Clubhouse Officer, who also chairs the Clubhouse Sub Committee (CSC).  The current CHO (Ryan) is looking for a number of people to join this years CSC.  Although the ultimate responsibility sits with the CHO, the CSC will be a forum for the club's members YOU!! to have their opinion on CH matters.  These could range from pricing strategy right down to minor repairs!

How much time will I have to commit?

The idea is to have one meeting every month to discuss any issues / ideas that have arisen since the last meeting.  This is not a commitment to work behind the bar, however we would obviously love more volunteers for this important task! (send us an email if you want to work behind the bar)   You may also be asked to help out on cleaning / repair days occasionally.

Am I Eligible?

The only requirements are that you are a fully paid up member of the club (either playing or social) and that you are over the age of 18. 

I am I interested, what now?

Please email us & an invitation to the first CSC meeting (due to be held in Late July) will be sent around closer to the time.

Thanks,

The Clubhouse Team.

Clubhouse CLOSED Today 7th July 2012

The Clubhouse is closed to Members today for a Private Hire Event.