ORFC Annual General Meeting
Tuesday 16th May at 7pm
Tag: Newsletter
ORFC Green and Black Newsletter – OCT
Issue 19 October 2022
‘ONE CLUB : MANY TEAMS
Message From The Chair.
Your club is now in full swing with midweek training under the new floodlights and weekend games for every team. We can all share in the league success of the Seniors whose numbers have been bolstered by the arrival of many new players of real quality. At Tuesday training they are joined by our U18 Colts. This innovation will only help the boys transition into senior rugby which is a primary focus of the Playing Committee. I believe a rugby club more so than any other sports club is a safe haven to let off steam and has a long history and tradition in supporting and guiding teenage players on and off the field.
This month Wasps and Worcester have called in the administrators and face an uncertain future. Oxford and Wasps are interlinked through their 16 – 18 Colts Academy. The Wasps Aces play their home games at the club and will continue to do so – although under what name we do not know. Only this week they beat a strong Sale Academy side 43 – 24. Very much like our own Charlie Atkinson we are ‘heartbroken’ at the fate of both Premiership clubs and hope all those made redundant can find new clubs or work very quickly.
Oxford RFC is not immune to the current financial crisis but we feel we are well prepared to ride out the storm. If rugby was our only income stream there would be issues but we have become a very successful events venue. The NOMADS 1909 CLUBHOUSE is a perfect indoor venue for private theme parties and the extensive work on the fields is being recognised by Wasps Aces, Oxford University Rugby League, England Touch and TryTag Rugby who all hire them for games. Indeed in March we hope to host a Quadball (formerly known as Quidditch) Festival.
This newsletter is one way the club can communicate with its membership whilst a second is the redesigned Oxford RFC Website. We have a strong social media presence on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter but we have recently felt we needed to streamline our whole club communication of logistics and now use SPOND as the only official ORFC communication site. The code for Oxford RFC is “WKLJN” and I would ask that all adults connected with the club log on.
Floodlights
The new floodlights were signed off last week. The lux tests show they are far better than the existing lights and are a terrific asset to the club. Without the final push from the membership which raised £22000 in 54 days they would not have been possible. You can all feel very proud.
Match Day Buffet and Mini Helpers
Everyone is welcome at Senior rugby games on a Saturday. To help you plan and encourage you to attend, Kick Off will always be at the traditional 3:00 pm and a FREE buffet for 25 adults will be available from 1:30 pm – first come first served. The kitchen and bar will be open at the same time selling Burgers and a Pint.
Our younger Mini Players are always welcome to be BallBoys/Girls and for their efforts will be rewarded with J2O and Crisps. All interested should mailto:[email protected]
U14 and U15 Finals Day
Oxfordshire RFU continue to recognise and reward the club by holding meetings in the NOMADS 1909 CLUBHOUSE and they were pleased to award ORFC the U14 and U15 Oxfordshire County Finals to us on April 23rd. This is another tick in our development box.
ORFC DIARY
for further details mailto:[email protected]
Senior Training
– Tuesday and Thursday 6:45 pm
Midweek Training U18 Colts
– Tuesday U15 – Thursday U14 and U11 – Wednesday
ADULT TRYTAG Rugby
– Wednesday 7:00 – 9:00 – beginners welcome.
FIREWALK in aid of Maggies
Thursday December 1st.
Pre-match Sit Down Lunch
Saturday December 3rd. Cost £15:00
Useful Links
ORFC Nomads 1909 Clubhouse Venue Hire mailto:[email protected]
All Enquiries mailto: [email protected]
John Brodley
Chair ORFC
ORFC Green and Black Newsletter – MAY
ONE CLUB : MANY TEAMS
Message from the Chair
Pride of place in this final newsletter of the 2021-22 season must go to the club’s Senior team. Under the guidance of Director of Rugby Wayne Rushen, Coaches Dom Mathews Tom Wells, S and C coach Mick Willoughby coupled with the soothing hands of Physio Charlotte they managed to win their league. As seems to be the vogue these days the RFU are re-organising the leagues (which no one understands anyway) and they will find out in the middle of the month who they play next season.
As a club, we always welcome new players whatever their standard but it is always great when our own come to the fore. In their final league game on April 9th at least 9 of the starting side had a connection to the club either as past players or through their parents who played.
Normally a club welcomes individual players so it was with some surprise when Grove U14s approached us to join us next season. At Oxford, we do things the correct way! I immediately contacted the Grove Chair and we talked it through. At the same time, our coaches talked with our parents. Once muted it was always going to happen so next season’s coaching and admin staff from both clubs have the challenge of coaching and finding fixtures for up to 40 players. The one huge advantage is that they will have NEW FLOODLIGHTS to play under.
My congratulations go to Ronan Casserly and Matt Cooper for cooking a terrific meal at the Senior Rugby Awards Dinner. Over £400 was raised for the floodlights appeal – thank you, Tom. In a team game rewarding individuals seems a little odd but the following were successful – Nomads Player of the Year GEORGE DODD, Players Player and Managers Player of the Year – former Mini and Junior player GEORGE HANLEY, Coaches Player the evergreen JOSH JELFS, Ron Martin Volunteer of the Year GARETH WYATT for all the work he does on our social media, Most Improved Player JAKE EADLE and of course RONAN CASSERLY was presented with his annual CASS CUP trophy.
Floodlights Appeal – developing the game.
The crowdfunding floodlights appeal ends at 23:55 on Sunday, May 15th. Thank you to those who have donated so far via crowdfunding https://crowdfunder.co.uk/poxford-rfc-floodlights-appealWe are over £15000.
Just because Crowdfunding ends the appeal does not. Doing whatever you can do throughout the summer is greatly appreciated.
We have paid our first installment of £20000 so there is no going back!
NHS Charity Touch Rugby followed by Thursday Night Touch Rugby Leagues – referees required.
We are working in collaboration with https://www.in2touch.com/england/to organise an NHS Charities Thursday Night Touch Festival on May 26th. If successful we will then run 8 weeks of Touch Rugby Leagues.
Get your squad of 10 together ages 14 upwards. Further details to follow – when I have them.
Our contribution is to provide 3 or 4 referees for the night. Full training will be given and you get paid for officiating. Contact me at [email protected] you are interested.
Further Diary Dates
Mini Presentations Friday, May 6th
Junior Presentations Friday, May 13th
ORFC First Aid Course – Saturday, May 7th
NHS Charity Touch Festival – Thursday, May 26th
Family Fun Afternoon – Saturday, June 18th
Senior Training Begins on Tuesday and Thursday from July 5th
Useful Links
ORFC Nomads 1909 Clubhouse Venue Hire
mailto:[email protected]
All Enquiries mailto:[email protected]
PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE OR FACEBOOK PAGE REGULARLY.
https://www.facebook.com/OxfordRFC/
John Brodley
Chair ORFC
ORFC Green and Black Newsletter – MAR
Message from the Chair
Last Sunday proudly wearing the Oxford Shirt 3 Junior teams played cup or league matches against local opposition and the Mini’s hosted Oxford Harlequins. The atmosphere was superb, the play at times breathtaking and the sheer amount of fun had by all inspiring. On Saturday the club ran a pre-match lunch before the 1st XV game against a very strong Aylesbury team. This was a true test for the players and a great game to watch for the purist who saw many tries in a 24 – 24 draw. Kay Honner won the sweepstake! This is what I mean by One Club : Many teams.
On Saturday April 9th at 3:00 pm – a date for your diary the Green and Blacks play Buckingham in their final game of the season. This will be a promotion decider and I know the players will welcome your support. There will be a VALUING VOLUNTEERS FREE buffet lunch before the game. I will send out invites and ask you to reply to [email protected] .
Diary Dates
First Aid Course. Saturday May 7th
Saturday May 7th ORFC are hosting a rugby first aid course. This would be for all new team first aiders or club members who have an interest. Please mailto:[email protected] for more information.
Season End and Presentations 2022 –
The final official training session for Senior players will be Thursday April 21.
The final official training session for Mini and Junior will be Sunday April 24.
It may be that your coach will organise optional sessions or FUNDAYS in the summer.
Presentation Evenings – Seniors Friday April 29
Mini Friday May 6 – Juniors Friday May 13.
Annual General Meeting – have your say. It’s your club!
Thursday May 26 in the clubhouse
Floodlights Appeal
Thank you to those who have donated to the Floodlights Appeal via crowdfunder https://crowdfunder.co.uk/poxford-rfc-floodlights-appeal and also to those who have enthusiastically discussed fundraising ideas for their teams. It is all greatly appreciated.
Colts Rugby 2022-23
Next season will be the first in some years that ORFC will be running a Colts team under the supervision of Gloucester DPP coach Sam Colmer. As a club we have a golden opportunity over the next 5 years with good numbers of Juniors to improve our transition into Colts then form Colts into Senior rugby.
I firmly believe it starts with ALL players understanding that Oxford RFC is their club of choice, they own part of the club, and NOT just somewhere they just play the game. The club could and will do more to foster this understanding. I will be holding a Q and A session for the present Under 16 and 17 parents on Wednesday April 6 and 18:45 but it is an open meeting for all parents.