Bournemouth Rugby AGM 2017; Chairman's report.

I said at last year's AGM that I was very excited about the direction we were travelling. But this was just the beginning of a journey on which I hoped you would all join. A journey which would have its ups and downs, but which would be exciting, enduring but most of all enjoyable. Well the year certainly lived up to this billing – on and off the field of play!

On the business front we now have embedded a Limited Company headed by our CEO, James Croker which is creating quite a name for itself within the business community of Bournemouth and beyond. We are fortunate to have a large number of sponsors, the majority of whom want to be associated with the club because of the vitality and dedication of our people as much as the vision that we put forward.

We now have three paid Directors, one paid adminstrator and an associate fund raiser who is paid against results. And these results are impressive so far this year, setting the solid financial foundation which we set out in our business plan. A personal thanks from me go to James, Wendy, Will and Gemma and to all of the volunteers, you know who they are, who work so diligently to make this club what some business leaders have described as “Authentic and Relevent”.

Our Community group, too, are moving swiftly forward, becoming the envy of many clubs within the region and well regarded by business and schools alike.

Highlights from the season;

Working closely with Rippa Rugby we have trebled our exposure from 5 to 15 schools in just over a year

We are coaching an average of 600 children per week in Key Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 and after-school coaching

We have organised 2 tournaments over the season, the Christchurch schools Level 2 Tag Tournament with 10 schools and over 100 children; and the Bournemouth Rugby Fair Play Shield with 26 schools and over 300 children coming from across the whole of Dorset.

And last but not least, working with Active Dorset we have volunteered our coaching services to develop sport and healthy lifestyles in poor Housing Estates within Boscombe, West Howe and Alderney.

On the field of play, the Senior squad this year has seen a season of development within the environment, playing squad, game plan and supporter base.

Our 1^st team suffered from inconsistency due to a number of issues, not least the loss of five key players within the first month of the season. A spell of 8 games unbeaten in mid season showed what a truly good side we are. After Christmas we spluttered drawing 3 games and losing ones we shouldn’t. In truth we had a chance to make the playoffs with several games to go but we couldn’t close it out. So a finishing position of 5^th (same as last year) probably reflected our overall performance.

There were some sensational performances this year, most notably from Jack Hennings, Joe Rees, Grant Hancox, Toby Kenneally, Andy ‘Bagpus’ Spikings and Wyn Roberts. We also saw the flourishing of young talent with Alex Everett Bolter realising a small amount of the unbelievable promise he has. We’ve also seen Joe Spiller, Carlos Snell, Josh Wright, Robbie Johnson and James Fisher continue to develop at a pace.

The advent of the South West Pilot League added significant travel and tougher opposition to the second team fixtures. This experiment is on going. The good sides were good and provided excellent opportunities for our guys to prove themselves at a higher level than previous year's 2nds games. But the poor sides were not up to the mark and either did not turn up or when they did could not provide suitable opposition to challenge us. And we struggled to find suitable friendlies to ensure continued challenges. We are in discussion with the RFU and others about how we take the principle of second team rugby forward.

A season of promise finished with the Thirds struggling to finish with consistent team selection and this resulted in a slightly below expected final league position. The real success was the winning of the 3^rd team cup. The key to the further development of the side is bolstering the good work that Ian Moore has done, by giving additional coaching support. Mark Palmer and Simon Carkeet will be putting their not insignificant shoulders to this particular wheel.

A frustrating season for the 4s as well. Playing numbers have been spread thin, due to injuries and player retention issues. Next year we are planning for the 4s to be more of a community team with the 3s, 2s and 1st team forming the Gold Squad.

We had 27 senior players make themselves available for selection for Dorset and Wilts and Hampshire County squads. David Macdonald captained D and W and we have Joe Rees, Freddie Gleadowe, Alex Everett Bolter and Alex Sutherland all representing Hampshire at Twickenham in the County Championship Plate Final on Sunday. We wish them the best of good fortune.

A huge mention should also be made for Sam Bailey who made it to the England U20s squad

The coming year sees the return of Joe Gwyther and Josh Richardson from their placement years at University. Frazer Wilford is also returning to the club from a sojourn in Hong Kong. We have also have Jonny O’Hehir joining us having played for Westcombe Park and London Irish academy. Richard Sharp, an experienced blindside flanker, joins us from Barnes, a National 2 South club,. We are always looking to strengthen the squad and will continue to look for good local talent allied to bringing through the youngsters from our colts. We confidently expect 4 or 5 of them to play prominent roles this season.

The A&M section has enjoyed another tremendous season with players across the age groups continuing to develop a multitude of skills both on and off the pitch. The successes and enjoyment of the players would not be possible without a large team of dedicated and passionate volunteers – coaches, managers, committee members, helpers and of course the parents who bring their sons and daughters to the club each week. Thank you to everyone involved in making this season the success that it was.

The A&M Festival witnessed a great weekend of rugby – with teams visiting from as far afield as Ballymena in Northern Ireland. A huge amount of effort went into the organisation and execution of this key event for the club, so a special thanks go to Julie Boddington and her team of volunteers for a job very well done!

All of the age groups from U6s to U12s have continued on from last year's success, recruiting new players and learning the skills of the game. There are some really promising players coming through from these age groups and I look forward to seeing them all develop.

The U13s achieved very positive results against the clubs in Dorset, and have also travelled further afield to find more competitive matches. The boys are hungry for tougher opposition! By the end of the season they have had 5 new players come to the squad and all have integrated very well – and showing great promise for next season.

The U14s have continued to build upon last season, maintaining a healthy squad size and have achieved a mixed bag of results on the pitch. Changes to the coaching team came in to effect in the latter half of the season, and with a focus on improving structure, organisation and fitness levels I am sure this age group will be rewarded for their efforts.

The U15s performed amazingly this season, culminating in a D&W Cup Final game against North Dorset – and although they were not victors on the day, this reflects just how hard they have worked and come together as a squad. Throughout the season, they have engaged in teambuilding events such as paintballing and karting – allowing the boys to gel and build their team spirit. They have also raised funds for Forest Holme Hospice by holding an evening charity game, raising just under £500 – and finished their season with a fun filled tour to Grasshoppers!

The U16 have had a brilliant season winning most of their matches and reaching the Semi Final of the Dorset and Wilts Cup, where they lost to Wimborne in a well contested game. They ended their season having won the BRFC festival, and also the Lytchett 7's tournament. .

Our Colts lost only 3 of the 11 games played finishing top in merit table phase one and second in phase two.

5 of our U17’s were selected for D&W County; 2 were accepted into the Bath Academy and one into the Welsh exiles squad; At U18 level we again had 5 selected for D&W County and one has gone on to play for the U20’s.

Our Girls rugby, too, is developing swiftly within the Community portfolio held by Stu Gallagher. We havecoached within the Grange, Twynham, Leaf Campuses and Bourne Academy. We have seen rapid growth of this group with 15 girls now fully paid members and playing rugby for Bournemouth. Paige has done a fantastic job with the girls, increasing their skills, confidence and enjoyment of the game. They have been able to attend several joint training sessions with other clubs, and have also played several competitive fixtures, including Hornets RFC and Old Northamptonians RFC at the end of the season. The girls played brilliantly in both matches, against two experienced and physical sides and certainly did themselves and the coaches proud!

So overall Bournemouth Rugby have had a very good season both on and off the pitch - and the future looks bright. Once again, many thanks go to all of our coaches at all levels; to our volunteers who give up so much of their time and energy; and to the parents and grandparents of our Youth and Minis. Not forgetting, of course, your committee members who guide the club so well; and our business arm. Without you all we would not be in the enviable position we are now in. The future, as they say, is bright.

And, lest you forget, part of this bright future sees your Club celebrating it's 125th Anniversary in 2018. Look out for information about the variety of events proposed to celebrate this momentus occasion. We have already begun spreading the word around town beginning with the club using a new kit for the year with the colours from 100 years ago. This will be officially launched in July with our brand new group of club Ambassadors at a networking event. The year will include “An Evening with Geoff Mostyn” and a charity fund raising dinner in concert with the Pilgrims Bandits Charity. The year will culminate with a grand 125^th Anniversary Dinner in May 2018 at which we hope to have a number of surprises!

It just remains for me to thank you all for your attention and for your support throughout the season.

Phil Sinkinson OBE

Chairman

Bournemouth Rugby

24 May 2017

Bournemouth RFC – A&M Chairman’s Report – Season 2016-7

The A&M section has enjoyed another tremendous season with players across the age groups continuing to develop a multitude of skills both on and off the pitch. The successes and enjoyment of the players would not be possible without a large team of dedicated and passionate volunteers – coaches, managers, committee members, helpers and of course the parents who bring their sons and daughters to the club each week. Thank you to everyone involved in making this season the success that it was, it has been a real privilege for me to have been involved.

The BRFC A&M Festival experienced long overdue sunshine this year – and we witnessed a great weekend of rugby – with teams visiting from as far afield as Ballymena in Northern Ireland. A huge amount of effort went into the organisation and execution of this key event for the club, so I wanted to extend a special thank you to Julie Boddington and her team of volunteers for a job very well done!

Our U6s have seen a great influx of very enthusiastic players and parents – and have also experienced a couple of joint training sessions with other clubs which have been very much enjoyed, positioning them very well for their transition into the U7s and competitive rugby next season. Our U7s and U8s have continued to grow in numbers, skills and experience – and the commitment from the coaches to develop their own skills through coaching courses and qualifications is very evident and paying dividends.

The U9s entered the world of contact rugby season this year, with many players transitioning to contact very well, and others starting to build their confidence across the season with the continued support and encouragement of the coaching team. Playing mixed ability sides in alignment with the RFUs Kids First initiative, they have typically come out on top in their competitive fixtures, and I know they will continue to develop and excel as they move into the U10s next season.

The U10s have formed a small but tightly knit group of players that have talent and enthusiasm in equal measures – and with the hopeful influx of new players next season they will continue to grow and flourish.

The U11s and U12s continued to build upon their successes from last season – with some impressive performances against tough and physical opposition. Both teams love to play attacking rugby with ball in hand, and where they lack in size they certainly make up with their running and handling skills and are a joy to watch – some real talent!

The U13s achieved very positive results against the clubs in Dorset, and have also travelled further afield to find more competitive matches. The boys are hungry for tougher opposition! By the end of the season they have had 5 new players come to the squad and all have integrated very well – and showing great promise for next season.

The U14s have continued to build upon last season, maintaining a healthy squad size and have achieved a mixed bag of results on the pitch. Changes to the coaching team came in to effect in the latter half of the season, and with a focus on improving structure, organisation and fitness levels I am sure this age group will be rewarded for their efforts as they move in to the U15s.

The U15s started the season off with a very good turnout for their age group, consisting of a diverse ability group and the boys all performed amazing this season, culminating in a D&W Cup Final game against North Dorset – and although they were not victors on the day, this reflects just how hard they have worked and come together as a squad. Throughout the season, they have engaged in teambuilding events such as paintballing and karting – allowing the boys to gel and build their team spirit. They have also raised funds for Forest Holme Hospice by holding an evening charity game, raising just under £500 – and finished their season with a fun filled tour to Grasshoppers!

The U16 have had a brilliant season winning most of their matches and qualifying for the Semi Final of the Dorset and Wilts Cup, where they lost to Wimborne in a well contested game. They ended their season having won the BRFC festival, and also the Lytchett 7's tournament. Their team of coaches have worked hard all year to keep the boys involved in their rugby despite the challenges of GCSE exams and revision – and have done an outstanding job.

The Girls squad experienced their first full season of rugby this year – and have gone from strength to strength. Paige has done a fantastic job with the girls, increasing their skills, confidence and enjoyment of the game. They have been able to attend several joint training sessions with other clubs, and have also played several competitive fixtures, including Hornets RFC and Old Northamptonians RFC at the end of the season. The girls played brilliantly in both matches, against two experienced and physical sides and certainly did themselves and the coaches proud!

The Colts had a very solid season – winning 8 of their 11 competitive matches, and coming top of the merit table in phase 1, and second in phase 2, but didn’t continue in the knockout stages of the competition. Numbers at colts age has been an issue for a couple of years and so this year they only entered one team having a squad of 25 most weekends with injury and absence. They welcomed 3 new players to the team and also played with some U16’s for the National Cup. Five of the U17s were selected for D&W, two were in the Bath academy and one in the Welsh Exiles. At U18s level they had 5 in D&W u18’s and one has gone on to play for the U20’s. Colts is a difficult transition as it requires 17 & 18’s to combine and mould together as a team, both players and coaches, whilst dealing with outside interests. Looking at the Colts as a whole, both on and off the field, they ended up with a very talented and close knit team, many of which should be pushing of senior places very soon, definitely a successful year!

In summary, 2016-17 has been another brilliant and rewarding season for the A&M section – and we are looking forward to continuing to build upon these successes next season. A massive thank you to everyone involved, and for making Bournemouth Rugby Club the special club that it is.

Yours in rugby,

Greg

BournemouthRugby

Community Rugby Team and Rippa Rugby

Highlights from the season

1. Bournemouth CRT and Rippa Rugby has trebled its coaching reach and exposure in schools from 5 to 15 schools in just over a year which includes Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Special Schools

2. On average the CRT are coaching up to 600 children per week through P.E consultancy in Key Stage 1, 2,3 and 4 education and after-school coaching

3. We have organised and run 2 tournaments over the season, the first being the Christchurch schools Level 2 Tag Tournament with 10 schools and over 100 children competing to progress through to the level 3 Tag Rugby finals. The second being the Bournemouth Rugby Fair Play Shield with 26 schools and over 300 players coming from across the whole of Dorset

4. We have focussed on growth of Girls U13 rugby which saw us coach within the Grange, Twynham, Leaf Campus and Bourne Academy. This has seen rapid growth of this age group with 15 girls now fully paid members and playing rugby for Bournemouth

5. Our rugby camps have doubled in participant numbers where we average 30 players at each camp, two thirds are non-club playing players being coached non – contact tag, tag to tackle and more advanced coaching for seasoned rugby players

6. Working with Active Dorset we have also volunteered our coaching services to develop sport and healthy lifestyles in poor Council Estates within Boscombe, West Howe and Alderney

7. Our team has grown from 1 Level 2 RFU coach supported by 2 RFU Level 1 Bournemouth Rugby Apprentices to 3 Level 2 RFU coaches all of whom either play or coach at a high level within Bournemouth Rugby

Performance against critical success factors

• Increased player membership – CRT and Rippa Rugby has referred 40 plus players through to the different age groups from its after school and camp presence, growth has mainly been in the U7, 8 and 9 age groups. Over all player and parent membership has increased substantially with CRT playing an important part in this growth

• Increase awareness of club – CRT and Rippa Rugby has carried out social media campaign across Twitter and Facebook platforms showing the world and our local communities what we as a team are doing and how we are making a coaching difference out there. Our driving force is to “deliver quality rugby coaching to the masses at the earliest point in time in a child’s life”. Links are made to our sponsors who’s funding would not make this possible

• Delivering community coaching into schools – CRT and Rippa Rugby has trebled its coaching reach and exposure in schools from 5 to 15 schools in just over a year which includes Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Special Schools

• Targeted increase in priority age groups, Girls and U10’s - We have focussed on growth of Girls U13 rugby which saw us coach within the Grange, Twynham, Leaf Campus and Bourne Academy. This has seen rapid growth of this age group with 15 girls now fully paid members and playing rugby for Bournemouth.

We have introduced up to 6 new players into the U10 now U11 age group with only 1 player that has remained, both these groups are still a recruitment priority

Priorities for the Future in meeting Bournemouth Rugby Critical Success Factors

1. Continued growth in player/parent membership through developing Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Special School Rugby Coaching

• Our aim is to double the schools we are coaching in again from 2017/18 from 10 permanent schools we are coaching in to 20 schools. From September, we will be taking on Durlston Court and The Yarrels Prep Schools U8 to U13 year old rugby.

In addition to this we will be providing permanent coaching into St Peter’s Primary, Hamworthy Primary and Parkfields Independent School

• We will develop the coaching consultancy market and provide early year’s rugby coaching into nursey provision and key Stage 1 and 2 education and compete with Rugby Tots as a local provider

2. Continued growth and development in the community rugby team

• Our aim is for the current 3 Level 3 RFU coaches to be in coaching permanently in 15 schools across the working week and leading Bournemouth Rugby coaching of a weekend. We will look to add an additional coach to this team looking to reach our target of 20 schools by the end of the year

• To see the 2 Year 1 apprentice’s move on to the second year of their apprenticeship and Bournemouth Rugby employ a new year 1 apprentice.

We have seen growth in width and depth in the number of schools and children we are coaching, the apprenticeship scheme has enabled this to happen by supporting and leading with the Level 2 coach/supervisor. This Apprenticeship support needs to continue for growth in schools coaching to continue in its planned trajectory

Each apprentice is contracted to 30 hours per week coaching and education, 2^nd year apprentices will do 1 day per week college release. If we have both Year 2 apprentices and a year 1 apprentices we will need up to 15 hours of their week spent on coaching time alone to meet planned school developments. As Community Rugby Manager, I will need apprentice support when organizing and planning for tournaments next year

3. Increased awareness and exposure of Bournemouth Rugby

• Continued and increased coaching presence within schools wearing Bournemouth Rugby CRT kit and delivering assembly and free taster sessions with invite to 1^st team game to players and head/lead P.E provider

• The CRT and Rippa Rugby are in discussions with Active Dorset and school games providers across Dorset about providing 3 - 4 school rugby tournaments next year. These include a Pan Dorset Year 3-4 Fair Play Trophy, Pan Dorset Year 5-6 Fair Play Trophy, Girls Secondary Touch Rugby Tournament.

We also would like to plan and deliver an U10 and 11’s schools full contact tournament inviting both private, independent and state schools and a moderate Learning Disabilities school’s tournament where possible

• The CRT and Rippa Rugby to lead in planning, preparation organization and delivering the Academy and Mini tournament 2018

• Social media schools campaign targeting girl’s rugby and priority mini age groups developments

• Support Active Dorset in developing healthy communities in areas of poor socio-economic climate

4. Targeted increase in U11 Boys and U13 and U15 Girls Rugby

• E-mail and face book campaign targeting Primary and Secondary schools

• Free taster/coaching sessions in schools

• Assembly invite and flyer distribution

• School Tournament opportunities in which to recruit required age groups

• Increase in girls rugby fixtures

• Run girls specific Rugby camps in the summer and targeted school holidays

• Increased presence at school fayres and open evenings

• Recruit extra coaching preferably female into U13 and 15 girls age groups

Document produced by

Stuart Gallacher – Community Rugby Manager and U10’s Lead Coach Bournemouth Rugby