16/08/19 | General
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Neil Kelly – Presidents Welcome:
To be asked to be President of Lymm Rugby club is both a privilege and an honour. To be asked to do so at what is the most exciting time in our history, also presents some significant challenges.As you are aware we have just broken ground on the Artificial grass pitch (AGP) and work is scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2019. This will give us a superb floodlit playing surface and asset that can be used for training and playing matches at any time of the year ,irrespective of the weather or the shortness of the day light.This is just the start of an ambitious development plan that will eventually lead to the building of a new club house ,within the walled Garden, as well as the sale of part of our car park and existing Beechwood club house for housing development to help with the funding required.The existing Board and Executive team are to be complemented on their tireless dedication to get us to this point of where everyone can see the initial phase appearing before them.
This was not achieved without a great deal of hard work and a not insignificant vision several years ago. A vision must have a point where the future perspective is to be viewed from.In my case that began as a young 15 year old (coincidentally the same age as the club).At that time the young club had only one pitch ,that we could call our own, with the remaining pitches being nothing more than a cows field marked out by the captain and assistants on the day of the game.The flood lights consisted of 2 telegraph poles and a couple of large bulbs which created a band of light that moved in the breeze, which is probably why line out practice in November was always minimal!
The finances of the club were always somewhat strained ,partly due to self inflicted wounds, and perhaps a business model that spent slightly more than it earned , so creating the notorious “finance black hole” that we seemed to be constantly trying to climb out of.It was the membership of the time that pulled together and whilst recognising we were always going to be an amateur club ,this did not prevent us from being the best we possibly could be and to provide an environment where irrespective of your background or skill you were a welcome member of the club. This welcome also extended beyond just the playing fraternity and club became a great social hub for all involved with access to the clubhouse on a Saturday having to be restricted by tickets or a friendly doorman( who can still be seen supporting the team week in week out!).
My vision today would be to build on these values that have been created over time by being an inclusive members club for participation in sport and all the wider aspects of being a central hub of a community.The costs of creating and maintaining such a facility are significant and will only be achieved through a broader membership and a sustainable business model , but this should not limit our ambition but simply fuel it with challenges that need to be overcome.
This Club has taught me many things and has given me far more than I can ever repay. Friendship, comradely, adventures ,values and love (I even met my Wife Sharon here in 1977!)but above all the fun has continued non stop and even now as respectable Alakadoo’s we continue to grow older disgracefully ,with a love of Beechwood and all it represents holds a special place in our hearts.
My vision is that future generations will continue to build and enjoy our Beechwood family home and all the values it represents.
Your Club, Our community, Their future!
John Cartwright – Chairmain Welcome:
A look back over the past 10 years to understand what the future holds!
Season 19/20 brings with it our 60th Anniversary year and a perfect opportunity to celebrate some of the significant milestones that we have witnessed since our 50th Anniversary in 2010. Milestones that have contributed positively to create a strong foundation for the future and enhance the quality of our social responsibilities at all levels.
In 2010 we successfully secured and developed a piece of farming land, adjacent to our only pitch at the time, enabling us to create 4 fantastic grass pitches. At the 50th Anniversary party in 2010, guests were able to view the deep green sward of the new pitches as they danced the night away at our first “Posh Party on the Pitch”. A few months later saw the opening match on our new pitches as we entered the 10/11 season. Development of the new pitches had actually started in 2008 with a group of “volunteers” grappling with the question of how to expand Lymm RFC at Beechwood. The seed of a dream was sown and a very generous donation by a great club man, Frank Maycock, enabled that dream to flourish. It was clear from the positive reaction of club members at the time that we had actually created a problem for ourselves, but more of that later.
In 2014 we successfully secured a grant from the RFU and raised funding to install state of the art flood lights on our original first team pitch. That investment again changed the face of Lymm RFC and further enhanced our facilities for all ages.
In 2015 we acquired the iconic Walled Garden as a strategic investment and in 2017 secured planning permission to develop Beechwood to address the problem that I mentioned earlier, “how could we accommodate the growth of activity at Beechwood and ensure our future sustainability”. Our aging Club house was creaking at the seams and the investment needed to bring it up to an acceptable standard appeared prohibitive. Once again, a group of committed volunteers grappled with the issues and created an approved blueprint for the future home of Lymm RFC.
At the same time that we were creating our blueprint for the future, the RFU were looking for suitable clubs at which to invest their 2015 World Cup legacy. Not surprisingly, Lymm RFC fitted the bill perfectly and as you will see at the club today, what was our first and only full-sized pitch for 40+ years of our history is now a state of the art AGP, what a fantastic achievement!
Lymm RFC has provided me with some of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences of my life and as I enter my 7th year as Chairman I am very proud of what we have achieved over the past 60 years, and from a personally perspective what we have achieved over the past 10 years. We still have much to do to secure the sustainable future that we seek but I am confident that with the support of our fantastic volunteers, membership and sponsors we will succeed.
Thank you for your continued support and welcome to Season 2019/20
Your Club, Our Community, Their Future!
Adam Fletcher – Director Of Rugby Welcome:
It’s exciting times at the club at the moment as the new AGP is well under construction and the boys are back training hard.
The prospect of the AGP is really exciting for us as I believe it will have a positive effect on our brand of rugby, but also help increase training numbers. To have a guaranteed great surface to train on through the winter months can only help to improve our sessions and ultimately improve our skills. We can’t wait to get going on it.
We are now four weeks into preseason and the focus is firmly on the Blackburn match on September 6th. This will be the first time we’ve started at home in seven seasons, hopefully being at home will give us the extra edge in getting past Blackburn.
The league as always looks super tough, it’s hard to pick favourites at the moment but I expect Blaydon, Harrogate & Billingham to be Up there and new boys Macclesfield will want to challenge.
Bring on September and we look forward to seeing you all soon.
Your Club, Our community, Their future!
Will Hind – M&J Chairman Welcome:
Lymm has a great Mini and Junior Section with over 400 players between the ages of 4 and 18. Our aim is to keep all these actively involved in rugby throughout the years so that they can continue enjoying the rugby and progress into senior rugby. All players are given the chance to develop through a very active coaching set-up keeping to the core rugby values and with the aim of them all having fun.
Rugby is a late developing sport so the slow kids in the young ages might well be the wingers of the future and the gifted runners at age six may be props by the time they are 18 – we don’t know so we embrace them all. And our philosophy works, with active teams at Junior and Senior Colts who are successful in leagues and cups. This takes a lot of support and work from a huge team of volunteers – coaches, administrators, safe-guarding, first aiders and parents – all who play an important part. We do not play fixed streaming teams nor practice aggressive selection – all are welcome.
To support our set up we have a well-developed coach the coaches programme and Academy where learnings are shared and coaching of skills and techniques are practiced in a safe fun environment.
We welcome all so if you or your child fancies having a go at rugby come along or talk to us.
Your Club, Our community, Their future!
Finally as you may now have realised we start the new season with a new website and address.
Hopefully all members of Lymm RFC will find more than a few things to interest for them and a great way to keep upto date with all that Lymm RFC has to offer.