Saracens Rugby Camp coming to Letchworth

As part of the Saracens Club Partnership Programme, Saracens will be returning to Letchworth RFC on Monday, 11th April for a One Day Skills Intensive Clinic aimed at U7 – U16 playing age groups.

The camp provides organised, educational and structured activities utilising award winning coaches from the Saracens Community team and has been designed to provide young players with a total rugby experience, contributing to their personal development on and off the field. The Saracens coaches will instil some of the values that drive professional players, urging young talent to play with passion and commitment, respect and discipline whilst focusing on their individual and unit skill development.

To reserve a place on the camp, contact Saracens at www.rugbycamps.com/saracens or by phone on 01707 285026

Remembering Letchworth's fallen

If you are not going to Hertford on Sunday (see below) please try to come to the club at 12.45 - the end of the junior boys' training - for a special presentation for Remembrance Sunday.

You may have noticed in the clubhouse a small wooden plaque listing the players and club members who fell during the Second World War. Its a simple memorial, like many you see, but for most people they are just names. The war ended 65 years ago this year - a long time, even for their families, to remember the people behind these names.

So this Sunday promises to be very special. To mark the 65th anniversary one of the club's oldest and most distinguished members - Gordon Collinson - will be giving a brief presentation about the real people behind these names, many of whom he knew.

It'll be a fairly short event - 15-20 minutes perhaps - but an important one. Please come along if you can.

Girls trophies get a new home

Over the 6 years that the girls' section of Letchworth rugby club has been in existance, they have collected a number of shields and plaques commemorating matches and have won a number of trophies at competitions.

At first, the trophies were housed in whatever convenient nook or cranny could be found in the clubhouse but, as the number grew, it became more and more difficult to find a suitable place for new awards. Furthermore, it was not possible to view the collection properly and there was an increasing danger that some items might be lost. To preserve the collection, it was moved temporarily to a home - my home, actually - pending a proper cabinet being provided at the clubhouse.

The waiting is now over! Last week, a purpose built cabinet for the girls section was put up in the clubhouse and the trophies were returned to their rightful place -

Altogether there are 15 trophies - 10 for achievements on the field and 5 commemorative pieces. Amongst the collection are commemorative plaques from two Canadian touring sides, 'Fair Play' trophies from the Regional 10s and the National 10s, the 2006 Rochford 10s U17s trophy, the 2007 RFU President's XV award for modernisation and two U18s RFUW National 7s Plates (2007 and 2009).

But the really good news is that there's room in the cabinet for more trophies next season!

The final Threlfall photo collection

One result of losing Nat will be the loss of (one of) our ace photographers - Phil Threlfall - whose wonderful 1,623 picture archive is such a great way of passing a cold winter (or summer's!) evening. Ah... the memories! Sigh... (what's your favourite picture?).

So here they are... the final additions to the collection, pictures from yesterday evening's barbeque - and not a rugby ball in sight!

Enjoy...

Letchworth in the news

The club as a whole is making the headlines today  - well, on the RFU's website anyway.

Its all about grants the club has received from the RFU, the Heritage Foundation, and others to develop the new training pitches and floodlights, plus future plans which will eventually see the club having one of the best facilities in the county.

For more info click here to see the article.

Meanwhile, in a land far, far away...

Our former coach, Simon, and his assistant, Kirsten, have just got married (today by the look of it) - more pictures of the day here.

For those new to the club, Simon played prop for Letchworth 1st XV and became girls' team coach in September 2007 when Joe Randall (who now coaches Gloucestershire Girls') went off to university. He was responsible for introducing a whole vocabulary of new and colourful words and phrases and cajoled, drove, and encouraged the girls to what became (after a shaky start!) the U18s most successful season ever, with a top eight finish in the National 7s and a top five place at the National 10s.

Unfortunately Simon and Kirsten had to return to their native New Zealand at the end of the season - but those who played under them or worked with them remember their contribution to the Legends with great affection. Good luck to both of them!

News from the other half

A reminder that our "other half" this season - Saracens - also have a blog (http://sarriesgirls.blogspot.com/) which has just started up this season with a short welcome message.

Drop by and say hello....

Sunday training at Saracens

This weekend we are holding another joint training session with Saracens but this time it will be at their ground in Southgate (N14 4AB). As always, parking is likely to be an issue with very limited space available in the club car park so please be careful to abide by the restrictions on parking (particularly regarding parking on pavements/kerbs) in adjacent streets - illegally parked cars do get towed away in this area.

Training is due to start at 12.30pm so will everyone please meet at the Letchworth club by 11.30am. If you need a lift - or are travelling direct to Saracens - please let Mike know!

Girls get full page in club newsletter

The club have published a start of season "newsletter", and we've be given a full page promoting the section.

The newsletter covers all sections of the club, and includes news about the development of the new pitches and is well worth a read. Paper copies will probably be available at the club, but in the meanwhile you can see an electronic version here.

The new season starts - this Sunday!

This is it. A new season dawns. Its Registration Day - 10am this Sunday at the club.

It is very important that all the paperwork is sorted out, fees paid, etc so don't forget a parent! As well as club registration (copies available on Sunday), you will need to complete a Herts RFU form so you can take part in this year's county games. Most of you should have already completed an RFU form - but if you haven't you will need to complete one of those as well (copies will also be available).

However, its more than just form filling. With the county trials only three weeks away there will be a training session (so don't forget your kit!) - but there will also be other activities being put on by junior sections from across the club.

If you can't make it this Sunday please let Mike know asap.

Registration Day - 30th August

You will notice that the clock has suddenly leapt seven days - because the club's Registration Day will be on 30th August instead of the first Sunday in September (mainly because that first Sunday is quite late this year).

The actual registration will be from 12 o'clock and it is very important that you come along with a parent or someone similar who is in posession of a cheque book. If you are not a fully paid-up registered member of the club you are not insured - and that is not just problem for you. If you play uninsured then the risk is that everyone else on the field may not be covered, so (even though serious injuries are, fortunately, very rare) its pretty important that all the paperwork is completed.

The various boys junior age bands are intending to run a variety of money-making stalls - whether we do the same has yet to be decided. The problem we have is that the first county rugby session is only two weeks later and, if any of you are to stand a chance of getting into the squad for the first tournament (in Sussex on 27th September) you'll need a few weeks of training beforehand. Its therefore pretty certain that there will be girls' training on the 30th August, if not before.

"Confident players with good skills having a really good time"

Believe it or not, but the above statement (which would look great on any promotional posters/leaflets anyone is planning methinks) refers you.

And its not the words of someone from the club, or even someone that knows you - but a rugby follower from Australia who has put together a website of the best sources of information on rugby and - as well as highlighting this blog - has watched the video (top right) and been very impressed by what he has seen.

Okay, the video is a couple of years old now and many of the girls featured have moved on - but those of you moving into their places are more than capable of playing as well as these girls did. Bear in mind that most of the girls in those clips had not picked up a ball much more than two years before!

Plans for next season

Mike has confirmed the arrangements with Saracens for next season. Basically both clubs will be registering separate teams at both U15 and U18 level, and the intention is to have as many independent fixtures as possible, but current player numbers (at both clubs) are such that such games are unlikely to be full sized, at least at the start of the season.

As a result a "cluster" with Saracens - likely to be called "Letchworth/Saracens" (much as last season Welwyn and OA Saints combined to play as "Welwyn Saints") - has also been registered. This will allow us to field combined teams (U15 and U18) in the Thames Valley league (which Saracens have been playing in for the past two seasons) as well possibly other competitions which either club, on its own, could not currently enter.

The problem with clusters is that they can quickly become "clubs" in their own right, but by keeping our own separate fixtures alongside the clustered games we will be able to keep our own identities. At the same time it will allow everyone to take part in any competitions next season without having to wait while the clubs build up their squads - and, because we are at opposite ends of the county, we will not be competing for the same players, which can be a problem with clusters of neighbouring teams.

So 2009-10 looks like being one of the most exciting, and varied, seasons so far with a full fixture list of games for both age groups. And if you are wondering how far away the new season is... see above (the clock is currently counting down to the first Sunday of September - when the season officially begins).

"Green light" for some of the best facilities in the region

Reports in today's Comet suggest that its all go for the expansion of the club. NHDC planning officer Simon Ellis is reported as saying:

"There is not a sufficiently robust case to refuse planning permission for the expansion of pitch sport facilities on this site in policy terms. In my view the Rugby Football Union and Sport England have demonstrated that the two clubs who presently occupy this site have a growing membership and therefore have a genuine need to expand. The proposed development is an appropriate development in the Green Belt in that it represents essential facilities for outdoor sport and recreation."

As you will have seen from the plans on the club noticeboard, this will give us three new playing pitches, along with training areas, and - in the long run - a new clubhouse. Plans also foresee the levelling of the main pitch and the creation of an all weather pitch where the current second pitch is (share with Letchworth Eagles) along with improved floodlighting (admittedly that would not be too difficult!).

The only major objection seems to have come from 38 residents in Quinn Way and Schoolfields (behind the current Hertfordshire football ground) who fear "foul language, loudspeakers and air horns on match days". I did wonder if they had any of our players in mind (or coaches), but seriously you do have to have concerns about people who buy houses next to sports fields and then complain about people using them... (Sigh).

A more positive response comes from Heritage Foundation director Marilyn Hands who said that:

"The aim is to cater for the increased membership at the two clubs, by providing a high quality floodlit training area, three new full-size rugby pitches, two mini rugby pitches, two additional junior football pitches, extra car parking facilities and improved access via Legends Lane."

She also confirmed that the farmland has not been used in recent times.

The only downside is that it will be a while before anyone can look forward to running out on the new pitches. "The proposals are at a relatively early stage", said Marilyn, "and the funding and costs details have still to be finalised, as is the possibility of grant assistance for the scheme by the Rugby Football Union and Sport England."

So - a while to go yet, but a good start.

Annual Awards evening II

At the Youth section Awards evening at the end of April, the Girls section presented awards for representative rugby but, having played only 20 of our planned 40 games for the season, we held back the presentation of the main trophies to an end of season party after the RFUW National 7s.

So on Bank Holiday Monday the coaches, officials, players and families got together to celebrate another successful season with a barbecue, a few games and, of course, the presentation of the main awards.

It was a particularly important occasion because it marked the end of an era with founder and manager, John Birch, moving on after 224 games in charge. Not only that but the calendar had caught up with another 3 of the original team from 2004 - Hayley, Carla and Mel - who are moving on to senior rugby. Next season that will leave us with only one member of the original team still playing at Letchworth - Nikki (who has played in a mere 178 games under John's leadership!)

The awards, presented by John as his last official engagement for the club, were as follows :

U15s Players Player : Sydney Gregson

U18s Players Player : Natalie Threlfall

U15s Most Improved Player : Jade Cooper

U18s Most Improved Player : Jess Robinson

U15s Player of the Year : Ellah Hughes

U18s Player of the Year : Nikki Alcock

Commemorative T-shirts were presented to John and all the players moving on to senior rugby and the evening rounded off with the presentation of a number of gifts to John from club and players including a photo album of pictures from the last 5 years, an autographed photo of the first game in 2004 and an engraved salver.

The photo below shows John with Mel, Nikki, Carla and Katie who were members of the original Letchworth Girls team of 10 October 2004 :

There are a number of other pictures from the evening available on the Threlfall archive.

"Jess - have you seen that sheet I put on the line?"

"Err... no, Mum!"

Click here for artists at work

200 match milestone ahead

Sometime on Sunday afternoon the U18s will walk onto the field at Worthing for what will be a notable game. First, if all goes well, their fourth game of the day could be a semi-final,  or it may be the final group game to reach the semi-finals. However whatever the game is it will also be a bit of a landmark for the team, the girls' section - and maybe the whole club.

This is because it will be the girls' section's 200th game!

That is quite a lot of rugby, and hopefully there will be at least three girls on the field who were there for match number one - Carla (then hooker and goal kicker), Nikki (then a centre, if I remember right), and Mel (who played on the wing(?) - and whose idea and enthusiasm got the whole section going in the first place!).

During this time we have played games from west Cornwall to north Nottinghamshire against about 80 different teams (you can see them all here), including three from Canada, with something like 100 girls (maybe more!) pulling on a Letchworth shirt - some for one game, most for many more than that. Nikki for one played her 50th game in only our second season, so heaven knows how many times she has played now! 

We've have also won just under half of our games, which isn't bad. Remember that one unique feature about Letchworth is that most of our players do not come from mini sections or families who play rugby. We've all had to learn, most from scratch and (as our new U15s are finding) that means that you may lose a few before you learn to be a winning team. However (again as the U15s are showing), the most important thing - much more important than any result - is that everyone enjoys playing the game and in that we we must be getting something right at Letchworth!

This is a significant milestone. Unfortunately many (possibly most) girls teams do not get this far - the game loses about a third of its girls clubs every two years, and even those that continue rarely play an average of over 40 games per year.

So congratulations to everyone. By the season's end we should be well on our way to 250 games - and our growing number of players should see us through that milestone and beyond!

Your club needs YOU!

Four full size pitches with drainage - and grass! Proper floodlights. All weather training pitches. A clubhouse to be proud of. The best rugby club in the area. Training on weekday evenings when we want to train, not just when there is space. A club big enough and with facilities good enough to host major tournaments, like the National 7s, regional matches - maybe even internationals!

Sounds good? Well, if you've seen the plans in the clubhouse then you'll know that all this - and more - could be your club at Letchworth. And to get it all you need to do is write a letter.

Basically, the plans you have seen are not a foregone conclusion. They have to go through the local planning process and - even with the support of the Foundation - it does not mean that permission will be given. There may be objections, and we need to balance that with as many people as possible writing in in favour of what is proposed.

A petition is no good, and everyone sending in the same letter will also be ignored - or just counted as one letter. So we cannot produce a draft letter for everyone to sign - you'll need to write your own.

It needn't be long, though. And if you are stuck for things to mention you could include...

• Say that you are writing about the planning application for Letchworth Rugby Club.
• Tell them about the overcrowding - the club has expanded so much that there is barely enough room for everyone to train, or even host home matches when we need to. The problems of midweek training. Overused pitchers. Limits access to the club and the game.
• Changing facilities - need improving, especially for the needs of girls.
• Parking - a bit chaotic at times at the moment. Limits what the club can do.
• Hosting tournaments. Remind them of the success of Herts 7s in 2006. Letchworth can be brilliant hosts - we have the skills and the expertise - but we are now too small to host such an event again (with U15s now you need four pitches). We are in a fantastic location (right near the A1) - national events, even women's internationals, are not impossible! 
• Remind them what we have done - especially the girls section. 
• And tell them how important the game is to you.

Then send your letter to...

Mr Simon Ellis

Senior Planning Officer

Council Offices

North Herts District Council

Gernon Road

Letchworth Garden City

SG6 3JF

(or save a stamp and drop it in next time you are in town).

Seriously - this is important - and support from the players in the girls section could make a huge difference. And what else have you got planned for the rest of the Easter break?

How about a team day out...

... to see Saracens vs Wasps on Sunday 29th March?

We only have training at Letchworth that morning - and you would not even need to worry about transport as the club are organising a coach to the game at Vicarage Road, Watford (though you could still travel down independently if you wished). The coach will be leaving from the club about 1.30 and will cost about £6. Game tickets will be £15 for adults (17 and above) and £5 for children (U17). 

This is the same price as buying your own tickets, but every ticket sold by the club will result in a rebate from Saracens for Letchworth to spend on your facilities and equipment - so its also a fundraiser. And - to round things off - the club's U8 team will be playing as part of the pre-match entertainment.

If you have never been to a Saracens match at Vicarage Road its a great afternoon out - and the the atmosphere could hardly be better than a "derby" game against Wasps. So - what do you all think? 

Exciting plans for Legends Lane

Dave Sharp's latest post on the main club website gives more information about the plans to massively improve facilities at the club over the next couple of years. If you have looked on the main notice board you may already have seen the plan, but to add some detail the development would give the club:

• Five full-sized rugby pitches
• Floodlighting on three pitches
• Two junior pitches
• A new car park for 250 cars
• New access roads
• Improvements to the pitches (an end to mud baths?)
• A possible new clubhouse

A lot of the funding for this will be coming from the Heritage Foundation, though the club will be having to raise its own money as well - especially for the clubhouse. 

Planning permission is now being sought, but if and when this goes ahead this it will give Letchworth some of the best facilities in the Hertfordshire (or Bedfordshire), rivaled only by the likes of Old Albanians or the University of Hertfordshire.