Fylde’s 2022 Annual General Meeting was held on Monday evening, 11th July. Here are some of the major issues discussed and confirmed ahead of the start of the 2022-23 season.
1. Membership fees – same as last year. No change
Gate Fees – same as last year. No change
2. Officers & General Committee – the following were re-elected:
President – Anthony Hoskisson; Chairman – Matt Filipo; Secretary – Gary Melling; Chairman of Rugby – Steve Rigby; Commercial Lead – Mike Davies; Volunteers Co-ordinator – Roger Westbrook; Safeguarding Officer – Caroline Melling; Discipline Officer – Craig Aikman; Past -President – Jeff Gould; Executive Rugby Consultant – Mark Nelson.
There are two changes in Officers and the General Committee.
(i) Treasurer – Andy Dowds has done a great job in the last two years but business pressures have led to him stepping down. Many thanks Andy!
We are looking for a new Treasurer and if anyone is interested in the post they need to contact Gary Melling at Secretary@fylderugby.co.uk . [We now have Jane Taylor doing bookkeeping/management accounts so the role would be reduced ‘overseeing’ duties thus not as involved as it was previously.]
(ii) Mini-Junior Chair – Carrie Beaumont has stepped down after a successful year and is replaced by Greg Mahon who is similarly immersed in M-J activities. Greg has put together a piece issued simultaneously with this report.
3. Nigel Wild has left the Club for pastures new. The Officers, General Committee and Fylde RFC as a whole wish to place on record our thanks for his years of service at the Club and wish him well for his future ventures.
4. Future communications – The Officers of the Club (President, Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer) and Rugby will be issuing update reports throughout the season to go in the programme, on social media and on Webcollect emails to keep the membership better informed.
We are, of course, aware that some members don’t use digital channels such as the website, Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with Club news. We are looking at other methods to ensure that we are inclusive and providing these members with other routes to important information.
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From Greg Mahon, Chair, Fylde Mini-Juniors
Like so many of our fantastic volunteers at the club, my journey into coaching began with the U6 minis and now enters its’ seventh year as we start U12 Junior Rugby
A year ago I was appointed Mini-Junior Fixtures Secretary and found out how much work goes on in the background, often unnoticed by many, to ensure the fixtures arranged during lockdown, were fulfilled. With help from the grounds staff, office staff, catering teams and Leigh Kedwell, the Estates Manager at AKS School the majority of fixtures were played. The fixtures for the 22-23 season were arranged earlier this year and we have some great matches lined up. I would like to thank Ben Curran for his continued help and advice with the M.J Fixtures. He’s really helped me with the role.
I’ve worked closely with Matt Filipo and Gary Melling over the last seven years, both of whom I class as close friends. When they approached me to discuss becoming MJ Chairman, it felt like the right time to step up and be more involved in helping them run the club. MJ Rugby isn’t just about what happens on the pitch. We have some fantastic coaches that manage that. For me, it’s about making the club a fun place to be and making sure that every player, from U6 to U16’s, is proud to put their Fylde top on and enjoys the game of rugby.
I will be looking to arrange some MJ fundraising events during the season and I would welcome any suggestions from members as to how we can maximise these opportunities.
Away from the fun, there is also some work to be done on the GMS player affiliation, DBS checks / renewals, courses and most importantly, Memberships.
I will be working closely with all Team Managers to make sure memberships are up to date and encourage as many people to take advantage of the Family Memberships.
A Fylde membership has some fantastic benefits, it’s not just a season ticket to see the first team play!
Greg Mahon
M-J Chair
Fylde Rugby Club
01253 734733
juniors@fylderugby.co.uk
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Here are a few headlines taken from the various reports presented to members ahead of the AGM.
- The Pemberton Family, long term supporters of the Club in a variety of ways, have undertaken an amount of refurbishment and repair to the Fylde pitches this summer and will be assisting Patrick Townsend with pitch care.
- Just over 1,000 memberships in 2021-22, but with family memberships counting as one, this in fact covers in the region of 2,000 people. 407 M-Js turning out for U6s to U15s on Sundays during last season.
- £35k has been spent during the season on long overdue backlog maintenance. There are further plans in the coming season to upgrade areas inside and outside the Clubhouse. In addition, a new boiler and hot water system is being installed soon to replace the 17 year old, failing systems at a further substantial cost.
- Despite these essential infrastructure catch-up maintenance tasks and equipment replacement, the Club is likely to have achieved a small surplus at the year end on 31st July.
- Generous donations by two members, Paul Murphy and Peter Sanderson, will allow the installation of new posts on the top and training pitches this summer, along with new netting to the side of the Top Pitch.
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Final part of the Chairman’s Report to Members
“I look at being a Chairman as being able to Captain a Fylde team again and when I captained there were always those that amazed me with their talents. For those of you that don’t see the Committees, Volunteers and Employees in the club daily they all have amazing talents that come together and drive Fylde RFC as a team. I would though emphasise that the vast majority are volunteers who give up their limited time for free and try to juggle their home and work life with also helping at Fylde therefore sometimes things cannot happen as quickly as some may like and similar.
I hope that the members have enjoyed the past year and are looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Matt Filipo
Chairman