MINUTES OF THE OURFC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD IN THE OURFC PAVILION, IFFLEY ROAD, ON
MONDAY 15th MAY 2017
Present:
Voting Members:, Ronnie Lamb, Kate Tiller, John Webster, Jenny Tudge, Martin Jackson, Andrew
Wilkinson, Stephen Pearson, Frank Gargent, Conor Kearns, Ed David, Jonathan Marsden, Will Wilson,
Henry Hughes, Will Thornton, Catherine Wilcock, Imogen Duffy,, Sophie Behan, Johanna Dombrowski,
Anna Bidgood, Jennie Smith, Hester Odgers, Sophie Trott, Helena Copley, Leanne Robinson, Carly
Bliss, Caitlin McArdle, Gemma Robson, Pat Metcalfe-Jones, Cecilia Peker (29)
Non-voting Members: Peter Bridges, Steve Wilcock, Rob Newey, Joe Winpenny, Gary Street, Ali
Mortimore, Tom Humberstone, Lucy Fenwick, Alice Mingay, Carla Fernandez-Rico (10)
Honorary Secretary: Tim Stevens
Total attendance 40
ACTION
1.
Apologies
Sir Ivor Roberts, Owen Darbishire, Matthew Geiger.
2.
Minutes of the last AGM held on Tuesday 31st May 2016 were accepted and
signed as accurate by the Vice-Chairman Non-Finance.
3.
Matters Arising
Amendments to the Constitution
It was proposed by Frank Gargent, seconded by Stephen Pearson and agreed by
the meeting that the first sentence of clause 13 be amended to read:
'The Non-student Members shall be the President, the Chairman or two Co-chairs,
the Treasurer, the OURFU Representative to the Council of the Rugby Football
Union and five or six others of whom at least four are members of Convocation.’
This amendment provides for the option of co-chairmanship whilst retaining a
maximum of ten Non-student Members of the Committee.
The proposed amendment to clause 15b, was deferred and will now be discussed
at a future committee meeting and implemented for the 2018 Women’s Blues
Captain and Secretary election.
4.
Election of Non-Student Members of the Committee:
President:
Sir Ivor Roberts
Proposed: Kat Tiller
Seconded: Martin Jackson
Co-Chair:
Martin Jackson
Proposed: Andrew Wilkinson
Seconded: Stephen Pearson
Co-Chair:
Kate Tiller
Proposed: Frank Gargent
Seconded: Stephen Pearson
Treasurer:
Frank Gargent
Proposed: Martin Jackson
Seconded: Andrew Wilkinson
Committee Member: Andrew Wilkinson
Proposed: Frank Gargent
Seconded: Stephen Pearson
Committee Member: Owen Darbishire
Proposed: Frank Gargent
Seconded: Stephen Pearson
Committee Member: Jenny Tudge
Proposed: Frank Gargent
Seconded: Stephen Pearson
Committee Member: John Webster
Proposed: Frank Gargent
Seconded: Stephen Pearson
There is one non-student committee position now vacant, the committee will look
to identify and co-opt a suitable person during the next year.
Stephen Pearson was elected RFU Representative at the OURFU AGM in April.
Ronnie Lamb who stood down after many years serving on the committee was
made an Honorary Vice Presidents in recognition of his dedication and hard work
for OURFC.
5.
Chairs’ Report – Kate Tiller & Martin Jackson
The year 2016/17 has been an exceptionally busy and important one for OURFC.
In May 2016 the Committee appointed two Vice-chairs to help share the load.
They are Martin Jackson and Kate Tiller, whose roles have broadly divided
between financial and non-financial matters and who have prepared this summary
report.
1. Financial Strategy: the Treasurer’s Report will detail our current financial
situation and the budget for FY 2017/18, as endorsed by the F & GP Committee
on 8 May 2017. This report concentrates on the wider financial picture and
associated matters. Given that our reserves are now exhausted and that we have
reviewed our expenditure to retain only that which is essential to rugby
operations, we have four main financial strategies:
a. Cashflow: the University has made available a borrowing facility of £200K
between 1 May 2017 and 30 April 2019 (i.e. two FYs) to cover a forecast
shortfall in income for these two FYs. The Treasurer’s report for FY 2017/18
reveals a shortfall of £78K (including a one-off payment of £9K for the ITC study
(see 1d below)), that assumes income of £74K from our new Endowment Fund
and £20K from the recently launched “1869 Society”. We hope that the use of
this facility, in 2018/19, will be less as our income from the new Endowment
Fund and the “1869 Society” grows. If we do not repay the University whatever
we have borrowed by 30 April 2019, then the interest charges rise sharply.
b. Endowment Fund: the Endowment Fund is currently at £520K against a target
of “at least £4M” (which would produce an annual cash distribution of £160K (@
4%)). To this, we will add the proceeds of the sale of the Iffley Road site (i.e.
£2M): see para 2 below.
c. The “1869 Society”: this initiative was launched at the end of January 2017; to
date, it has raised £18K in one-off gifts and £12K in annually recurring gifts. In
the short time since launch, a total of 30 people have joined the Society.
d. The Varsity Matches. Working closely with the Rugby Football Union (RFU),
the Varsity Match Company Ltd (VMCL) and Cambridge (CURUFC), we have
commissioned a study by the highly recommended “Inside Two Circles” (ITC)
consultancy to answer the following questions:
(1)
Why attend the VMs?
(2)
Who is the target audience?
(3)
What is the most appropriate ticket pricing structure?
(4)
When should the VMs be played?
(5)
Where to host the VMs?
(6)
How to market the VMs?
The study is due to report on 18 May and Martin Jackson/Kate Tiller will be able
to brief the AGM on the major conclusions of the study. Clearly, two of the aims
are to achieve a higher level of attendance and generate more income around the
match, including more sponsorship.
2. Sale of the Iffley Road Site: the University and OURFC are in the final stages
of concluding an agreement to sell Iffley Road for £2M. The University would
retain 17% of the land to use for Phase 2 of its development plans for the
University sports facilities (next door). The Club would lease 83% of the site for
a modest £500 per annum (reviewed against CPI every 5 years). The 83%
includes the pitch, two stands and the Pavilion and so rugby operations are not
affected by the sale; moreover, OURFC will continue to use 100% of the site
until such time as the University obtains planning permission/starts construction
of new sports facilities. The “Major Stanley’s Ground Trustees” have endorsed
the sale.
3. Targets: a public announcement will be made shortly emphasising to all current
players /coaches/medical staff; all former Blues; and all friends & supporters that
OURFC and the University are determined to put the Club on a secure financial
basis. In that knowledge, we hope that many more with donate to the Endowment
Fund and/or the “1869 Society” and that many more will attend the Varsity
Matches in future.
4. Rugby matters: the men’s and women’s captains will detail fixtures and
outcomes for the season, but it is worth noting the impressive overall extent of
OURFC’s rugby presence which has included the men’s Blues victory against
Croatia, the women’s triumph against Newcastle University to win the BUCS
Vase, the Whippets’ success in taking the Oxfordshire Shield, and Iffley Road
hosting the student international between England and Ireland with Blue Tom
Stileman capped for England on the wing.
5. Staff and volunteers: OURFC is outstandingly fortunate in its coaching and
medical staff, its principal coaches James Wade and Gary Street, all those- many
volunteers- who make sure Iffley Road runs smoothly on match days, our Rugby
Development Officer, Joe Winpenny, and above all the lynch pin of OURFC, our
General Manager, Tim Stevens. Warm thanks to then for another year of
commitment to the Club.
6. Strengthened ties: following the disappointments of the Varsity Matches, in
terms of a small crowd and lack of substantial sponsorship, major efforts have
been made to improve things for the future. The ITC survey has already been
mentioned. The chief executive of the RFU, Ian Ritchie, invited the Club
Presidents and VMCL chair and chief executive to Twickenham for discussions
of a continuing partnership for staging the Varsity Matches, linked to improved
marketing, promotion and support, and also to Oxbridge’s active involvement in
student, women’s and community rugby. An Oxford-Cambridge meeting was
held in the new year to reinforce joint working between the Clubs and effective
links with VMCL, and contacts between the Oxford and Cambridge Constituent
Bodies have been extended. Links with the University are closer than ever, with
the support of Jon Roycroft, director of sport; Emma Potts (deputy registrar), and
Robin Leonard (development office) especially appreciated. It was good to
welcome both the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor to the Varsity Matches.
7. Club structures: the governance of the Club has been further under-pinned with
the implementation of a review of structures. The Committee is supported by
F&GP; Development Working Group; Playing, Coaching and Development; and
Recruitment (Men’s and Women’s) sub-committees. Each is chaired by a main
Committee member (respectively Martin Jackson, John Webster, Kate Tiller,
Peter Bridges and Andrew Wilkinson to whom thanks). A year on from the
decision to integrate the men’s and women’s clubs the transition is working well,
supported by John Carter in one of his continuing and much valued roles,
alongside player recruitment and welfare.
8. Welcomes and farewells: notable changes have included the chairmanship of
VMCL, Illyas Khan resigning in November and now replaced by Tim Jones.
Another Tim Jones, OURFC treasurer for some ten years, retired in December
with warm thanks for his years of service. He has been succeeded as treasurer by
Frank Gargent, bursar at St Hilda’s college and as an Oxford director of VMCL
by Martin Jackson. At the Annual Dinner on 22nd April the first of many welldeserved thanks was said to Ronnie Lamb, our chairman of recent years, past
Blue and Oxford Captain and Scottish international, who retires from office. We
thank him for all he has contributed to the Club over many years, and look
forward to continuing to see him here to enjoy the rugby at Iffley Road.
6.
Treasurer’s Report – Martin Jackson & Frank Gargent
Audited accounts as at 30 April 2016
Martin Jackson reported the Club incurred a loss of £177K on operations for the
year 2015/16. This loss was slightly less than the previous year.
Projection for 2016/17
Frank Gargent reported the position for 11months as a loss of £151K against a
budgeted loss for the year of £235K, the final 12 months position should still be
less than predicted. The club’s reserves have now been exhausted, so the next two
years will continue to see very tight controls on expenditure and income
generating ideas explored.
7.
RFU Representative’s Report – Stephen Pearson
As a Major Stanley’s Trustee, I have a duty to protect the interests of OURFC
and as such I spent a good deal of time with fellow Trustees considering the sale
of the ground to the University and we all believe this was the best possible
outcome for the future of the club.
2016/17 was an excellent one for England Rugby, thee women won a Grand
Slam, the men retained the 6 Nations title and the U20’s also won a Grand Slam.
The financial position is also very strong, in the year 2015/16 the RFU’s turnover
was in excess of £400M, £250M of which was attributable to the 2015 RWC, in a
‘normal’ year the turnover is approx. £200M, £100M of which is invested
directly back into the game with £40M into the community game.
In the Board Room, there is now a new Chairman – Andy Goslet and Nigel
Melville is overseeing the Elite Rugby Department.
OURFU continues to retain its Constituent Body status, the work that our RDO
Joe Winpenny has done over the last two season, has been vital to demonstrate to
the RFU our continued relevance in the game, particularly in the retention of
players in the 18-24 year age bracket, a key target of the RFU.
Rugby is the last university sport where we have representation at the ‘high table’
on a national governing body, so we need to continue to work had to grow the
game – playing (15’s, 7’s & touch), refereeing, coaching and volunteers to ensure
that position is retained.
8.
Women’s Captains Report – Sophie Behan
Blues
This year has been an incredibly successful year for the Dark Blue Women with a
varsity victory, a successful defence of our position in the BUCS Premiership
South against arch-rivals Cambridge, with the latter getting relegated down a
division, only two years after they were promoted. OURFC Women were the
only Oxford team to win any BUCS event this season coming away from BUCS
‘Super Wednesday’ with the Vase Championship. Over the course of the year we
have bonded to become a close-knit team, building upon a hard-working
mentality carried over from the hurt of last year’s Varsity defeat. Every single
player on the Blues side has taken responsibility for the improvement of their
own game and 1-1 sessions with Gary has increased individual skill sets making
us one of the most skilled sides Oxford Women’s rugby has seen for a long time.
I sincerely believe this will continue to grow and OURFC women will become
one of the premier sports at this university following the trend of the women’s
rugby nationwide as the fastest growing sport. Competition for places has been
tight with the majority of Blues player’s members of either premiership or
championship sides. As such the game has increased in quality and pace whilst
maintaining the value of the Dark Blue shirt and commitment to the crown.
Panthers
As the Blues have had a period of longer-term development over two years, the
Panthers have shaped a team in just two terms. The challenge of teaching skills
from scratch to a variety of players fell to two injured Blues players who put their
own time into achieving level 2 coaching qualifications. Johanna Dombrowski
and Anna Bidgood certainly had a great challenge on their hands but coped
admirably with the pressure. Over the course of Michaelmas, Jo ran development
sessions to attract players many of whom stayed on to form the core of the
Panthers squad this term. In Hilary, Anna joined the coaching squad and together
they developed a team capable of playing rugby as a team and with the essential
skills required to play university sides such as Surrey and club sides such as
Witney. By fostering new talent we now have a pool of players who we can
continue to develop throughout next term and fight for competition in either
Panthers or Blues next year. By beginning the coaching and recruiting process for
Panthers so early we now have a cycle that can be continued and built upon so
that there is a potential to get out three sides. Although Panthers lost Varsity,
unlike Cambridge our side was made up of new players, most of whom had only
picked up a ball earlier that term or the term before. Their commitment was
unquestionable with all players attending S+C sessions twice a week as well as
training. A regime that would not have been possible only a year ago. We should
now aim to continue improving so that we can, at some point, enter the Panthers
into a merit league or lower BUCS league to give regular match time and have
further competition for places.
Development
Development sessions run every Monday at 4pm has continued to grow the sport
within the university offering a beginners entry guide to contact rugby and
fostering a love for the sport in new players. Cuppers this year built upon last
year’s efforts and will undoubtedly continue to improve so that it may contain
even more teams from more colleges. It is both essential for image of the sport at
Oxford and a great recruiting tool for the club. With such dedication to our sport
emerging within the university, thanks to the efforts of the crown committee,
coaches and Joe Winpenny, recruitment is at an all-time high with over twenty
attending development sessions throughout the term, sixty attending Cuppers and
a Freshers fair mailing list of 140. Our job now is to continue building and
growing our sport to reach the highest of standards and perform in both Varsities
and BUCS leagues.
Cuppers
The first rounds of the Women’s Cuppers competition was held on the 10th of
March run by myself and Sarah Tearne- outgoing development officers. Six sides
of ten played in two pools of three with the top two going through to the semifinals. CLOMP (CHCH, LMH, Osler, Mansfield, Pembroke) triumphed in one
semi-final and the All Saints in the other. The final was played as a part of the
“Cuppers Super Saturday” with an increase of team size to 12 and playing to time
to 20 minutes each way. Both sides fielded strong squads incorporating a mixture
of brand new players and blues. The final was incredibly close, with the score of
5-5 at full time. Extra-time and ‘Golden Goal’ rules brought the ‘All Saints’ team
to the title. This development of the Women’s Cuppers competition has actively
encouraged many new players to regularly attend development and regular
training sessions.
Men’s Captains Report – Conor Kearns
Congratulations to Catherine, Sophie and all the women’s players on their highly
successful season and good luck for next season.
Hilary Term
Some good performances with narrow losses to Crawshays and Penguins and a
win over the Royals Navy, whilst the first half performance against the Army at
Aldershot was a fine effort from a young, inexperienced Blues team. The away
trip to Dublin saw the Blues defeated by a strong TCD side, but introduced some
new players to the Blues environment which will help next season.
Trinity Term
The 7’s squad returned to Centrale for the 13th consecutive year and returned with
the Bronze Trophy, beating Cambridge 14 points to 5 in the process. Three ‘new’
players were introduced to OURFC, which will greatly assist their integration in
preseason. There maybe one or two more 7’s events to play this term.
Preseason
The Open Weekend will be on the 1st to 3rd September, followed by a Blues
preseason week in Oxford. Plans to visit the east coast of the USA for a tour are
coming together, but funding is still the main issue. The legacy that such a tour
leave with the players, will be important when this group of players became
alumni.
Thanks
Thanks to Fergus Taylor and Jonathan Marsden for all their hard work and
commitment to the club in 2016 and Ed David and I now look forward to building
on their legacy. Thanks also to the committee for all their hard work behind the
scenes, particularly in securing the future of the club.
9.
Rugby Development Officer Report – Joe Winpenny
League Rugby
League standings – Michaelmas Term
Division 1
Team
Keble
St Anne’s/John’s
St Peter’s
St Edmund Hall
New
Played
4
4
4
4
4
Won
4
3
2
1
0
Drawn
0
0
0
0
0
Lost
0
1
2
3
4
Point
s
20
14
10
7
1
Played
4
4
4
4
4
Won
4
3
2
1
0
Drawn
0
0
0
0
0
Lost
0
1
2
3
4
Point
s
20
16
10
5
1
Played
4
4
4
4
4
Won
3
3
3
1
0
Drawn
0
0
0
0
0
Lost
1
1
1
3
4
Point
s
17
15
15
5
2
Played
4
4
4
Won
3
3
2
Drawn
0
0
0
Lost
1
1
2
Point
s
15
15
11
Division 2
Team
St Catherine’s
Hertford
Christ Church
CCC/Somerville
Balliol
Division 3
Team
Lincoln
Jesus
Worcester
Magdalen
Exeter
Division 4
Team
LMH/St Hugh’s
Wadham/Trinity
Queen’s
Oriel
St Hilda’s
4
4
1
1
0
0
3
3
8
5
Division 5
Team
Pembroke
Osler House
Brasenose
University
Merton/Mansfiel
d
Played
4
4
4
4
Won
3
2
2
1
Drawn
0
1
0
1
Lost
1
1
2
2
Point
s
14
13
13
9
4
1
0
3
6
League Rugby – Standings Michaelmas/Trinity Term
Division 1
Played
4
4
4
4
4
Won
3
2
2
1
1
Drawn
1
1
0
0
0
Lost
0
1
2
3
3
Point
s
17
13
10
6
4
Played
4
4
4
4
4
Won
4
3
2
1
0
Drawn
0
0
0
0
0
Lost
0
1
2
3
4
Point
s
20
15
12
5
0
Team
LMH/St Hugh’s
Wadham/Trinity
CCC/Somerville
Worcester
Balliol
Played
4
4
4
4
4
Won
3
3
2
1
0
Drawn
1
0
0
1
0
Lost
0
1
2
3
4
Point
s
17
16
11
9
0
Division 4
Team
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Point
Team
Keble
St Peter’s
St Catherine’s
Hertford
St Anne’s/John’s
Division 2
Team
St Edmund Hall
New
Christ Church
Lincoln
Jesus
Division 3
Pembroke
Queen’s
Magdalen
Exeter
Osler House
3
4
4
4
4
3
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
4
s
15
15
12
6
0
Played
4
4
4
Won
4
3
2
Drawn
0
0
0
Lost
0
1
2
Point
s
20
13
11
4
4
1
0
0
0
2
4
6
3
Division 5
Team
Brasenose
Oriel
St Hilda’s
Merton/Mansfiel
d
University
League Rugby - Summary
Whilst there are still a game to be decided the league season has proved to have
been successful, at the recent Captain’s meeting and from feedback from our
referees the number of reduced numbers games has been very low. We introduced
harsher penalty points for those teams starting with reduced numbers which has
been a major factor. Most of the Captain’s this year along with their respective
communities have taken their roles very seriously which has been key to the
successes and the number of players that have been taking the field each
Saturday.
Keble College won back to back titles in Division 1 going unbeaten this season
which is a fantastic achievement. St Edmund Hall and New return to Div 1 after a
term away in the unfamiliar surroundings of Div 2 during Hilary Term. In Div 3
LMH/St Hugh’s continue their success this year with back to back promotions
starting in Div 4 at the beginning of the season and winning promotion to Div 2
during Hilary. Wadham/Trinity have also one back to back promotions achieving
the same feat as LMH/St Hugh’s. Balliol have struggled this year with double
relegation, injuries to some of their main players including their Captain has been
a huge contributing factor. In Div 4 Pembroke have seen success also with double
promotion this season from Div 5 to Div 3 over the 2 terms. In Div 5 Brasenose
have seen a bit of resurgence this term and have won promotion to Div 4 for the
1st time since Michaelmas 2015.
Men’s Cuppers
The 2017 Cuppers Competition has as always has been the focal point of the
season for a lot of the clubs and what the league season builds up to. This year
saw a resurgence of Keble II and Teddy Hall II, Keble II’s in particular had a
great run in the Bowl and made the Semi-Finals. Having spoken with the both the
Keble Club Captain and the Keble II XV Captain the amount of players available
to the club means that we can look at introducing Keble back into the league
system next season. I’d like to have the communication with Teddy Hall to see if
this might be a possibility for them.
Cuppers Super Finals Day was again a success however timings needed to be
adjusted due to the event clashing with Keble Ball that evening. In hindsight we
should have checked earlier on with the Colleges to see if there were any events
that clashed, I feel that the adjustment of timings had an impact on the crowd
sizes, having said that the main stand was full for the final game. A special thanks
must go to Ed David and Ian Williams who worked hard to make that the
entertainment side of the day was a success.
On the field the best thing about the day was that all 4 matches were extremely
evenly matched and all of the games were extremely competitive. It was great to
see Keble and Teddy Hall back in the final as the rivalry added a great deal to the
atmosphere on the day with both clubs bringing a few hundred supporters each.
Finals Day Round Up
Bowl Final: Wadham/Trinity 14 v 12 Osler House
Plate Final: St Peter’s 28 v 14 CCC/Somerville
Women’s Final: All Saints 10 v 5 CLOMP
Cup Final: Keble 20 v 10 St Edmund Hall
Women’s Rugby
The season for the Women has continued to go from strength to strength with the
winning of BUCS Vase Trophy, this coupled with the Varsity win has done an
awful lot to create a buzz around the Women’s section. New players regularly
turning up to development sessions and then transitioning through to training with
the Blues and The Panthers. I’m going to have a look at system for the new
season where we can start to create some stats around the numbers of new players
the Women’s game is attracting.
I’ve have been talking with colleagues at the RFU regarding running an
#InnerWarrior camp here aimed at recruiting new people to the sport but it looks
like their dates might not match up with the start of term here.
Another plan is to ensure that each Rugby playing college has a female
representative that will have a presence at the college fresher’s fair. The aim of
this will be two fold.
1) Promote OURFC Women’s activity.
2) Promote Women’s Rugby within College with a view to creating more
college clusters.
Women’s Cuppers
Our 2nd Women’s Cuppers event again was a brilliant day, we had over 90
females attend the day and discovered some talented players.
We have been able to increase the clusters from 4 teams to 6 teams this year,
thanks to the ladies already playing the game for your hard work on recruitment
for this event. This increase in numbers meant that the final was 12 a side this
year as opposed to 10 a side last year.
Hopefully with the presence of a College Rep we will be able to look to increase
the number of cluster to 8 or maybe even 10 if we are being ambitious with the
ultimate aim of the final being a full 15 a side game.
Referee’s Society
As we move towards the end of the season I want to take the time to say thank
you to Tom Hamilton for his continued efforts as President, sadly Tom will
graduate this year meaning we have had to look for his replacement.
Thankfully Charlie Stevens has stepped up and offered to take over the role.
Whilst Charlie is not a member of the student body he has been a driving force
this year. He has been instrumental in securing sponsorship for the society, he
regularly gives up his time away from his day to officiate games midweek and at
the weekends as well as taking the time to coach St Peter’s College. Charlie’s
great work has been recognised this year at the Student RFU Awards where he
was named ‘Student Referee of The Year’.
There are various reasons why we have looked to someone outside of the student
body but the main reason is that we feel it is important that we have an ever
present within the society without the main contact changing too often. We may
look for a member of the student body to assist Charlie.
I have been in communication with Michael Patz (Head of Referee Development
with the RFU) regarding our society becoming a voting member, there is various
paperwork and conditions that we need to satisfy but I will be going through and
working on this over the summer.
Two of our referees were also invited to speak at this year’s National Student
Conference ahead of the BUCS Finals at Twickenham, so it’s clear that our work
in this area is well respected and appreciated by all at HQ.
Coaching
Following feedback at this term captain’s meeting we are looking to ramp up our
centralised skills clinics in the new season. We will aim to run 2 per term that we
explore different areas of the game, from the scrum all the way through to the
kicking game. The feedback received was that the Captain’s feel like they would
be able to attract more people to play if more people were given the basic
understanding of the game/skills/tactics as it would improve potential players
confidence so that they step over the whitewash and represent their college.
I am also discussing getting some closed courses booked in for the new season
that are exclusive to our community. It is my opinion that the current captains
struggle to structure their sessions to suit all from newbies through to the
experienced players.
Facilities and First Aid
One of the biggest challenges that we have faced this year has been facilities and
in particular floodlit training space, especially as we head towards the business
end of the season and the later stages of Cuppers. With only 2 floodlit areas
available for Colleges to use this makes it difficult to satisfy everyone’s needs,
we may need to explore ways in which we can be more creative next season.
Also pitch space for games also becomes an issue at this point of the season
especially with Cuppers Semi-Finals now taking place in Trinity Term, thankfully
I was able to persuade the parks to keep their posts up which elevated the
pressure on Iffley Road but it has come at a cost to OURFU.
First Aid provision for College games is another concern that I have, the RFU
guidelines stipulate that at Level 8 or below which is the level that College Rugby
falls under is that there needs to be a qualified 1st aider for every 60 players and 1
emergency first aider per team. It is my proposal that we find some funds within
the OURFU budget to get someone or maybe 2 from each College Club
emergency 1st aid qualified.
10.
Any Other Business
None.
11.
Date of the next AGM
A date will be circulated for the 2018 AGM in due course.
Tim Stevens
Secretary to the Committee
7/13/17