VEES FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
Club Newsletter - February 2021
Dear Members
Thank you to Nicola Diplock for reviving our Club newsletter. I hope you and your families are safe and well, and coping with life in these strange times.
During the lockdowns the Club officers have worked very hard to keep the administration, finance and maintenance up to date. Training programmes have been put in place at all levels. The latest one started on Sunday 24th January, was well attended and was taken online by Ugo Monye. Thank you for your support. This is ongoing every Sunday until we can return to normality. All members of all ages welcome.
Seniors also have in place their own training regimes.
We have to take advice from the government, RFU, HRFU and local authorities on reopening. You will be kept up to date on this.
Your Club committee is aware that there are concerns about floodlights and drainage. Solutions to these are being sought. Funding is difficult at present, but we are looking for ways to finance these through various organisations and sponsors. If any members know if any funding streams that might support us please let Paul Mcgoohan our Club Secretary know paul.mcgoohan@btinternet.com
Before lockdown there was good spirit and enthusiasm within the Club. Please stay with us. We all want to get back to normality as soon as possible.
Thank you for you continued support. Stay safe and well.
Ian ‘ Shanks ‘ Graham - Club Chair ian.graham1944@sky.com
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Message to the Junior and Mini Parents from Mini Chair
At the time of writing this message we are all unfortunately being kept away from rugby and many of our friends and families.
We are sure as parents and players you just want some sense of normality, how we all miss getting up early on a Sunday morning and checking whether to wrap up and get the thermos out for a warm brew on the pitch or side lines.
During the summer months, we saw a great team community spirit at the club. Parents, children all looked to get out and help build, paint, trim and work on lots of small and large projects. It was great to see so many people help as much as they could. And made us proud as chairmen.
We as mini and junior chairs want to let you know that we are planning for the longer term future of the Club, and have some ideas that we would really like your support and help with, as much or as little as you can.
When we are all allowed to meet again we would like to invite you for some refreshments at the Club to network and maybe brain storm how we can move the Club forward socially and collectively. We would ideally like some parents to start their own Social committee. This could be organising a quiz night or barn dance or perhaps a players disco! No beer of course.....! So please do email if you would like to help start the social committee. minichairs.vees@gmail.com
It is really important that we all look after each other in times like this, so please do call or e-mail us on minichairs.vees@gmail.com if you need any support, we will do all we can to be there for you if needed.
We look forward to being inundated with offers to to join us for refreshments at the club for the social soiree.
In the meantime take care and please do email us to show interest in joining the social team. That's not code for twitter or instagram.
Many thanks
John & Colin - Co Mini Chairs
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Dear Vees Community,
My name is George Harding and I am the Head Coach of the Senior team, though I have not had the chance to do much coaching this year. In the small amount of time we were able to train the lads made huge strides. If you asked anyone who attended the training sessions, I would be confident they would all say we started to head in the right direction.
In the absence of rugby it is hard to see the direction we should take as a community and a club. It is something I have struggled with and the uncertainty makes it a difficult problem to solve. In response, as a senior group we have done a couple things to keep players in touch and interested in rugby.
Through November we had a Running Club which about 10 guys took part in, where we intentionally tried to improve our respective mile times. Everyone who participated improved by 5-10% and it turned out the “older” lads were the fittest. And more importantly it gave a few guys a great outlet during a difficult time and have even taking up running as their current form of training. And we are currently doing a second one.
Next week we are also starting a “Vees Rugby Club”. For one hour a week we will zoom call, discuss rugby topics and catch up over a couple beers. I am hopeful this will be a great way to keep players interested in rugby and in touch with the friends and teammates.
Lastly, I would like to finish on this message. This pandemic has unfortunately had a huge impact on people’s lives and drastically changed the rugby season. It is important at this time to check on each other. We don’t need to check on everyone but even if we check on just a few friends it will make all the difference in the world. A small message here and there has a far bigger impact than any other action we can take at this time.
Yours in being grateful to be part of an awesome community,
George Harding
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PREMIERSHIP RUGBY has launched an innovative and engaging platform to help parents with home-schooling.
As households across the country continue home-schooling, starting this week Premiership Rugby is launching twice-weekly online lessons to support parents and teachers in keeping children engaged with learning.
Follow this link to find out more:
https://www.premiershiprugby.com/community/learnwithus/
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Mental health is much in the news and the Herts Sports Partnership are supporting this too. They are supporting Children’s Mental Health Week 1-7 February 2021 and they are offering courses during their annual Coach Education Week 15-22 February 2021 More details are available on their website https://sportinherts.org.uk
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Full Club Sunday Morning Zoom Training Sessions
These will take place every Sunday morning at 10am until we can resume training at the Club. These session last 30minutes, are planned to be completed indoors and are suitable for all ages. Don’t forget to wear your Club shirt.
Zoom ID: 896 1718 0443
Passcode: 287602
We thank Colin Gentleman, one of our Mini Chairmen, for pulling this together. Minichairs.vees@gmail.com
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The Raise the Roof Fund currently stands at £8,100
This is magnificent progress in just one year. Thank you to everyone who has contributed.
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To Senior players;
As we hopefully are coming down from this spike in COVID and out of lockdown, and the vaccination takes effect, now is the ideal starting point for getting your fitness back.
George is actively organising jogging days and we are looking at fitness zoom sessions (like Joe Wicks) a couple of times a week. I'm confident the rugby road map will appear from the government soon and we can start coming back to the Club and meeting up again.
In the meantime let's start getting fitness back so we're ready to roll when the time is right.
Ant Hayes - First Team Manager antonyhayes65@yahoo.co.uk
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Community Amateur Sports Club
Verulamians is registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). This has several advantages. The main advantage is that it means that if you donate money to help with the running of the Club or towards special projects such as the needed major roof repair, the Club can reclaim the tax that you paid on that donation from HM Revenue and Customs.
This rule applies to all tax payers. If you are a tax payer the Club can reclaim the tax that you paid on the donation, this means that for every £1.00 contributed the Club can reclaim 25pence. However, if you are donating and are also a marginal rate tax payer you can personally reclaim the difference between the basic rate of tax and your marginal rate of tax to offset your tax bill.
All you have to do is to sign a Gift Aid form (available from the Club), be a basic rate or higher rate tax payer and the Club will do the rest to reclaim the tax on your donation.
Tony Charlwood tony@charlwood.org.uk
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Looking to the Future
So, for some time there has been no rugby at the Vees. This creates time for us to look forward, rather than sit back and do nothing. Two of the things on my mind are:-
The Club committee have for some time wanted to put in place a long term Club development plan, which aligns club vision with capital development in the Club's facilities and infrastructure, developing a 5 year strategic plan. Are there any volunteers out there who have this experience and can facilitate developing this?
Some years ago, the Club was thrown into chaos when our treasurer died. Shanks stepped into the breach and with the exception of the finances, has largely stayed in this role. Is there anyone else who would be prepared to join the relatively new Leadership Team to help share the work load?
Martin Duke martinduke65@msn.com
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Vees virtual Quiz Night - look out for details appearing soon on our website www.verulamiansrfc.club or our Facebook page ‘The Vees’
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Mental Health and Support
Let’s be honest; we all suffer from time to time, but we rugby players are tough, right? Wrong – rugby players are (for the most part) human and suffer stress and anxiety just like everyone else.
The pandemic has of course added to the pressures for many people. Some will unfortunately have lost loved ones, whilst for others the lack of social contact can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Old routines may have changed and exercise is often less fun without company, so may fall by the wayside. Others may have been impacted financially through furlough or redundancy. The current lockdown feels somehow worse than the first; the novelty will certainly have worn off, and the winter weather is not helping our mood. Below are some statistics that show just how common issues can be.
To help overcome these lockdown pressures it's important to do whatever you can to keep spirits up.
Top tips to maintaining good mental health include:-
Regular exercise: it doesn’t have to a full work-out. Just walking for half an hour each day can help reduce stress levels, and help keep you fit and healthy. You could combine this with enjoying the natural world, which is benefitting from reduced traffic.
Sleep well: again routine is important, and a regular sleep pattern helps the mind relax and recover. What better excuse to snuggle up early with the duvet 😊
Keep busy: whether it’s school work, employment or jobs around the house, keeping yourself occupied. Build a routine to give your day real purpose. If you have spare time, think about a new hobby or what you could do to help others.
Do something nice for others: whether it’s offering to do the shopping or cook a meal for someone who’s struggling, helping others is a great lift and generates positivity.
Talk (and listen): pick up the phone and talk. Share your feelings and listen to others. It’s a bit of a cliché, but we’re all in this together, and it’s really important not to bottle things up.
The Vees prides itself on being a club where people feel a friendly welcome, rather like an extended family. The lack of regular meets this year has been disruptive to rugby, but many it is more than that. We miss our friends and team-mates, and the banter that Whatsapp can only partly provide. If you are struggling and want someone to talk to, please contact one of the following.
Rob Lines Rob.lines@spacelabs.com 07788 145697 OVRFC Mental Health First Aider (“MHFA”)- welcomes calls from any club member (adult or youth) in need of help
Youth Talk 07860 701415
A local charity that specialises in providing support to those aged 13-25
MIND info@Mind.org.uk 0300 123 3393
National charity proving advice, support and counselling for Mental Health (open Mon – Fri 9-6pm)
Samaritans jo@samaritans.org 116 123 Phone support - Available any time, day or night
There are a number of other charities and helplines available of course. One that provides some practical support ideas is found using the link Every Mind Matters | One You (www.nhs.uk)
If any adult members/ parents are interested in helping form a small support group for Mental Health support within the club, please don’t hesitate to contact Rob on 07788 145697 for further details.
Regards
Rob
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A Message from our Treasurer
Like all sports clubs, Vees has suffered financially from the lack of activity in the last 10 months. Compared to the hardship of some individuals it is inconsequential, but we want to ensure that the club remains on a sound financial footing and has a sustainable approach that guarantees our future. Cash is king, so we have reduced spend to essentials and cut costs wherever possible, but we are grateful for grants we have received from the government/local council, Sport England, and others to give us the confidence we can ride out the storm. We are also extremely thankful for the support of our membership - mini/junior parents, VPs, and seniors.
There are infrastructure projects that we will have to undertake over the next 18 months to 2 years and while now would be a good time to start some of those without disrupting the members, it is hard to commit funds when the future remains so uncertain. Nevertheless, we are exploring opportunities to obtain grants for projects and will update you on plans in the near future. We always welcome ideas from the members on where funding should be prioritised, so please do feed your thoughts to the finance team.
Phil Gerrard phil.gerrard@sky.com
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FUN NETBALL TOURNAMENT IN JULY AT HITCHIN RFC
Are there any lady members who play netball or would like to take it up again. We have been invited to a Rugby 7s and Netball Tournament covid restrictions allowing. The seniors have a rugby team entered and thought this might appeal to our female members. Netball posts can be available from lifting of lockdown at the Club. This is a chance for good social and physical well being coming out of lockdown. Interested? Contact John Penn or Ian Graham.
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Afterword
This revived newsletter comes to you as just one initiative to keep our Club connected. You know what is coming next - yes, another newsletter in the first week of March - now the bit you were expecting, a request for articles by the end of February please. Your Club, you choose the subject.
And on behalf of the Club I will ask for volunteers who have expertise in the fields of websites, newsletter publishing, floodlights and funding.
My inbox is always available at nicoladiplock24@gmail.com