Report from the ORFU Executive July 2015files.pitchero.com/counties/34/1436164098.pdf ·...

Oxfordshire RFU AGM Report July 2015

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2015 ORFU AGM 07-15

Report from the ORFU Executive

July 2015


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President’s Greetings

I will not go into too much detail on the playing side as this will be covered in

other reports; however, I would like to congratulate

Henley Hawks on winning their league and going straight back into National 1

as well as their 4th’s winning their league.

Congratulations also go to Grove on winning the County Cup for the first time

in their history and winning the Vets Shield; whilst Chinnor won the Vets Cup. I

will leave others to report on the rest of competitions.

Turning to the County Championships I must express my sincere

disappointment on having to withdraw the U20’s from their Championship. I

hope they will be up and running again as soon as possible, but our thanks to

Martin Moran and his staff for all their hard work.

On the senior side my thanks also goes to Craig Burrows and his staff and all

the players, you are a great bunch of lads.

We must not forget Rob Walsh for his management of both U20’s and Senior

XV he has done an excellent job; sadly he is be standing down from this role

and I wish him well in taking over as the Chair of Discipline!

Thanks must also go to Kevin Robinson for his hard work with Youth and

Schools rugby; Nick Cole for his work with the 18-24’s and Adam White for his

role in running the schools’ county cup.

It has been an honour to have been a small part of this playing side; and we

have lots of great memories.

A huge vote of thanks must go to all of our member clubs for putting your trust

in me to carry out the role of the Oxfordshire RFU County President, not just

for the two years but a third year which put the cherry on the cake. I have

visited all the clubs senior, youth, junior and mini levels and I cannot thank you

enough for your hospitality; not just for myself, but to my wife Ann. My visits

will not end here, as I intend to still come along to games next season; so I shall

look forward to seeing you again then.

Once again many thanks and the very best to you all in 2015-16 Season.


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Finally my very best wishes go to all of the County Executive Members for all

your help and support; it made the role so much more enjoyable.

All the very best of luck in the future and good wishes to every member of the

Oxfordshire Rugby Football Union.

Ken Bumpass

President


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Community Rugby Report for 2014/2015. On-going work The County’s Community Sub-Committee has continued to work with the RFU’s Regional Development Team and in particular our Rugby Development Officer Dusty Miller, to provide the support and RFU / County investment in pursuit of the RFU’s six key drivers. Details of these activities; the clubs visited, the investments made, the courses completed, the development plans completed, the funding applications submitted, the schools attended, the accreditations awarded, workshops run, development days organised, forums hosted and meetings held; are all contained in separate reports that are available to all members. This document will instead focus on what your Community Chairman considers to be the challenges and opportunities for 2015 and beyond. Benefitting by working together The Rugby World Cup saw the launch of Oxfordshire’s Cup Champion programme; nine Oxfordshire clubs joined the programme and the initiative has been taken up nationally, with 144 Cup Champion Clubs in Area 2 alone (the 6 Southern counties). In Oxfordshire, our Cup Champion clubs and latterly our Young Rugby Ambassadors have participated in an 18 month programme of events. These have all had the simple objective of using RWC 2015 to make our rugby clubs places where more people want to spend more of their leisure time playing rugby, supporting rugby and volunteering. The programme has benefited enormously from our partnership with Oxford Brookes University whose students have worked with our clubs to improve their marketing and communication skills and most recently teaching how to better exploit digital media channels in the run up to the World Cup. The Cup Champion teams have shared their experiences, challenges and successes and have identified ideas and ways of working which will bring more people into the game as active club members long after the final whistle of the autumn tournament has ended.


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The most visible evidence of this cooperation will be seen on August 23rd 2015, when the Webb Ellis Cup visits South Parks Oxford and the anticipated 5,000 visitors will have the chance to experience what it is that makes Oxfordshire’s rugby clubs special by visiting the Rugby Club Village. Improving expertise at our clubs Oxfordshire RFU and the RDO nominated 12 individuals from 8 clubs to participate in the RFU Leadership Academy and feedback from the attendees has been hugely positive. The Leadership Academy is designed to give our future club leaders the skills and the contacts that will enable them to run prosperous and popular rugby clubs. We will repeat the Academy in 2016/17. Broadening the game’s appeal The last twelve months have seen a significant increase in the number and type of playing opportunities available at our clubs – summer touch, the participation cup, 7s and mixed sex rugby. As the needs and expectations of current and potential players change, it is vital that we evolve the range of playing opportunities to meet these changes and there remains much to be done here. Schools linkage It is hugely satisfying to see a revitalised Oxfordshire Schools Union operating under the Chairmanship of Adam White. A key goal here is to strengthen school and club links and the unification of the Regulation Structures under the recent Age Grade Review can only help support this aim. Volunteer Recognition Whilst we continue to recognise and reward those volunteers that the Executive, the RDO and the CRC’s come into contact with, we know there are many unseen club volunteers whose efforts should be better acknowledged and rewarded. Of course, most do not volunteer for personal gain, but none of us want to see people lost to the game because they felt ignored or because their work was not appreciated.


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It is hoped that more can be done to create a countywide recognition programme that adds something over and above the club’s own schemes and which acknowledges exceptional achievements. Youth Community Rugby The Youth Chairmen remain a massively committed cohort and our meetings are both productive and harmonious – amongst this group, the aim of maximising playing opportunities and player enjoyment are universally accepted. There of course remain certain age grade coaches who put league success and winning ahead of inclusion and enjoyment. We will individually and collectively continue to do our best to convince these individuals that this is not acceptable. We have eliminated Leagues up to U16 where three of our clubs have elected to join the newly formed BBO U16 league. For U13 to U16 we are running Cup Competitions designed to keep all teams playing up to and including the finals day – Cup, Shield, Plate, Bowl, Vase, Spoon, etc. County junior competitions exist largely as a result of the hard work and dedication of the Junior Fixtures Secretary – Jane Shaw of Wallingford. For Mini Rugby, the County continues to organise Festivals of Rugby and we remain exceedingly grateful to the hosting clubs who make them such a success. Thanks should be extended to Bethan Dennick of Chipping Norton for coordinating these on behalf of the County. Communication The Community Committee has developed the County Website and a Twitter feed to keep members and clubs aware of changes to regulations, dates of meetings, events, activities, etc. The sites also act as a repository for documentation concerning both the local and the national game and it is hoped that these are meeting the needs of the local rugby community – feedback and ideas for improvement are always welcomed.


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In addition, we have recruited a part-time digital marketing and PR coordinator (Dominic Daly), who is working to raise the profile of all of our clubs by using the RWC as the catalyst. He is currently embarking on a club tour to capture video content which can be used to showcase your club on County, Club and 2015 websites and on other digital media feeds. Succession I joined the ORFU Executive in January 2009 and took over as Chair of Community Rugby later that year. Early in 2016 I am moving away from Oxfordshire; whilst I am keen to support my successor, I will be unable to commit the same amount of time and energy as currently. I would like to think that the relevance and uptake of the County’s Community Rugby programmes has increased under my tenure and that grassroots rugby in the County is better for my involvement. Yours in rugby, Nick Cole Chair - Community Rugby


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Competitions Report for 2014/2015 In the County Cup 2015, Grove won the senior cup for the first time in their history, with a 24 -22 victory over Oxford Harlequins. In the County Shield 2015, the Blue Boar won with a 21 – 15 victory over Wheatley. In the Vets Cup 2015, Chinnor beat Henley in the final, and in the Vets Shield 2015 Grove won, beating Harwell in the final. Across the County here are the final 2015 league positions:- National League Division 2 South (Level 4) Henley - winners. National League 3 South West (Level 5) Oxford Harlequins - relegated South West 1 East (Level 6) Witney finished in 5th position Grove finished in 10th position Southern Counties North (Level 7) Bicester finished in 5th position Wallingford finished in 10th position Alchester - relegated BBO Premier (Level 8) Gosford All Blacks finished in 3rd position Abingdon finished in 4th position Chipping Norton finished in 6th position Wheatley finished in 7th position BBO Championship (Level 9) Harwell finished in 3rd position Didcot finished in 4th position Faringdon finished in 8th position

BBO1 (Level 8) Witney II - runners up Chinnor III finished in 6th position Oxford Harlequins II finished in 7th position Henley III finished in 9th position BBO2 (Level 9) Oxford Harlequins III finished in 3rd position Witney III finished in 6th position BBO3 (Level 10) Henley IV were winners Bicester II finished in 3rd position Grove II finished in 5th position Wallingford II finished in 6th position BBO4 North (Level 11) Abingdon II finished in 3rd position Wheatley II finished in 4th position Witney IV finished in 5th position Bicester III finished in 6th position Oxford Harlequins IV finished in 7th position Harwell II finished in 8th position

Doug Bosley Chair – Competitions


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Report on Youth Player Development Programme for 2014/15 The county youth player development programme has established itself as a model by which other counties are modelling their own activity. South Warwickshire and Berkshire at the younger end of the age groups are two such counties U13 - U15 programme This seasons programme consisted of 7 sessions delivering a first rate rugby development curriculum for some 36 players in each age group U13 through to U15. Held initially at Abingdon School, the programme has moved and found a new home at MCS with their superb facilities. Supporting the development programme has been a complimentary Oxtail game programme designed to allow players the opportunity to play without pressure of winning with other high calibre players. It is a testament to the vision and delivery of the programme that these development games that sweep away any pretence of being “County Games” are welcomed by players and parents alike. Playing 20 minute sector games it allows players to experience the thrill of playing at a tempo and spirit not usually encountered. It is testament to the County’s vision that players are not restricted to an elite squad but are drawn from across the ability range. This has allowed a staggering 79 u13 players to play for the Oxtails, 63 at U14 and 52 at U15 We are conscious of the apparent confusion of some parents in respect to our programme and that of the Academy DPP RFU initiative and steps are being taken to clarify.


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U16 programme Believing less equals more; the programme was short and sharp, appreciative of the many demands on players in the September to December period. Nonetheless a couple of our players progressed to represent the SW Division at the Wellington Festival U17 & 18 programme A really very dynamic programme of development as we take players from the skill acquisition stage of their development to game understanding and execution. The u17 have completed a three game programme involving many players who have come through but who did not feature in the U16 programme. The U18 whilst successful in terms of games proved less so in terms of player progression and this is being examined in more detail looking at selection protocols at Divisional level Women’s and Girls’ Rugby The pre-Christmas programme was successful largely due to the commitment of a few dedicated coaches fantastically supported by Clare Cooper and Dusty Miller of the RFU. With no specific CB squad funding support from the RFU, it is clear this section of the game within the county should be prioritised, developed within the RFU and CB Planning, Funding and Resource (PFR) action plan for the next period, rather than continue to reside within the Performance Group of the County Kevin Robinson Performance Director


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Funding and Facilities Report for 2014/15 The big project this year was supporting the new build of Banbury RFC’s clubhouse. Other smaller projects have been completed and supported within the upgrade of club house projects for a number of clubs. Further monies will become available and we encourage all clubs to respond to requests for submissions from the Funding and Facility RFU Development Officer - Jason Bowers Many clubs have quite exciting (and expensive) projects under development and we in the CB are committed to supporting our member clubs’ efforts in their development planning and execution be that with the RFU funding and support or with external agencies too. Kevin Robinson

Chair - Funding and Facilities


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Discipline Report for 2014/15 The 2014/15 season has been a busy year for the County Discipline Team and I would just like to firstly thank all the panel members for their continued help and support for this past season given the changes that we have had to include in this seasons process. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jenny Bosley for all her hard work as Secretary, without her tireless work and support we would have not been able to make the transition and manage the case load we have had too. With the changes imposed by the IRB, where a player is guilty until proven innocent, the county has had to implement new working and management processes for this season, where by all reported cases following a game at the weekend have had to be process by the following Friday lunch time (where a guilty plea has been received). Those processes will be reviewed over the closed season and look at lessons learned. This season has also seen us building on last season and working much closer with the counties Safeguarding Manager, Margaret Bailey and the RFU Safeguarding Team. We have also had a number of cases past to us by the RFU Discipline Team to manage. With cases becoming more complex in nature we have seen a number taking in excess of eight weeks to progress to a conclusion. On occasions resources have been stretched and have resulted in members of the team corresponding late into the evenings and throughout the working day. We have seen a number of non-playing related cases passed to us and we have applied sanction from 1 week through to 30 weeks in one case. The County has seen a trend of non-playing related cases over the past three seasons and will need to monitor the situation this coming season for further trends. 12 Cases dealt with in the adult game. 9 Cases dealt with within the junior game on and off field. Some involving safeguarding and taking a while to conclude. 3 Citing Cases with 1 proven. 1 Abandoned game case.


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Lastly I would like to thank all of the clubs’ disciplinary sections for their prompt and efficient work in notifying us, submitting case documentation and working with us during these changing times. Brian Bumpass Chair – Discipline


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Interim Treasurer’s Report for 2014/15 George Merry Firstly, I would like to thank George Merry who has proved to be a very able Assistant Treasurer. George came to us via the RFU Leadership Academy and he has taken up his role with enthusiasm, including attending so many county events and also organising the Oxfordshire County Treasurers’ Conference, which he embellished with his home cooked cakes. County Treasurers’ Conference The conference was attended by only a few treasurers, some having to pull out of the last moment, but was worth it because of the opportunity to discuss items of mutual interest and to be able to assist other clubs with their financial issues. The main part of the discussion was “CASC status” which should be no problem for most of the rugby clubs. The other main issue concerned the RTI requirement to notify the Revenue electronically and promptly about payments made to employees. KashFlow The RFU have been trying to come up with a propriety accounting system, which the RFU would provide to counties, but would not be compulsory. I recommended KashFlow and after discussion the RFU have selected this program. We will introduce it starting from the next accounting period, which begins on 1 July 2015. It is a Cloud based system and, although it comes with a rugby based standard set-up, it is fairly flexible. We hope that by using this system George and I will be able to produce regular reports of the County’s financial position and, at the same time, produce reports to monitor our PFR requirements and give budget-holders timely information of their expenditure to date. I suggested to the RFU that if the system works well for counties it could be made available to clubs. They already had that in mind. The advantage of being in the cloud and also to be accessible by more than one person at a time will make it attractive to many clubs and it should assist the recruitment of future


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club treasurers since the program was written by a businessman for small businesses and not by qualified accountants. Accounts The annual report of the County’s finances for the period ending 30 June 2015 will be given to the autumn finance general meeting. This new year-end brings it in line with the end of the County’s season and with the PFR reporting year. Vince Murphy Hon Treasurer


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RFU Council Representative Report for 2014/15 This year has been an interesting and extremely busy year for me. Although I am not too directly involved with the upcoming Rugby World Cup, it has been very influential in what we council members have centred our work programmes on; especially on the Club Development Sub-Committee, where I have been a member for the past three years. Those of you that have been involved in your clubhouse refurbishments will know where we have concentrated our efforts in supporting and funding projects for the past two years running up to the World Cup. This year I was also given the task of chairing the annual CB Treasurer’s conference; held in Birmingham. This is one of the more successful conferences which the RFU organises, a fact Vince, our own Hon. Treasurer, will confirm. In addition to these duties, I have been appointed to the Compensation Advisory Panel (CAP). The CAP’s job is to review and agree how much compensation Council Members serving on the RFU Board or other senior posts should receive. This panel only has 3 members; its Chairman, Geoff Simpson, the Devon CB RFU representative, me and Stephen Brown, RFU CFO (who stepped in to replace Debbie Jevans as CEO of England 2015). We haven’t been able to complete this year’s review due to the time Steve has had to divert to his RWC duties. The CAP work will be completed once the Rugby World Cup is over and England 2015 is wound up. For next year I have been moved from the Club Development Sub-Committee up to the Governance Standing Committee, one of the three main RFU committees. Hopefully I shall retain my post on the CAP and of course there continues to be the regular Council meetings. I am still enjoying working for all of you and hopefully will be able to do so for a few more years to come. As always I am available to help any of you or your clubs just contact me and wherever possible I will be pleased to help. My details are in the handbook and on our ORFU website and should be on the RFU website, if you can master it. Colin Baldwin Oxfordshire CB - RFU Council Representative


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Chairman’s Report for the Season 2014/15 Some thank you’s! I think it is right and proper to begin this report with special thanks to Ken Bumpass for his services to the County as Secretary and latterly as President. A more diligent and committed volunteer would be difficult to find, and Ken always supported by his wife, Ann has been found at club games, county games, cup matches, senior, junior, schools and mini fixtures. Everywhere you go! He’s becoming our immediate past President and I know he’ll fully support our new President for his term of office. Stepping down from the Executive, I would like to thank Carol Bradbrook-Taylor for the work she has put into her Secretaryship for the CB and taking on the Handbook editorship in particular. She has also helped in promoting and alerting our clubs to GMS, rounding up your census returns and the myriad administrative tasks without which the work of the CB couldn’t progress. Likewise, we say farewell to our CB Safeguarding Manager; Margaret Bailey is stepping down and our thanks and best wishes go to Margaret for the future. Passing on the baton at Discipline, Brian Bumpass is handing over to Rob Walsh. Brian’s diligence and commitment to the task, especially relating to sensitive cases linking discipline and welfare have always been handled with great care by Brian and his efforts on your behalf are very much appreciated by everyone on the Disciplinary Sub-Committee. As for the remainder of the Executive Committee and the other volunteers who support the work of the CB – we couldn’t do this without you, so a massive thanks for your hard work support and goodwill in support of the Game. Likewise, I must thank your RDO, Dusty Miller and his CRCs Nick Todd and Gary Morris, because they help execute so much of what we want to deliver for our clubs and players and volunteers across the county. Well done to Oxford RFC who have satisfied the RFU regulations and been re-admitted as a Member of the RFU, and hence a voting member of the CB.


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Highlights Nick mentioned the RFU Leadership Academy and I want to echo the very best wishes and congratulations to all the local personnel who supported and graduated from that programme. The success of initiatives like the Cup Champions and the All Schools Project Phoenix, working with schools within the City of Oxford are all positive and I look forward to an expansion of Project Phoenix. Grove and Blue Boar respectively won County Cup and Shield, whilst Henley flew high in their league and congratulations to all those doing well this season. The Senior County XV were valiant and determined but came up short against Leicestershire (the eventual County competition winners at our level) There are some exciting plans for club improvements and I am grateful to our facilities and funding group for all their work and the support they give to clubs and the guidance we can assist with from Jason Bowers at the RFU. Rugby World Cup 2015 With the Rugby World Cup 2015 just over a couple of months away now much work is under way with clubs. Money has gone into the development of improved social spaces and much voluntary time and effort from many clubs in the CB over the last weekend or two has seen much sprucing up! In August, on Sunday 23rd August to be precise, Oxfordshire will proudly play host to the Webb Ellis Trophy in our community rugby event, Rugby in the Parks, at South Parks, Oxford. What can I say? Come one, come all. It should be a cracking day, we can hope for good weather but momentum will be building and by the time the cup is in Oxford less than 4 weeks will remain until England open the tournament at Twickenham on the 18th September. Remember we are looking forward to all of our clubs setting themselves up as the hub and centre of English support in your locality (remember - other nationalities are available!)


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Challenges It would not be right to pass over some of the more difficult challenges with which we have grappled in the past 12 months. I think we have a tricky and unclear position on the competitions offering especially for lower XVs and indeed for occasional and new format rugby, to which end we need to widen and invigorate our Competitions Sub-Committee. In the absence of proper funding and strategic support from the RFU we didn’t run our u20s County team last season. However, there is a clear benefit for developing the best of our club talent at the younger age group, looking to link such pathway with an u23 informal set up and bridge player development, coach development and opportunities into the Senior side; keeping talented players and having a purpose and some continuity of the pipeline of talented and committed players we are lucky to have who are proud to continue to play at the end of the season in the Senior XV environment. More work is also needed to support and develop our offering for the Women and Girls game and that is certainly one of our priorities in the coming seasons. Succession and CB Support Issues, such as PFR Nick Cole has mentioned his own positon as the chair of Community Rugby and there is a general need to find successors for all of us on the Executive. I would invite anyone who is interested in helping with the work of improving the Game for clubs, players, coaches, referees, women and girls rugby and general volunteers across Oxfordshire and whether you can commit a small amount of time or more time, then let us know and let us know what you are most skilled or interested in doing. We are always in need of volunteers and you would be most welcome along if you wish to make a positive contribution to rugby union in Oxfordshire. In addition I have set out the PFR outline for your information. We really need our member Clubs to help were you can with this in terms of time and resources and where you have a facility or the correct coaches or are just willing to help to deliver some of the projects, your support will be most welcome. Are you up for that?


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We are planning to re-run our Dragon’s Den evening at some point to draw out innovative and interesting ideas to develop the Game in the county, so watch this space! In memoriam I am aware of a number of old players and clubmen passing away in the last year but forgive me if I mention just two, with the purpose of marking their passing but also as representative of the whole rugby family. On New Year’s Eve 2014, 19 year old Stephen Edwards who was Gosford All Blacks player of the year 2013-2014 was killed in a motorcycle accident in Bermuda; whilst in May 2015, Bob Mitchelmore a stalwart of Banbury Rugby Club and our Vice-Presidents group passed away. Whatever their age they are both missed and they and their families are in our thoughts! Summer’s Here! Have a great summer, maybe keep fit and find some tag but we really hope to see you for pre-Season celebrations at Rugby in the Parks on 23rd August 2015, South Parks, Oxford – come on down, you can’t miss this event! Yours in Rugby Paddy Gregan Chairman – Executive Committee

Report from the ORFU Executive July 2015files.pitchero.com/counties/34/1436164098.pdf ·...

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