Secretary Report 2020

I’m sure everyone will remember this year as the year of COVID. We signed up at the start of the year with all expectations that it’ll be a normal season. Registrations were completed, grading completed, and teams submitted. However, at this stage COVID began to create some uncertainty. Eventually, the start to the season was delayed and at times the entire season seemed to be under threat of not starting. Thankfully, restrictions started to ease, and work began to get a plan in place so we could get a start. We were able to modify various aspects of the season and finally getting a start, in the end playing 12/13 games with no finals. It may have been a little different but I’m sure it was great to get on the field. Thanks to everyone’s understanding, it was great that everyone provided the support and willingness to play.

Once the season started, we did see a slight reduction to our numbers to 1,020 and are the 5^th largest club in the association. We had 84 teams with 44 Mini Roo teams and 40 competition teams. We were the only club in the association to field a team in every Age Group something we can be proud of. Our women’ players contributed to 37% of our overall players and is definitely continuing to be a growth area for the game and our club. Congratulations to our 6 minor premiers, due to COVID there were no final series held during the year. We also continued to run our nursery squad and we capped our numbers to 40 participants, with a higher % of girls compared to boys. Hopefully next season we’ll be able to increase this back to our prior year levels.

This season we continued to leverage the Association Shared Services team and continue to build on their offerings. I’m sure many of you would have received some form of communication from them during the season. We will continue to use the service going forward. This relieves some administrative tasks and allows the committee more opportunity to provide more hands-on help to members. Please continue to support them in the years ahead.

During the offseason we also revamped our clubhouse slightly, essentially building an extra storage area. We will be looking to do more work around the clubhouse and to the fields in the seasons ahead as we try and get some funding through grants to assist with the cost of these improvements. We also provided a new training shirt for our new juniors and a polo for a new seniors in recognition of our sponsors.

A big thanks to all the committee for their support during the year, we are all volunteers and are all there to ensure a smooth running of the club. Just a few key call outs and special thanks:

Pete, for marking the lines (and the extra lines) every Friday night, allowing all the players the opportunity to play. In addition, all the offseason work performed both on the field and around the grounds.

Bec, looking after our finances.

Scott, second season as registrar and navigating the challenging Play Football system, also dealing with the registration and de-registrations during the year in a challenging environment.

Dan for coordinating our grading at the start of the season always a challenging role, which was even greater due to the early wet weather. Also, for running our nursery squad, these are the kids of the future.

Marty for looking after the Mini Roo Referees, there were many favourable comments during the year. To all the other committee members who get on and do their job whether committee duty on the weekend, helping with Registration, Grading, Working Bees a huge thanks, it’s what makes this a great club to be involved in.

Thanks to all the Sponsors who supported the club this season, this allows the club to discount playing fees to make it more affordable to play. Ensure you support our sponsors whenever you get the opportunity. To all the Coaches and Managers your contribution is well recognized by the Committee and is essential to ensure that the players enjoy their game and the club runs smoothly. To the players for making the club what it is providing that great club spirit. To all the wonderful supporters who either get their kids to the game and/or cheer on the teams. All of which makes the club what it is today.

Lastly, we are always looking for new committee members to assist with all our activities, so If anyone is willingly to assist the club next year, please contact Col Berry. As the club continues to grow, we need more volunteers to assist with the running. These can be to assist with Registration, Grading, Working Bees or simply Committee duty on the weekend. There are plenty of ideas, suggestions, and thoughts, everyone is welcome to contribute. It’s with these ideas and contributions that we can continue to grow the club and make it better than what it is today.