We have had a great few days. Firstly there was the Xmas Tournie at Tipton which went really well and it seems everyone enjoyed the bake off! It was a good social evening and 34 players took part in the powerplay. A big thank you to all who made that happen, especially Lee. Then there was the DMG which had really good representation including reps from the new clubs. The group was able to agree its revised Terms of Reference and, subject to a final check back at the clubs, there was also agreement over the Competition Rules for the Nationals and the Super Series and the dates for these tournaments in 2013 and 2014, all of which means we can get ahead of the game especially with venues for next year. We also supported the Paralympic GB organised Sports Festival held at Surrey Sports Park. Although it was frustrating not to be able to showcase the sport because the venue will not allow wheelchair rugby to be played, we did have a stand with video coverage and we were able to hand out lots of brochures with details of clubs and contacts. Over 1000 individuals went through over the 2 day festival so fantastic exposure for us and lots of interest. Thanks to Ross Morrison, Kylie Grimes and Bev and the staff for being there to sell our sport. Last week also saw us visit Headley Court and provide an opportunity for those undergoing rehabilitation to see the game and get in a chair. This is the second time we have visited and things are now moving forward as part of our strategy for working with the Military rehabilitation units. Thank you to Jenx and Keith from Wales for running this. Headley Court is keen to introduce rugby as part of their programme and so we will be looking to support that. I also met with all of the club coaches last week to hear their views and to help them shape how we move forward with the development of coaching over the next cycle. It was encouraging to hear so many experienced people being so positive about the future and I am keen to ensure we make this meeting a more regular event. The Club Coaches are now taking the lead for managing the early Rio 2016 athletes and will be working with them to agree and monitor individual athlete programmes. This works well as the club season is just starting and of course we are also at the start of identifying the new performance structure which will be led by a Performance Director. We had great news from Wales also last week. I attended a meeting with Jon Morgan, the boss of Sports Disability Wales and Edward Jones, the Secretary of the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust and I am delighted to be able to report that the Trust has generously agreed to fund a Regional Development Officer for Wales, initially for a year but subject to review. We will now be working with Wales to recruit to the position. Of course we have been fortunate so far to have had Amanda Thomas working in this area and she has done a great deal with limited resource but we will now be able to do so much more so thank you to the Trust. Now I had hoped to have received the first of the funding news today but the announcement from Sport England has been delayed until next Monday – 17th and the UK Sport announcement to 18th – fingers crossed still! The day before – Sunday 16th is the BBC Sport’s Personality of the Year with some Paralympians in the short list so let’s hope one of them at least gets into the top 3. Though we have no athletes nominated we have been invited to the live event and so look out for our Captain Steve Brown in the audience and hopefully a bit of action from London. Finally, the Board of Trustees met last week, though the Board just quietly gets on with its work, it does a great job on behalf of the sport to make sure we are well governed. This has been well recognised by our funding partners and we are held up as a good example of a Board which is independent and which has individuals all of whom bring different skills and experiences to the table. They certainly keep me on track, as they should do, with the Chairman meeting me regularly to question progress, whilst Andrew Flatt keeps a firm eye on our finances and regularly calls into Twickenham to talk to the finance team , and Simon Le’Fevre is doing a great deal to further improve our governance. Mike Spence and Richard Allcroft bring a great deal of knowledge and expertise to the Board as well as grassroots experience – all of which is really helpful. Congratulations to Richard who has just been asked to present to the International Paralympic Committee – a great personal coup but also tremendous for our sport. Next blog will I hope be some good news about funding and our plans for 2013-2017!
David Pond
