This week we received a letter addressed to our Ambassador and England rugby star Mike Brown. It was from a young man called Henry Zahab who has been part of the youth programme RDO Paul Arnold has been running in Richmond, coached by Luke White. The letter was to Mike because it has been through his generous donations that we have been able to fund this. You will remember that Mike gave his QBE award money to us from last season and we have just had another donation from him through the sale of his old kit. Young Henry Zahab has loved taking part in the programme and his letter says, ‘Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play wheelchair rugby…it makes me feel that just because I can’t do rugby, wheelchair rugby makes me part of a team’. The sense of being part of a team is something that most of us want to feel and the fact that we are delivering our sport to many new people in many new situations is something we can all feel proud of as we live up to the mission and values of GBWR.
It’s been another of those busy but very satisfying weeks where I have reflected on how our incredible sport continues to grow through the fantastic work of so many of you – thank you! Last weekend we saw another very successful Super Series, this time Divisions 1 and 2 played their first games of the new season. What particularly struck me is to see our new batch of teams in action in Division 3 – Gloucester, Canterbury and Woodbridge. These teams have become established through the commitment of many volunteers supported by their parent rugby clubs, willing coaches such as Steve Brown in Canterbury, and the GBWR development efforts led by Kirsty and the RDOs. A big thank you to everyone and good luck in the season ahead. After the first weekend’s games, Gloucester lead Canterbury in Division 3 whilst in Division 2, Sharks , another of our relatively new clubs, edge ahead of the Bulls and Pirates – there is a long way to go yet though! It still takes a bit of work to organise these weekends and thank you to Lee Stutely the GBWR Events and Competition Officer for bringing it all together and to Brian Ward and his team of officials for their work.
Whilst the youth work I mention above is our seed corn for the future, the next crop of GB athletes are already taking shape. Next week GB talent coach Phil Zealey will head off to Prague with our Talent squad to take part in the RugbyMania tournament. The team’s first match will be against Brazil on Friday 5 December followed by a game against our friends the Gaelic Warriors. The team have been working hard over the past few weeks to really get to know one another and function as a team. A big thank you to the club coaches who have played a big role in supporting Phil and the squad.
As our organisation grows so does the need to ensure we have all the right things in place to make us a healthy, legal and efficient NGB. This, the often unglamorous side of any organisation, takes a lot of work and those who do it merit our thanks and are a very important part of Team GBWR. In this context I would like to mention Jo Arnold who has been working with many of you to ensure we get our Safeguarding processes in place effectively. We are now almost at the point where all clubs have the necessary DBS checks and where our welfare officers have received training. There is still a lot to do though and it is important that we really all ‘get’ the need for a culture of safe working. The high profile cases of Jimmy Saville and the current inquiry into safeguarding issues across many organisations confirm the need for all of us to take this seriously. Thank you to Jo and the clubs for getting to grips with this. The other group I would like to thank are the Trustees. This week we have been together working through the proposed new Articles and Club Affiliation as well as setting up a new subsidiary company to manage WWRC15. The expertise provided by Andrew Flatt on Finance, James Madden on law, Simon Le Fevre on Governance all brought together by our Chair Kevin Aitchison is invaluable. Not only does it save us a great deal of money but it provides me with the challenge and support which is ever more critical as we continue to grow. So to finish where I started, just like Henry Zahab, all of the above coming together to deliver great experiences for individuals also makes me feel part of a team and one I am proud to have a role in.
David Pond
