We are now well into this season’s Super Series tournament. Last weekend saw Division 3 in action with Liverpool RGC piling on some big scores against the opposition. They now share the top Division 3 league spot with Stoke Mandeville – both on 6 points. Next weekend we move to Stoke on Trent where Division 1 will play their second series. Storm currently top this division with 10 points but Crash are closing with 8, so expect some exciting rugby. It’s a few weeks before Division 2 compete again but Bulls currently lead here on 30 points, with Canterbury on 24 and Ospreys on 22 so lots to play for yet. It is really great to see the improvement in the quality of the competition as well as new athletes and new teams in action. This is starting to filter through to GB and we are seeing some new names appear in both the Talent and GB squads. If we are to break through into the top 3 teams in the world and stay there, then it is critical that we continue to find and develop new talent. We are fortunate that Sport England is now funding our talent programme and there will be an increased focus on this work as we look beyond Rio to Tokyo 2020.
Congratulations to the squad selected for the Test Event in Rio. The event provides an opportunity for all of those selected to stake their claim for a Paralympic Games place in the autumn. It will also be a chance for staff and athletes to familiarise themselves with some of the facilities and the Rio environment which has been much in the news lately. We have taken appropriate health advice and have put in place all that is necessary to ensure our athletes and staff remain healthy throughout their stay.
I mentioned in my last blog that as a senior management team we are fully focused on ensuring we put together the best possible funding submissions for the next cycle. Our initial performance plan to cover the Tokyo cycle has already been seen and commented on by UK Sport and so we are now addressing the points raised in order to strengthen our final submission which is due by 14 March. Attention is also on the emerging Sport England funding strategy and tomorrow Kirsty and I will attend a Sport England Consultation Event where we hope to play our part in helping to influence the Sport England strategy to address the challenges set out by government in the recent DCMS paper. Key agenda items to be discussed will be under-represented groups (those who are disabled fall into this category), those aged 5-14 , (good for our new focus on youth) and volunteers ( we all know how important this group is to our sport). We will be looking very hard at how we can ensure that we are best placed to represent the interests of all our members and to position ourselves so that our future programmes merit funding.
Finally, the 6 Nations has started and it was great to see our ambassador Mike Brown in action again for England at the weekend. A big thank you to him as he has once again gifted GBWR the proceeds from the sale of some England kit. Thanks Mike and good luck for the championship.
David Pond
