It is good news to see how our sport is growing and to see how our initiatives to increase participation are really starting to pay off. Individual membership is up, we have a number of new clubs and others that are soon to be launched. Next week sees us finalising the programme for our next initiative which is to deliver our sport in all of the Military Recovery Units. On Monday, along with Kirsty and Lee I will be visiting the Tedworth House Recovery Unit in Wiltshire where military personnel who have experienced life changing injuries and illnesses are supported to get back to doing the things they enjoy. Our programme at Headley Court has shown that wheelchair rugby is incredibly popular with those undergoing rehabilitation and as a result we produced a programme to provide the game in all 4 Recovery Units – Tedworth, Catterick in North Yorkshire, Colchester in Essex and the one closest to me in Plymouth, Devon which caters for Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel. Our programme will be funded in the first year by the charity Help for Heroes and we are optimistic that it will go so well that we will be able to encourage further funding to follow. I will let you know when we have finalised the start of the programme and I hope also to be able to announce a high profile GBWR ambassador to promote this programme with us.
As the sport develops and tries out new things it is incredibly important that we listen to the views of Members. I am very clear, as are the Trustees and the senior management team, that we are here to deliver the sport that you the members want. At the moment we are responding to your wish to grow the sport by getting new blood into the clubs and to work at increasing competition and our funding. All of our initiatives have this in mind but we will always welcome feedback on what you think is working and what else you would like to see. The Domestic Management Group is an important vehicle for that feedback but it is not the only one. Do talk to your RDO and I always welcome feedback either through this blog or an email.
Last night we had the re-convened 2013 AGM – this was again an invaluable opportunity for Members to express their views and there were some interesting points made about the development of the game. One of the important things we discussed was the work that will take place this year to change our Membership structure and the documents which govern how the sport runs. The AGM agreed to form a working group to lead on this and we are now looking for two players to sit on this and an official. We will put a bit more detail about the roles on the website in the coming days but if you think this might interest you then please email me.
Finally, I know that often people do have great ideas and also views on how things are working but often do not want to say them in front of others or perhaps even be seen as the person who does say something. We as a management team are keen to hear everyone’s voice and we gained a lot from the telephone interviews that Amanda, Lee and Bev did last year with you all. This year I have asked Kirsty to look at putting together a short and simple questionnaire for each Member to complete which we hope will provide everyone with another opportunity to have their voice heard.
That’s all for now – I hope all the preparations for the start of the new Coloplast Super Series are going well and look forward to some quality competition.
David Pond
