North Dorset RFC

May I start this letter by hoping that you are well and that you and your loved ones have made it this far in good health. I know that it has been a grim time for us all but, perhaps finally, there seems to be reason to hope that we are on the way back to something resembling normality.

I am pleased to report that our Club has survived pretty well thanks to the efforts of the board and we look forward to arranging a suitable way to celebrate our 70th anniversary as soon as we are able. Our finances continue to remain in reasonable shape and the new equipment store will be completed by the summer. We have also taken the opportunity of the period of inactivity to carry out a number of maintenance tasks on the clubhouse and changing rooms.

It is anticipated that we will be holding our AGM shortly. The date and format are yet to be decided but I should like you to know that I shall be standing down as Chair. I have been honored to serve as your Chairman and have enjoyed my 3-year tenure but feel it is time for new blood and I need to devote all my energies to my family and business over the coming years. We are therefore seeking a new Board Chair. If necessary, we can fill the role from within the current board members who, I am delighted to say, have all indicated that they will stay on, so please contact the secretary (secretary@ndrfc.co.uk) if you wish to stand for this role or indeed any other. We also need and would like to expand the board and would love to hear from any of you who feel that you wish to volunteer. The sort of roles we are thinking about involve supporting the Director of Senior Rugby and a board level person to champion RugbySafe.

As I write we await guidance from the RFU, but it seems likely that training will be able to restart from 29th March with the first Minis and Youth possibly on Easter Sunday, 4th April. The Director of Junior Rugby is canvassing opinion on Spond to see if the various Minis groups wish to restart then. Planning is going on to get the highly popular Friday Touch rugby competition going again from 16th April and we expect to link this with a restart of the World’s Biggest Beer Garden which was so popular last year. Planning is already underway for our annual ND7s event, subject to restrictions being lifted, it is proposed for Saturday 24th July. The COVID-19 sub-group are meeting weekly again and we will keep you informed of developments via email, Spond, social media and the club website.

I look forward to seeing you all in person back at the club, just as soon as the situation permits.

Very best wishes

Greg Pearce

Chairman