Dear All,
Another month has flown by! Apologies we are a little late with this monthly update however we were hoping for a bit more clarity and movement post “lockdown” however that does not seem to be the case.
We still need to be mindful of the Covid -19 regulations and current guidelines, however so far everyone has been very understanding and helpful. This approach will need to continue as we head towards Christmas and probably the New Year as we are still bound by quite strict restrictions.
COVID Updates
On a really positive note, contact training was confirmed by the RFU as allowable again from Wednesday 3rd December, we have adopted a very gradual reintroduction which for the M&Y will start early in January as the players get a bit of fitness back and used to working in teams to build confidence. First contact games will not be until the end of January. The Seniors are still waiting for the announcement of fixtures which we have been advised will be early next week, but again we expect to resume full-contact training (with a few modifications) in the new year
Clubhouse use for coffees/bacon rolls is allowed, but no alcohol sales unless you are purchasing a substantial meal, Hamish is still looking at the practicalities of this and a further update will be issued from the club house in due course.
Changing rooms will remain closed while we review the guidelines, protocols and cleaning regimes to maintain a safe environment, this will be reviewed again in January.
Club questionnaire
Many thanks to everyone that has taken the time to complete our first-ever club-wide formal questionnaire, the responses have been fantastic and provided quite a bit of food for thought. The responses have been shared with the committee and a number of actions have already been implemented. You can find a summary of the key results here.
A theme that appeared in a number of comments was around club finances, namely expenses, income and how we spend your membership. We have therefore created this infographic and FAQ post which hopefully answers those questions and provides transparency to our financials. One of the key items to take note is our reliance on bar income and sponsorship, two areas that have been closed to us for most of this year and have therefore made membership such a critical income source, especially when many of our most expensive running costs have not changed.
We were very pleased to see how well our facilities performed in the questionnaire, with a few exceptions. The most prominent was the main club room. Clearly, I think most members have been aware of this for a while now, behind the scenes we have been proactive. David Evans has recently secured a grant of £4,500 to assist with a renovation project. Sadly we were not successful in two other grant applications to have all the budget for the project we hoped for. At the most recent committee meeting, Bee Mocelin (who leads our Ladies Rugby) has volunteered to put together a volunteer team to plan the works required and implementation.
Further updates on actions we are taking as a result of the survey will be announced in the new year.
As always, if you are able to help the Club in any way, please email clubhouse@cheltenhamtigers.com for further information.
Best Regards,
Steve Ratcliffe, Club Chairman