After an incredibly busy April and May, it is now time to give our staff, volunteers, clubhouse and the pitches a well-earned rest, well perhaps not a complete rest!

We recently hosted four big events – the U13 NLD Finals, the U16 NLD Finals, the Women’s Inner Warrior Series and the NLD 2nd XV Finals.
The feedback we received about these events was very positive indeed.

Staff and volunteers combined to stage first class events which further enhanced the reputation of Newark Rugby Club.

On top of these hosted events, we also staged our Mini Festival, our Mini Presentation and numerous age-group end-of-season dinners, all of which were very well attended.

Last, but certainly not least, over 100 volunteers from all parts of the rugby club gave their time to support the Nottinghamshire Agricultural Show. This is a very large and very prestigious local event and we are very proud to have been associated with it for 50 years.

Newark Rugby Club owes a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who gave their own personal time to make sure we fulfilled each of these challenges and delivered very successful events.

Many, many thanks to everyone who stepped up.
These events earn the club very important money, which helps us to keep investing to deliver first-class rugby opportunities to all ages in our local community.

On the playing front, we have over 600 people playing rugby for Newark. Our focus going forward will be on the quality of what we provide – equipment, pitches, clubhouse and of course top-class coaching.

Your support of the above events and other things throughout the season makes this possible, but it requires ongoing hard work year after year to ensure we keep improving on all fronts.

On the pitch, special mention and praise to Chris Coen and the whole of his U16 squad and support staff for winning their U16 NLD Final – a very sweet moment, especially on home soil.

From Minis through to senior rugby, we should be extremely proud of what we have achieved on the pitch this season.
Following promotion to Counties 2, the 2nd XV battled well throughout the season and particularly in the last few matches, to finish a very credible 8th place, matching the final position of the 1st XV.

Competitive rugby may be over for this season, but during the Summer we will be again offering Touch Rugby sessions, led by Tom Mapp. These sessions are very enjoyable and allow you to stay fit, enhance your skills and learn a non-contact variation of rugby that is growing and growing. How many of you know that Touch Rugby is played at International Level?

The off-season allows us time to plan for next season.
Inevitably, there will be changes, both internal and external.

Hopefully, the RFU recognise that a competitive season starting with training early July, followed by preparation matches in mid-August and then running through league and cup matches to June 1st the following year, as it did this season, flies in the face of all attempts to enhance player welfare.

To ensure we keep on top of the running of Newark Rugby Club and its many moving parts, it is essential we spread the workload as much as possible.

We have a number of volunteer positions in the club that require dedicated volunteers to step up and take responsibility. This list will be communicated internally soon, so if you are willing to help the club, please review the list and please step forward.

The Board would like to sincerely thank everyone in the club for contributing towards making Newark Rugby Club a standout club in this region.
So long as we keep striving to improve every single thing we do, even by small amounts every year, this club will continue to have a bright and successful future.

We hope you and your family will continue to enjoy being a part of this outstanding community rugby club.

John Clark, Chairman,