We are now three months into the new season and I am pleased to report excellent levels of participation and success for all Newark Rugby Club teams across the senior, youth, girls and minis teams. This season now feels like a normal season, following two years of COVID interruption.

This return to normality has created a significant administration workload and our many volunteers are working hard to get on top and stay on top to ensure we run as smoothly as possible. There will always be things we learn each season, which will make us smarter and better organised in the future.

There are many, many moving parts within our Club and it is a constant challenge to make sure the quality of our communication and cooperation across all areas is such that we operate efficiently. The Board is working tirelessly to make sure that new initiatives and ongoing adjustments in structure and process are made to keep strengthening the Club’s foundation.

The Board will soon be communicating to our community, a list of achievements and highlights so far this season. We are far from finished.

We continue to have a significant current workload to get on top of, but we are also very aware of the need to make time to look beyond today to make sure we define and plan our future direction.

In readiness for next season, we will produce a document for all members, that defines who we are, what we are, our principles and philosophies, our objectives and the strategies we will use. This document will cover all aspects of our Club activities. We made some progress on this document pre-season but some things have stalled and there remains more to do.

What I love about our culture is that we continually strive to be the best we can be in every area. We question things, we point out things that are not working, we highlight better ways to do things, we work very hard to deliver quality events and service, we are hospitable and friendly, we are competitive and respectful on the pitch, we deliver rugby for all ages to our local community; I could go on. In short, quite simply, we do all of this because we care deeply about our Club.

My First request to all members of the Club:

If we keep caring about Newark Rugby Club and everything we do, this Club will continue to excel and thrive. Please Keep Caring.

My Second request to all members of the Club:

Some of the volunteer roles within the Club require a significant time commitment and we are fortunate to have excellent people in many roles throughout the Club who willingly make this commitment. The Board discussed at the start of the season about adopting a policy of ‘SPREADING THE LOAD’. This means looking at each area of the Club and trying to break it down into smaller parts, each part requiring a smaller time commitment that would be more attractive to volunteers who want to help but have less time to offer.

We will soon be producing a list of new roles across the Club that we will publish to our community and ask for volunteers to step up. If you are willing and able to, please put yourself forward and volunteer.

Now turning attention to on-the-pitch action.

Recent 1st XV performances against the top three teams in our league have shown beyond doubt that we belong in level six. This is a very competitive league and we look forward to the challenge ahead.

The overall strengthening of the senior playing squad, both in quality and quantity, has undoubtedly had a positive impact on the 1st XV, 2nd XV and 3rd XV performances.

It is a great statement from our Club that we have been able to field three senior teams multiple times this year.
The Colts also have a strong squad and are performing well, week in week out.
We look forward to introducing some of the Colts to the senior teams later this season, when it is appropriate, to enhance their experience.

We can only look on with total admiration and be inspired by what our Club achieves in Mini/Youth and Girls rugby.
The volume of volunteering, administration, communication and commitment that is required to make Sunday mornings all come together on the day, week after week, is incredible.
The levels of participation are second to none in our area and we owe a significant gratitude to everyone who gives their time to make this the success it is.

We are performing a significant role for the sport of rugby by introducing so many young people to the game we all love.
Hats off to everyone involved in Mini/Youth/Girls rugby and the Schools Programme. From everyone in Newark Rugby Club, thank you.

If we keep communicating and working together, we can meet and overcome the many challenges that occur. If a problem does arise, don’t just fix it, talk to people about it and identify the route cause so it doesn’t happen again.

Whether you are a volunteer, player, member, sponsor or supporter of our Club, I want to thank you for everything you do to keep strengthening and moving our Club forward.

These are challenging and exciting times, but if we work hard and keep caring, this will be a season that we can all be very proud of.

If anyone has any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me or any member of the Board.

Very best wishes,

John Clark

07970 221156
johnc@pingeurope.co.uk