CHANGES AT DEWSBURY RANGERS JFC – January 2005

Looking forward

2005 is going to be an exciting year for Dewsbury Rangers and we would like to keep you informed of what is planned for the coming months. As some of you are aware our development committee have been working hard in the background building ties with St John Fishers School, other local community partners, Kirklees Council and the F.A. in an attempt to bring a £1 million sporting facility to Dewsbury. This would benefit all of our players and teams, with superb all-weather training facilities and top quality playing surfaces. We currently have 22 different boys and girls teams and this progress can only be made with everyone’s support and we will be asking for your support at some fundraising activities during the year, as follows;

Fundraising Evening

We are planning a Dewsbury Rangers Dinner at Dewsbury Rams Stadium on the 23^rd of April. Prices have now been confirmed at £30 per head and this would include a meal, the evening’s entertainment, a comedian and a speaker. We would need as much support as possible to make this a success, so if you know a company who would “buy a table of 10 places” then please ask them to consider this, alternatively why not have an age group table of 10? In addition, sponsorship for this type of event would be most welcome, from menu sponsors to table sponsors etc. We would ask anyone who would be interested in attending to let their coach know as soon as possible with numbers required.

Annual Presentation Night

Our annual Presentation Night will be held at the Frontier Club on Monday the 16^th of May, doors open at 7.30pm. We will be asking all our players of all age groups to sell raffle tickets beforehand with cash prizes to be won at a draw on the night. We also need to remind all parents to keep their children under control at all times during the night, away from the dance floor and stage during the other age groups presentations, this is for health and safety reasons. We have been warned that the Frontier security staff will ask people to leave the building if they do not behave in a reasonable manner.

Why do we need your help with this fundraising? If between ourselves and St John Fishers High School we can raise somewhere in the region of £250,000 we will be in line to receive a further £750,000 from the Football Foundation to enable us to build the all weather training facilities, the new pitches and changing rooms. This is a fantastic opportunity for this club to provide something for our players that no other facility in Dewsbury can match and would be to the benefit of the club for years to come. We do need your help to support us wherever you can, as this funding will not be available indefinitely.

F.A Charter Standard

We have been an F.A Charter Standard club for over 18 months and are currently examining the possibilities of applying to become an F.A Charter Standard Development Club, which is the next step up on the ladder. All this means that each age group has a fully trained coach or for the new age groups a coach who will undertake training in their first 12 months with the club. We have agreed codes of conduct, a child protection policy and a club constitution. For your information Stuart Ramsden is our Child Protection Officer and he can be contacted on 01924 455453 if you have any concerns in this area. If any parent or guardian has any issues or objections with photographs of their children being taking at matches and possibly published in the local press, without names being added, please inform Stuart as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary problems.

Registration Fees & Subscriptions Season 2005/06

Due to ever increasing running costs it has been agreed that the annual registration fee will rise to £20 per player for next season, we are also currently discussing the possibility that the weekly subs might rise but no decision has yet been made. Please be aware that before any rises are implemented we look at all other options but the hire of indoor and outdoor winter training facilities at several different locations continues to be our biggest expense, along with the hire of playing pitches during the season. Remember also that every player receives at least one trophy at the presentation night, has a Christmas party paid for along with the supply of kit, contributions towards raintops and training equipment as required.

Monthly Management and Fundraising Meetings & Club Constitution

You might not be aware that every month we have a management meeting to discuss all aspects of running the club and moving the club forward. Some of the age groups notably the boys under 9’s, boys under 13’s A and some of the girls age groups struggle to attend these meetings for various reasons. If you would like to be a parent representative and attend the meeting to be aware of the clubs progress and to keep the parents of your age group informed then please speak to your coaches or any of the members of the management committee. We also have monthly fundraising meetings, which are open to all parents, everyone is welcome to bring along any fundraising ideas you may have. Dates for the meetings are readily available. We have also taken the opportunity to update our club constitution, if you would like a copy please ask your coach.

Dewsbury Rangers Website

Not everyone knows that we have a dedicated website available at http://www.dewsburyrangersjfc.co.uk/. Our current “webmaster” is involved with our Under 16’s teams and would be only too grateful if anyone of our parents who was interested in helping out with the maintenance of the site came forward. This is an interesting position and the site helps promote our club and many teams throughout the region.

Dewsbury Rangers Annual Gala

Finally, the date for our annual gala has been agreed for July the 3^rd, lets hope for sunny weather on the day.

Many thanks for your time and support, over the past seasons and for the future of Dewsbury Rangers Junior Football Club.