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we are confident that he will have the support of players and supporters alike!
Our success on the field over recent years is in no small way also due to the immeasurable contribution made by our retiring President, Phil Davies and Chairman, Handel Davies. Whilst we are delighted that both are continuing as Directors of the Club I do not want to miss this opportunity to once again publicly thank them both for the work on behalf of the Club. It is entirely fitting that that we were able to recognise their huge long term contributions to the club, and that of Eifion “Tank” Evans, in making them Life Members in the presence of our Patron, TRH Prince of Wales earlier this year. It was a great occasion and we are delighted that His Royal Highness has since agreed to extend his Patronage of the Club for a further period.
We are fortunate that we have, due to
the hard work of Roger James, Dai ‘Manchester’ Evans, Idris Morton and other volunteers a fantastic set of grounds, clubhouse and caravan park but maintaining the development of the club is of course a financial and logistic challenge so in thanking all our volunteers and staff for their on-going support I would also urge all our supporters to help recruit new members and gather new sponsorship. We have for 2016/17 a new innovative payback scheme whereby any member who finds NEW sponsorship can receive a financial or ‘in kind’ reward, so please do your best.
If you require any information speak to Gina Deering or any of the Board of Directors!
I hope as your Chairman for perhaps the next few years I can maintain the progress that others have invested so much time and effort in establishing, but if I am to have any success it will be largely be due to the support from my fellow Directors, members and supporters. We are always looking for new ways of taking the club forward so please feel free to assist in whatever way you feel most able, many hands make light work and after all it is your and the community’s club!
Finally as we look forward to a new season and a new format for the Premiership League I hope you enjoy our Newsletter and I would like to thank all of the contributors and our editor Robin Barlow for their efforts I hope you enjoy it and we look forward to seeing you regularly at Church Bank over the season!
Er Gwaethaf Pawb a Phopeth, Ni Yma o Hyd! Ymlaen Y Porthmyn!
Peter Rees
Chairman, Llandovery Rugby Football Club.
LLANDOVERY RFC
POUNDS, SHILLINGS
AND PENCE
We may sometimes look up from a game at Church Bank to admire the grounds and scenery around us. Even the most unfavourably biased visitor would agree that not many clubs in the Premiership can match our idyllic setting. But Treasurers like to look on the gloomy side of things. That scenic beauty has a downside: there aren’t many houses – or people!
The scenery does help us, though. Our setting, together with the clubhouse and the town’s attractions go together to make the Caravan Park such an attractive tourist ‘pull’. That side of the business doesn’t run itself, but it is in very good hands and, given a normal economic outlook, should continue to underpin what we are doing in the rest of the Club for many years ahead.
But we can’t rely on that alone. We need to make sure, also, that we encourage as many people to join and watch games as possible, and do so at competitive – and affordable – prices. But what does that mean, in practice?
A survey by Sport Wales in 2014 found that 27% of us were members of a sports club of some sort. If that is true, and with a population of about 2,000 in town, the absolute maximum membership we could hope for would be 540. But there are plenty of other sports and activities around for people to enjoy. According to the survey golf, for example, has about a third more active participants than rugby. Association football is three times as popular – and cycling, more than four times. For all the attractions of the rugby here (including the chance to spot the young stars of the future and watch some of them progress, and move on to the international stage) the town’s size puts a natural – and relatively inflexible – limit on our membership numbers.
So, if we can’t increase our numbers by much, could we raise our prices? Not really.
Both our season ticket and gate prices look about right: the most expensive is Cardiff, and the cheapest Bridgend. We sit in the middle of the range, for both subscriptions and gate prices, and are happy to stay there.
What about gates – could we do more? The return of Swansea, and the arrival of Merthyr, to the Premiership gives the potential for more good crowds this season. But, although we have seven home games scheduled for the first half of this season we will not know the final shape of the second half until the New Year – and there is no guarantee on the number of games to be played at home, nor their timing. It is also possible that, this season, a number of visiting spectators will be drawn away from rugby by the success and publicity of the Wales football team in the Euro 2016 tournament.
All of that means membership numbers, prices and gates are, to a large extent, outside our control. But we can’t stand still. We do have some other options.
For one of them, we would like to enlist your help. It won’t cost you a penny – quite
the opposite! If you can find a sponsor who has not previously supported the Drovers, and is willing to raise at least £500, then we will pay you a ‘commission’ of 10% for every pound of this ‘new money’ that you bring in. Details and terms can be found on our website.
So if you know of anybody who takes an interest in the game of rugby – it could be an individual, a company or an informal group of friends – and would like to help us, why not ask them to come and talk to us!
David Boorer
Hon Treasurer, Llandovery Rugby Football Club.
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SUMMER 2016