I thought I might send out an update. I have reviewed my pre-season briefing and for the most part we have done what we hoped we might. We set out for a top half finish for the first team and as we speak we sit currently 5th in the league and whilst to start with we were flying high our mid-season injury woes and the opposition's sharpening up mean that we are no longer contenders-phew!! Nevertheless it is extremely gratifying to see that we have shown ourselves quite capable of not just existing but thriving at this level. The rugby played in this league is exciting and we are quite at home with our attacking prowess. We have a strong set of forwards but there are two or three sides that have practically Championship quality packs against which we have struggled at times.

So we can very much look forward to another very enjoyable season next year albeit the second season blues will have to be carefully avoided and Matt is now well advanced in securing re-signings and new players to ensure that this does not happen.

I asked pre-season for the away supporters to increase and it has done massively so thank you for that. It is very heartening for our guys to walk on the field in places like Rotherham, Darlington and Plymouth and hear the Chinnor massive cheering them on and I hope that all our travellers have enjoyed it. We are competing against some iconic sides in this league that have been at this level and higher for many decades in some instances and have a rich Rugby heritage. It is a testament to our squad that Chinnor are rapidly building their own top level heritage and hopefully making some friends and admirers along the way

My thanks to Matt Williams DoR, Head Coach Dan George and Paddy Gill and Ricky Khan assistant coaches, Steve Trenchard team manager and all of the Squad - you have done us proud.

On the matter of the Falcons rugby we continue to struggle as an inordinate amount of injuries has made raising a side quite difficult at times. Nevertheless as I speak the Team are making preparations to travel to Jersey this weekend with a reasonably strong side and when we do put out a side we can be competitive .Arrangements are moving ahead for next season with additional management and coaching resource along with a recruitment campaign targeted to bring more players into our fold

Our 3rd XV aka the Wildboys have had yet another cracking season P14 W14 and have already finished top of their BBO league. Well done indeed to them. It was also gratifying to see an amalgam of the Falcons and Wildboys take on The Oxford harlequins 1st XV in the semi-final of the Oxfordshire cup and emerge as worthy winners. Gosh it was not long ago that our 1's fought epic encounters with Quins 1's

The 4th XV now aka Wildboys 2 have had some 16 games this season and won 8 lost 5- good to see them back in action. And the Vets have won 4 of their 5 matches and are still in the floodlit cup.

The minis and Juniors continue to thrive thanks to the hard work of their many Coaches and Volunteers. Their minis festival was of a Glastonbury scale -albeit much better for you and much more civilised. It was certainly the largest the County have ever seen if not the Country and it raised a great deal for the Club.

I mentioned the new marquee preseason which is up and I’m pleased to say that we have had a few in-house functions with more to come and the outside hirings are increasing as the word gets round. This will play an ever increasing part in our focus on increased commercial activity.

On infrastructure improvements we now not only have consent for the Grandstand but also for a new Gym under the barn. We are getting together a consultation document to go out to the members for us to agree what we should be targeting not just on infrastructure but also with regards to the Rugby offering for all parts of the Club. The intention is that we move forward with a consensus on what is important to us . There are various forms of funding open to us but we should be certain that we act in accordance with our members wishes. This may mean reinforcing previously stated intentions and arriving at some new ones. A Document will hopefully be out by the month end for the consultation

The advent of the Powerhouse Bootcamp Boys has added a new dimension to us as a sporting organisation and we are seeing how that can be extended both for the benefit of the existing members and the wider community as a whole and this will form part of the consultation as to how they can continue to enhance the offering.

In the meantime they are refitting with their own funds the Gym to extend their Bootcamp offering . If any one wishes to use the new facilities please liaise with Daz as an induction will be necessary .

The floodlights improvements have now taken place on the training area and many thanks to John Ashfield for sorting this out.

We established the Community Rugby program this season and it is gaining significant traction . We are very much hoping that we will be carrying out well in excess of 100 hours a week tuition from next season at a variety of state and private educational establishments. The feedback is very good so it is carrying out a vital role and cannot help but increase our standing and attraction to the communities we are serving. If you would like to know more or have any contacts that we could approach or indeed would like to be associated with this tremendous operation perhaps with some sponsorship do contact me or Ben Thomas community@chinnor-rfc.com

And it should not go without saying that an awful lot of what we do is absolutely dependent on our many volunteers- The year coaches, the evergreen Friday Club, Helen and her ladies that run the Shop and all of the managers and safeguarding officers and many others. Thank you. CPM and Mike Hughes kindly sponsored a curry evening for a substantial body of the youth section -There is no doubt always more that we could do to say thank you.

On an operational basis there is no doubt we have improved revenue for match days and generally commercially. Of course setting these up incurrs additional costs initially and the pressure to maintain the cash flow therefore continues. The step up to this level increases the focus on this. It involves a lot of hard work from our paid staff and our volunteers . And on that matter I am well aware that when we change the way we do things it inevitably means that some changes are not to everybody's taste. We do try and take account of members wishes and sometimes we may not get the balance right or inevitably we cannot please everybody all of the time. There have been a small number of instances where a very few Members have chosen to vent their ire in the heat of the moment and this has been done to our paid members of staff. Can I please ask that at all times the utmost respect is shown to our staff as they are carrying out an agreed way of moving forward . Ideally any complaints or suggestions for improvements should be made in the cold light of day in writing to either Greg or myself . Our Staff all work very hard on our behalf quite often for long hours and they do not deserve any degree of berating at any time and especially when they are in the midst of a long day

In terms of corporate governance I am delighted at the reinvigorated executive committee who are empowered to effect the day to day running of the Rugby offering .The Board however is now light on Members . Our Treasurer John Maitland's new work commitments involving extensive travelling has meant he has had to resign and we do require additional members. if you would like to be considered or know of anyone who you think might be suitable please contact either john Ashfield , Mike Hughes or Myself. The minimum commitment is for six Board meetings a year and maybe three or four ad hoc meetings and from time to time e-mail exchanges on stuff that crops up. Of course the scope for more involvement is limitless but not essential.

I do hope we will see a lot of you at the remaining games and indeed the reinstated May Ball on the 3rd May which will be great chance to look back and celebrate with all of the Players the achievements so far and what is left to come.

Best wishes

Simon