WHAT A CELEBRATION!
Happy Birthday to us! What a fantastic 90th / 40th celebration on Saturday night. It was an absolute honour to co-host everyone on the weekend at our major event for 2019. Thanks to all who attended and for all the auction donations. An extra big thank you to those who purchased the action items in support of the club – there were some great items there!
There was a great cross-section of Hampton Rovers family and friends on the evening. Andrew and Angus Brayshaw (Fremantle Dockers and Melbourne Demons respectively and former Hampton Rovers Juniors) spoke openly and vividly about their time with the Rovers and how the time formed some of their favourite football memories. This was a highlight for me and many others I have spoken to. Another highlight was to hear from our first (and certainly not last) Brownlow Medallist, Ross Smith, and how much the Rovers means to him. Please see our Facebook page for photos of the evening, and you can learn more about our history starting 90 years ago.
THE SOCIALS CONTINUE – ROVERS LOCAL AND AT HOME WITH THE ROVERS
Our next chance to come together will be this coming Friday at the Rovers Local – a casual night to catch up over a drink the kids can have a kick on the oval. A great way to finish off the school term!
We also have our legendary At Home With The Rovers (AHWTR) night on 19 July. We will be celebrating with a load of activities, raffles and great prizes – and there is a special guest for the kids! Bring the family down and invite your friends for what promises to be a fun evening and support your club at the same time.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020 – CALL OUT
With half of the season now over we are already looking ahead to 2020 and how we can keep improving the club. If you’ve ever considered being part of our club as a volunteer, game day helper, or a committee member please give me a call 0404433539. We’d welcome you in the second half of the season to try out a new role. It’s the best way to help and learn ahead of considering a role for 2020. It really does take as little as an hour or two a week to make a massive difference to 615 kids. I ask that all of our members consider helping in whatever capacity you can for 2020. Every hour helps and every role makes a difference. We are seeking assistance with memberships, registrations, social media posts, sponsorships, social events, grants, newsletter, compliance and risk. You don’t need to know the rules of AFL to help us. We are especially looking for volunteers from our U8s, U9s and U10s to get involved as you will be the future of our club. If you know someone who can help, please let us know.
ROUND 8 HIGHLIGHTS
With respect to the football on the weekend – rain, wind and lots of mud greeted our teams at both Castlefield and Boss James. Luckily, we still have two of the best grounds even though they are a muddier than recent years. With the Council’s assistance we hope the grounds will improve over the coming weeks. All that being said, it was great to see our teams having fun with some good results. My quote of the weekend was a parent telling me “I just love watching them sing that song – they look so happy.” This was after a great win over a great team. I agree – “I do love to be beside the seaside!!”
I look forward to seeing as many of you this weekend around the grounds.
Passion, Teamwork, Fun and Respect.
Jason Nicholl
Hampton Rovers Juniors President
