Presidents note May 1, 2015
Tonight marks the commencement of the season for the Junior section and I want to wish all of the kids , their coaches, team managers and the parents a successful season.
It is pleasing to note that we have increased our number of teams in the Under 10, and retained our teams in the 12 , 14 and 16 sections as well as increased the numbers in the NDHL. There is some nice momentum in the Junior Section with a great team on the Committee and a lot of commitment to provide a great environment for the Juniors to play their hockey.
Thank you to all of the volunteers who have enabled this success and to the team in at Hockey Victoria who work hard to accommodate all of the last minute changes that club’s request.
Congratulations to the players in the Under 16’s who made a decision to support the entry of a third team to ensure that all players got a game each week. This will cause some inconvenience and may impact on results but it is the right decision. Hockey Victoria were also supportive of this change and we thank them for their assistance.
Upcoming Events
May 17 Live Streaming at Greensborough.
Please mark your calendar or put into your phone attendance at this event.
We host Footscray and the Women’s and Men’s match will be live streamed. There will be an exhibition game between the Men’s and Women’s PL matches featuring NDHL kids and Under 12’s.
This is the opportunity to support our teams with a large crowd and to provide vocal support on the day to enhance the atmosphere.
There are promotional events to support the day and these are displayed around the club and will be posted on the web page and facebook. They include prizes for attendance and we will have all of our hospitality operating. Make sure you join the players for afternoon tea after the PL games and meet some of the Footscray people.
I also know that the players would really appreciate the support and we will have the bar b q and canteen going to provide the nourishment required to sustain a day out in the last month of Autumn.
Junior Country Championships May 23 & 24
HV appointed the club to conduct these championships and it provides us with an opportunity to showcase our club, provide hospitality to the Country Hockey Players and to get some much appreciated revenue.
To run the event we need over 120 volunteers to support the canteen, bar b q, parking arrangements, information desk and first aide.
There will be flyers posted in the clubrooms and there is a book in the bar area for you to nominate the time that you can support the event. The event runs the full day on Saturday into the evening and for the full day on the Sunday.
We have now conducted this event for the past three years and everyone that comes down and helps has a good day. The country people are really appreciative of the welcome that we give them and it is a really good feel event.
Get on board!!
Update on Pitch 2
The Board meeting this week discussed the plans to upgrade the surface on pitch 2.
1. We have received the tender specifications document. There is an option to retain the existing shock pad and to put a hybrid surface over that shock pad. This would give us a playing surface equivalent to pitch one but slightly inferior level’s. We will work through the options from all aspects before determining our recommendation.
2. In light of the reduction of three senior teams in the past three years the club could now operate with only one pitch.
3. It seems to the Board that spending $380000 on an upgrade when the pitch would not be fully utilized is not a responsible financial action.
4. Presently the club has around $200000 in cash and could support an additional loan of $180000 to fund the upgrade (.This is subject to gaining Council or member approval to Guarantor the loan) This also takes into account that the club still has two loans outstanding for the club house and Pitch One.(circa $250000.)
5. There is good growth in the Junior section but not sufficient to warrant the second ground at this point of time, but the trend line would suggest that will change in the future (circa 2020).
6. The Board appreciates that the playing experience on Pitch 2 is inferior to Pitch 1 and that the scheduling of most senior matches on the one day means that most members do not play home matches on Pitch 1.
7. HV have not been able to increase the match scheduling at GHC to the level that we have requested. This is due to pressure from other clubs to play matches closer to the inner suburban areas. We are thankful that HV have scheduled events like the JCC and Zone Challenge at GHC. The reality is that this does not even get to 50% of the revenue required to service the loans for ground re-surfacing. We have asked HV to guarantee more matches in the future and therefore provide revenue on facility usage. The JCC and Zone Challenge are tendered so we cannot rely on those events for planning purposes. At this stage it would appear that HV are limited in the support that they can provide.
8. An option is to consider turning the ground into a multi -use facility and share with a soccer club.
9. Bottom line is that the Board is not receiving any input from members and we do not feel or see support from members for the additional ground. Let alone any consideration of the implications upgrading the surface.
10. The Board agreed to continue with the preparation for the resurfacing and the expenditures associated with developing the tender documentation.
11. The Board recognizes that not proceeding in 2016 effectively snow ploughs the decision out to a future Board and group of players.
12. The Board agreed to hold an information night on Wednesday May 20 commencing at 7.30 pm to determine the wishes of members. We are hopeful that night be well attended and there is overwhelming support to re-surface the ground. If so, the Board will re-consider the recommendation not to proceed with the ground re-surfacing in 2016.
13. Please note that the Board Members have made this recommendation with regret as many of us have worked hard to put the club in a financial position to be able to afford the ground re-surface.
We shall see what May 20 brings.
Enjoy the weekend.
Bob Crowley
President GHC