To all of the Mighty Oaks Community,
First and foremost, on behalf of all the Committee, I send our best wishes to you all and hope that you are remaining safe and well throughout these testing times.
Just a week ago, we should have been celebrating the end of the 2019/20 season, which has seen our 1st XV finishing in the highest league position on record, our 2nd XV retaining the league title. Our 3rd XV finished in the top 4, whilst the Mighty Gents showed once again that they are a forced to be reckoned with, sitting as runners-up in the final league standings. And, with what proved to be the last kick of the season, our Mighty Acorns were runners up in the Kent Vets Cup, succumbing to a last-minute defeat at Maidstone RFC against a strong Westcombe Park RFC side.
Our Junior and mini section continues to be one of the strongest in the area, with the Academy finishing as one of the top 16 sides in the country, whilst our Under 13 Girls won the Kent Cup. Although many of our mini and juniors have been robbed of the opportunity to appear in various Festivals, their results in fixtures across the season show that our junior and minis, in both boys and girls teams, remain in rude health.
As a Committee, we fully appreciate and understand the responsibility we have to stay connected with our members, sponsors and Sevenoaks community at this time, which is why I would like to provide a wider update to you on the Mighty Oaks with this communication.
As you will have seen, much focus in the media has been on the financial sustainability of sports clubs and organisations, both in the professional and amateur game. Financially, our current position is sound. And whilst we have lost revenue generating opportunities, thanks to the excellent work and financial prudence of our Treasurer John Wilkinson, the Committee are confident that the Club is in good shape in the medium future to withstand the loss of the revenue that we would have received had the season been completed.
One significant contribution to this financial security has been a HMG Small Business Rates Grant of £25,000 . Thanks to the work of our Commercial Director Roger McKerlie and Covidhelp.org.uk, the monies are already in the Club’s account and will ensure that the Club remains financially stable in the coming months. However, I do want to make it clear, that this does not mean that we can now sit back and relax. As we have highlighted to you in the past, particularly during the time of membership renewal, there are a significant amount of costs that the Club incurs monthly. So, it is absolute vital that we continue to maintain the support of our sponsors and that, when the time comes, your commitment to the Club is shown in the payment of your membership fee.
I am sure that I speak on behalf of you all when I say how much we desperately miss the social side of this wonderful Club. The camaraderie across our ‘One Club’ is what makes it such a special environment to be a part of and I know that many of you have been engaging with each other ‘virtually’ in the past few weeks.
To that end, in the past week, I am delighted to see that we have launched the One Club, One Call initiative, which provides members the opportunity to register their details to receive a phone call from one of our senior squad members. These are testing and lonely times for many and I urge you to visit the page on our website (click here) and register – the boys are on standby to make that call!
The One Club, One Call initiative has been driven by Matt Bates, who I am delighted to say is also taking on the role of Marketing Manager for the Club and so joining our Management Team. Batesy is a Sevenoaks RFC man through and through, having played through the juniors and senior sides. Most recently, he has worked in Adam Bowman’s fantastic coaching team, taking the 1st XV to the National Leagues . We are delighted to have him on board and look forward to him working alongside Steve Fitzmaurice.
Next weekend also will also see the celebration of both Senior, Junior and Mini seasons ‘virtually’, with the Seniors taking place on Zoom this Friday 1st and then the Minis and Juniors celebrating on 3rd May. Please do join if you can (details on the website) and, where appropriate, have a beverage nearby to raise! It is important that whilst we cannot be together, we still celebrate the wonderful moments we have experienced over the past season.
Two further initiatives which we hope will help with entertainment is our new podcast series called ‘Oh When the Oaks’. Hosted by Fitzy, the podcast kicked off last week with our new Director of Rugby Adam Bowman and this week, we hear from Roger McKerlie, who provides an update on the commercial side of the Club – both are well worth a listen and accessible via the website.
We are also inviting members to share their favourite sports book, with the top recommendations featured in the Club newsletter. All entries go into a prize draw (Ts and Cs apply), so please do get involved and share your suggestion by emailing sfitzsrfc@gmail.com with the title ‘Favourite Sports Book’.
Finally I urge you to keep an eye on our website and social media channels (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) for updates and new initiatives as we do all in our power to help you navigate through this period.
Now, more than ever, our One Club ethos needs to come to the fore.
Stay safe, stay in contact and most importantly, stay well.
All the Very Best,
Trevor Nicholson
Chairman
Sevenoaks Rugby