An Update from the President Mike Hanlon. The Muster will be sent out on Wednesday with Finals schedule as normal
Well it’s the last week of the regular season with finals ahead for many of our teams. The year has been a blur as time has flown by in this our first year as the Brumbies.
If there was any doubt in the depth of talent in the club it was highlighted this week with both Ben White and Luke Jackson selected for the Australian schoolboy’s team that will travel to Germany to compete next year. This month has also seen the state selection for the women’s Masters teams announced, with Kym Gaffney, Penny Boon selected for the 45’s and Kirsty Welsman selected for the 35’s. Congratulations to all and good luck to all and I’m looking forward to hearing more of your success stories.
It’s with a bit of sadness that I have to announce the departure of our Masters VP Steve Clarke from the club, as he moves to Northern New South Wales. Steve is one of our life members and will be sorely missed. We wish him well for the future and look forward to him dropping into the club when he’s back in town visiting family.
This month I also finalised a new advertising agreement with Robert Clark MP, who will be joining us down at the ground this weekend.
Other key highlights for the months as follows:
Finals
We’re now at the pointy end of the season with all finals berths locked and loaded. Our teams in finals are as follows:
Juniors:
We have 5 Junior teams playing Semi finals this week;
U12 Girls Pennant
U12 Girls Shield
U14 Girls Pennant
U12 Mixed Shield
U16 Mixed shield
Men’s Seniors:
Men’s Vic League Reserves
Pennant D
Pennant E
Pennant F
Metro B2
Womens Seniors:
Vic League 1
Vic League 1 Reserves
Pennant C
Pennant D
Please note finals times will be sent out on Wednesday Night
Womens Masters:
35A
Play on Wednesday 31st 7:15 at SNHC v Footscray
Good luck to all, let’s bring back a flag or two!!
Club Rooms
Chris Harper and I have been meeting with council every three weeks to progress the development of the new club rooms. I’m pleased to say that the design has now moved into the detail phase and we are getting into the nitty gritty of items such where our presentation cabinets will be located and the layout of the kitchen and the equipment.
The new multi purpose room and deck is an exciting proposition as it will be1.2m above pitch level with the deck built out to the fence line further presenting another great spectator viewing area.
The time frames are still holding with design due to complete in September to go to market and select a builder. The target to commence building is February/March next year.
Summer Programs
Whilst the winter season is coming to an end, if you just can’t do without your hockey fix we are busy working through options for all. Summer is all about enjoying the social element by mixing ages and grades and having fun.
For juniors we will be offering a Spring 5’s side competition at Elgar, commencing October 12th, whilst the HV indoor competition at Dandenong is also open to expressions of interest. Please reach out to Stuart Richardson (juniorsvp@kbhbrumbies.org.au) for more details.
For seniors, apart from the normal full field HV competitions we are looking to host a series of 7 a side half field competitions to mix things up a little.
So watch this space for more details.
2017
We have yet to close out this season, but the planning for 2017 has already commenced.
Last week I met with Andrew Skillern, CEO of Hockey Victoria to discuss the revision to their strategy.
This will be followed in September with the shaping of our submissions for the Premier League as this is a key element to retaining our talent.
Finally, in terms of 2017 I will be hosting a session down at the club rooms on Wednesday 7th September for your feedback on the year and ideas or concerns for 2107. To focus the conversation, the evening will be split into:
Juniors at 6:30pm
Seniors and Masters at 8:00pm
Inaugural Golf Day
In August we held our first golf day at Yarra Bend Golf Club. Whilst the weather was atrocious on the day it did little to dampen the spirits of the nine groups that took to the course.
The day was won by Dave Sheldon’s team with a little help from the Craig the club pro who joined the team to put daylight between them and the runners up on the day.
One of the funniest moments came when Josh teed off with his three tree wood and shortly after contact with the ball he released his grip and the club sailed into the highest branches of a nearby tree. Not sure if the wind has brought it back down to earth yet but on the day he was unable to retrieve as it was totally inaccessible.
Personally based on my performance on the day I should stick to hockey, which is a very low bar in performance terms.
To make the day possible I’d lke to thank:
Steve White for organising the day and continues to drive the coterie group to new heights.
All our sponsors/supporters on the day, please support them in return:
The way the club has come together this year has been amazing and with our presentation nights approaching it is a great opportunity to get together to celebrate the year that was.
Junior presentation night 11th September at the Holy Redeemer Hall, Mont Albert Rd, Surrey Hills.
Doors open 6pm
U10 and U12 presentations 6.30 to 7.30pm
Pizza's from 7.30pm
U14 and U16 presentations 8-9pm, Surrey Hills
There will be a raffle on the night, bar will be open to buy drinks, and cost will be $20/family or $5 per person
Senior presentation night 22nd October at Greenacres Golf Club
Please book early so we can confirm numbers and arrangements BOOK HERE
Uniforms and Off Field Wear
Next year all prices for uniforms will increase as the at cost offer will close before the start of next season. So if you want to take advantage of our current stock and prices please send your request into kbhuniforms@gmail.com
Importantly, we need to close our books in a timely manner ready for the AGM. So If you have not yet paid for your on or off field wear, please make arrangements to pay asap so we can limit the time that we have to put into chasing everyone.
Future Social Events
Our ambition is to build a strong club both on and off field and developing a strong social network is one of the ways we can grow and retain our members. Our events team have targeted an ambitious calendar of events, but to be successful they need more help. Volunteering is rewarding and builds new friendship groups. If you can help please reach out to kbhhcevents@gmail.com
Our Sponsors
And finally I would like to acknowledge our sponsors:
Evoke IT for all your website needs
The Harp of Erin, 10% of all purchases comes back to the club as a rebate
Harcourts Balwyn, 20% of the commission from any successful listing comes back to the club
Danny Lee Designs
Bread Street, supplier of bread for all our BBQ’s
Australian Butchers, supplier of sausages for all our BBQ’s
Axial Wealth Management
Gaffco Pty Ltd
We will be adding more over time as the commercial team meet with prospective sponsors and our web site will be enhanced to better showcase and support our sponsors.
