Dear Member,
Now that (hopefully) the worst of the winter weather is behind us, we can get down to some serious football. The 7 and 9 a-side teams are currently playing friendlies before their seasons start properly, while the girls’ U-16s and U-14s get their seasons underway on 17th February. The pitches at Martin Park appear to have survived the winter relatively unscathed, and played pretty well at the weekend of the 10th/11th February.
Since the last Newsletter, unfortunately Andy Davie left his role as Club Development Officer in June 2023, and due to the current finances of the club, the committee decided not to replace him. Vice-Chair and Coach Co-ordinator Stewart Ferguson has stepped up to perform most of the jobs that the CDO did, and is doing a fantastic job finding willing volunteers for the teams and helping out with training.
Funding News
The club was successful with a grant application to the Angus Rural Partnership for funding to improve the changing pavilion. We received £5000 for external work to replace the harling, materials for replacing the floor of the kitchen, baby changing facilities, and new 9 a-side goals. Many thanks to Phil Nash for doing the actual work on the kitchen floor.
The club also wishes to thank all the local business and individuals who sponsor the teams for match kits, training kits and other items. It makes a huge difference to the teams and they look so smart and organised.
Monthly Subscriptions
And now for the bad news…
The committee has had to make the decision to increase the monthly subscriptions. Although we have tried extremely hard to reduce our costs there are some areas where costs have risen and continue to do so.
These are:-
· Angus Council - Astroturf 7% increase per hour, Grass Cutting 5% increase per cut;
· Increased Ref Fees- last season from £35-£50 with an increase due this season;
· Utilities- increase in energy prices (industry standard);
· SYFA-Registration Fees 6% increase;
· SWFA Insurance and Registration fees increase by 50%.
The increase will help develop the club and allow the club to update/replace damaged equipment (much needed) and provide additional training sessions such as Goalkeeper coaching.
With effect from 1st April, subscriptions will increase by £1 per month for the boys age range 2008-2015, all girls U9-U16, Over 35's and Amateurs. The increase does not affect the 2016-2017 Boys as we have just increased them from £16 to £20 to cover the extra festival costs.
Thank you for your continued support.
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