Welcome to the 2009/2010 season at Petersfield RFC.

The current Executive committee has spent much of its first year getting to grips with the realities of the club’s financial situation – one which requires constant monitoring and a proactive stance. We are delighted to welcome Siegfried Golding as our new treasurer, and the club is already benefiting from his experienced and skilled input. It is clear that it is of the utmost importance to constantly identify opportunities for fund-raising and additional revenue streams.  On the social front, many initiatives have been tried, with varying degrees of success.  Some of the smaller events last season were poorly attended by the membership, and will not be repeated.  The larger scale ones were better received – the successful race night courtesy of the tireless Alison Butcher, and the grand Lions Tour Ball – the concept of chairman Peter Caines who, with his talented team, put together an extremely high class event. The revival of the Real Ale & Music festival by Geoff Litchfield and Chris Todd’s team also shows sufficient promise for continuation next year.  Thank you to all members and friends of the club who sponsored and supported these events – we do value your continuing involvement, but the club always need more members to both help and attend these important functions.  Please do your bit in the coming months.

Steve Penberthy is welcomed on board as our new Director of Rugby and has already made his mark in many ways, not least of which was the training and staging of the Gun Run at the Petersfield Festival – the first time ever by a civilian team. It raised funds for the Help the Heroes initiative and at the same time was a great profile-raiser for PRFC.

On the playing front, I am confident that we can anticipate a continuation of the excellent standards of coaching and playing in the junior sections of the club where numbers continue to grow.  A record number of participants in August’s Rugby Workshop (brilliantly staged by James Blumlein and team) bodes well for recruitment at the early years. With last season’s noteworthy results, the Colts have a tough act to follow, but we look forward to seeing them make their mark within the county and beyond.  This season sees the first XV playing in a new arena - in which we are confident that they will soon make their mark - and we wish them and all our senior teams a fruitful season.

Finally, may I assure you that the executive remains committed to working energetically towards the provision of the best possible package for the membership, and to that end your comments and dialogue are always encouraged.

Paul Martin

President, PRFC