WELCOME TO THE 2010-11 SEASON 

(Text from Letter sent to all Parents). Dear Parent, On behalf of Whickham Fellside Y.F.C. may we welcome you to the beginning of the 2010-11 football season. Please take a few moments to read the following information, particularly if you are new to the Club, it contains important details regarding your child’s involvement with Whickham Fellside Y.F.C. 

The 2009-10 was another fantastic season for our Club both on and off the field of play. Most teams enjoyed a good season, played competitively, with great enthusiasm which resulted in many successes. Some of our teams were successful in League or Cup Competitions and this is testimony to the hard work carried out by our Coaches. We encourage Coaches to obtain at least the Level 1 F.A. Coaching qualification and judging from last season’s achievements this continues to pay dividends. These achievements were acknowledged at the club Presentation Night, held at the Lancastrian Suite, Dunston in June; a true ‘Evening of Celebration’ where over 700 attended.

Under the leadership of Kevin Thompson our Club Development Officer, small-sided soccer continues to flourish. Club trials were held in June and there is no doubt this successful and enjoyable event reaches well into the community and enables the Club to recruit new members, start new teams and strengthen others. We owe thanks to everyone who gave up their Sunday mornings to achieve this. To reflect our continued growth a new role of 'Football Development Officer' has been created this season to offer coaching support to teams and focus on raising standards of coaching and football development.This is the start of our third full season of Girls and Ladies Football within our Club. The Girls Junior and Senior teams received a tremendous ovation at our Presentation Evening setting the highest standards on the football pitch. We regard the Girl’s and Women’s sections as very much part of our Club and its continued development. The Club have also been running an U6 Development side since the early part of 2009 and our thanks go to Paul and Nicola Scott for undertaking this work; very much an investment for the future of the Club.We continue to look for assistance in the Club in general, whether it is helping in the shop – which is an important source of revenue and a much needed facility for our teams, parents and visitors to Watergate – or just assisting one of our Coaches in a practical way. Anyone interested in helping can contact our Club Secretary or Club Chairman or any Executive Committee Member.Our Club will operate with more teams than ever this coming season; 24, possibly 25 teams from Under-7 to Under-21 will wear the traditional yellow and green Club colours representing a record membership, a figure envied throughout the North East.We encourages parents to take the time to get to know their Team Manager and Club Officials. They all pride themselves on being approachable but please remember they are ‘Volunteers’. If you have any issues please feel free to talk to them directly, otherwise contact any member of the Club committee. The details of all managers and Club committee members are published on the Club Website, which will continue to be our main means of communication. The Club Constitution and other official literature is also on the website and are displayed at Watergate for anyone to examine or refer to The Club Website is the best method to convey and publicise information about our Club and our Teams. Further information will be emailed and we ask for your co-operation in providing an email address when completing your registration forms. 

The first social event of the season will be our ANNUAL GOLF DAY to be held at WHICKHAM GOLF CLUB on FRIDAY, 24^th of SEPTEMBER 2010, details are now on the Club Website and bookings are now being taken by our Club Chairman. Other fundraising events will be organised throughout the year and it is only with support from you that we can raise funds for the Club, keep our subscriptions low and maintain the level of service we offer. The Club are very conscious of the current economic situation and have looked carefully at the well-managed finances we have. Subscriptions for this season will be £?? (refer to your Coach) for 11-a-side members and £?? (refer to your Coach) for small-sided members with a £10 reduction if two or more children from the same family represent the Club. This is very good value for money and is considerably less than other Clubs in the area and beyond. We also offer a voluntary two-equal payment method to assist families in spreading the cost of subscriptions. Providing a first subscription payment of either £?? (11 a side, refer to your Coach) or £?? (small-sided, refer to your Coach) is made before the season starts, the next payment can be made in early February 2010 by arrangement with yourself, your Coach and Steve Burdis, our Registration Secretary. Payment, by cheque only should be made to 'Whickham Fellside Y.F.C.' and must have the player’s name written on the back of the cheque. We insist that the first payment must be made before the season begins so that we can meet the considerable expenditure a Club of our size has at the start of each season.

The Club offers its sincere thanks to those parents who continue to assist with transport and general support of their team and our Club generally, particularly to those who continue to sponsor or make financial donations and contributions to enable us to continue to operate and develop. Donations are always invested wisely for the benefit of all our members. Future sponsorship, contributions or ideas for fund-raising for 2010-11 would be most welcome and we are happy to speak to individuals or companies at whatever level they wish to assist us. F.A. rules regarding fines for disciplinary matters make it clear that Clubs are responsible for any payment. Whickham Fellside Y.F.C. wish to make it clear that according to our Club Constitution, any such fines will be levied directly and immediately back to the individual concerned for immediate payment; anyone wanting clarification on this matter can contact our Club Secretary. In previous seasons the Club have dealt with some incidents of unacceptable behaviour on the touchline and elsewhere. We stress that this behaviour cannot be tolerated. Our active Club Executive and General Committees will again deal with any such matters in a quick and efficient manner. It is everyone’s responsibility to further the good name of Whickham Fellside Y.F.C. therefore please refer to our ‘Code of Conduct’ which covers all aspects of expected behaviour from Club Officials, Club Members and Parents. It is a simple statement, please read it and so ensure that we all abide by its content and make the games we play in fair, competitive and enjoyable. Whickham Fellside Y.F.C. and its Officials are registered under the FA Charter for Child Protection and we hope this gives you complete peace of mind regarding your child’s welfare and safety within our club.

Finally, it will always be our aim and commitment to continue to provide your child with access to the highest standard of coaching and youth football throughout the full age-range and hopefully, as we work together, this season will be yet another successful and memorable one for your child and for Whickham Fellside Y.F.C.

From Rob Hennessey (President), Bill Baty (Chairman), Dave Nelthorpe (Secretary),
Executive Committee Members, Team Managers and Assistants.

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