OB Sports Club

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Old Bristolians’ Sports Club Failand

OBs’ rugby returned from the Covid-enforced break with a spring in its step and a new Director of Rugby in the shape of Tom Lindsay (ex-Bristol Bears and England Saxons).

All three men’s sides continue to enjoy the open running rugby for which they are known, resulting in strong starts to the season with league wins over local rivals. A slight dip in form linked to front row availability (and the ski season) left most sides in the chasing pack just below league leaders, but results have steadily improved thanks to an excellent coaching team.

The club continues to thrive with its ‘faster’ ethos of all players enjoying their rugby with teams to suit abilities from serious to social and a thriving post-match atmosphere. It is testament to this that we continue to run three regular men’s sides, as well as a Vets (35+) and Ladies team, now in their sixth season and continuing to grow, with girls’ sides at U13 and U15.

Our Minis & Juniors’ section now has nearly 450 children from U5/6s up to Colts playing together to build confidence and resilience in our players and teams. It is

underpinned by amazing volunteers in all areas, leading to waiting lists to join.

Not only is the rugby key but its ethos teaches the players all round life skills as they gain friends for life. We have coaches involved in the Bristol Bears Academy, including the Manager of the U18s who recently became national champions, and continue to bring OBs through the academy.

The focus is always about giving children the best experience possible. However, this year we are immensely proud of the achievements of Andy Christie, the first OB to win a full international cap. Andy and his brothers played at OBs from small boys and the whole club was overjoyed to see him run out against France for Scotland.

As the weather improves to suit OBs’ style, all sections and teams are looking for strong availability and stronger finishes to the season. Midweek training sessions over winter have continued despite the weather thanks to use of the world-class 3G facilities at BGS. New players (especially OBs) of all abilities are always welcome, so if you haven’t played in while, fancy a trying a new club, or are moving back to Bristol and want to get involved, please get in touch via www.obrfc.co.uk. There is coaching to suit all standards as well as food (and pudding club) posttraining.

A Waldram

OBRFC 2022

Many readers will know that, on a day to day basis, the Old Bristolians’ Sports Club manages The Failand War Memorial Playing Field, which is owned by the Old Bristolians’ Society. Sport is again fully operational and it is clear from the playing section profiles later in this edition that the Club is thriving with a strong membership and links with the School.

Despite the problems created by the pandemic the Sports Club finances are in good shape but we have some budgeting questions to look at particularly regarding the long term financing of the Stirratt Astro Turf Pitch.

We are eventually on the brink of registering the Sports Club as a limited company and although the major redevelopment of the pavilion envisaged is not currently feasible, due to lack of grants from the sporting bodies, we have some funds available and with the help of volunteers we are organising a focussed refurbishment of the interior to give a bright modern welcoming look.

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The ground had a relatively fallow period during lockdown. Without Rugby the Cricket outfield was flat and green for the whole 2021 season rather than waiting until late May for full summer recovery.

The return to Rugby has required careful planning of what areas and pitches to use in rotation to ensure certain areas are not worn out. The national ban on certain chemicals to kill worms has meant that worm casts have been out of control. The extra sticky nature of the casts makes mowing very difficult, when the machines become clogged, and large mud patches develop which hinder grass growth and drying. A new granular treatment has now been used and the problems are slowly going away.

Hopefully this will stop the large amounts of mud being brought into the Club House and changing rooms or we will need to enforce some strict rules on muddy boots and kit to ensure a lasting benefit of the refurbishments.

For those interested, I have put together a Powerpoint file showing the profiles of the playing sections.

Richard Leonard

Sports Club Secretary leoharrier@gmail.com

Hockey Club

2021 was to be a time for looking back and an auspicious event for the club. Instead pandemic restrictions meant a lack of games in the first half and members only coming together in small groups until the summer.

The first known record of OBs’ Hockey Club was in 1921 so we should have been celebrating our centenary. It is entirely possible, of course, that games were played before especially as it was one of the School games well before the First World War. In 1971 as a teenager still at school I remember attending my first Hockey Annual Dinner at Juries Hotel in Bristol.

How the Club, and the sport in general, has grown since that 50th anniversary!

I first played for the Club in 1969 in the days when Mike Booker acted as a liaison between the School and the Club. He would get a call from the OBs on a Friday asking if he could persuade one or two schoolboys, who were at least fifteen years old, to play the following day if there were no school matches.

The Club then had just three men’s teams playing on Saturdays and an occasional Sunday side. 25 years

Failand club house acting as a factory for the production of the food boxes sent out at Christmas by the Hockey Club

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later the Club was running four men’s and a ladies’ team along with mixed and men’s veterans sides which played on Sundays. You will see from the Club profile overleaf that the youth element is a strong part of the Club and the Junior Academy training is very full.

This season has seen the reestablishment of the fifth ladies’ team. We have been one of the very few clubs in the West to expand since 2019 against the general trend in hockey.

More than 15 teams (out of 500 from around 120 clubs) have dropped out of the West League this season. It seems that some of the older players have found different things to do during the lockdown periods and decided to hang up their boots.

It has also corresponded with a change in the way that hockey is governed and managed on a national basis. Eight regional leagues have been formed across England and Wales and the inevitable introduction of an electronic system covering all players and clubs which predictably has suffered teething problems.

At the start of March 2022 the Ladies’ first team leads its division and the seconds, thirds and fourths are second in their divisions.

The Men’s firsts have the furthest to travel for away games, which hinders availability, but they are holding their own, ten points above the relegation zone whilst the seconds and thirds are third and fourth respectively in their division.

For the latest positions of all the teams refer to the website https:// west.englandhockey.co.uk/adultleagues-competitions Like most clubs we exist financially by charging members annual subscriptions and fees per match but we would also welcome sponsorship of any amount from interested individuals and companies. We are changing our source of kit (retaining our basic design and OB colours) and with close to 200 playing members and nearly 150 junior members sponsors names would have exposure across the West (our furthest league games are Redruth and Leominster) so now presents good marketing opportunities.

Like everyone else (well, almost everyone) we have been unable to come together as a Club except for Club Days at the beginning of this season which were held at the Stirratt pitch. Both the adult and junior days were well attended. With the ending of Covid restrictions we are hoping to begin to run some social events including a dinner at the end of April.

Let’s hope 2022 is a little kinder to all of us. staff at Failand and as a cricket coach in the afternoons while the club would pay for flights and provide accommodation.

The overseas player was usually late teens from New Zealand, Australia or South Africa and often on a ‘gap year’ before further education or in some cases a professional cricket career.

With the support of the Head Grounds Men, particularly Ben Randell and Gary Owen, the visitors were warmly welcomed and all enjoyed a Bristol summer with the OBs community that they will always remember.

Unfortunately Covid and the associated travel restrictions, as well as changes to staffing at Failand, have made it impossible to invite anyone for the last few seasons and also this forthcoming season. We have therefore reluctantly come to the conclusion that the Overseas Player arrangement will finish.

It has been a very valuable

Nick Stibbs

Chairman

Overseas Cricketer

In the early 1990s the Cricket Club wanted to improve the level of cricket played and one of the solutions to achieve this was to invite a young overseas player to join the Club each season. A plan was agreed between Rick Sellers, Head of BGS sport, and Tim Parnell the Club Captain. The School would provide employment in the mornings with the ground

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arrangement that has benefited the School and OBs in many ways not least with the numbers of current BGS students playing cricket, hockey and rugby in the junior sections and in the senior teams.

The relationship between the School and the Sports Club is very important and essential in preserving Failand as a Memorial to Old Bristolians .

The Sports Club and Cricket Club would like to formally record their thanks to the School and Staff for all the support over the last 30 years.

Old Bristolians Westbury Cricket Club

Chairman’s report 2021 season

I am pleased to write this report with a full season of competitive league cricket behind us. Although the virus threat still hung over us and played a huge part in the season it is of huge credit to the club that no cases were linked to contacts made during games played at Failand. We must thank Nick Merrick for maintaining the risk assessments and keeping our facilities fully covid compliant as well as providing all the hospitality allowed.

Congratulations to the men’s 3rd team who have secured promotion to B&D division 9. Elsewhere it was a season of great escapes with both the 1st and 4th teams staging impressive performances towards the end of the season to retain their places in the WEPL Bristol & North Somerset and B&D 13th Divisions respectively. The 2nd team finished a respectable 6th in B&D division 3 above a very close bottom of the table.

The ladies’ team enjoyed more games this season with several close finishes, however the weather and some bad luck robbed them of a run in the cup.

The captains had to ensure covid compliant games took place with sanitising every six hours. They also had to get used to using the ‘Spond app’ to select and communicate their teams. Even with this new technology, brought in to make captains’ lives easier, there was still plenty of chasing to do and despite having over 80 men’s players signed up we had to cancel three 4th team games. Off the field the club ran another superb All Stars programme with more than sixty 5-8 year olds enduring the early season rain to be introduced to cricket core skills and have a great deal of fun at the same time. Thanks again go to Gareth and Clarissa Griffiths who ran the programme and all the work behind the scenes and on the day. There will be a new ECB youth programme next year as well as the All Stars programme.

The committee has been very active and it is good that everyone is staying in place next season. As we returned to normal there were plans for an end of season dinner but finding a venue was a problem and an awards night is to be held at the club house instead.

The club relies on its volunteers and next season this will be particularly important as the committee will need assistance to put on the new ECB Dynamo’s programme and do more to improve the cricket squares. The more volunteers the better so please get in touch if you can spare a few hours on a Friday night for the youth programmes or any other times for support jobs like scoring or wicket rolling.

Indoor pre-season training resumed in January in the BGS sports hall and there have been a lot of things going on in the close season to improve facilities, including a new bowling machine and refurbishment of the nets.

For more information, news and contact details please visit the Club website, www.obwcc.co.uk, direct or via the Old Bristolians’ websites.

Ross Dallimore

Chairman