With just over 1,300 kids and their parents coming this Sunday this will be our biggest Autumn Rugby festival yet! Welcome to all our visitors and we hope you'll have a fab day.

We expect to have some parking on our pitches via the Preston Road entrance. As ever, once these spaces have gone they have gone!

A big welcome to all the teams from across South West London and North Surrey.

We'll be open from 8.30am with bacon butties and coffees to kick-start your day. Referee briefings take pace by the relevant age group control tents at 9.30am, there is a central First Aid briefing at 9.45am and matches kick-off at 10am sharp. Please arrive early as we must start on time!

Parking

In short, you'll need to be an early-arriver to park in one of the two club carparks. A few permits have been issued for visiting head coaches/kit carriers (only - and once the spaces are gone, they're gone, sorry). If you have a blue badge there will also be parking at the club, please show yours to the marshalls at the junction of Copse Hill and Barham Road.

Once the club's carparks are full you will need to park on the public roads (marked green on the map). The later you arrive the longer your walk will be to the club. When walking you might find Google Maps helpful to navigate your way to the clubhouse (type in Wimbledon Rugby Club or postcode SW20 0ET).

There will be parent volunteers in hi-viz to help make the parking as stress-free as possible. Please listen to any parking instructions you are given - and respect that everyone marshalling the parking are parent volunteers. Wimbledon RFC is situated in the middle of a residential area with some of the roads being private roads so if you are asked not to park somewhere, please listen. The same goes with cones, if you see a street with cones on, don't park there. There are new privately operated parking control schemes on the private roads around the club. The neighbours report cars parked on these roads and fines are being issued we understand. You have been warned!

Anyone blocking access to homes or restricting ambulance access will be reported to the police.

If you need directions to Wimbledon Rugby Football Club click here

The programme for Sunday can be downloaded here. We are using Tournify for fixtures and they are available here.
Note: fixtures are subject to change up until the start of the festival so keep checking for any updates.

There's a Tournify app which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store here or from the Google Play Store here . In the Tournify app search for Wimbledon Minis Rugby Festival.

Here's the pitch plan - note: a larger copy of the pitch plan is in the programme, downloadable above.

MESSAGE FOR THE U10s
In an update to the pitch plan we are using the area marked U6 TRAINING as a pitch for your matches. This is to help keep your fixtures within the usual 10am to 1pm window. Tournify shows matches scheduled for this area as "Extra Pitch (was U6 training)"

Huge thanks to our programme sponsors

The festival has been made possible thanks to the generosity of our programme sponsors. Please support them if at all possible.
Trinity School, Life Kitchens, Langhans Brasserie, Harlem NYIT restaurant, Whitgift, Kroll, Nuffield Health | Parkside Hospital, Direct Dental, Homefield Prep School, Reston Waste, Robert Holmes & Co.

A key message from Sophie Castle, Wimbledon's child safeguarding officer

Remember, everyone (parents, coaches and players alike) must observe the RFU rules and spirit of play...namely

1. Support positively and applaud good play (even if it's not your team!)
2. Respect officials and opposition players
3. Remember that children are playing to have fun
4. Behave as good role models on the touchline
5. Congratulate the opposition and make their supporters welcome

Bad behaviour by players will not be tolerated
The London Society of Rugby Football Union Referees has announced a zero-tolerance approach to backchat and appealing from players during matches. This approach is wholly endorsed by Wimbledon RFC and all players should expect to be warned and then penalised for instances of arm waiving and backchat/challenging refereeing decisions during games.

With the new tackle height laws now in force for u9 to u11s giving our referees much more to observe on the pitch, keeping calm on the touchlines is especially important. As Ben Smith, our chair of minis rugby remarks on page 4 of today's programme: "What we don't need is hundreds of "bunker reviews" popping up across Beverley Meads throughout the day. So please remember that the referees are coaches and the coaches are parents. They will all do their best but please remember if the pro referees are struggling to get it right all the time you can be sure we will make our fair share of errors too."

Bad behaviour by parents will not be tolerated. I use this quote from Brian Moore every year as the message is key: [Children] do not always recognise a general expression of disappointment and believe it is directed at them. Head shaking, rolling of the eyes, looking away, kicking the ground – any of these can discourage children, and exhortations like “come on” and “sort it out” are as practically useless from the touchline as they are on the pitch. Full article is here

Hope you enjoy the festival and remember TREDS

Teamwork • Respect • Enjoyment • Discipline • Sportsmanship

It's been fantastic to see all the happy faces back playing rugby. Welcome back to rugby friends old and new.

Next week (1 October) sees the first Wimbledon Minis Rugby Festival of the season. Please look out for volunteer requests to help with cake baking, parking, raffle prizes, pitch marshalling and all the other jobs that need doing as we welcome 1200 kids from clubs locally and further away in Surrey.

Onto this Sunday. A relatively quiet day with most people at home. The key things for you to know this week are...

By Friday evening (22 September) - Please consider supporting your club by buying an advert in the programme for our Autumn Minis Rugby Festival. Taking place on 1 October, we will be hosting 1,200 kids from 12 different clubs (Esher, Cobham, Warriors etc). A great opportunity to promote your business to the parents of those kids playing. Just £250 for a full page. Contact benbrown885@gmail.com by EOP on Friday to book your slot.

Sunday (24 September) - Minis and Youth training from 10am for most, a few start a little later as advised by managers. New and second-hand kit is available for sale. Please bring any old kit so it can be resold. The under 5/6s are running parking and the cake sale stall. Please support both. Remember to pick up your Members Card from the clubhouse if you haven’t done so yet (there will be a table run by volunteers).

And if you haven't paid your subs yet, please do! Too many subs are still outstanding. All fees can be spread over two months if that helps and your team manager is here to help you if you are struggling to pay. Every year we support parents who need help.

Also this Sunday: DBS checks - Sophie will be at the club on Sunday and this is the last Sunday to get your check done. After this Sunday, any coach without a current DBS check, or a renewal/new DBS check that is in process, WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO COACH.

Adult rugby update The Men’s First XV and Women’s XV both had important wins last Sunday. For the men it was a big bonus point win and for the women it means their streak of being unbeaten in 2023 continues. Well done to all concerned. Both teams are away this weekend.

Volunteer update Thanks to Scott and Tayo we have found our new fixtures secretaries. This means we will be able to run minis fixtures and festivals from next season. A huge thank you to both for stepping up.

However, we are yet to have names put forward to help Sophie Castle with Child Safeguarding. THIS IS NOW BECOMING CRITICAL. Please put your hand up to help - the time needed for this role is not that significant but the impact on the club is huge. Full training and support will be offered and Sophie is still staying in role so there will be two people to cover the work that needs doing.

Similarly we are still waiting on offers of help for…

First Aid Officer - to organise two First Aid courses during the season and make sure the First Aid kits are well-stocked

Treasurer/membership Secretary - to help administer our subs

Two club events to look forward to

Saturday 14 October - Club President’s Lunch. As we welcome Bury St Edmunds to play our Men’s First XV everyone is welcome to enjoy a delicious pre-match meal. Just £40 per head, sit down at 1pm. Email ahodgo@hotmail.com if you want to come.

Thursday 16 November - London Lunch. The club takes over a bar off the Strand and hosts our annual celeb-starred lunch. This year we are proud to have England legend Sarah Hunter as our VIP guest. 12 noon until 5pm. Tickets are £100 per head (or why not book at table of 10). Booking information here: events@greyunicorn.com

Pitch Plan

Everyone at home this weekend, with friendly matches for the U18G (v Harlequins Amateurs), U16G (v S&E) and U15B (v S&E). The U12G and U14G also welcome S&E for joint training sessions. A big welcome to all our visitors. Please listen to our volunteer car parking marshals and follow our parking policy.

Adult rugby update
1st XV: The men's first XV had a tough game away at Barnes RFC last Saturday, going down 59-22 (on the plus side, their opening two games have been against teams that finished 2nd and 3rd in the table last year). This Saturday, they are back at home against Westcombe Park (3pm kick off, U11M on ball boy/girl duties). The women's XV open their league campaign on Sunday at home against Medway Ladies. Do try and come down to the club to support the teams. The bar will be open!

Pitch Plan

For the many parents already members of the club most weekly comms are now handled by Spond. Your age group managers will make sure you have the relevant code to access your group.

A big welcome to new joiners and people wanting to try us out
However, as we are at the beginning of a new season though, there will be many others who are thinking about trying Wimbledon out for their boys and girls. We are very welcoming of new players. More details about the club and how to join are here: https://wmrfc.co.uk/howtojoin

In short, if you want to try us out, just pop down! Training starts at 10am sharp every Sunday and when you arrive (try and be pitchside by 9.45) just speak to one of the coaches who will be setting up or the team manager and say hi. For under 9s and above your child will need a mouth guard. You are welcome to try us out for a week or two for free to see if you like what we offer.

Also this Sunday
New and second-hand kit is available for sale. Please bring any old kit so it can be resold. The under 8s are running parking and the cake sale stall. Please support both. Remember to pick up your Members Card from the clubhouse (there will be a table run by volunteers). And if you haven't paid your subs yet, please do!

NOTE: DBS checks - Sophie will not be at the club on Sunday but will be there the following Sunday (17th). Let's get all DBS checked wrapped up asap please.

Other news

Friday (8 September) - The opening game of the Rugby World Cup (France v New Zealand no less!) will be shown at the clubhouse. Come and join us for a fab game with beers. An ideal time to try out your new Members Card! Bar is open from 6pm. Kick off is 8.15pm

Saturday (9 September) - The Men's First XV are away playing Barnes. Another local derby, KO is 3pm. Why not pop down and support the lads in their second game in the National Leagues. The team have a home game the following week (16th) vs Westcombe Park.

Next Sunday (17 September) - Club BBQ. Following on from last year's brilliant BBQ, Steve is putting on another feast after training in a fortnight's time. Book your tickets for the BBQ here. Tickets are £17.50/£7.50 (plus booking fee) but there's also a Pay What You Can option as we want everyone to be able to join us.

From the 2023-24 season Wimbledon RFC have introduced a Members Card which every parent/adult player/social member needs to have as part of being a paid-up member of the club. The Terms and Conditions that apply to this card are uploaded here. If you have any questions please ask at the bar or get in touch with Scott Roberts or Matt Pickin.

We wish all past players and parents a big welcome back to the new season at Wimbledon RFC. An especially warm welcome is extended to all those who have moved into the area as well as those who are trying us out for the first time.

Rugby re-starts at 10am on Sunday 3rd September for most of the age groups. Some of the older youth teams start a little later. We are reverting to our traditional start time of 10am so we can all enjoy a catch up over a cup of tea, coffee or beer and a bite to eat after training - made even better with our new Members Card (gives you 10% off at the bar!).

The season continues until the end of April 2024 and there's a full schedule of at-home training, fixtures, festivals, cups and tournaments to keep everyone entertained.

All the info you need to register and pay your membership fees are updated on our How to Join page, here

A pitch plan will be added here soon.

From this season all parental communications have been centralised through Spond. Your age group managers will give you the code to get added. A major update about the plans for the new season was sent to all parents who have signed up to their age group Spond groups. The headlines of that message were:

• The new start time for the majority of age groups is 10am
• All coaches (not just head coaches) and team managers pre-season meeting at 7.30pm, Thursday 31st August at the clubhouse
• Information for all parents about the new tackle height laws
• Notice of the club's AGM on Wednesday 6 September 2023 at 8pm
• Need for volunteers to step-up
• Reminder that your annual membership fees are now due
• National League rugby returns to Wimbledon RFC, Saturday 2 September, 3pm KO
• New season BBQ after training on Sunday 17th September
• The Wimbledon RFC City Lunch, Thursday 16th November, 2023

If you are not yet signed up to Spond then please get in touch with your age group manager - https://wmrfc.co.uk/contacts

Wishing you all a most enjoyable season - especially as it is a Rugby World Cup season!

On Sunday 14th May, the majority of the parents and kids with the minis section of Wimbledon RFC came down to the club to celebrate everyone's hard work and successes.

We were lucky enough to secure England legend Brian Moore to hand out the prizes and it was great to see so many smiles from all the players happy to see their mates once again.

It was also a day to thank our many volunteers. We have over 150 coaches and team managers at the club and we are very grateful for all their hard work through the long season.

And we owe a huge thanks to those that made our end-of-season celebration so special:

• Geoff Bouchier, Nick Jacques and the U9s who did all the organisation
• Belinda Moore for the idea for the day and helping with background info. Also for bringing Brian to give out the prizes. Huge thanks to both of you
• Steve Novak and his team for all the graft on the BBQ and music. Also to Steve for his brilliant MC-work on making the awards such fun
• Manu and his crew behind the bar. The sunshine put extra pressure on the bar that's for sure!

See you all back for the new season of rugby on 3rd September - 9.30am prompt!

U10's head coach Jar O'Brien receiving his thank you gift from Brian Moore

It has been fantastic to have had a 'normal' season without any health dramas or significant cancellations due to weather. A big congrats to all the boys and girls who have worn the Wimbledon Rugby colours with pride. From 18 months old to 60 and beyond over 700 people have made this a season to remember.

The minis will celebrate their season on 14 May with a big BBQ and party. Make sure your managers know you'll be coming so we can make plans.

We start the new season at 9.30am on Sunday 3 September 2023. Wishing you all a happy summer break.

Pitch plan for Sunday

There are just two weeks left of the season and this Sunday the minis are all away at Dorking for a festival. For those at home (and a big welcome to Guildfordians and Old Cranelighans) the pitch plan is below.

Remember: the minis end of season party is on Sunday 14 May 2023. The fun kicks off at 1pm.

Pitch plan for Sunday

After a week's break we are back for the final 3 Sundays of the season. Sad times indeed (the new season starts on Sunday 3rd September 2023).

We have a couple of the youth teams away on tour this weekend and some of the older groups have ended the season already. Everyone else is at home.

Next Sunday (23rd) the minis are at Dorking for a festival, then everyone is at home for training on 30th April (the final weekend of the season).

The minis end of season party is on Sunday 14 May 2023. The fun kicks off at 12 noon. Details to follow soon.

Pitch plan for Sunday