A very busy Sunday - and cracking weather - to look forward to. Under 11s are on parking - please support the parents who are volunteering.

Kit There is a small amount of kit left for sale in the clubhouse. There will be another small order going in later this week to refresh the stock; socks, shorts and playing tops. Please also bring in any old kit for second hand sale. This is open in the clubhouse from 9.15 until 11.30 this week, so get there early to get your kit. You can always order the kit online as well. Buy your Wimbledon Rugby Club kit by clicking on this link

Subs Thank you those of you who have paid already - much appreciated. For those of you struggling with GMS please see Nick the treasurer at the clubhouse on Sunday - he'll sort all of your GMS woes out. Details of how to join Wimbledon Rugby Club are here.

DBS checks Sophie and Kate will be at the clubhouse this Sunday from 9am. Please make sure you see them if you are due renewal or new to coaching (so need a new check doing). Any coach with an expired DBS (or if new, not started a check) after the end of September will not be allowed to coach (and no-one wants that to happen).

A larger, downloadable version of the DBS info is here. Link to full list of documents you can bring for a DBS check: https://www.gov.uk/criminal-record-check-documents

Here's your pitch plan

What an amazing start to the season we had last Sunday (even though technically it was pre-season). The weather was gorgeous, the rugby less rusty than you would think and there were smiles everywhere.

Everyone should be back this Sunday and we hope to see as many new faces as possible - we proudly never turn people away. We have lots of new coaches stepping up and the excitement can only grow as we head towards the rugby world cup.

Please help get the subs paid as quickly as you can - Nick the treasurer will be at the clubhouse on Sunday morning, running a subs/registration clinic to make paying as easy as possible. Also, Kate and Sophie will be running a DBS check table for those coaches and first aiders who need either renewing or a check completing as they are new in-role. They'll be there from 9am and the documents you need to bring are listed here: http://wmrfc.co.uk/childprot

Everything practical you need to know about joining Wimbledon Rugby Club is here: http://wmrfc.co.uk/howtojoin

We ask that you sign up to receive occasional club news. Please add your email to the list here.

With more people coming, parking properly, in the right places and listening to the parent volunteers is even more important. Please follow all the details as below and don't park on private roads.

The adult 1st XV have had a fantastic pre-season training session, so if you fancy watching top quality club rugby pop down to Barham Road this Saturday for a 3pm KO against old rivals London Irish Wild Geese.

Finally, that all-important pitch plan

Minis and Youth rugby starts the new season on Sunday 1st September 2019. We look forward to welcoming existing players and new friends to our club for the forthcoming 'World Cup' season. We start rugby at 10am every Sunday, from 1st September 2019 to April 2020 with two weeks off for Christmas.

We are south west London's biggest, friendliest club. We’re proud of our 155 year heritage, but old-school we are not. Wimbledon is the new breed of rugby club, we're not tied to a specific school like some other local clubs and are thrilled that we have kids from over 100 different schools playing their rugby with us on Sundays. Wimbledon RFC is particularly popular with kids and parents from Australia, NZ and South Africa.

• we welcome boys and girls from reception age all the way to U18
• boys and girls play together up to and including U11s
• then we have boys-only squads from U12s to U18
• and girls squads at U13, U15 and U18
• we are proud to offer Inclusive Rugby for kids with SENs at no cost to play
• older rugby can be enjoyed at U21, four adult mens teams and a very successful womens team.

Here's how you pay your membership and join the club

Full details about membership is on this page.
For new joiners, you can get in touch with age group managers and coaches here or just pitch up on a Sunday morning and try us out for a week or two for free. All kids in the U9s squad and older must have a gumshield (which are readily available online (eg Opro, Amazon) or Sports Direct etc).

Links to the laws for each age group and how the age groups are organised

You can see the regulations for each age group on this page.

Youth fixtures (U12-U18s) have been arranged to accommodate the school rugby season, to maximise playing opportunities for kids. There's a waterfall tournament in the new year for the age groups. Minis fixtures (U7-U11s) are as brilliantly organised as ever thanks to Damon - he asks for some help as the job is better shared between two - if you can help please email fixtures@wmrfc.co.uk. They will be updated on this site soon. The under 6s train at home all season as they get to learn and love our game.

Enjoyment is the main thing
Making sure our kids have fun is the key. We're big supporters of the England Rugby Quilter Kids First approach and fully subscribe to TREDS:

IMPORTANT: CAR PARKING
Please park according to our Parking policy. Specifically DO NOT BLOCK ACCESS TO RESIDENTS' PROPERTIES OR CAUSE BOTTLENECKS THAT COULD CAUSE AMBULANCES TO BE DELAYED.

Also
More details on how to join, about the club and links to England Rugby age grade information and coaching.

A full afternoon of rugby with some of the best in Surrey to watch. The new Wimbledon RFC BBQ menu being launched too! Come on down for a beer or two. Rugby from 12 noon. Fun all day!

So we made it. We've had the largest number of kids ever at the club (560!) this season plus we hosted two brilliant festivals. Great successes have been recorded through all the age groups both in terms of skills and participation, as well as results. The girls squads have been especially fantastic with cup wins and county/national representation for some of the players. If you want to play girls rugby you really should come to Wimbledon - spread the word! We play modern-style, fast, free-running rugby at Wimbledon where skills and style count.

Thanks to all the parents for your support and a big thanks to all those volunteering as coaches, managers and helping run the club on the committee.

We'll be back Sunday 1st September 2019 - 10am sharp.

If you have time (just a couple of hours a month is all it takes) to volunteer please put yourself forward. As well as a new minis chair, there a few other roles (such as child protection, social, comms, school liaison etc). If you are interested in finding out more please get in touch with Paul Goss (chair@wmrfc.co.uk). More info on the roles are here: http://wmrfc.co.uk/node/1643.

Pitch plan

Only one game at home for the U12’s against a touring side and the U15’s have their Chairman Waterfall Cup final against Warlingham this weekend away.

A big welcome to Ruth, the new club steward. Please say hi when you're next in the clubhouse.

Parking is u7s.

A reminder about volunteering and committee roles for your club... with Jon Hall moving away from Wimbledon we are looking for a new minis chair, and a few other roles. If you are interested in finding out more please get in touch with Paul Goss (chair@wmrfc.co.uk). More info here: http://wmrfc.co.uk/node/1643

Pitch plan

Rugby doesn't get bigger than this. Wimbledon RFC are second in the London & South East Premier League to local rivals Sutton & Epsom RFC. There's just three points in it. Winner of the league gets automatic promotion. You get the picture!

Please, please come and support the club this afternoon. Bring your kids in their Wimbledon kit. The sunshine and beer is booked. If you can be there for 2.30 for a guard of honour, fab. If not, kick off is 3pm. Dont miss this. The whole club would appreciate your support today.

We are lucky to have a good number of parents volunteer on our club committee. Without them there would literally be no club for the 500+ kids to enjoy their rugby at.

We are actively seeking a handful of new parents to take part in the running of the club.

People from all backgrounds help run the club. What connects us all is a desire to help the club run smoothly so the kids have the best time possible playing rugby. You definitely don't need to be a 'rugby' nut or have played rugby. A desire to help and volunteer is key. Our work covers managing facilities and pitches at the club, equipment the kids use in training, kit, matches that we schedule for the kids, organising coaching and ref courses, summer camps, tours, child welfare, cake sales and social events, parking, website and comms, RFU registrations, our netball club and girls rugby, volunteering and schools liaison...

The urgent need is to find a new minis chair (that's an individual to oversee u5 to u11 age groups)

Our current minis chair (and u8 head coach), Jon Hall, is moving away from the area this summer. As a result we are looking for a new minis chair. The role requires a commitment of two short evening meetings a month during the season and some email and other occasional work.

Other roles we would like help with are

1. Webmaster to help Lu (who also leads our incredibly successful girls rugby teams). Some knowledge of Drupal and basic HTML helpful
2. Social secs - a couple of people to take over from the sterling work that Frances and Zoe have been doing for a few years
3. Comms officer - someone to help do weekly updates on this website and run the new weekly email that we're setting up from next season. An ability to write with few typos (!) and basic design knowledge would be ideal
4. Secretary for the committee - someone to make sure people know when the meetings are, write up notes and keep the meetings going.
5. Child welfare to support Sophie and Kate. On-boarding new coaches, running DBS checks, approving tours and making sure touch-line behaviours are appropriate
6. Schools liaison officer - along with our New Breed of Rugby Club positioning (more on this next season) we are hoping to find someone to keep our club front of mind with local schools and open up opportunities

If you're interested in finding out more or throwing your hat in the ring for any of these roles please get in touch with either Paul Goss on 07702 564647 or email youth@wmrfc.co.uk or Richard Castle on 07971 278717 or email secretary@wmrfc.co.uk. Closing date for the minis chair role is Tuesday 23 April 2019.

Let's start with last week's minis festival: thank you to everyone who contributed, especially Woody and Scott for a great day out for the kids.

We are taking photos of all head coaches, managers and exec committee members on Sunday

Please follow the order below and it should run smoothly:

10.15 - Minis & Youth Exec - those involved for next season please
10.45 - U6 (including U6 for next season please, so Ben Smith & ? As manager)
11.00 - U10 & U11
11.15 - U13 through to Colts please.

We will sort out those that miss this early next season I suspect so do not worry if you're not at the club on Sunday. Carl, one of the Colts fathers, is taking the photos so please help him by being on time.

Pitch plan

A huge welcome to our guests this Sunday: Rosslyn Park, Whitgiftians, Old Midwhitgiftians, Sutton & Epsom, Guildfordians, Warlingham, Windsor, Kingston and Battersea Ironsides. An even larger number of clubs joining us than for the Autumn Festival. Fantastic!

It's highly likely that you won't be able to park at the club (unless the ground dries up quickly). So if you can avoid coming down Barham Road to the club please do and park in one of the green-shaded roads below...

Please also read and follow our parking policy, and listen to any parking instructions you are given - and respect that everyone marshalling the parking are parent volunteers.

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

Come and play the A-Plan Insurance passing challenge up by the clubhouse for a chance to win prizes.

Here's the pitch plan

A note from Sophie Castle, Wimbledon's child protection officer
Remember, everyone (parent, 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.

Or if you prefer, a note on bad parental behaviour from Brian Moore
[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