In our last update we had a better understanding of what our 2020 rugby season might look like. Following announcements from the Government around Covid 19 in Level 2,  New Zealand  Rugby with guidance from Sport NZ compiled  a PLAY it Safe: Return to Rugby plan. The Plan is  over three  phases being Prepare to Train, Prepare to Play and Play.

Since 14th May Clubs have been required to provide Health and Safety plans  to the their Provincial Unions to check and approve. These plans have covered   Training, Changing Rooms, Clubrooms and Match Days. To get an idea of what is required you can check out the NZ Rugby Covid 19 page.

Our primary focus has been the Return to Training plan so that we  would be in a position to start training once we got the go ahead from NZ Rugby.  This happened on  Tuesday this week  in bubbles of 10 and from lunchtime Friday 29 May this can increase to bubbles of 100.  CFC  has  gained approval from CRFU for SENIOR teams to recommence training once they are  ready and feel safe to do so. We still have some work to do to get our JUNIOR teams final approval but that is not far away .

The Junior committee are doing a great job at getting the last of the information through. It is no easy task compiling all the information required for thirty five  or so teams so please be patient. We have plenty of time to practice before we actually start to play. There are strict guidelines to follow such as hygiene and contact tracing so players, coaches, managers, parents, supporters.  Please ensure you follow these guidelines when advised. All junior coaches & managers should have received an email update yesterday. If you did not please contact the junior committee cfc_juniors@outlook.com. They are seeking  a coach or two to look after one of our U13 teams. If you can help please let the committee know on the same email address.

A big thanks also to the  Junior Committee for  the new  Christchurch Football Club  mobile App. You can download our app free by going to the APP Store or Google Play and searching for Christchurch Football Club. Once downloaded remember to set up and allow your alerts/notifications. This will be great for keeping up with all things CFC. Here’s a link to some basic info.

When will rugby start  ?   The earliest planned date rugby will start is 20th June. This is still subject to final clearance from NZ Rugby and the CRFU.  It is also possible that  not all competitions will start 20th June. One thing we do know  is that the club season will need to end in Canterbury by 26th September  2020 .

Simon Kneebone Update :

It’s with great excitement and anticipation that we head into a three week “prepare to play” window with an anticipated start date. Players and coaching groups are working hard to understand the new way of doing things with “bubbles”,  contact tracing and strict health and safety guidelines to adhere to.

The new “management” plan has given us very clear guidelines to be able to train, and also to play, so rugby may look a little different come kick off. We’ll know more on what game day looks like when NZR release the match day guidelines. To summarize where the Club is at with what we do know…

• Most if not all senior grades are due to start competition on June 20th 2020.
• Pre-Season games window is 13th June 2020. Games TBA
• Proposed season finals dates for some senior teams is 12/13 Sept 2020
• Christchurch is pleased and excited to advise that all seven senior sides will contest their respective grades in 2020
• Clubrooms will be opened and looking forward to members socializing again under the social gatherings guidelines
• New IDME is working well with contact tracing requirements

Overall the lockdown period has been challenging for all players in  staying motivated  and to continue to train. With information and timelines changing weekly it has been a welcomed announcement that we are underway.

Men’s Premier Coaches Brendon Nolan , Kieran Coll and Simon Kneebone have had the squad training this week and getting the players back into the feel of rugby. Some sore bodies would suggest that the sessions have been meaningful.

Jarrett McGregor has returned “home” and is taking on the Premier Reserve side in 2020. Jarrett is looking forward to getting this group together and planning for the season ahead. Duncan Hortin and Graham Mitchell will do the Management Duties. If you are looking for a great culture and some good footy then Premier Reserves is for you. Get in touch and get involved.

Michael Borthwick and Rob Benton have got the Senior (Div 3) side looking to conquer another championship. With legends like CT (Corey Tamou) lining up again, the season looks to be “all on”. Newly minted Club Captain Henry Graham is very keen to get the lockdown gym body on the track and rip it up!

Classics are working hard. Dan  Vedder and Jeremy are consolidating numbers at present. If you haven’t quite got the pace or skill of Premier Reserve, for a fantastic environment with great social fun, then let Dan or Jeremy know and join the “Classics.”

Premier Colts have been working hard over the lockdown with coaches and players completing “mini challenges”  across fitness and skills whilst building an awesome culture. This team will be 60% “new to Club or returning juniors.” Some outstanding young men keen to start their CFC journey. Matt Mustchin has returned to the coaching ranks and teamed up with backs specialist Mike  Newell and forwards guru Tom  Meates. This looks to be a young and exciting team for 2020. Sponsorship is important for teams to help them with cost of playing during the season. If you are looking for a team to sponsors and help create a winning environment, they would love to hear from you . It would be awesome to support the future stars of the Club.

Colts Reserve or as we know them the “Red Socks” are primed and chomping at the bit to get amongst it, ably and expertly lead again by tireless coaches Tim  Brocket & Nigel Mahan . The team are excited about their prospects in 2020 following the outstanding  final they played  in 2019.

The legend  Steph Te Ohaere Fox has joined  coaching powers with Steve Bree in the Women’s Premier team. Some new exciting ladies have joined the team as well as the bulk of the Championship winning team from 2019. This group looks ready to go for the four peat and have another amazing year. Congrats to Steph and new manager Ange who are expecting a new bundle of joy shortly. We also must acknowledge the massive amount of work and support that out-going manager Lee Stanley put into this group over the past  six years. Lee has  made an outstanding contribution to this group  and I’m sure we will see her on the sidelines supporting the team in 2020. Thanks for all your hard work Lee. All the stick that you gave the RDM will be missed.

Mark Thompson (Chairman of the Board):

The Board of CFC along with CFC World Co continue to work hard on the operational aspects of the club ,  where and how we can generate income and where we can reduce our costs.  I would like to thank those that have put in an enormous amount of their time to do this.  In particular Tony Hussey, Toby Giles, Noel Walton and Tim Murdoch.  Our financial position remains precarious but with rugby now a light at the end of a much shorter tunnel we are feeling more optimistic.  We would ask members, where they are able to continue to pay their club membership subscription as this (along with bar revenue) is about the only income we can generate right now.

One area that has been pushed down the list of priorities since we went into lockdown is the joint development with the bowling club.  At the time of lockdown , we had obtained our first stage resource consent and were looking to firm up some tenders from a number of suitable contractors.  Once we had that and could better determine the costs of our development, we would firm up the external plans and seek resource consent for the roof on our indoor bowling green.  Firm numbers would also show us where we might be short from a funding perspective and/or if we needed to compromise on our design at all.  We continue to build the financial case for the move to shared premises.

The contractors we approached have continued to work on their designs and costings during lockdown and the joint club working party under Chairman  Bob Stewart   are due to meet again next  Tuesday with a view to progressing this along similar timeframes as we were originally  working on.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the side-line soon.

Mark.