The Pirates - Making An Enormous Contribution To The Community

If anyone needed any proof, then for those who were present at Penzance & Newlyn RFC's Annual General Meeting last Thursday, it was made wholly clear that the club continues to flourish with so much good work undertaken in all age groups, and in a variety of ways. The club offers and delivers so much to the community, which is clearly deserving of wholesome praise.

In his opening address, the club's President, Robin Turner said that the club was at a watershed. The first XV have made it into the Championship and the British and Irish cup, which are both mouth-watering prospects, and he was looking forward to seeing the Pirates squad take up these challenges.

He also mentioned the determination and immense contribution made by Dicky Evans, as without his efforts the Pirates would have been confined to rugby backwaters 15 years ago with no hope of getting anywhere near the National leagues.

Mr. Turner was also delighted with the efforts made with regard to the Pirates Amateurs, who have been in existence and played regular rugby for four years. Yes, there was frustration that two applications to enter the league system had been rebuffed, but with a fresh approach now being made to both the CRFU and the RFU it is hoped that progress can be made to enter the league system from September, 2010, to provide a future for the club's youth players.

It was also reported that the Pirates Colts (who were called Mounts Bay Colts prior to 1974) and the Mini-Juniors are now all one. Mr. Turner commented: "Youth development is a one stop shop and we are now a rugby club holding the RFU's Seal of Approval. This means that we have signed up to a continuous process of improvement both on and off the pitch."

It was also reported that this year will be the first time that the club has managed to have coaching qualification courses held at the Mennaye. Courses for referees will follow, and another bonus is that the development of women's rugby is happening now.

Thanks were also expressed to the "huge army of volunteers" performing duties every day of every week, making sure the players have various needs in place to play the game. It was, however, felt that facilities needed upgrading and it was important to start making certain improvements for the benefit of our future generations of rugby players

Remarking at the end of his first year as club Chairman, Sid Thomas commented that

"It quickly became apparent that we have some excellent people involved with running the Club, from employees to our brilliant volunteers, culminating with the 'top man' Dicky Evans, without whose vision and business acumen we would struggle to exist.

It is important however to frequently remind ourselves, that any operation needs to be run in a professional and business like manner. We need to be prudent with our expenditure and we need to maximise our use of the clubhouse in order to increase our income.

One disappointing factor this past year has been the lack of members using the clubhouse facilities, so I would urge you all, when you can, to support any functions held at the club and make more use of it's comfortable surroundings."

Mr. Thomas also reported a major bonus was that the club had moved forward by securing a new 50 years lease on the Mennaye Field and the Nursery, and he also extended a welcome to the new coaching team of Chris Stirling, Harvey Biljon and Ian Davies, whose enthusiasm and professionalism is already rubbing off on others.

Club Administratior, Terry Drew, reported on another "eventful period" during the club's history, highlighting the meeting held at St. John's Hall in January, when Dicky Evans presented a new financial initiative which received a positive response, with thanks also sincerely expressed to those who have responded.

The 1st team, the Cornish Pirates, came sixth in National One, which was below expectation, but there were excellent wins recorded especially at Bedford and London Welsh, and a number of players received international recognition - a high being Rhodri McAtee winning a gold medal as a member of the Wales team that won the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai.

The Pirates Amateurs were congratulated on finishing top of their Merit Table, but Mr. Drew was also disappointed that the application to join the league system had been rejected for a second time.

He hoped that the Amateurs would be successful in their latest application, which is being made by them forming their own club. Scott Dugdale, Paul Greaves and others were thanked for their efforts made on behalf of the Amateurs. Congratulations were expressed to the Pirates Colts, who are nowadays under the new umbrella of the 'Youth Section'. They won the county plate final by winning against Falmouth in a final played at Hayle.

There was praise also from Mr. Drew for Wendy Nicholas (Chairman) and all the hard working officials and coaches in the Youth Section, and to the various Mini-Junior teams who had achieved quite considerable success. Geoff Read, the club's Treasurer/Development Manager, was also praised for his efforts, with particular reference to his work that led to the club receiving the highly prized Seal of Approval.

The Cornish Pirates Learning Zone continues as one of the leading establishments of its type in the country, the Squash Club is blossoming and attracted new members, the 'Westholme' clubhouse is used by various groups such as the Penzance Bridge Club, the Rotary, Easy Breathing, Penzance Racing Pigeon, West Cornwall Stamp, the Heart Foundation, the Twinning Association, and a newly formed Pool team. The point was strongly made, and it is easy to see why, that the Pirates are very much a community supportive organisation.

Making his seventeenth AGM report, Geoff Read thanked those who responded to help the club and use the facilities, him delighted that beer sales had held their own considering the many difficulties experienced by others all over the country. He also thanked the many volunteers, including the 'Car Boot' and the 'Tea Bar' ladies, and those who help with maintenance of the grounds at both the Mennaye and at Camborne.

With regard to 'Westholme' and the Mennaye he felt it was important to "keep our rugby home afloat" and urged people to also support the Amateurs. This was especially important now that Mounts Bay RFC had folded, as income previously provided on their match days would be missed.

In her report as Chairman of the Youth Section, Wendy Nicholas advised that they had made rugby available for over 220 members with over 160 fixtures to arrange which keeps their band of volunteers incredibly busy. There are often over 150 children to feed after matches on a Sunday with the larger fixtures nearing 300!

The section continues to set itself new goals as a group, and are proud to have achieved the Seal Of Approval from the RFU in a year when the section was also presented with the RFU President's award for the section increasing its number of active volunteers. The open evening held is being used as a template for best practice throughout the RFU.

Grants have been awarded from Our Money Your Dream and Grass Roots Rugby, and the section can now fund those volunteers and members that want to go on courses, which has already proved successful and beneficial for a good number.

A highlight for the Penzance & Newlyn RFC Youth section this past year was when Luke Cowan - Dickie was selected for and made a big impact for the England U16s team, whilst 15 players represented Cornwall and two of the U16s represented the South West against the USA.

Before the meeting concluded Rod Coward - CEO of the Cornish Pirates, Chris Stirling - High Performance Manager, and Harvey Biljon - Backs Coach, were introduced to and answered a number of questions from the floor.

All in all, during what are difficult times for many, it was clear at the evening's end that the Pirates from the minis to the top have much to be proud of. Challenges will always have to be faced, but if the will and passion that has somehow stood the test of time can continue to be applied, then the future can surely be bright.

Officers elected at the AGM were as follows:-
President - Robin Turner, Chairman - Sid Thomas, Treasurer - Geoff Read, Committee (3) - Nicky Brooks, Scott Dugdale, Wendy Nicholas.