Instonians Newsletter Wed 10th May 23 |
April/May - Recovery of pitches continues Pitch 1 re-seeded Pitch 2 – 1st May reseeding (approx.) Pitch 3 – 1st May reseeding (approx.) Pitch 4 re-seeded STAY OFF PLEASE!!
Discussions will take place next week with our grounds Consultant. How do we get Pitch 1 and other pitches back to their best? How we manage its workload to keep them all at their best? Mini Rugby The Mini Section ended the season with coaching at home. Followed by an end of season party, with bouncy castles, ice cream and a BBQ organised by the P4 coaches. A great way to end the season and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. All the coaches and parents expressed their deep gratitude to Michael Fairbanks as his tenure as mini convenor came to an end this week. P7 were on tour - @Michael Fairbanks - Mini Rugby Convenor might add some detail about that.
P7 P7 had a wonderful tour to Edinburgh where we played Edinburgh Accies, Stewart Melville and West of Scotland. Lots of friendships were formed
Youth Section The youth section their end of season BBQ/Info
U12s - Boys
Under 12 finished the season with a festival in Donaghadee. Where we won all games and only conceding 5 tries all evening. The season started with only 6 lads coming down to coaching. We ended up with over 30.
U12s - Girls
U12 girls also ended the season with training at home. Followed by the mini section end of season party. Huge thanks to all the organisers of the day. Huge thanks to Michael Fairbanks who has been an enormous help in the girls' first season as part of the Instonians family
U14s
On Saturday 29th April the U14 Coaches took over 50 boys made up of Instonians Club, RBAI school and Academy players to the Belfast Harlequins Festival. A massive well done to Michael, Darryl and the Coaching team who have made this happen. We put out two mixed teams named Instonians Purple and Instonians Gold. 15-minute Games
Instonians Purple vs Donaghadee WIN Instonians Gold vs CIYMS WIN Instonians Purple vs Quins Draw Instonians Gold vs Dromore WIN Instonians Purple vs CIYMS Draw Instonians Purple vs Instonians Gold (Instonians Gold WIN) Instonians Gold vs Quins Draw Instonians Purple vs Dromore WIN Instonians Gold vs ARDS WIN Instonians Purple vs ARDS Con by ARDS Instonians Gold vs Donaghadee Con by Dee
Massive Thank you to QUINS for hosting and to Trudy McCausland and Ruairi McCann for providing Gazebo shelter that was needed throughout the day.
U16s Season over.
U18s Season over.
U21s Academy Season over.
3rd & 4th XV Season over.
1st & 2nd XV Season over
Carrick 7s
Great effort to reach the final of the Carrick 7's. Tremendous rugby played all day and had a comfortable lead in the final but pipped by a young energetic Omagh side who never gave up.
Andrew McGrath won player of the tournament
Articles to read or listen to: It’s History And It May Never Be Done Again’ – Instonians On Their Perfect Season
Other information & future Events
Wed 10th May at 6pm – Clean-up of stores, containers etc.
Everyone welcome Bring shovels, brushes & plastic bags Contact Ken Keane if you can help 0774 040 8911
Thurs 11th May at 7.30pm - Rugby Club AGM
Report on this season. Player awards for Youth & Adult sections.
Thurs 11th May at 6.30pm – Question of Sport
Instonians Ground force – various evenings through May to Aug “Anybody interested in being part of the seahorse ground force team Nothing too serious and bit of funover the summer Contact myself anytime and I will add to the group Would be great to get people from youth, players, coaches and administrators alike” If interested contact Michael Pollock
Mon 15th May at 8.30pm – Grounds usage review with pitch consultant
All sections that use our pitch to be represented. Develop ideas on how to improve and maintain our pitches. Week commencing Mon 15th May - The Instonians sliders will be arriving Week commencing Mon 15th May – Senior Players 1 to 1s will start
Tues 16th May at 7pm – Season 22/23 Review & Season 23/24 Plan
Opportunity for the senior squad to meet up Review Season 22/23 Hear Plans for Season 23/24
Fri 19th May - Instonians Rugby Club End of Season Players Dinner and Awards
7pm - Pre Dinner Drinks 7.30pm - Player and Club Awards 8.15pm - 4 Course Dinner 9.30pm - Speeches with Guest Speaker Dress Code Club Blazer or Smart Casual. Get one of those last remaining places!!
Wed 24th May at 7pm – April/May Rugby Committee
Thurs 25th May at 7.30pm – Instonians Club AGM All sections attend Hear a report on 22/23 year Learn plans for 23/24 year Ask questions
Thurs 1st June at 1.30pm – Instonians Golf at Shandon Park Golf Club
Interested contact: Colin Nesbitt 0780 321 0214 John Bodel 0787 091 5587 Michael Howard 0776 842 8893
Other items still to be planned
Adult Team Photos
How to pay your 22/23 club membership
Hello all Please find link below for payment of your 2022/23 Club membership fees. Our apologies that this is so late in the season but due to a number of issues with the release of Instonians 1App, we have had to set up this one-off process to capture fees before the current season concludes. 1App will be up and running shortly and will be used from next season going forward. As you will all be aware, it takes a significant amount of money to keep our Club running and players on the pitch. Our promotion to AIL last season alone instantly added £25,000 in costs to the Club. Membership fees from players at Minis to 1st XV, Non-Playing Members, Pensioner members etc only cover a very small percentage of those costs. The rest is covered by sponsorship, fundraising activities, a small amount of shared bar profit etc.
Therefore, every single penny we raise in membership fees is crucial to ensure ongoing success across all of our teams. As such, we are all required to pay our way. No one is exempt. Please click of the link and select the Player Option to make payment. https://www.seahorsesminirugby.co.uk/senior-registration/
Please complete payment within 5 working days at the latest by Friday 7th April. Thanks Clem Boyd – Director of Rugby Peter Bradley – Chairman of Instonians Rugby Club Neil Gillies – Chairman of Instonians Executive Committee
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