2015 Presidents Welcome

Welcome to 2015.

Now for those who don’t know me (i.e. most of you!) an introduction. My name is Tom Parker and I am fortunate to be President of the Bombers for 2015. I have only been with the Bombers for a couple of years, with my sons Patrick (Grade 5) and Tom (Year 1 Auskick) playing at the Club. I coached both the Year 4 Red team and PP Auskick last year in addition to having a role on the Committee. I have been involved in footy clubs my whole life and aside from playing for 30 odd years, I spent 8 years on the committee of an A Grade Amateur Club including 2 years as President. I also coached the A Grade side at this club and was Club Coach for 2 years. I have always been passionate about grassroots footy clubs, mainly for the fun, enjoyment and camaraderie they engender.

In the two years I have been with the Bombers, I know that this type of camaraderie exists in abundance.

The Coolbinia Bombers Junior Football Club finished season 2014 with some terrific success on the field, is in a sound financial position and preparations are well under way to ensure a successful season in 2015. My predecessors most recently Steve Allsop and Luke McNiece together with their committees have done a fantastic job. This years Committee are working on a number of initiatives that will enhance The Bombers position as the hub of Australian Rules in the inner-northern suburbs.

Some of the key items include:

Starkick
Starkick is a Bombers initiative aimed to increase the participation in AFL Auskick and Modified rules sport programs for children with special needs. The initiative also aims to provide an on-going community focused social and interactive environment for both the children and their families to enjoy.

Starkick is a fantastic initiative driven by Committee member Rob Geersen and I encourage you all to reach out to families you may know that would benefit from having their kids join a club and a program that promotes fun, participation, activity and community. Watch and share our Youtube Video to find out more about Starkick.

New Teams and Volunteers
The Club will continue to grow in 2015. This year we are aiming to register enough players to nominate 19 teams for boys and girls in Modified and Youth competitions, plus our Auskick and Starkick programs. Total registration for 2015 will be in the order of 500 participants. As a grassroots sporting organisation, we aim to provide a safe, fun environment for all our players and families. Ensuring this environment exists is clearly incumbent on the families of our players. We continue to seek further volunteers for official roles at the Club, but the greatest contribution you can make to your childs enjoyment at the Bombers will be saying yes, no problem when asked to serve in the canteen, set up some goal posts, cut up the oranges or wash the jumpers. The Bombers has grown as a club over the last 50-odd years due to parents, grand-parents, carers and extended families willingness to participate.

When asked this year to contribute, please do so willingly without fuss. It is a fantastic example to set for your kids.

Clubroom Development
The Club has established a sub-committee to work with the various stakeholders in developing the facilities at Coolbinia Reserve. In conjunction with the summer tenants, CWPJCC, we have already had a number of productive meetings with the City of Stirling. The discussions have an end goal of full redevelopment of the existing site, however there will be some short term remedial work done over the course of the next few months, principally to improve the clubrooms kitchen and amenities. If you feel you can contribute in any way to these discussion please call me.

Sponsors
We are fortunate to have a number of new sponsors who have already committed for Season 2015. We thank them immensely for their support:

101 Residential who have Joined the Club as our new Principal Platinum Sponsor.

Quattro Homes – who are onboard as a Gold Sponsor for 2015.

It is wonderful committment that a business makes to community groups by sponsoring their many programs. Please support our sponsors whenever and wherever you can, either through your own custom or by referral to others.

If you are a sponsor from 2014 or previous seasons will reach out to you in the next few weeks. The Club offers sponsorship packages from $250 up to $5000 and we would love to chat to you about again being a financial contributor to the Bombers.

We are also seeking a key sponsor for our Starkick program. If you work or own a values based business that sees the worth in providing an enviroment for ALL kids to participate in the Greatest Game in the World, please call myself or Rob Geersen (0414 229 544) to discuss options.

Facebook and Communication

The Bombers have now established themselves on Facebook . Please take a look and Like our page to stay in touch with all the latest Club news. In addition to this we aim to issue 4 regular newsletters across the season. We will send out a note to managers and parents in advance of each issue calling for contributions.

We have drafted a Communications and Images Policy to ensure proper use of all communications. (this can be Found Here )

Registration Day
Registration day has been set down for February 22nd. In 2015, ALL registrations now need to be completed on-line. No paper-based registrations will be accepted. This is a Football Commission directive. The club will set itself up to enable online registration at the Club on registration day, however the quickest way to register your child is to jump online at home.

Insurance
For Season 2015, the Club has increased its insurance coverage for players to the highest level available. This will provide significantly higher reimbursement for costs incurred as a result of injury (90% up to $7500) together with higher payouts in the event of a catastrophic injury. The decision to increase is in line with the Clubs risk policy of providing a safe environment for its players.

General
The Bombers will continue to supply merchandise to the player group for 2015. This year our Grade 2 Auskickers up to the senior year 11 team will all be outiftted to ensure we are presented as a professional unified club. Our younger players will continue to recive their Auskick packs as they set out on their Football journey. The cost of running the club increases year on year and as a result we expect a small incremental increase in fees in line with local council increase, affiliation fee increases and insurance increases.

Over the next few weeks we are reviewing all club policies, especially in terms of player allocation to teams. Our primary goal for player distribtion is to ensure competitiveness and evenness of teams. These policies will be communicated to all families in due course.

Having now been in the chair for the last few months, I am amazed by the passion and commitment I have witnessed at the footy club. I am looking forward to being President for Season 2015 and cant wait for the season proper to start.

Finally, as President, I ask one thing from each of you for Season 2015 , dont be a bystander, be involved in your club, have fun, be active and enjoy the community spirit it develops.

In football parlance, when comes to player, parental and family participation at the Coolbinia Bombers, we want as many in-and-under types as we can find!

Go Bombers.

Tom Parker

president@bombersjfc.asn.au
0438 946 153

Categorised in: News

This post was written by Coolbinia Bombers JFC