The first XV finished fourth in London South 2 and only missed out on third place by one bonus point. Meanwhile the second XV finished a very credible 6th in the Shepherd Neame Premier League.

The first team for years have been competing against clubs that have been paying players and last year was no exception. As I am sure you are aware I have categorically stated that as long as I am chairman this club will not be paying players. This close season we have had a local club, who shall remain nameless, openly approaching a number of our first team players with the offer of money to play for them and it is to the absolute credit of our lads that only one has taken the silver. In my opinion that is the strength of our club that the players play for their club with their mates and I believe still hold to the values of traditional rugby. I feel that because of this we as a club owe it to the players and the membership to ensure that we are the most efficient, welcoming, organised club around and unfortunately some of that costs money. The monthly outgoings on such a fantastic clubhouse as ours are significant and the income purely from rugby is not sufficient to maintain this. Consequently we have been pushing the use of the club for outside functions. It is a fabulous venue and we are also looking to increase rugby events throughout the season. To ensure that members are fully aware of what is happening during the season we will be contacting you by email to inform you of upcoming events. We also intend sending texts. This means it is vital that when you renew your membership you update both your email address and mobile number.

Myself and Choc Harris have been involved all summer in organising various functions and I think it fair to say that every weekend the club has had at least one outside function at the club. To maintain this club at the level it is and I believe take it at least one level higher we need to increase income all round. I firmly believe that we are capable of getting into the next league above and then holding our own there and for this season that should be our ambition.

At the recent AGM I proposed that we need to increase membership both in terms of the cost and also in terms of number of members. This was voted on and agreed by the people present. Below you will see a table I have produced to show where we have been in terms of our fees and where we will be with the increase. Of those clubs listed there are also a significant number that ask for match day subs as well so you can see we are still one of the cheapest around and we most definitely are in the league in which we play. Having visited all of those clubs over the years I would say we have one of the best clubhouses and pitches around too. A lot of these clubs have significant individual sponsorship and as we have seen as with East Grinstead, those sponsors then believe they ‘own’ the club. Unfortunately when they do not get their own way they withdraw the funding and the consequences are catastrophic – East Grinstead have dropped to lower league Sussex rugby because their sponsor withdrew all his money and all their paid players left for pastures greener. We are very fortunate that through the efforts of Richard Barker we have a lot of smaller sponsors who year on year support us and who do it purely for the love of rugby, involvement in the club and a belief in what we are trying to achieve – they expect nothing in return other than our thanks and respect for what they do. For that we thank every single one of them. I would say we are a welcoming family club and our sponsors have bought in to that ethos.

Membership this year is to be increased by 30% and will not be increased within the next three years. We will be offering a 10% reduction if membership is paid in full by the 30th September 2016.
The figures below show the new membership fee. For players both junior and senior there is an additional payment to cover the cost of shorts and socks. This will ensure that whatever team a player is in all of the players will be wearing the same kit.

2016-2017 Membership Rates

Membership Type	Current Amount	New Fee	Early Bird Discount If Paid in Full before the 30th Sept(10%)	Standing order
Seniors Players	£126.00	£198	£178	£16.50
Juniors(Youth)
1st child	£50.00	£90	£81	£7.50
Juniors(Minis)
1st child	£50	£84	£76	£7
Siblings	£20.00	£44	£20	£20
Non playing memberships
Coaches	£66	£90	£81	£7.50
Full Members	£66	£90	£81	£7.50
Social Members	£30	£39	£35	N/A
Linked Partner	£20	£20	£20	N/A
Vice Presidents	£66	£90	£81	£7.50

Other Rugby Club Membership Fees

Selection of other teams including local teams

Team	Playing	Junior	Social	VP’s/full
Thanet	£300	£50	£60	£60
Canterbury	£264	£192	£60	£120
Walcountians	£240		£60	£60
Warlingham	£240	£125 – family £85 individual	£60	£120
Maidstone	£216	£70	£60
Aylesford	£200	£100/youth Minis/£85	£40	£60
Sittingbourne	£200	£270 Family 2adults 2 children
Folkestone	£192		£55	£75
Dover	£150 + match fee
Ham and Fulham	£100 +£5 match fee	£100	£35	£250
Sevenoaks	£115 +£5 match fee	£100 - family	£70
D and B new	£198	Youth £90 Mini £84	£39	£90
Snowdown	£156
Sheppey	£150		£30
Ash	£50(+£10 match fee per player)	Minis/Jnrs £40 per child	£50
D and B current	£126	£50	£30	£66

Teams in our current league

Team	Playing	Junior	Social	VP’s/full
Bromley	£336		£84
Horsham	£300	£85
Charlton Park	£240		£180
Crowborough	£240	£80	£100	£100
Hove	£240	£120	£60
Medway	£220	£120	£80	£180
Old Colfeians	£204	£70	£72	Donation
Beckenham	£120 +£5 match fee	£150	£60
D and B new	£198	Youth £90 Mini £84	£39	£90
Old Dartfordians	£150	£100	£60	Donation
D and B current	£126	£50	£30	£66
Old Alleynian	Not available
Heathfield	Not available

This year we have new kit suppliers and they will be setting up an online shop with card facilities for purchases. They will be attending at the club on junior registration day on 4th September.

A couple of us have been painting the clubhouse ready for the new season and unfortunately that very attractive hospital green has been sacrificed!! The new colours have been chosen by a professional interior designer Steve (Laurence Llewelyn) Castle!!!.

Yours in Rugby

Ted Schofield Chairman & On Behalf of the Board of Directors