As a club we are naturally excited to see what our new facilities look like when completed and just as excited to move into them at some stage in the coming season.  However, fate often lands a cruel blow and it has happened to us.

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Under the contractual arrangements with the construction we are unable to take tenancy of the new rooms until the old rooms have been demolished and the replacement car park built in its place.  This condition only came to light recently.  Essentially this means that around the 18th November we will have to vacate the rooms and will not have the new rooms available to us until the end of February.

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Putting aside the frustration of not knowing this as part of the contractual dealings we have to accept that it is what it is and there is not much that we can do about it.

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This means that we will be playing cricket for 3 months (including the Xmas break) without clubrooms and the facilities that we normally enjoy.  We are currently discussing options with the Tennis Club for a co-hosting arrangement for those months as well as looking at all other options available to us.  Naturally that is taking up much of my time as well as the executive in the last month and will do so for months to come.

 

So the challenge for us is to accept the challenge and accept that for a few months conditions will not be ideal.  This will be a time where adversity and annoyance will be constant but to offset that we only need to glance over at the huge new facility that will soon be available.  Here is what we need to accept and get over

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• We will not have showers available to us

• We will not have change rooms available to us

• We will be using the school toilets for the games on the back ovals

• We will have limited social facilities

• It is highly unlikely that we will have social facilities of any type available on a Friday night

• Any functions after we move out will have to be held at the Upwey Community Centre

• We will actually need to pack up the entire club and put it in storage for 3 months

 

It is fair to say that during this time we will certainly be blue collar tigers – changing under a tree, no showers after a game, trekking to a nearby toilet and possibly sitting in the Vic Ressom having a beer after a game.  But you know what, that is the way it always used to be.

 

Needless to say we are working on the following:

• Ensuring that we have sufficient toilet facilities that are suitable for women and children

• Ensuring that we have access to water

• Ensuring that we have sufficient shade during match days

• Ensuring that we have a gathering place that we can get together after games

• Putting together a working group to manage the fine details week by week during the transition

 

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU!

 

As a club we need to accept that not only is this a major inconvenience it will have a severe impact on our fund raising capabilities in a year that we are also expected to be paying a one off payment to become a tenant once the rooms become available.  So I ask all club members to rally behind the cause and consider the following

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Subs – It is so important that we get these paid up as early as possible.  This is not the season to be dodging behind light poles to avoid paying and making us spend a lot of time chasing them up.  This season we will be forced to increase subs to cover the loss of revenue of transition as well as banking money for a one off entry fee into the new facility. 

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Social Functions – We will have at least 2 social functions before we move out so we ask all club members to give us as much support as possible,  Other major functions will be held off site and again we ask everyone to give us the maximum support that you can.

 

Don’t Complain – It is pointless complaining to me about the situation, it is what it is.  If there is a problem with the setup we come up with during the transition phase give me solutions not problems

 

Make it a Personal Challenge – make this a challenge for all of us to take on together and thrive on the adversity that we will be facing.  Be proud when we get through it and simply point at the new rooms if anyone else complains

 

If you can think how you can assist in our planning or during the transition please contact Colin on 0413 226 695