PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Presented at the 2009 AGM of the SHFA
12th Feb 2010
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2009 - THE YEAR THAT WAS.
SHFA had a wonderful year.
Whichever way you choose to define the success of a club – be it by its financial health, its spirit, its atmosphere, the official results achieved in competitions by its fencers, it’s standing within the wider fencing community or otherwise,
it is my opinion that we excelled on all fronts yet again during 2009.
The Treasurer’s report clearly illustrates that our finances are better than ever. Not only has our bank balance held firm (actually there’s a slight increase of $245.13 over the opening bank balance from the previous fencing year and we also have uniforms in stock to the value of $685.00), but through fundraising, we have managed to purchase numerous items of equipment for club use during this period, enabling us to continue to provide fencing gear every week to anyone who needs it. We have also continued to loan equipment as required to any SH fencer for tournaments, at no additional cost to them beyond the weekly member’s fee of $10, AND, to employ two permanent coaches. In simple terms this means that anyone walking in our door is able to participate in our sport for an extremely small outlay and benefit from the exceptional coaching on offer every week,
and any SH competition fencer has the full backup they need to represent the club.
Our weekly dues of $10 per person do not cover these costs. Fundraising is essential to keep the club alive. Fundraising during 2009 was predominantly organised and managed by me. The chocolate drives were a simple method of topping up funds and were generally well supported by most families. More than $3000 was raised pretty painlessly this way. There were some families however, who did not participate so the profit could have been higher.
We also held a major raffle. Prize donors were amazingly generous. We had thousands of dollars worth of fantastic prizes on offer yet, again, some amongst us were unwilling to sell tickets so the result was disappointing to say the least. We raised approx $1700 from the raffle but our return should have been several times that figure. Like all sporting clubs, SHFA survives primarily on volunteer labour and a communal effort. I was displeased by the lack of participation and effort shown by some fencers and families when it came to fundraising, and I hope those people step up and assist the new committee in the coming year. The club can’t survive without successful fundraising.
At this time please let me pay special thanks to Tony Deigan who painstakingly counted and tallied about ‘20 billion’ coins during our chocolate drives, and who also previously donated an art work to raffle. Thank you very much Tony.
Also a special note of thanks to some of our junior fencers who went door knocking to sell raffle tickets. What a great example you set for us all. Thank you very much kids – well done.
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Fortunately, we have been able to maintain our contract and continue to enjoy our fabulous working relationship with our Head Coach Jeff Gray, who has been instrumental in assisting the Committee with Club growth, innovations in coaching techniques, timetables and training strategies, just to mention a few things. Aside from being a highly qualified and extraordinarily accomplished Coach, Jeff, being the official supplier of fencing equipment to NSW and therefore our club supplier, has also been extremely generous in giving our club the opportunity to make money from every SH equipment purchase.
Jeff generously donates 10% back to the club from every SH member purchase, AND gives every SH fencer a 10% discount on all purchases. So do buy some gear – you’ll be saving money, AND making a donation to the club!
Jeff has even given fencing gloves to many of the younger fencers at no charge. Jeff has been an absolute blessing to SH, in so many ways. I am honestly unable to properly express my gratitude to him for all he’s done for us.
I would also like to congratulate Jeff on his recent appointment as NSW Technical Director for epee.
Feb 2009: The good news kept coming. We welcomed Olympian Frank Bartolillo into our ranks as our Assistant Coach. Securing Frank, Australia’s No.1 Foilist, Olympian and all-round fantastic guy, was a major coup and we became the envy of clubs across Australia. When the news spread that Frank had come to work with us, I received numerous emails congratulating us on bringing Frank on board – everybody saying how jealous they were that we had him here with us and they did not.
Despite his initial shock as to how cold it can be in the Highlands on a Friday night in winter, Frank has survived the climatic challenge (!) during his first year with us and has proved himself to be an invaluable asset in assisting Jeff, running our junior programme, and pushing our intermediate and elite foilists to new heights. I don’t know of any other club where a child, novice, veteran or even an accomplished fencer can pay the nominal sum of $10 and be coached by and fence with an Olympian – but thanks to Frank being with us that happens every week at SH.
During the Christmas break, Frank was busy coaching in Victoria and China, and from that has brought back some great new ideas which will benefit us enormously. I’m sure all the juniors agree he is the best coach EVER, and the Committee has certainly seen improvement in everyone wearing a lame.
Throughout the year both Frank and Jeff were present at countless tournaments, assisting our competing SH fencers at no cost to us, so I give them both my sincere thanks not only for what they do for us every Friday night, but for what they do for us way above and beyond the call of duty as well. Thank you both very much.
The coaching story at SH does not stop there however.
We also enjoy the benefit of having 3 of our members available every week to step in as additional coaches as required. Please join with me to thank Mike Alchin, Phil Mansfield and Kevin Mercer, who all regularly engage with and assist junior, intermediate, new and potential fencers with one on one lessons, encouragement, information and advice. In keeping with our Open Door Policy, they provide an invaluable service not only to new fencers at our club, but to the sport of fencing in general. Thank you very much Gentlemen. You are greatly appreciated.
With finances and coaches taken care of, the year also brought a change of image for SH.
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A new logo, (the Lion Rampant holding a sword) and motto (Esprit de Corps, loosely translated as “Spirit of the Group”) was adopted, and club patches, jackets and socks were purchased. This brought about a phenomenal reaction from the extended Australian fencing community as our competing fencers arrived at various tournaments around the country wearing the new, very distinctive orange and black club gear. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and many other clubs intend to follow our lead. So I encourage you to jump on board, buy some gear and become a walking billboard for the club! These items are selling at around cost so please add them to your wardrobe.
Throughout the year, our fencers continued to excel and our reputation as a smart, friendly and organised club grew.
The second annual “Highland Cup” challenge was held to the delight of all participants.
This social, yet quietly competitive inter club challenge between SH, Penrith and Canberra clubs, really encapsulates our club’s ethos. A nail biting finish resulting in a draw between SH and Penrith added to the fun of the night. This event, initiated in 2008 by Phil Mansfield, is yet another extension of our Open Door Policy and has been warmly welcomed by all. Well done Phil. I encourage all SH fencers to participate in the next Highland Cup as everyone from beginners to elite fencers will enjoy taking part and all are welcome no matter what your level of fencing may be.
We are a relatively small club (ie numbers of fencers competing) however despite this we continue to excel.
This is due in no small part to 2 things: 1) Coaching, and 2) Fitness.
Our superior coaches I have already mentioned.
From the fitness perspective we must thank the Commando himself, Mike Alchin.
Mike, the original Energiser Bunny of the fencing world, whipped us into shape and despite causing regular, excruciating pain to anyone willing to train with him, continues to be loved by all! The elevated fitness levels of our competition fencers along with specialised coaching was key to our fencers’ successes at high level and many coaches and team managers across the country commented on this and have asked for our “secret recipe”.
I just keep telling them it’s the mountain air!
Thank you Mike for your amazing dedication to the cause and for your inspirational, non-stop enthusiasm.
Anyone who would like to join the Wednesday night fitness session held in Bowral, please see Mike. Don’t be daunted, you can work at your own pace and enjoy some fencing following the pain workout.
Another key contribution essential to the survival of the club and which must be acknowledged, has been that of Phil Mansfield in transporting our club equipment. Phil has had the unenviable task (often shared by Mike, and sometimes assisted by Luke, Max and Dan – thanks guys) of packing and unpacking his car every week, with 80000 items of fencing gear. I think Mr Ikea would be mightily impressed by how Phil is able to squish all the gear so perfectly into the very last cubic millimetre of vehicular space, time and time again, and still keep smiling. We all need to say a big thank you to Phil as this is a very thankless yet essential task. Thank you Phil.
I would also like to extend our very grateful thanks to our hosts at Frensham, for allowing us access to the Cynthia Parker Gymnasium on Friday nights. This wonderful venue is the envy of many a fencing club and we are very lucky indeed to have this beautiful facility in which to train. We must not take this for granted and I urge everyone to keep it as tidy as possible on Friday nights.
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As for our competitive fencers, well, they began 2009 with a bang and continued that theme throughout the entire year securing a string of successes at State, National and even International level. Every year, our fencers continue to stand and be counted, and to shine whenever the big medals are up for grabs, often with Jeff by their side at any given location around the country.
Congratulations to all of our fencers who secured state and national titles, international medals and rankings and personal best performances. The year was a triumph and we are all very proud of these achievements. Well done fencers. I think we probably have more state and national title holders at our club than anywhere else in the galaxy! Unfortunately, we neglected to keep a running record our successes in 2009, but perhaps someone might like to volunteer to do this now, and to begin a list for 2010 as well, as a permanent record of these outstanding performances. With the introduction of the Club Points System coming into play in 2010, I encourage all SH fencers to consider entering a competition. There are categories for every level of fencer. Please just ask the committee for guidance and you will receive all the support you need.
A quick reminder for those wishing to compete: It’s time to register/affiliate with NSW fencing.
Go to www.nswfencing.org.au for this and also for the latest in state results, comps, news etc.
Also check out the new and improved AFF (Australian Fencing Federation) website www.ausfencing.org which has great information including AFF comps now posted, and links to other terrific fencing websites.
However, the best website of all is the brand new
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS FENCING ACADEMY WEBSITE!
Please go to www.shfencing.com
Luke Mansfield has been toiling away and has created our very site. Luke we thank you. You’re wonderful!
Whilst it is still in its infancy and there is much content yet to be added, the site it looks fantastic. We can all add information, photos etc, so please log on and enjoy.
Having our own website is yet another achievement to celebrate and a leap forward in the development of the club.
MY FAREWELL MESSAGE AS OUTGOING PRESIDENT.
When I initially agreed to assume this role, our club was in the midst of some major changes and no-one at the time was really sure what the future held. Last week, our first week back into fencing for 2010, would have to have been one of the best, most vibrant and most enjoyable weeks any club could wish for.
I thank everyone who attended and made the night so special. There were groups training all over the place, new fencers to welcome, old targets lining up enthusiastically on the pistes and smiles all ‘round. If our first week for 2010 is any indication of what is to come, our club is in for a great year.
I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me in my role of President during the past (nearly) 2 years, and I wish the incoming committee every success. Please get behind them and help wherever possible.
We have something really special here and it has been my privilege to be a part of it. Signing off,
Narelle Downes.
