At the club’s recent AGM, long standing committee member Bob Philips was elected as Club President, assisted by newly appointed Vice President, Alex Harris. They are supported by a dedicated committee, including David Allan who has taken up the role of Club Secretary, and Andy Smith, Director of Rugby. The committee members have great enthusiasm and plans for the club, including a full calendar of events, training sessions and matches.

Across the summer months, several events are planned to take place at the club’s base at Duff House, including summer camps for primary school aged children from P1-P7. The camps will be held on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 July from 11am – 12.30pm, where youngsters will be given the opportunity to try rugby. Registration is required in advance, with a £5 fee per participant payable on the day.

Family rugby days are also being planned to encourage the whole family to be active, meet new people and have fun trying rugby. Morning sessions will allow for learning tartan touch rugby, with a break for soup and a sandwich, then a game of rugby in the afternoon to put the skills into practice.

The Grampian Clan will be welcomed to Duff House on Saturday 10 July, from 11am – 1pm. A registered charity, The Grampian Clan is aimed at developing a unified rugby team to help people with or without disabilities into rugby. Each team includes up to five or six players with learning or physical disabilities wearing coloured scrum caps, which allows able-bodied players to exercise caution during a match. Banff RFC hopes that with enough local interest, it will be possible to make unified rugby a regular offering in Banff. Persons with an interest in playing or finding out more are invited to attend on the day and spectators are also welcome.

With the recent announcement by the Scottish Rugby Union that the 2021-22 season will commence on 4 September, including fixtures in the Tennent’s Leagues, both Men’s and Women’s, along with the Youth and School Conferences, the club is ensuring players are prepared for what they hope will be a return to more regular games next season.

Club President, Bob Philips, commented, “It is a great honour to have been elected as Club President, I’m looking forward to working with the committee to progress the club, which has gone from strength to strength over recent years. We will continue to encourage new and existing players of all ages and abilities by providing the opportunities and training they require to develop their skills and abilities. We are grateful to our sponsors, including our primary sponsor Motive Offshore, for their continued support, which enables us to deliver training and development from grassroots level through to senior level. We can really see the benefits of this investment in our current squads and hope to capitalise on that during the coming season.”

Training sessions at the club are open to anyone to join, with secondary pupils and ladies training on Wednesday evenings 7pm-8.30pm, and seniors training on Tuesday evenings 7pm-8.30pm. Primary school pupils are currently on a summer break but will resume training on Saturday mornings 11am-12noon from 7 August. A new preschool session will also be introduced on 7 August from 10.30am-11am.

Full details of all training sessions and events are available on the Banff Rugby Club Facebook page, www.facebook.com/banffrfc or by contacting Andy Smith at smith.andy28@yahoo.co.uk or 07779 759991.

Contacts:

Bob Philips, Club President, Banff RFC
Email: bobphilips25@live.com
Tel: 01261 842571 / 07968 872217

Alex Harris, Vice President, Banff RFC
Email: alex_harris1980@hotmail.com
Tel: 07912 758412

Andy Smith, Director of Rugby, Banff RFC
Email: smith.andy28@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 07779 759991