RWBTFC - News - Lockdown information for parents and carers

Lockdown information for parents and carers

Sunday 8th November 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope that this message, containing information you might find useful about Royal Wootton Bassett Town Football Club, finds you and your family well.

Since the return to football training and matches in July, there have been many things happening to engage and support the Youth Section players:

First Team Match Ballots

Club Members have been encouraged to attend first team matches. Youth Section players are entitled to free entry to all League matches. They now also receive a discount on hot food purchased at the kiosk and entry into a ballot to win a prize. So far we have given away FIFA21, Halloween Pumpkin (full of edible treats and football winter essentials) and a Lockdown Survival Kit.

Player of the Month

Although the monthly prizes continued during lockdown, we now ask coaches to nominate players to win the overall prize of a trophy and Â£30 Voucher (for JD Sports).

The winner is chosen by ballot, which we try to get an independent football superstar to do for us. Draws so far have been conducted by Scott Twine (Swindon Town), Owen Windsor (West Bromwich Albion), Don Rogers (Swindon Town Legend) and Sam Collier (RWBTFC First Team manager).

All nominees are sent a postcard too so make sure that the address we have for you is up to date!

Goalkeeper Training

Thank you to Mark Francis (U16Y), Brandon Francis (U11B) and Mark Cooper (U10B) for establishing the new Goalkeeper Academy which takes place on a Monday evening for all Youth Section Goalkeepers.

They have also awarded Goalkeeper of the Month trophies for October and set lockdown challenges for November. I

f your child is a Goalkeeper and does not attend but would like to, please contact the coaches mentioned above. Feedback from parents and players has been excellent!

Swindon Food Collective

We asked ALL club members to donate items, if they were able to, for Swindon Food Collective during Donation Week. It was cut short due to the lockdown, but we have a large amount of food and personal hygiene items to be collected next Thursday. Thank you so much for your generosity.

Social Media

In addition to the information available on our website (which we recommend you visit regularly in order not to miss any important updates and announcements), the Football Club is very active on Social Media and shares news, photos and videos from all sections.

I would encourage you to follow the ones which are relevant to you and if your child is over 13, they could also follow their preferred form of social media (we have many Youth Section members interacting with the club on Instagram in particular).

Website: www.rwbtfc.co.uk
Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/rwbtfc/"
Twitter: @rwbtfc
Instaagram: @rwbtfc1882

Vouchers

All Youth Section players who continued to support the club financially during the first lockdown were given a Â£46 voucher to spend on items from the Club Shop.

Some players have asked us to source additional items, such as skin tops, shin pads, gloves, backpacks etc, which we have done.

I am still able to take orders via email over the next month and will be collecting deliveries from Swindon once a week which you will be able to collect from my home or which will be delivered to your child if they attend Royal Wootton Bassett Academy (because I work there).

To clarify: the money does not go back into the club. We are spending Â£46 per player at Don Rogers Sports.

Lockdown Challenges

Coaches have been asked to send players challenges, home training ideas, etc. to maintain fitness, interest and - more importantly - promote mental health and wellbeing in what might be a difficult time for some children.

Various activities are available as part of the FA's Superkicks programme. These can be accessed here.

HOWEVER, if you have an idea for a challenge or competition, please send it to me!

Membership Fees

The payment is an annual fee which we spread over 12 months to make it more affordable, unlike some teams in the area who have taken a one off payment at the start of the season. We do not wish to bring this in at RWBTFC.

If you have cancelled your standing order, please let us know. As volunteers, we spend hours checking that the monthly fees of 345 children (and 70 Veterans) have been paid.

We are unable to operate as if we were a Netflix account which you can cancel and restart as you please.

When we return to training (hopefully after 2 December), if you have cancelled, we will need to see that a payment has been made on the 1st or 2nd of December in order for your child to continue to train or play for the club.

If you require financial assistance, please contact me directly and I will be able to help you.