News

Halifax RUFC AGM 2008 reports

31 July 2008

The reports presented at the 2008 AGM have been added to the website:
 AGM 2008 reports

Halifax RUFC AGM 2008 summary

Tim Mason - 31 July 2008

The club's Annual General Meeting took place tonight at Ovenden Park. 23 people attended.
Alan Pentelow stepped down as President after two years of excellent service. Tom Hoyle was elected to take up the role - we wish him all the best.
The Richard Brook shield was awarded to Graham Allan, one of the hardest-working people in the club.
Reports will be available on the website shortly.

Interested in refereeing?

Jason Brian - 29 July 2008

We are looking to recruit as many referees as possible of all abilities and ages who are able offer their time midweek, Saturdays or even Sunday mornings. In return we will offer training support for all as I am a big believer in that everyone can be the best at what they do and for those who have aspirations a pathway to go through the ranks. Anyone who is not able to referee every week is also more than welcome. In addition to this I am looking at setting something up for the clubs within Calderdale/Kirklees where 3rd/4th team refs can move around the clubs just in our area or in junior cup games provide a neutral referee for each club. We just need the contacts to do this effectively. Both Old Brods and Old Rishworthians are keen on this idea.

There is an ELRA course at Old Brods for anyone interested in refereeing at all levels beginning on 20th August. Anyone interested please contact Will Halford at the RFU on 07894 790340 or willhalford@rfu.com and copy me in on jasonbrian@btinternet.com.

Jason Brian
Referee Recruitment & Retention Officer
West Yorkshire Refs Society

Halifax RUFC Annual General Meeting 2008

Liz Binns - 2 July 2008

The AGM will be held in the Club House at Ovenden Park on Thursday 31st July at 8.00pm.

Agenda is as follows:

1. Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of the last AGM held on 26th July 2007
3. Hon Secretary's Report
4. Hon Treasurer's Report
5. Election of Officers (President, Chairman, Hon Secretary, Hon Treasurer, Hon Medical Officer, Auditor, Hon Fixture Secretary and Hon Match Secretary) Nominations for Club Officials/General Committee should be sent to Liz Binns, Trinity House, Harrison Road, Halifax, HX1 2QR by 23rd July. Nominations should be signed by two Members and written consent from the Member being nominated should accompany the notification.
6. Election of Wines Committee
7. Election of Captains of Rugby
8. Election of Retiring Members - General Committee
9. Election of New Members of Committee
10. Presentation of Richard Brook Memorial Shield
11. Any Other Business

The Dan James Trust supporting Spinal Research

Mark Roebuck - 26 March 2008

For those of you reading this that aren’t aware of my reasons for asking for your support in running the London Marathon for "The Dan James Trust supporting Spinal Research" I have given a brief outline of Dan's circumstances below by way of an introduction.

I am launching my sponsorship effort on March 12th because that is exactly 1 year since Dan and his family's life changed forever. On Monday March 12th Dan was just like thousands of 22 year olds, full of life, hope, excitement and dreams. His life at university was full, active and successful, surrounded by fantastic mates with the promise of employment in construction management if his rugby career had not continued to blossom, or maybe he would have just upped and travelled for a few years, maybe to Australia where he had already been twice in his 22 years. Whatever he chose to do he would have done it with his usual good humour and lovely nature that have made him the loveable young man that he has grown in to. He truly was on the threshold of life and he lived his life to the full and embraced every opportunity that came his way.

On Friday 8 March he had played rugby for England Students, beating France at Oxford. On the evening of Monday the 12th he was training with his club side Nuneaton when he suffered a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) whilst practising a scrum. He dislocated his C6/C7 vertebrae trapping his spinal cord and becoming tetraplegic in a split second. This means that Dan has lost the complete use of his body from the chest down. Through his immense courage and determination he has managed to regain a little bit of use in his fingers but unfortunately this appears to be the extent of his recovery.

And that as they say in the medical world is that!!!! Literally. There is nothing else that anybody can do for Dan or the hundreds of other spinal cord injury patients. And that is my reason for asking you to sponsor me to run the London Marathon. To the best of my knowledge the spinal cord is the only part of the human body that cannot be repaired. The only way this situation can be improved is by people like you giving money to charities such as Spinal Research (www.spinal-research.org). Huge progress has been made in recent years and human trials will take place in the near future but more money is needed to take the research to the next level and hopefully a breakthrough in the treatment of this most tragic of injuries.

Why should you sponsor me? Just look around at your own family and friends, your son, daughter, brother, sister, niece, nephew, cousin, best mate, team mate or work mate and try to imagine the impact on theirs and your lives if in one split second they were paralysed. To be honest no matter how hard you try you will never be able to imagine the level and intensity of suffering and horror at seeing a loved one go through what Dan and his family and friends have gone through over the last 12 months.

Having experienced such tragedy is the reason why the Dan James Trust is asking you to sponsor me to raise as much money as possible for Spinal Research. Your donation will make a massive difference to the life of a 22year old and their family in the future. Any money that you can give will go towards finding a treatment for SCI.

Please give as generously as you can to give future sufferers something that Dan has never realistically been given, hope. Surely someone in his position deserves, at the very least, to have some sort of hope.

Donate on line at www.justgiving.com/danjamestrust.