A huge effort from all of our Minis at the Sandy Bay Festival at Kings Park last week. What a sight to see all our teams in competition and enjoying an unusually warm December day. To all coaches and team managers, a huge thank you for the amazing work you have put in this season so far and, of course, to Paul Brodie, the Head of Minis, who leaves no stone unturned in his organising of the Valley Fort Mini program.
The Richard Hawkes was also another hugely successful day for our U12 Boys as was the Kim Lam Competition for the girls and these will resume in the New Year with the run up to finals!
Last weekend saw the conclusion of the Youth Girls League season for 2022/23. With many of the teams combining with other clubs to ensure playing time and competitive fixtures the logistics take a lot of coordination and effort! Many thanks to Kea Herewini for undertaking the role of Girls Youth coordinator this season and for the outstanding job she did in uniting so many girls to enjoy their Rugby season. The girls have several playing opportunities into the New Year with both 15s and Sevens filling their calendar.
Best of luck to the Youth Boys and Girls U16/18 who are competing for selection in the New Years Day Tournament. Whist details have yet to be finalised by the HKRU, I am sure the day will provide exciting games as always and is a fantastic opportunity for our players to represent Valley Fort in the representative arena.
In addition, several of our players in U16 and 18 were selected for the National U19 squad and are currently in Malaysia. Nick Stevenson, Luke Laskowski and Will Berney were all selected and did Valley Fort proud in their first performances last weekend. A huge congrationaltions to them.
Some of our Youth teams continue their seasons this Sunday and we wish them all the best, however the majority will not resume until January 8. All Youth training will stop on Sunday and resume on Tuesday January 3rd.
Finally, a huge thanks to all who attended the Christmas Party last Sunday making it such a special event. To Mark and Euge, well done, and from me to the pro coaches who involved themselves in the day’s activities. The kids enjoyed having you there taking part and it again highlights the community nature of Valley Fort.
I cannot sign off without a special mention to both Susan Wheeler and Becky Maltas who have come to the end of their time working directly on the ground in Hong Kong for Valley Fort. Both of these women have provided wonderful contributions to the club off the field through their enthusiasm and commitment. They were instrumental in my appointment two years ago, so I owe then a great deal in helping give me the opportunity to work at this wonderful club. They are both simply first-class people and even though Becky has been back in the UK for a while now we say goodbye to Susan this week and there simply are not enough words! Thank you for all you have done you will be greatly missed.
Travel safely for those that are and for those staying in Hong Kong have a wonderful Christmas and new Year and we will be at it all gain in the first week of 2023.
Yours in Rugby
JC
DOR Valley Fort RFC