Teams 
The RFU announced last week that all leagues below Level 2 (Championship) for men and Level 1 (Premier 15’s) for women will be cancelled for this season as there would be insufficient matches playable to truly determine promotion and relegation. The ‘Return To Play’ strategy has returned to Stage A. You may also have seen in the papers that the RFU is close to agreement with the Government on protocols to allow some form of games to be played at grassroots level, we await the announcement of details.
The Government allows individual training or training in two’s that are socially distanced and with no contact, so we encourage you to maintain your personal fitness and of course the outside pitch is available for your use, if needed.
Lockdown Closure a message from John Cox, Chairman – “the decision to shut down was taken by myself and the Directors agreed with the decision. Some are saying that I acted too soon but I believe shutting down early is better than 1 day too late. Safety of our members is paramount. The COVID team have advised and we have acted upon it. Please all stay safe and be sure that the Club will be opened as soon as allowed.”
The Vixens’ Draw has been postponed until Easter 2021, further details to follow.
We have a new Webmaster, Robin Potter, one of the Junior coaches, who we sincerely thank for coming forward. He has started to tidy up the web site but needs content. Please send suggestions and content to webmasterbrfc@gmail.com
A reminder – the Club still has running costs and if we restart training it will be a condition that all persons attending the Club must be a current member. If you would like to renew your subscription, please contact Steve Smith on bidefordrfcmembership@gmail.com for an application form.
➢ Outside Pitch – further lighting is to be installed when the weather
improves.
➢ We have been given permission to re-turf the cricket pitch and the
licence for use of the area is being drawn up by TDC.
➢ The groundsman’s shed has received planning permission and we are
waiting for better weather to start erecting it.
Should the lock down finish on 2 December the Club will reopen, and Rugby matches will be shown on the TV. A further announcement will be made in due course.
Thanks to Chris Jeffrey, Sarah-Jane Palmer, David Leworthy and David Pinney for their hard work behind the scenes regarding the COVID regulations allowing members to use the Clubhouse during the TV matches and the ground a safe place for training. Thanks also to all the Junior section and Colts coaches and management for all their hard work in keeping the younger players engaged and making it fun as well as safe. Also, to the Junior Section committee for keeping spirits up during these difficult times.
Volunteers are required to help Shaun Norris on a Saturday or a Sunday with several maintenance jobs. Please contact him on 07843 096493 if you can help.
We will continue to provide this Newsletter bi-monthly, any feedback on content will be welcome to Steve Smith bidefordrfcmembership@gmail.com
