Message from the Incoming President

Hello TBML Members,
I write with a degree of excitement about the opportunities for our club. Last season was unprecedented in my seven year involvement at our club, with four of our teams reaching the Group 9 Southern Pool finals. The talent and potential is there for us to continue that success. To realise the clubs potential, some things will need to change. I’ll start with me – I’ll have to swallow my pride and get Facebook, as I realise its capacity as a communication medium for our clubs and its members.
I’d like to thank Nikki Wilesmith for the past four seasons she has given to our club as President. A lot of Nikki’s work has gone unnoticed and unspoken. I am so glad she will be continuing on our committee in at least the capacity of Secretary, and possibly Secretary/Treasurer. I cannot match the dedication and availability of Nikki, so throughout the work day, necessary communication with our members will mostly continue to come through her. If you hear it from her, it’s as good as hearting it from me.
On that note, I’d like to thank all of our outgoing committee for the dedication and passion they have shown our club. I’ll make particular mention of Melissa Duffy who has been our “jack of all trades’ Treasurer over the past three seasons, Kylie Putland who filled the role of Secretary of our club twice in my time on the committee and Katrina Wake, who along with her band of volunteers did a fantastic job, both in the canteen and through fundraising activities throughout the 2017 season. Thanks ladies for your efforts – you will be missed.
On Nikki’s role, she has been selfless in taking on a combined Secretary role. Personally, I have some issues with the fact that we are in a situation where she has had to do this. Surely, there is someone out there who could take on the Treasurer role. If you’re interested, please get in contact with one of the two of us.
We live in a time where everything is heavily regulated in Rugby League and every year that regulation seems to get bigger. Coaches require qualifications, teams require qualified LeagueSafe personnel to access their players on the field, Sports-Trainers and Ground Managers are required for every game and, as always, our referee base could be bigger. We also have a requirement for ladies in the canteen and set-up/pack-up volunteers on game day. I believe that each and every family should have atleast one parent/carer, volunteering in some capacity. Without this, the load is too heavy, on too few. The committee will always represent our clubs in the roles it is designated to do, but there will always be a requirement for parents to lend support in some of the aforementioned areas. If you’re going to volunteer, fantastic – welcome aboard. The club will pay for any qualifications you need so that you (and the club) can be compliant with Group 9 regulations. We will however need from you, a Working with Children Check and the required qualification complete. If our members expect me to sign off on our games, I expect us to keep within the regulations. I will not be putting my name to any teams that are not compliant, therefore it is important all volunteers roles for all teams are filled.
On our Batlow end, simply put, we need more help. The committee has decided to continue with Batlow, but the days of taking training there and half of our home games are probably over. I say this with some trepidation as I have many good friends in Batlow and spent four years working there. The volunteer work of Josh and Renae Smith over the previous few seasons has been fantastic, and I hope that Josh and Renae continue working with our club. However, with just as many (if not more) children coming out of Rosewood and Humula as what come out of Batlow, it is hard to justify our club continuing to represent the communities of Tumbarumba and Batlow in a 50-50 split ratio. On Batlow, I’d like to also thank and acknowledge the support of Major League President, Larry Collins, who has always been a source of great support from the Batlow community for our Minor League club. If numbers of players and volunteers in Batlow increase, which I hope is the case, then naturally my mind-set will change.
If you’ve got an issue with our club, please either come to a committee meeting or bring it to the attention of myself or another committee member. It is only then that we can take steps to address it. Over my years on the committee, I have had to ‘suck things up’ as a parent – that’s just life. Bagging out the club, or members of the committee, particularly via social media or in a public forum is a reflection on those that chose to do that, rather than our club or anyone on its committee.
Throughout the season, I plan (unless I’m required in a coaching capacity) to be available from 4pm near the Pioneer Hall for anyone who wants to talk about any issues they see within the club. However, the committee can’t fix any issues without being made aware of them in the first place and your support. Please approach me or a member of the committee so that you can get your issues heard and potentially resolved.
Apart from Nikki, I’d like to thank Craig Webb (Senior Vice President), Jon Richards (Junior Vice-President) and Vanessa Chaffey (Registrar). I look forward to working with you guys over the coming season. I’d also like to thank Tammy Lesniak, Maddy McPherson, Brett White and Patrick Wilesmith for their attendance at our AGM. Your support is valued and appreciated. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be looking into our clubs constitution to ensure your input at committee meeting receives the value it should in terms of voting rights.
Nikki and I attended the Group 9 AGM earlier this week, and it was a late finish – 10.15pm! In terms of compliance, we will need to ensure that all Coaches, Referees, Ground Managers, Sports Trainers and LeagueSafe officials are all accredited. As seems to be the case nearly every year at the Group 9 AGM, there was a push to have a combined Group 9, with no Southern or Northern Pool. Fortunately for our club, we dodged this bullet for another season. It would have meant driving as afar as Young, Temora and Boorowa for games of football. The Southern Pool teams for Group 9 are still to be finalised for season 2018.
I’d like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable time with family and friends over the summer months. We have locked in Registration Day – 18/2/18. It will be great to build on our numbers from this year in our wonderful new playing strip!

Yours sincerely, Derek Smith TBML President (2018)