In addition to a typical Christmas message this does also contain some useful info around what we have been up to and our plans for 2022. 😉
But first I’d like to reflect on 2021. Its been a tough year but I think PPT has navigated it well. During these times with the disruption and working from home I know playing touch with and socialising with friends in an amazing park environment was something many (including myself) looked forward too.
I was especially proud of the fact that not only did we finish the 2021 Winter season (in November) but also grew participation this year to record levels. Across our various arms we were already the largest touch organisation in the state but thrillingly for the first time our mid week social competitions are now the biggest in Victoria (11 years ago we were 4th).
Especially pleasing is the history we now have in our park competition. One team now in its 20th year playing at PPT and many with 15 years or more of history still running around. This season we also started our Juniors program and will be running a second module in 2022 so we can now look at getting multiple generations involved.
Anyway let look at what is coming up
Draws and Grades
Teams have now been allocated across both weeks of the split round:
For Wednesday’s the draw here
https://princesparktouch.com/social-competition/wednesday-draw/
A small number of teams played in a special Christmas round this week with the balance playing on the 05th and 06th).
For Thursday’s the draw here :
https://princesparktouch.com/social-competition/thursday-draw/
If you are playing please get organised now, this means communicating with the team and putting the call out for recruits/fill ins if your team is low on numbers. The new year is a great time to start a new sport so if your teams needs players start recruiting now.
By way of explanation, we started 1 week later than usual and and want to return to our usual 13-14 game season (the longest in Melbourne. Therefore we are running this split round over the Christmas break to ensure a full length season grouped around the days with the most daylight.
This late start also means the finalisation of grades is pushed back into the new year.
Membership
As a non profit incorporated association devoted to touch football our players must be members. Essential to this are:
- Having a complete team list. The long promised functionality to manage team lists we have been working on with LocalHero is now in place and teams will need to use it.
- Signing on each week. Signing on via our online form is required for every player every week. This is not simply for contact tracing but also for membership, insurance, and finals purposes.
- Every player must have read the membership faq, some clearly have not, and we will chase up and remind those teams over the break.
PPT Juniors
In November and December we ran a six week free juniors program. We will be looking at doing this again in February/March and are looking to grow the numbers. For those of you with children in years 7-9 (or with family members in that range). Talk to us on the night and/or check the website to find out more.
Represent PPT in 2022
As well as the second half of our touch season, 2021 also brings opportunities to represent PPT.
We will be sending teams to State Cup on the Sunday 13th February! More info will be posted on the website and the boards next to the fields in the new year.
Your ideas?
This year we have been investing  in making the competition better. Examples are the flags, the marquees, referee jerseys and the representative program I mentioned above. However we welcome your ideas on other things we can do?
Finally enjoy Christmas and hope to see you fighting fit (not fat!), when we return on the 05th and 06th of January
