Welcome
Upton Junior Football Club
Upton JFC has won a £5,000 Grow the Game grant, from the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity.
The grant will allow us to create a new Under 7s team of 20 children aged six and seven years old. The grant will also provide funding for two coaches to be trained to ‘FA Level 1’ standard and will enable essentials such as facility hire, league entry fees and affiliation fees to be paid for.
More information about this grant can be found in the Grow the Game Press Release.
As you may be aware, the club held its first fund raising function at Chester Racecourse last Month. A fantastic total of £3,000 was raised, this figure was possible due to the generosity of you the parents attending the function and in the purchase of raffle tickets, as well as the amazing gifts donated by parents and local businesses.
This money will go in some part to a reserve fund that we are building for a potential ground purchase, but some funds will also go right back into the age groups with the purchase of equipment.
As you may be aware, the club is going through a time of transition with new and very capable people coming on board to help in its running. In fact Michelle Lally, our new Funding Manager, was responsible for the organisation of the Chester Racecourse event. She, along with other members of the club and parents, show what can be achieved with the right people in place.
I also have the pleasure to tell you that the club has a new Child Welfare Officer in Sue Cable. Her role is a vital one, ensuring the club meets all criteria for a Charter Development Club. She is here for you the parents and any person who feels that something may not be right. This could be from a player being upset, to the more obvious child protection issues.
Our current Secretary and Treasurer, who have served the club so well during their time in post, have informed me that they would like a break. This is to happen starting from the 2012-13 season. Therefore, I am looking for potential helpers out there who may like to take these roles on.
The job of Secretary is mainly admin based. However, there is also the requirement to attend 2 meetings a month at the Chester & District and Ellesmere Port Leagues. The busiest time is at the start of every season when the club and league registration for all Upton JFC age group players and FA forms need to be filled in. You will be given assistance settling into the role from our current Secretary who will show you the ropes.
The Treasurer role, is as you may think, dealing with the finances of the club. It involves payment and receiving of cheques, and book keeping of on average a turnover of £25,000 per season. This is obviously an abbreviated description but again our current Treasurer will assist you.
I will of course also be on hand to assist in my own little way to help you settle in. Please remember that I am available to you via email or phone call with any concerns you may have.
Kevin Stanley - Club Chairman
Under 9 and Under 10 Mini-Football teams were introduced to Futsal, the international version of 5-a-side, last Sunday in the first ever tournament of its kind in Chester. Organised by Upton JFC at the Northgate Arena, over 100 kids from 16 teams took part. Neil Turner and Ken Berry, year group Managers, ensured it was total football by organising 56 games in record time during the all-day event. Medals were awarded for team work and ball skills which Futsal focuses upon. Exhausted, but relieved that it had proved a success for everybody concerned, they are already looking forward to the next one.
A picture of all the competing Under 9 teams can be found in the Photo Gallery.
Upton JFC will be holding a Fundraising Social Evening on Saturday 28th January 2012 at the Leverhulme Suite, Chester Racecourse. The evening will include a Hot Fork Supper, Disco, Licenced Bar, & Raffle. Tickets for this great night out cost £20 and will be issued on a first come first served basis – limited numbers!
This is a fantastic opportunity to raise funds for the club and have fun doing it - a great night is sure to be had by all. More information about the Evening and how to obtain tickets can be found in the Fundraiser Newsletter.
We are very proud to announce that Upton JFC have been awarded Sport England lottery funding to the value of £3,740. This funding will be used to pay for FA Level 1 coaching for all those Managers and Coaches who do not currently have this qualification – 22 in all.
The award is the culmination of many months of hard work by a small team of volunteers at the club. The application process is arduous and complex, involving a 20 page on-line application form, a project plan, an expenditure forecast, supporting documentation, referee endorsement and much more. Sport England have very strict award criteria and only 60% of applications are successful.
We were allocated the funding because we were able to prove that overall standards at the Club would be raised by having this qualification in place for everyone and therefore offer the same level of coaching excellence for every player, regardless of age group.
We are now working with the FA to arrange a training course/courses for Upton JFC exclusively, which is good use of the funding money and is also excellent for team-building at the Club.
I am sure you all agree that this is excellent news and a great start to the 2011-12 Season.
