Last friday saw the East girls swap shorts and shirts for ball gowns to attend the Annual East Region Dinner Dance and Presentation night.
The event held in Kings Lynnn was organised by Malcolm Baker who did a fantastic job of ensuring the night was a huge success.
A big thank you goes to Malcolm from all in East for all his hard work in getting the evening arranged.
Special guest this year to present the awards was Maggie Alphonsi IRB Womens Rugby Player of the Year 2006.
Prize Winners
Manager / Coach of the Year Steve Savory (Sudbury & Saracens)
Club of the Year Basildon & Rochford (Basford)
County of the Year Essex
Senior Player of the Year Maggie Alphonsi (Saracens &England)
U17's Player of the Year Natalie McClarnon (Basford)
U14's Player of the Year Megan Robson (Basford)
Unsung Hero of the Year Tina Turner (Basford)
Volunteer of the Year Phil Robson (Basford)
Outstanding Achievement Becky Roby (Fullarians)
Services to Womens Rugby Vincent Acheson (Eastern Counties)
A special award was presented to Malcolm Baker for his tireless commitment to Womens Rugby by Alan Brown.
Congatulations to all those nominees and prize winners.
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21 comments:
Wow! Essex managed to win pretty much everything then.
Well, not so much Essex as one Essex club.
Impressive how on-field success and off-field work was so well acknowledged by the end of season awards.
Well done Basford - the best club in East Region!
LOL!! Wat u have 2 do to win n e thin if u not from Basford, then?
Well I think every one who won everything deserved to. Basford were excellent this season and most definatly the best TEAM around.
WIsh I was there guys. Well done!!!
Scottie
Those people who posted comments the cowardly way without leaving their names will note that their views have now been removed.
This site is not here to be used to critisise or aim cheap digs at any person or club.It is there to promote Girls Rugby in the county and as such will not post negative comments towards any club or person.
If you feel unhappy with things that happen such as other clubs getting more recognition than yours, then start your own club blog and air your views there.
Phil
We now see who has control and the reason that one team won everything??
Why does this happen in girls rugby??
A blog I am sure should be an area to view points of view, both negative and positive. If you do not know the other side of the story you will make the wrong decisions going forward.
Please do not be dishearten by this reply, 95% of what you are doing for your club, county, region and girls rugby is great for promoting the girls game.
Point of the message 'Look at the way the awards are decided and what clubs and players achieve throughout the season??'
Your comments are noted, however not sure what you mean by we now see who has control, and why one team won everything.
Voting for the awards was open and available to all. Perhaps if more people had voted from other clubs, then the result may have been different, but please do not decry the achievements of those who won.(unless you are man enough to put your name to your complaint. those girls play their hearts out week in week out and do not deserve the comments you made)
This is an independant blog for Girls rugby in Essex and can only promote things if others send them in.
It is not a tool to allow anyone to post snide comments. Constructive critisism is always welcome but have the guts to say who you are.
As you wish to remain anonymous do I take it you are ashamed of your club.
Your final paragraph then asks about clubs and players achievements through the season.
OK Basford U14's won the Rochford Festival and came runners up in the National 7's
the U17's didnt win any honours at club level
As a county, the U17's won the County Festival and The U14's again finished runners up.
As for players achievements, Basford has 2 girls at TDG AND 4 U14 girls were selected for trials at the schools of Rugby.
Selection for these positions is via the RFU / RFUW SO CLUBS CANNOT INFLUENCE ANYTHING.
I think that in itself is a fair view on why girls from Basford won awards.
Letchworth and Welwyn both had successful seasons across the border in Herts and played a huge part in the Regional programme.
Both of these clubs fully support County and Regional rugby.
Both of these clubs were also well represented in the nominations for the awards.
I trust that answers your comments, but I am sure that you will still have something to say (constructive!!!!!!!)
Well said phil as a coach at letchworth it was pleasing to see basford do so wellat the awards and how a well structured well supported club can achieve so much.
All of those who picked up awards fully deserved them and I think it would be unfair to suggest otherwise.
Congratulations to you all!!!
Thanks Joe
nice to get some positive feedback.
We are by the way doing market research to find the best (cheapest)supplier of beans to assist with Uni Life
watch this space
Good luck mate
Phil
I apologise if I have in anyway put down the achievements of the girls who have won the awards. Any girl who plays rugby for club, county and region puts their heart and soul into the game and we cannot reward them all at awards ceromonies.
Apologies accepted however many of the girls had already seen your comments.
Perhaps you would like to respond to them personally
Well done to all!
Carry on the great work next season!
I think the difficulty here is that anon on the 18th June 12:08 was criticising the process as much as the outcome. But it seems that some have taken it upon themselves to see it as a personal attack (he/she migh perhaps have phrased things better!)
It is quite possible to be critical about how something is done without intending to have any sort of dig at those who benefit from it. Its a bit like the annual debate over school exams, where the those who say that the exams are becoming too easy are not intending to decry the eforts of the students who take them. Okay, politicians then invariably leap up and claim that critics have insulted the students concerned, but that is just politicians for you.
Similarly here the question of whether a free vote (with no control over who votes) is an appropriate means deciding end of season awards is a legitimate subject of debate. The actual results that were achieved is irrelevent to that debate.
After all, whatever system you use will have a bias - in this case towards those who can "get the vote out". But if instead (to control the electorate better) the vote was carried out at the dinner instead it would be unfair for those who could not get to the dinner, and if things were decided by committee) things they would be biased toward those on the committee (or so it woudl be claimed).
Moreover each method would probably come up with a different result. Which is why the question of whether the actual winners were the "right" winners is irrelevent - because, as Phil says, in the terms under which the awards were organised, they WERE the right winners... because they won!
Perhaps a more fundamental question is to ask what the awards are aiming to achieve, and whether it is felt that they are achiveing that aim. because there is a danger in dismissing negative feedback as mere "jealosy". If someone has gone to the trouble of leaving a comment it will be because they are unhappy - possibly quite angry. They may be alone, but if they are in any way representative of even a significant minority then it needs to be tackled. If the perception (and perception is invariably far more important than truth!) is that only certain people/groups stand any chance of winning what effect will that have in future? Not just on the awards but on the cohesiveness of the region?
[At which point everyone says "Yeah he would say that - Letchworth didn't win anything. Which is true - but then we weren't the best club. Depending on what you mean by "best" there are probably two or three other clubs with better cases).
John
I agree totally with your comments, and how this can be resolved in future is a mystery.
Perhaps a commitee made up of one representative of each club within the region would be the answer.
However as Malcolm is the man who instigates the awards and works extremely hard to make sure it happens, then he is the man to decide how he thinks it should be run.
As you say some may have seen the comments as direct critisism while others may have seen the content behind the comments.
That aside, if someone has a problem with how the awards are judged or handed out, then surely that person should be brave enough to say who they are so people can deal with them.
The issue of whether a club can "get the votes" out is a valid one, if you have larger clubs they may well be able to muster more votes. However the size of a club should not discourage people from voting.
The real issue is one of apathy towards the awards from certain clubs.
Did the person who has a problem with how the voting worked out actually cast a vote.
It is the same as say, local elections, where people complain about certain parties who may have been elected, but didnt actually bother to go and vote themselves.
I dont think it is a problem that can easily be resolved, also as the awards are not official awards from the RFUW, then how can you insist on a set format for voting/ nominations.
The issue of best team is a difficult one, our U17's didn't win a thing this year,(Not for the want of trying)whereas say Letchworth and Westcliff U17's did.
Our U14's on the other hand won the Rochford Festival, came runners up at Herts 7's, and the National 7's and were unbeaten in the club game sthey played this year (14 in total). Could the arguement be that "Basford" won club of the year on the back of the U14's achievements then.
Similarly you could say well, Letchworth or Welwyn were as much the club of the year based on both their on field achievements, and what they put back into the community etc. Letchworth have a good standing in the local community , and within Herts.
There is also a great deal of admiration and respect for both Letchworth and Welwyn from all within Essex.
Unfortunately there seems to be this negativity towards the girls rugby, and our "club" in particular.
Maybe the critisism was not meant to be a personal attack on the girls, more a critisism of the way the awards were carried out, however it seems that there are parties out there who have problems with "Basford".
It is not that long ago as you recall that we had to change the blog layout and become an unofficial site. This came about following complaints from a local rival that we were biased towards "Basford".
We took on board the comments and became an independant site to promote Girls Rugby in general within the county.
To date however we have not recieved any items for inclusion on the site from those that had the problem in the first place.
Is it that some people just like to complain.
Any way to finish, regardless of who won,(and yes, those who look at it with a slanted view, I can say that), surely the whole ethos is surely to bring the game to as many peoples attention as possible.
and therefore maybe the ramblings of a mad man keeps Girls rugby in the forefront of everyones mind.
Good luck with Letchworth and Herts next year, and we look forward to a few battles on the field.
19 June 2007 14:15
John Birch is a star, using a blog for what it is designed to do. For people to air their views and then for others to respond.
However coming back to my point of early blog on the 18th June, I never questioned who has won, I never questioned the good work being done by many at Basford and in Essex, I fully support all girls rugby(where that thought came from I am not sure) I only questioned the way the awards are decided.
An open vote system can be manipulated so that the club or county with the most enthusiasm will often win. The question I asked is that right??
These are my personal views, not of any clubs therefore who I am is totally irrelevant.
The East of England are doing so much right for girls rugby and that would win my vote anyday, lets keep it going, lets expand on it and let people have their say because whether positve or negative we can learn from these comments as long as we do not take them personally.
Your views are taken on board and we will hopefully move forward in the best way that will benefit the girls.
My only critisism is your comment earlier that insinuated that the vote was not open.
"We now see who has control and the reason that one team won everything??"
Perhaps you would care to explain!!!
wow !! wot else can i say you all looked beautiful !!
WELL DONE too all the people who got awards you all desevered them well done again.
love you all
sarah c XXX
Woo!
Basford rock - team of the year!
Essex - county of the year!
man were so god damn good o and sexy!
hahaha
"We now see who has control and the reason that one team won everything??"
You wanted to know why I posted these comments, your post of 8 June 2007 10:11 got me thinking that when any one started to question the process you deleted their and my posts therefore having control over the process. I just asked the question.
In the end it has worked because we have had a good discussion about the prosess and hopefully a new way will be discussed and agreed going forward.
Happy girls rugby for 2007/8
Congratulations to Basford and others.
Well there will always be someone who makes daft comments. However there is a more serious point to be made. I suspect that some of the organisers have been involved for so many years and know the organisation so well that sometimes they forget how puzzling it is for some of us who are fairly new to rugby let alone all this award stuff.
I didn't vote because I heard about it fairly late, I felt that I wasn't sure why some people had been nominated or who was allowed to vote. There a lot of valiant seen and unseen volunteers around: what made these ones particularly special this year? Perhaps next year the reasons why they were nominated could be published. Also how is the voting controlled? Who is allowed to vote? Can you vote as many times as you like? Or only once from 1 PC? Why not say you can only vote for someone who is not at your club?
All the best, Heather (Letchworth)
Congratulations to all those who won awards especially Natalie, who was a great captain for East and a pleasure to coach. Thanks to all at Essex that gave their time and support to me at region this year,i think the awards reflect your dedication and enthusiasm. well done again
Clive Cramphorn
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