128th Post - Back to the Future

Breaking News.........Changes for 2024 and beyond........Read on.......

           

The Committee, who have efficiently and voluntarily run the Bayside Boules Community Group since late 2019 have discussed, for some time, the future direction of  our sporting organisation.

Since we have started to spread our wings by playing other groups and since we intend to continue playing Home and Away with other boules groups/clubs we are intent on creating an identity as a 'Club' as is the case with most of the other new boules groups.

We have changed the name from Bayside Boules to Bayside Boules Club to help with the identification process.  Over the year we will organise a web presence for other clubs to connect with us.  We will decide club colours, logo and apparel.  We intend to engage more fully with the local community and with the broader Irish Petanque Association (IPA).

Our new annual membership fee reflects our affiliation to the IPA with their Insurance cover for Home and Away events on these Islands and our ambition to become, after the installation of the two new pistes in April/May 2024, one of the more vibrant clubs in Ireland.  The following information, notwithstanding our continuing maintenance roles since 2019, will clearly support the requirement to be more financially solvent going forward.

With the installation of the two new pistes we hope, from this year, to run more inclusive Singles Competitions, for those who wish to play, along with the Singles and Doubles Matchplay competitions.  We will have Triples blitzes and Shooting events also.  We hope to develop the coaching, tactical play and rules knowledge aspects with invites to more experienced players to visit and coach in /alden Park.  Some competitions may have a small fee for prizes etc.

We will continue to organise the Bastille Day event [cancelled last year at the last moment due to inclement weather] and the Mike Deegan Memorial Trophy event with the St. Anne's cohort.  We hope to invite Cavan Petanque Club and Malahide Boules Club to play in Alden Park this summer to reciprocate their kind invitations last year.  We've been invited to send a group to play in Cabinteely and Griffeen this year, also.  We may try to have a new away trip to either Waterford or Sligo....to be arranged...using the free travel!! 

We hope to engage more with the staff of the local primary school with a view to them introducing the sport to the 'Senior' pupils in greater numbers and with greater efficiency.  We already supplied a complete set of gear to the school.  We hope, around the summer period, to develop  Child and Parent/Grandparent days to introduce the sport to a broader, intergenerational cohort.

We have plans to have a Business Houses Competition in the Summer which will not only advertise the sport more broadly but might also generate more members and some sponsorship.  We have identified 50 local businesses who might send two employees each to an event weekend for a small fee to cover our costs etc. for running the event/s.

Our ambition is that some of our members will play in official IPA events over the coming year.  The few of us who played, as individuals, know that many of our players would be competitive and with more coaching in 'Shooting' would contend for honours.

We hope to engage with Fingal Public Participation Network which will support our development as a club and offer potential grant aid going forward.  For membership they require that we are properly established as a club with a Constitution or set of Rules, a bank account, and elected officers following our AGM.  Any potential funding streams are dependent on having these in place.

With this in mind we are having our inaugural AGM for Bayside Boules Club on Sat. 2nd March at  7 p.m. in the Bayside Community Centre.  Paid-up members of the new Bayside Boules Club can attend and vote at the meeting.  Please collect  the membership letter and form from Tom or Ciarán before the AGM.  

We will establish a new WhatsApp Group for the new Bayside Boules Club advising when activities are taking place.  We will post a calendar of events / timetable for both BBC and the IPA shortly.

We want to thank the members of the ad-hoc committee who have, for nearly five years, worked to establish the playing groups in Alden Park.  We hope some will be available for election at the AGM and that some fresh blood will come on board to work towards a viable future for Bayside Boules Club.