On behalf of the Board of Glasgow Hawks, I would like to thank all players, coaches, support staff, supporters and volunteers for the efforts that everyone has put in to the season just finished.  It has been a long hard season but a much more successful season both on and off the park than the previous two seasons where we skirted perilously close to relegation at 1st XV level and on occasion at 2nd XV level having to bring players out of retirement or borrow players from other clubs in order that fixtures were fulfilled. The 1sts coming 5th in Premier 1 was just short of our target 4th position and if we had not lost injury time scores away at Melrose and Heriots, as well as a couple of last minute penalties dropping short or wide against Melrose and West at home then we would have ended up in a strong 3rd position. The 2nds had a great season finishing a strong 2nd in the Premier Reserve League and with a very youthful side to boot. With the vast majority of the senior squad remaining at Hawks and with the inevitable influx of new aspirants for the Hawks’ jersey then the future looks rosy. All in all a good effort from the players and from Director of Rugby, Peter Wright and his coaching and support team.

 

We have, though, to say good bye and thanks to five Hawks’ stalwarts in players, Duncan Weir, Nick Cox, Ian Noble & Steven Duffy along with Board member, Lindsay Crawford. Duncan has signed professionally with the Warriors, Nick is off to a new job in South Ayrshire, Steven is retiring from the game, and Ian is off to North Ayrshire as player/coach for Irvine RFC.  Lindsay is set to become Chairman of The Glasgow Academical Club. All five have put in a tremendous effort both on and off the park for Hawks and our best wishes go to all five as they embark on ventures new.

 

On the youth front, we continue to make strides to developing and supporting the game at our three independent schools and also in the primary and secondary state sector where Grant Talbot and his assistant coaches, Rory Mackay, Andy White & Jamie Coskry have done some tremendous work. Our thanks also go to the youth coaches at Midi level who continue to develop the Hawks Youth section and next season sees an exciting Under 18 team project in conjunction with Hillhead-Jordanhill and Cartha Queens Park. Next season should also see the Hawks’ Mini Section up and running as well and all this development work emphasises the strides we are making in ensuring that Hawks becomes a true community club embracing and supporting all sections of society.

 

I would also like to pass on my thanks to my fellow Board members and to all the volunteers who have worked hard behind the scenes. It has been a challenging year on a number of fronts. Losing our CEO, Kenny Baillie last December was a blow and the recession caused huge difficulties in fund raising. However with the appointment of commercial manager Zena Melki who will be working closely with all our existing sponsors as well as sourcing new sponsors and new sources of revenue, we look forward to an exciting year of ensuring we raise enough income to support our employees, players, coaching staff and the various community projects that are now underway. The new Supporters’ Club is about to launched on June 1st and we are planning a number of innovative and exciting events for next season so ‘watch this space’ as they say. I’d also like to thank Hawks Trust ‘leading lights’, David Mackay and Brian Simmers who have worked hard at not only getting the Trust established but also in raising funds to support our community development work. A big thank you also goes to those individuals who have supported the Trust financially since the Trusts’ formation.

 

All that remains is for me to once again, say thanks to all for making the season a ‘good’ one and I hope that everyone enjoys their summer ‘break’ with a view to coming back re-energised for a ‘great’ season in 2010-11.

This article was posted on 10-May-2010, 10:28 by Hugh Barrow.