UNFORTUNATELY HHRFC MINIS FESTIVAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED ON SUNDAY 29 SEPTEMBER DUE TO THE WEATHER THIS WEEK WHICH MEANS INSUFFICIENT PARKING AVAILABLE TO HOST A FESTIVAL. THIS WILL BE REARRANGED FOR APRIL 2025.

Message from Rhodri James, HHRFC Youth Chair:

I am delighted to be able to let you all know that our 1st XV senior captain Wilf and his partner Katie are expecting their first child in January 2025. Wilf has played for Haywards Heath since he was 6 years old and Katie has been a familiar face at the club over the last several years.

We can all imagine their excitement at hearing that wonderful news but that news is now tempered by the fact that Katie has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin Lymphoma. She is 29 years of age and until this diagnosis has lived a healthy lifestyle.

Katie’s treatment has started and will continue. The baby is scheduled to be delivered by C-Section in early December to enable Katie to receive her last two rounds of chemotherapy without further risk to the baby. Katie is a fighter but the coming months promise to be about as tough as one can imagine.

We at HHRFC want to support Katie and Wilf as best we can. We have a huge weekend of rugby over the weekend 28-29 September and we will be fundraising for the couple over both days:
• On the Saturday, the senior team will play Cobham in the Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex League and we will have mini and junior players acting as ball boys and girls with collection buckets.
• On the Sunday, we host our annual HHRFC Minis Festival and we will once again have collection buckets around the grounds. In addition, we are adding £2 to the cost of parking at the festival, taking the total cost to £5 per car.

We know you will join with us to wish Katie and Wilf well over the coming months. If anyone reading this wishes to make a donation to the couple, please contact rugby@hhrfc.co.uk.

We are hoping to raise at least £1,000 for Katie and Wilf to put towards equipping their home for the new arrival and supporting Katie through her treatment. Other funds raised over the weekend will go towards the HHRFC Clubhouse Project.

We look forward to a fantastic weekend of rugby and a great season at Heath, with the biggest victory of all being Katie and Wilf kicking cancer into touch.

Thank you for your support.