At the recent AGM, Mark Newey, who had been Chair of the Board for 13 years, was appointed President of the Club and I have taken over as Chair, supported by two Vice Chairs, Rhodri James (Youth Chair) and JJ Masters (Operations) both of whom play a vital role in the running of our Club. Huge thanks to Mark for his enormous contribution as Chair during some challenging times however as Executive President his time impacting the future of Heath is not over!

For those of you that don’t know me, I have been involved with Haywards Heath RFC for most of my life, as a player from Colts to 1st XV, then coach of my son’s age group from U6 through to Colts. I currently handle liaison between the Board and the 1stXV coaching team. I have been on the board as Vice Chair for eight years and am delighted to take over as Chair at this hugely exciting time for the Club.

The new HHRFC Clubhouse is expected to be completed in late Autumn 2024. This amazing new facility that has rapidly emerged at Whitemans Green over the last seven months following seven years of hard work around fund raising and planning, will become the Whitemans Green Sports Club (WGSC) - with other local sports clubs and community groups joining us to be part of a larger community of multi-sport activities maximising use of the fantastic new building.

As you hopefully all know we have ambitious plans to make WGSC even more multi-sport with the addition of a gym and padel tennis courts – a big thank you to all who took the time to get involved and support the planning application. We should hopefully hear early next month whether permission is granted so fingers crossed.

Membership of WGSC will bring its own benefits including lower prices for drinks at the bar, discounted membership of the gym and padel club and access to the Clubhouse will be for members only plus guests. Those of you that attended the HHRFC AGM in May will know that from 2024/25, membership of WGSC will be required in addition to membership of HHRFC to help contribute towards the establishment and running costs of our new prestigious Clubhouse requiring full time staff. The same will apply to all other WGSC-affiliated sports clubs.

The WGSC membership fee for 2024/25 will be £50pa, discounted to just £40pa for each category of HHRFC members, including Vice Presidents and Life Members. Family memberships of WGSC will also be £40pa and will cover all members of the family as per the current HHRFC membership structure.

This WGSC membership for HHRFC members only will include FREE padel club membership during year 1 of operation, worth at least £120pa. HHRFC membership fees have been held at the same rate as the last two seasons for almost all age groups to minimise the effect of this change on your pocket. If we take inflation into account, the total to be paid this season still represents a reduction in real terms and is relatively low compared to many other sports clubs in the area as we have steered away from charging match fees.

The new HHRFC membership products are available online NOW with a generous discount for early purchasers and will be paid as a single lump sum online via Pitchero. Buy your membership early HERE to save money. We have a scheme to support those who are really struggling financially but want to stay members of the Club called Rugby For All supported by Sweeptech Environmental Services – speak to your age group coach or any member of the Board for help if this might be relevant for you.

We hope you will all be able to come and watch the 1st XV this coming season – the first home match is on Saturday 14 September as the squad take its place in Surrey Sussex 1 after recently gaining promotion. There will be plenty of other rugby to watch on Saturdays as the Rams (2nd XV) who were also promoted take their place in Sussex Division 3 and you may also get to occasionally see our Vets team, the reigning Sussex Champions, pulling on the Heath kit for a run out.

A word of warning for the early part of the season is that parking will be an issue whilst the construction of the new car park is concluded and pitch space may sometimes be cramped as we plan to switch over from the old Clubhouse to the new. Please be patient (it will be worth it!) and car share where possible.

The hard work of the Clubhouse Team continues with fund raising events such as the City Lunch on Friday 4 October which is really important to make sure the new Clubhouse can be fitted out to the best that it can be – please come along and support this and other events this autumn. Details of how to buy tickets or tables can be found on our website HERE. We want everyone to enjoy the new Clubhouse when it opens later this year so we leave a lasting legacy for current and future generations of rugby players and supporters at Heath!

I look forward to seeing you at Whitemans Green very soon for what will be an historic season on and off the pitch!

DANIEL VANDER
HHRFC Chair