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Mad dogs and Englishmen...

The invitation letters for our first tournament in 2004 read that the event was being held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the football club.

Possibly, the real reason was because we thought we could run a tournament and fancied the challenge.

There is also the fact that a tournament does put a club on the footballing map and can serve as a major source of fundraising. This in turn helps us provide football to the 200 players that we currently have proudly turning out in the red and black stripes each Saturday or Sunday morning.

So after a great deal of hard work from many people, the 2004 tournament went ahead comprising 44 teams over 3 age groups on 4 pitches.

It was a steep learning curve but a great triumph and we finished at 6.30pm and raised £1400. Every penny of this went towards the teams.

Having proved that we could do it, we could have left it there but instead we increased the goalposts.

The 2005 tournament was held on the 11th June and comprised 60 teams over 4 age groups and 5 pitches. There were eventually 57 teams on the day as we had some very late withdrawals meaning hasty re-writes of the schedule. It was pleasing to see that many teams who participated last year were back again. 

From the first draft of the invitation letters that were written in December 2004 until the last of the 20 dustbin bags full of litter were thrown into the tip the morning after the event, the effort put in by so many people needs to be acknowledged. Some of the people involved with this club are second to none.

Firstly, our club secretary Chris Endersby and our Social & Fundraising secretary Zoë, must take a great deal of credit for their huge inputs.

Thanks to the rest of the organising committee; Brian Bailey, Paul Stevens and Mike Cooper. Also to Colin Sutcliffe who helps in various capacities but buys us the best burgers you can imagine with his catering expertise and contacts.

Apart from good planning and good football, the success on the day must surely be due to just two factors; three if you include the weather.

Firstly, good refereeing and these guys have the added responsibility of keeping the day on schedule.

I would therefore like to thank the following referees who did an unbelievable job. Many of the people listed here worked from the 9am kick off until early evening and the rest were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thanks to you all...

I counted 120 matches!

Secondly, there is the catering. Again, a massive effort and some of these people were setting up barbeques at 7.00am to serve breakfast for the early starters. A lesson learnt from 2004.

There are also the kind people who joined us at a ridiculously early time to set up the goals and equipment plus the people such as Ray Batstone and some others who I do not even know who collapsed the goal posts and filled up the litter bags and fetched and carried.

Thanks to the guys who directed the hundreds of cars in and out of the car park. No mean feat considering that there is just a one-lane shared entry and exit point. (Dale and Alex Geeves, Roy, Nico Stevens, Dan Endersby ).

Thanks to the photographer and author of the website match reports (Alex Geeves again),

Thanks to the programme sellers and results runners (Carrie Marling and Danielle Sutcliffe),

Thanks to entertainment manager (Steve Huckstepp) and the face painter (Belinda)

and if I have forgotten anyone, then please let me know and I will change this note.

I think that the 2005 tournament was an even greater success than last year. Apart from increasing the stature of the club and raising funds, we gave a day’s football, as well as 31 winners and 31 runner-up trophies, to 400 young people.

This is a huge achievement and I hope that they always remember the day with happiness. Please have a look at the photos that Alex took to see some of the stars of the day and my final thanks therefore go to all of the players, the team managers and spectators who took part.

I am pleased to announce that we also raised over £1600 for the club. New balls please!

Regards,

Andy Marling

Tournament Organiser 2005

andy@coxheath.fslife.co.uk

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