At the clubs AGM last week the improvement in the financial position of the club was outlined to members and the Tigers netball club was officially written into the clubs constitution, which now embeds them into the Tigers Den and we wish them every success in their forthcoming inaugural season. It was also announced that a new major revenue stream will come into the club from February 2018 with the commencement of Tiger Bingo at Wrest point. We thank Wrest point and Dominic Baker for this very exciting and valuable fundraising opportunity.
I take this opportunity to officially thank out going president Steve Old who will go down in history as the foundation president of the club and we thank him for taking on this inaugural role and for his efforts in helping the club bed down its position in the TSL competition. I also would like to thank Martin Jarman and Ben Harrison who resigned from the board and I thank them for the time they have devoted to help strategically develop the club over the last few years.
The Club is embarking on a new direction with a new President and in recent months the board has been working diligently behind the scenes to reset the football department and take a quantum leap forward in the journey of changing the culture of the football club. In the review of last season the board identified the key to future proofing the Tiger brand is to provide all resource possible to lift on field performance and change our culture. We need to; focus more on pride in the Tiger brand, Focus on improvement in on field performance, lift our Commitment to hard work, the team, the jumper and playing excellence. Essentially we all want to simply win more footy games and consistently play finals footy to give us every chance to win premierships and enjoy those rewards for all the hard work that goes on around the club. This reset has brought a new coaching team to the club. I and the board thank Aaron Vince and his team of support coaches for their efforts in season 2017 in what was a very difficult situation at the start of the season and in no uncertain terms it is a fact the club would have struggled to compete last year without Aarons willingness to step into the role at the last minute. Thankyou Aaron and good luck.
Change in any organisation can be difficult and with change comes learning and new experiences. The change to our coaching group brings with it a new message, a new voice and with that comes a new game plan, new training regimes, reinvigoration to the playing group, new exciting playing talent to add to an already solid list and ultimately a different Tiger brand of footy on field in 2018. Early reports are the core group of senior men’s players are training exceptionally hard and enjoying the new learning curve they are embarking upon under the guise of our new Senior Coach Trent Baumeler. Our senior women are certainly setting the standard on the ‘Willis wing’ under new Women’s Senior coach Brad Willis focusing on skill and game development, there are certainly exciting times ahead for both playing groups and player numbers at training have been extremely positive. To those players who have left the Tigers post season 2017 we thank you for your efforts and wish you all the very best in your football life and to our new players a very warm welcome to the Tiger family and we all are looking forward to see you reach your footy goals in season 2018 and beyond.
Strategically in the coming years the board will focus on maintaining the solid business base the club has by developing partnerships with stakeholders such as the State Government, the Kingborough Council and the local SFL clubs. There is no doubt increasing our on field success will bring more supporters and members to the club and also additional sponsors. Our aim is to foster a one club culture encompassing our Senior men, Senior Women, Junior club and Netball club. We must ensure all divisions work and act as one team fostering a strong Tiger brand focusing on success and excellence in playing performance, community, family and inclusiveness. The board is working on developing additional revenue streams and from time to time committees will be formed to assist in bringing ideas to fruition. When these opportunities arise I challenge the membership and supporter base to get involved as we aim to be an inclusive club. Together we all must focus on our providing the necessary resources to all of our playing groups so they can reach their full potential and deliver success for the club and ensure the environment exists for them to achieve their sporting goals.
The boards immediate challenge is to ensure success with the AFL preseason game in February at the twin ovals. The board will meet in early January to formulate plans as we must maximise this fundraising opportunity to its full potential. We will need an army of volunteers and this game will be the first touch stone we have as an inclusive club to nurture the opportunity to its full potential. It will be a time to showcase the club and our state of the art facilities to the AFL community with a view to attracting many more opportunities in the years to come.
In closing I wish all of the families in the club a very merry and safe Christmas and I look forward to seeing many of you around the club preseason as the countdown begins to season 2018.
Paul Gadomski – President – Kingborough Tigers
Go Tigers!
