The Club has instigated a marketing campaign for the Championship play-off’s under the banner of “The Big Push”. This campaign is to try and get as many people as possible behind the Club’s “Big Push” for promotion. We have adverts on the side of 46 Bristol busses and all advertising and marketing materials for the rest of the season will go out under "The Big Push" banner.

The Club is holding “The Big Push Dinner" at Brunel’s beautiful Passenger Shed next to Temple Meads on the evening of Friday 23rd April. This is the first major Club Dinner for many years and is open to all Supporters, Corporate Clients and Sponsors of the Club. It should be a great evening to celebrate the Club, present awards and dance and be merry. All members of the playing and coaching staff of the Club will be attending the Dinner.

The evening will include:

- Three course traditional meal

- Award presentations

- Live Band

The Club will be running the Bar which will sell at Pub prices rather than at Hotel prices.

Doors will open at 6.30pm, with Dinner being served at 8.00 pm and the Band will play from 10.00 pm until midnight.

There are Gold, Silver and Bronze Corporate packages available to suite a variety of needs.

For Season Ticket Holders and members of the Supporters Club, Bris Trust and Former Players Society the price of the Dinner is £35 per head (including VAT).

Please arrange a table of 10 and then contact us with your request via enquiries@brist.org.uk and we will be in contact to make the arrangements.

We have received two tickets from the Club in recognition of our support for Nathan Brew last season and these will be drawn from those of you who buy a table and the lucky 2 winners will receive their money back!

We'll need to know fast as there are a limited number of tables.

We would like to thank Mark Regan and Mark Hoskins for a fantastic night on 3 February. Mark Regan kindly donated his last Bristol home shirt and shorts and socks (All signed) for the raffle and Mark Hoskins donated a priceless 50th anniversary book of Bristol Rugby. The raffle raised over £225. Thanks to all.

We have organised a fund raising evening for Bristol Schools Rugby on 4th March 2010 at the Mem. Doors will open at 7pm and the evening will start at 7.30pm in the Memorial Bar and will comprise 8 races each of which can be sponsored for £50.

You can also pay £5 per to name a horse and be an owner - with a prize of a bottle of wine for the winning owner. These can be bought in advance or on the night.

Entrance is free which includes a race card and then sell bets at £1 per race with a prize for the winners!

So come along and have some fun and raise money for a good cause at the same time. You never know we may even show pig racing again! Contact Steve Pearson on 07976 049576 to sponsor a race or buy a horse.

Wearing their new kit, sponsored by the Bris Trust and supplied by Harris’s Sports, Bristol Schools Under 16s enjoyed possibly their most successful season ever as they swept all before them in the England Schools South West Area 7. Under the expert coaching of Steve Ireland, Andy Westley & Andy Nethercott, they trained hard and deserved their success.

Starting with a comfortable win over Cornwall by 19-0, BSRU then demolished Somerset 48-0, and gained a hard fought 14-7 victory over the ‘Old Enemy’, Gloucestershire. All this led to a winner-take-all match against Devon, who also had a 100% record. In a game played in foul weather at BGS, we were 6-21 down with a quarter of an hour to go, but then turned the tables with three late tries, the last one converted with the final kick of the match to gain us a 23-21 win. This was match memorable for the skill and commitment shown by both sides despite the weather.

Seven BSRU boys have been nominated for the South West Development Day at Bryanston. Callum Braley (capt), Steve Uren, Nick Brook, Mike Brook, George Boulton, Jack Skelton & Stephan Reynolds. We wish them luck, and hope to see at least some of them make further progress, perhaps even into England’s colours.

The season so far at Bristol Rugby Mini & Juniors, where it all begins, has been one of highs and lows. The injury list at under 17 means we have only fielded our best strength squad a couple of times this season, we have had a few close games only losing with the lack of replacements taking its toll on the players on the field.

We are competing in an under 17 merit league with other local Bristol clubs and currently our record stands at 6 wins from 10 matches.

This league continues in the new year and we hope to have all players available for a competitive second half to the season before our tour to Chioggia in Italy during Easter.

The lower age groups have grown in numbers and it is great to see the enthusiasm of 5 and 6 year old boys and girls running around with a rugby ball in hand wearing the blue and white hoops of Bristol Rugby.

Two of our coaches from the successful Colts side of last year have joined the mini section to bring the next generation of rugby players through the age groups. The mini section continue to train at the WISE campus, Filton on a Sunday morning at 10.30, all boys and girls up to 11 years of age welcome, and have played a couple of matches against other clubs.

In recent years we have lost a lot of rugby experience as coaches and committee members have left the club, having watched their players grow older, bigger, and some go on to greater things.

It is great to see two players who have very recently left our ranks playing at a top level with George Watkins having played for the Bristol first team this season and Dan Watchurst now playing for the Gwent Dragons and Wales U20 squad. We will continue to bring rugby into the lives of the young of Bristol.

In a rain soaked game Bristol Schools came back from 14-0 down to win the game 23-21 against Devon U16's with the last kick of the game. Bristol have maintained their 100% record and thoroughly deserved their victory with their 'never say die' attitude.

Well done to the players and coaches of Bristol Schools U16's and we are proud to continue our sponsorship of the team.

Well done!

Andrew Humphreys

Chairman

Hello to each and every one of you, we hope you had a great summer and managed to recharge your batteries, ready for a season of exciting and hopefully successful rugby at the Memorial Stadium. You’ll be pleased to hear that the Trust has been busy during the break working on developing the idea of a supporters board with the Club. However there remains much to be agreed before this board is up and running.

All of us at The Trust would like to wish the squad and coaches the very best of luck for the coming season. Undoubtedly many of our opponents this season will up their game against us in an effort to beat a “Big Name” club, so it should be an eventful season.

At the AGM on 26 August we said goodbye to Simon Williams and Melanie Chard, both of whom have been stalwarts for the Trust for several years, I would like to thank them both for the massive support they have given me in my role as Chairman and for all the work they’ve done behind the scenes.

Also at the AGM we recognised that we are unable to gain a shareholding in the club and we therefore voted in a motion to focus our efforts towards supporting talented young Bristol players through the juniors system.

We also recognise that the uncertainty over the Trust obtaining a share in the Club on your behalf has probably contributed towards our membership remaining static in the past 12 months. Our hope is that now we have a clear mandate, we will be able to build on our already strong position.

We always need new members to increase the funds available and to give their time to help man different initiatives. So, please, if you haven’t already joined then please do so by visiting us at our website www.brist.org.uk or seeing us in the Bristol Room after the game.

Therefore if you’re reading this and are not already a member please give some serious consideration to doing so, by simply purchasing a Trust Membership for £20 you can support the future of rugby in Bristol. Senior Citizens can join the Trust for only £10.

Finally, I’d like to thank all the Trust members for their continued unstinting support over the past year.

C’Mon BRIS!

Andrew Humphreys

Chairman

Just in case you are wondering I have decided to stand as Chair for another year to see through the ongoing negotiations with the Club.

This article was produced for the London Welsh programme but the club decided to change the format of the programme at the last minute and it did not go in.

We are delighted to welcome Stephen Pearson on board as a Trustee meaning that we can now operate with 7 trustees! Welcome Stephen...

This years AGM will take place in the main bar at Clifton RFC on 26th August and will start at 7.30pm. The agenda is as follows:

1. Introductory Statement.

2. Approval Minutes of AGM held on 1st September 2008 (These will be available at the AGM)

3. Matters arising not on the agenda.

4. Chairman’s Report

4.1 Review of 2008-9

4.2 Current Status

5. Treasurers Report / Accounts

5.1 Motion to continue to have Independently Examined Accounts for 2008-9

5.2 Motion to continue to support youth rugby in Bristol and save for a future shareholding in the Club should it become available

6. Secretary’s Report

7. Revisit of the decision not to pursue Golden Share or Supporter Representation at Board level

8. Officer Resignations and Elections

9. Any other business

If you have any items for Any Other Business then please notify us via e-mail, post or phone by 21st August 2009.

At the end of Mark’s international and club career at Bristol he has kindly agreed to provide us with an insight into the high and lows of his career. In what promises to be an entertaining evening Mark will take us through his many memories on and off the field. Entrance is free to Trust Members and £2 for Non-Members with proceeds going to Marks charity ‘Bristol Children’s Charity’.

A highlight of the season for Bristol Youth Rugby minis section was the fun day/recruitment drive where Bristol Rugby's Pennycook brothers kindly donated their time to assist with a coaching session. The Under 10's have grown in confidence through their training and recently gaining match experience, which despite a few losses they have shown grit and determination.

The under 16's have had a successful year with good player numbers and a great team spirit culminating in the fifth leg of their "Six Nations" touring agenda in Edinburgh, leaving Italy as the sole remaining destination for 2010. On the pitch results have been mixed with some good wins, some narrow losses and the odd bad day at the office. Some bad luck with injuries, especially in the first half of the season, resulted in a heavier than expected workload in key positions but the players responded well and will be stronger for it.

This has been a most successful season for the teams representing Bristol Schools Rugby Union. After a difficult time as Under 15s, the Under 16 Squad, captained by Andy Priddle of Mangotsfield School & Cleve RFC, came within a whisker of lifting the South West Divisional Championship, winning three of their four games and losing out to Devon on a narrow points difference. Alex Davis (QEH & Clifton RFC) & Jake Caulfield (Priory School & Clifton RFC) were both selected for the England Schools A XV. In addition, Ian Clark (Colstons & Cleve RFC) and George Randall (BGS & Clifton RFC) represented the South West. There is a lot of natural talent in this squad, and as several players have applied to and been selected for Filton College and possible Academy status, we will follow their future progress with great interest, hoping that one day we shall see them pull on the full Bristol jersey at the Mem, just as so many former BSRU players have done in the past.

The Under 15 Development squad have also enjoyed a successful term and have won nearly all their matches against strong opposition, including Cardiff, Somerset and Caerphilly Schools. Once again some outstanding individuals have already emerged, and their prospects are bright for next season.

We had a very open and productive meeting with the Club (Rob Clilverd) last night and expressed your concerns to him. The shareholding in the Club for the supporters is still a very real prospect, however, as a Trust we have some careful negotiations to conduct beforehand to achieve this. We are progressing this and will be in touch.

We are aware that we have given mixed messages on this subject over the past few months and can only apologise for that. However, the changing circumstances at the Club have affected our ability to progress this as we hope that you will understand.

A date has been agreed for a Trust run Public Meeting where the new Chairman, Chris Booy, as well as our CEO, Steve Gorvett, and a Board Director, Rob Clilverd, will be answering your questions about the future of the Club in the short to longer term. Paul Hull will also be there to discuss playing matters. The date is likely to be 19th March in the Bristol Room but this is subject to confirmation with the Memorial Stadium which cannot be confirmed until tomorrow so watch this space for further news.

There will be an opportunity for you to post your Questions for the Board and we will be giving details of that process shortly.

At our meeting it was made clear that we feel the Club should, where possible, release information even if considered minor. Any information is useful and helps to quell rumours.

A request was made to the board about paying tribute to the good work Richard Hill undertook as requested to us by the supporters. However, it was suggested that a tribute would be more appropriate from the supporters organisations and to that end we are organising a presentation to Richard and will let you know the details in due course.

We also discussed the relationship between the supporter’s and the players and a request was made to get the players that wished to into the supporter’s bars earlier and this was noted.

Once again we would like to thank you for your patience and we look forward to hearing what the Club have to say on 19th March.

Regards

Trust members past and present of the BRIS Trust would like to thank Richard for all that he has done for Bristol Rugby. Back in 2003, Richard was instrumental in making Bristol a true rugby club once more by engaging with the fans and encouraging the players to do so as well.

Richard took this club to new heights on the field and we would like to thank him for the precious moments that he presided over. In particular our promotion a year earlier than planned, finishing 3rd in the Premiership, our wins over Bath, the 16-0 victory over Stade Francais and, of course, that drop goal that beat Gloucester!

Richard has always been very approachable and has never shied away from responding to opinions of the most ardent Bristol fan, particularly when things have not gone according to plan.

Richard is a man of great integrity and honesty and we have appreciated these traits in his many public talks over the past 6 years.

We have the utmost respect for Richard and wish him, his Wife and family well for the future which we are sure will be bright and full of humour as well as hard graft.

All the best,

We are happy to report that we had a positive meeting with the Club Board on 20th November. We reached a common understanding and are in the process of obtaining further detail and clarification before we can report to Trust members on the proposition from the Club. We appreciate your patience during this period and will keep you informed of developments.

In the last programme I promised to give a summary of John Brain’s talk on 11/11. John gave an enlightening talk on his time at Bristol and took us through the week building up to the game against Sale. He told us about the amount of analysis that he undertakes and how he uses this in feedback and planning sessions. He talked about the importance of building respect for his methods amongst the playing squad and in particular the more seasoned campaigners. John said how difficult this had been in his first season but that he had a good rapport now which was paying dividends. It was an excellent talk and showed John’s humorous side as well as his analytical ability and strategic nouse. We would like to thank John for his time.

Finally, we are excited to launch the 2009 BRIS Trust, Bristol Rugby Calendar at today’s game. It is larger than ever this year at A3 and with a wire hanger will look great on every Bristol Rugby fans wall. They are being sold from the Club shops this year with all proceeds going towards the second half of payments for the OPTA analysis service. So please get to the Club shop and secure your calendar as they need to sell 638 to achieve their target. Also, we have maintained the price at £8 each, what a bargain!

In the Bristol Evening Post the following article was publised on 7 November 2008:

Bristol have gone cap in hand to a fans' group to pay for an essential online analysis service.

And, in return, the BRIS Trust have issued a final request for the club to hand them a place on the board of directors or a golden share.

The Memorial Stadium outfit were the only Guinness Premiership side not to use the £10,200 Opta package, which provides videos and a statistics breakdown from matches from the Guinness Premiership, EDF Energy Cup and both European Cups.

Bristol claim they could not afford the extra £10,200 because they had already finalised their budget.

The Trust have agreed to pay a subscription of £850 per month for six months and will raise the remaining funds from the profits of its 2009 calendars, which the club will sell.

This latest donation takes the Trust's funding to more than £46,000 in the last five years. They also believe they have carried out building work at the club worth another £40,000.

The Trust committee will meet the Bristol hierarchy on November 20 where they hope further discussions will lead towards them gaining a place on the club's board or a golden share.

Trust chairman Andrew Humphreys said: "This is probably the last chance for the club to engage properly with the fans. The club has to start paying us back in some way.

"We have been doing this for over five years. This is more about recognising the role we have been playing. It's nothing to do with ticket prices. We want a supporters director role or a share in the club."

Bristol general manager Corin Palmer said: "The bottom line is that (head coach) Richard Hill wanted this new software and we had already invested £30,000 in upgrading our analysis system.

"Our budgets had already been set. There are plenty of ways we could have asked for it. We could have gone for sponsorship.

"There's nothing sinister in this. This new piece of software came on the market but we didn't have the money in this year's budget for it."

The Trust raise money with fans paying one year memberships worth £20. It costs pensioners £10 to join but fans can also pay more money to the Trust if they wish.

They had 550 members after the club were relegated in 2003 but have now just over 150.

But, if Bristol give their fans an incentive, Humphreys is confident the fans can provide money for the club.

"As long as it is well documented and we know it (the director position and/or golden share) is going to happen then we can get the Trust membership up," he added.

"The point is that we have been telling the club this for the last five years but the CEOs don't seem to take this on board.

"I don't want to preempt what will happen but, if they say over two years we raise large amounts (of money), we can have a share of the club or a fan as a director it gives us something to aim for."

This season, the Trust are also funding Bristol Schools Rugby (£6,000) and Bristol minis and juniors (£5,000). They have already spent £11,000 on these two youth rugby organisations.

Humphreys added: "We have spent money on kit, travel and also made them able to pay for coaches as well.

"The main point is that we as supporters can bring on players who can play for the Bristol first team in the future."'

There are a couple of corrections to the report which are as follows:

Any reference to a 'Golden Share' should read 'Share in the Club' and,

the reference to '150 Trust Members' should read '250'

The Evening Post have apologised for these errors.

This will be held in the Bristol Room at the Mem on 11th November 2008 starting at 7.30 pm. Come and listen to John talk about his experience since moving from Worcester as Forwards Coach and to his plans for the future. There will also be a Q&A session afterwards. Entrance is free to Trust Members and £2 for non Members.

In place of Richards usual mid season address we have decided to change the format and ask all of the coaches along for a Q&A session. This will now take place on Tuesday 20th January in the Bristol Room at the Mem and start at 7.30pm. This promises to be a fascinating evening. Entrance is free to Trust Members and £2 for non Members.

We are now well into the production of the Club calendar for 2009 and as promised it is even bigger and better than last year at A3 and with a wire hanger (So not folded).

We plan to make them available from end November through the Club shops where they will be priced at £8 as last year but will be far superior.

At this years balloon fiesta we jointly manned a stand with PROPS promoting the Trust, Bristol Rugby and PROPS. Those that came to the stand in the mud will have been greeted by Brizzley Bear (Who was on a mission to hug hoodies and uniformed officers!) and a well stocked stand. We had some support from the Club as players such as Shaun Perry, Graham Beveridge and Mark Irish came to the stand to sign article all sold out! Our thanks go to Dean Jones for organising and manning the stand and to Caroline Airth for doing the same for PROPS.

At the time of writing the Colts have played 3 matches. The first was a narrow win down at Chew Valley in their first league match, followed by a thumping of Stroud of around 50-0. Then they played a thrilling match against the Cornish U18 representative side at the Portway Development Centre, as it was a training match they played 3 halves. In the first session the lads stormed into a 19-3 lead, they then fought back to lead 20-19 and then in a tight last part they eventually took the game by beating us 30-29 so a very good performance by our lads especially as all the Cornish players were a minimum of County Standard.

The U16’s have played their first game in the SW Divisional Championship and beat Gloucestershire 29-12. In an encounter that was closer than the scoreline suggested tries were scored by Ian Clark (2), Dan White (Both Colstons), skipper Andy Priddle (Mangotsfield) and Joe Eggleston (BGS) with a conversion taken by Ashley Groves (Brislington). The next U16 match was played at Newquay RFC against Devon on 9/10.

The U15’s have had their trials and a squad has been selected. Their first warm up match will be at the Filton College WISE Campus on 26th October against Caerphilly, KO 11am, which promises to be a cracker so please feel free to come along and support the lads.

Bristol Blue Glass is as much a part of Bristol as Brunel, Cabot and of course, Bristol Rugby Club. They have been great supporters of the Club, the Supporters Club and the Trust over the years and are offering a 10% discount on any of their range of glassware. Simply show your Trust Membership Card or Supporters Club Membership Card at their factory shop and they will be happy to give you discount. They can be found at 14 The Arcade, Bristol, BS1 3JA (Tel 0117 922 6833) and 7 Whitby Rd, Bristol, BS4 3QE (Tel 0117 972 0818).

Firstly we would to thank Richard Hill for giving another impressive performance at his pre season address on 1st September at Clifton RFC. We have become accustomed to Richard’s insightful delivery of life as a coach and to his witty repartee as he talks about such players as ‘Ronnie’ and ‘DC’ and the antics that they get up to! At this evening it was more of the same as I think that I lost count of the times that he asked Matt Cain ‘Not to print that!’.

Richard talked about the pre-season and about how difficult that it was for all of the players to adapt to the new Experimental Law Variations (ELV’s) and he showed video clips of the players in pre-season matches practicing their moves. Hilly also discussed a new management structure that he has put in place to allow the players to take more ownership of training sessions both in the gym and on the training field. Apparently, they have to go through Dan Ward-Smith to complain about the gym regime now and Hilly hasn’t received any complaints!

Hilly then talked about the good team spirit that existed as he now has a very settled squad which should bode well for the coming season. Finally, Hilly talked about off field activities and in particular the Kayaking challenge that several of the players took part in Norway over the summer where they kayaked over 180 kilometres down the Sogenfjord to the open sea in terrible conditions and all for PROPS. However, he didn’t have the video evidence of the boys naked in a hot tub! Over 150 supporters enjoyed the talk and we had a number of new Trust members from it.

Following this the Trust had their AGM and we took some important decisions as we decided to continue to financially support the good work of Bristol Schools Rugby Union and Bristol Minis and Juniors with donations of £6k and £5k respectively to help them to continue to spot, train and nurture talented young Bristol players as they make their way along to the Academy and then (Hopeful) the 1st team (As Luke Eves has done recently).

We would like to wish both organisations every success in the coming season and will keep you informed of their progress in these programme articles, our newsletters and our website.

At the AGM we had 1 resignation of a Trustee, Peter Heard, who had been my Vice Chairman for the past 2 years and has put in many hours supporting and liaising with BSRU and in writing these programme articles and so I would like to thank Peter for all of his efforts. George Campbell has stepped forward to take his place and we are looking forward to reaping the rewards of his fund raising knowledge as we seek to boost our available funds. Welcome George.

We are also delighted to announce that in these challenging times for the playing side that we have been able to commit to half of the funding required for an online analysis service that the squad can use to provide detailed analysis of their opposition to the value of £5,100 and the other half indirectly through the sales of the 2009 calendars directly through the Club shop.

Unfortunately this does mean that we will not be selling the calendars directly and therefore cannot offer the 3 for 2 price that we have managed to give in previous years, however, I am sure that you all appreciate the difficult financial position that the Club finds itself in and won’t mind paying full price.

Richard Hill asked if we could consider providing this facility to bring the Club into line with the other 11 premiership clubs and the members of the Trust voted in favour of it at our AGM on the condition that the Club entered into constructive dialogue with the Trust to identify ways in which the Trust and its members could be recognised as key partners to the Club. These talks are scheduled to take place in November and we will let you know the outcome. We would like to thank you, the Trust members, for digging deep and making it possible to support so many key projects this year.

Enjoy the season!

Please find below the official answers that supporters have raised through the Trust over the past couple of months and that were given at last weeks BRIS Trust Public Meeting. Thank you for raising these concerns and do not hesitate to raise further concerns that you may have and we will raise these with the Club.

1. Why did the Club publicly state that that we would be playing in Bristol and then chose a temporary location outside of Bristol?

2. What has changed to bring us to this position?

What has changed since last year when:

a) the Board assured us we would be playing in Bristol during the redevelopment.

b) In April 2007 DW answered questions at the same meeting where he claimed to be dealing with an organisation used to dealing with temporary grounds and that neither cost nor Planning permission would be an issue, why were these statements made?

c) How are the Club planning to liaise more effectively with the supporters groups to ensure that supporter views/concerns are acted upon at an earlier stage than has been the case to date?

3. How long will we be required to play at the alternative venue and what is the break even point in terms of average attendance required during that period?

4. What compensation will the Club receive from the MSC during the development period?

5. What plans have the club got to get us back to Bristol ahead of the Mem being completed? How can the supporters help by (Maybe) lobbying the city council to make this happen?

6. Please list the alternative venues that have been approached in the last 18 months and advise why they were rejected.

7. Have the club made plans for Nat Div 1 or GP over the next 2 years? If the Club are planning to stay in the GP then what calibre of recruitment is planned over the next 24 months?

8. What attendances have been budgeted for the next 24 months?

9. What analysis has the Club conducted to understand the likely gate size at each of the temporary venues and what were the results?

a) The survey on the unofficial site about playing in Newport (should Bristol play in Newport) shows:

Yes 5.80%

No 22.46%

I'd go to some games but not all 16.67%

Only if the club provides free transport 4.35%

I would go to some games but would not renew my season ticket 46.38%

Don't care where we play 4.35%

10. Are the Board considering investing in purchasing land which in the long term could prove to be an asset where Bristol might one day have their own ground?

11. Do the Directors of Bristol Rugby consider owning their own ground important to the future of the club and as such be investing time and effort in future to make that possible, or does the board feel that the current situation of being tenants is not desirable but an acceptable situation?

12. Will the club be in any way funding the new stadium development and will they have any direct control in the future over these facilities?

13. In the past the board have commendably stated the clubs five year objectives and up to this year have exceeded those objectives. In light of recent announcements will the board be re-stating its objectives for the next five years?

14. Can the Club explain their policy regarding the allocation of seats for season ticket holders when home games are played at Ashton Gate?

a) I am season ticket holder but have only been able to attend two of the three ‘home’ games at Ashton Gate, and each time, I have been allocated a poor seat. The first was the first row of the Dolman Stand, at pitch level, when there were so many people walking along the path at the edge of the pitch that my view of the game was severely restricted. After that game, I complained to the Club, but it made no difference at all as my seat at the second game I attended was right at the end of the Dolman Stand when I was in line with the try line.

15. What arrangements for supporter travel has the Club looked into i.e. rail/bus etc?

16. What days are the Club predominantly planning on playing their games?

17. How are the Club planning to incentive long standing supporters to remain loyal throughout this period?

18. Will the Club be continuing with "family tickets" next season as in previous years? My family of 4 have bought family tickets for several years now and will not be able to afford four individually priced tickets. How many games at are the Club planning to play at Ashton Gate?

19. Could the board offer free coach travel to and from Newport as part of a season ticket package?

20. What incentives could there be in place to make this as cheap and as viable as possible for those who have hectic enough weekends with families, especially with families who aren't interested in rugby, as it is to still come and support the club. More regular trains, free coaches to and from Bristol?

21. Is a cash back arrangement for season ticket holders possible if going to Newport means missing more games?

22. What arrangements will there be for existing groups sitting together now to stay together?

23. Have the Club considered the impact on travelling home support to home games i.e. some fans live a long way away, the loss of occasional fans

24. Can some games be played on Saturdays?

25. How can I be certain that in the new Mem that we will be allocated seats of a similar standard and position to our present ones rather than just allocated a random seat? I cannot see the club will loose out if they do this and it may encourage more people to renew - I would like to maintain both the view and the people I sit near. Is this possible?

26. What is going to happen to the Memorial Gates, while building work is in process and what is going to happen to all the rugby memorabilia?

27. What was the rationale behind the dismissal of Ben Sturnham just when the Academy is starting to produce players capable of performing in the Premiership?

28. When can we have our true and only colours back on our home shirt's of BLUE & WHITE HOOP'S?

29. Why did Bass cease to be sponsors and do the club have a replacement sponsor?

30. Why is the Club giving out "bad news" in respect of attendances at "only 8,500", which is nearly 80% capacity! What do the club expect as a good attendance for a club near the bottom of the GP? Shouldn't a competent marketing dept give out "good news" that the stadium is operating at 80% capacity, which would encourage the casual supporter and corporate clients instead of bemoaning the "missing 1,000" odd supporters for not turning up this season? Why the bad news, what is the point, what has this achieved?

o

At the meeting the Club handed out an official Q&A leaflet that contained the following responses:

We're severely restricted in our current home - not enough seats, not enough food and drink outlets and the stadium won't be big enough to meet future minimum standards criteria.

Surveys revealed that we rate poorly in several key areas with regard to the stadium and the match day experience as a whole.

We hope to sign a 35 year lease to play at an 18,500 capacity stadium.

It will be comfortable, clean and modern with top quality food and drink and a wide range of match day experiences from a pasty and a pint to a three course lunch.

It will by far exceed the minimum standards criteria.

The new stadium will take approximately 18 months to redevelop. If it were done in stages, the process would take a lot longer. So, Bristol Rovers and ourselves will have to play our home fixtures elsewhere during the work.

We explored a wide range of locations which were thoroughly researched but rejected for a variety of reasons.

We considered developing Clifton RFC, Ashton Gate, the County Cricket Ground and the BAWA Complex plus the possibility of building a temporary stadium at the WISE Complex in Filton.

We also looked at Kingsholm, Swindon Town Football Club, Sandy Park in Exeter and the Recreation Ground in Bath.

Some were deemed as simply too far to travel and some were simply unavailable.

Bristol City are only prepared to stage a few rugby matches a season and we need to create a permanent home while we're away from the Memorial Stadium.

A pitch plus temporary stands could not be installed at the County Ground at Nevil Road without damaging their square. The two seasons would also overlap slightly meaning that we would potentially have to move to another location for several matches.

Temporary developments were explored but issues with parking, planning and road schemes prevented these from being progressed.

From a rugby standpoint, Richard Hill was reluctant to play at another Guinness Premiership venue as it would be a familiar location for all the other Premiership clubs so we would have little home advantage.

Firstly, Newport were willing to have us and offered us a very good deal. They're working hard to make us welcome.

It's a traditional rugby venue that is reachable from Bristol, one that is relatively unfamiliar to most Premiership clubs. It's a venue that we can make our temporary 'fortress'.

We anticipate playing our home fixtures at Rodney Parade for the 2008-9 and 200910 seasons.

As above, potentially the 2008-9 and 2009-10 seasons.

We're still waiting for confirmation from Bristol Rovers but anticipate this being within the next few months.

Sundays.

Possibly one. We have staged several ad hoc fixtures at Ashton Gate in seasons gone by. Our relationship with Bristol City is good and we are in frequent contact with them.

All packages are listed on the club's website. As a base rationale we have reduced all prices across the board to take into account the move to Newport.

Yes. We have reduced prices by £5 per adult ticket per match.

We are currently investigating various options to assist supporters travelling to Newport.

We are, as mentioned above, reducing ticket prices to help with the cost of travelling to Newport.

Not dissimilar. Rodney Parade has a capacity of 10,000 with 3,000 covered seats, 16 corporate boxes, hospitality space for approximately 300 people and public bar facilities.

You will be allocated the best available seat.

It goes without saying that the time we spend playing at Rodney Parade will place a financial burden on the club.

In order to generate working capital to help us through that period, we have created what we think are two great offers.

The first is a 20 year season ticket package for individuals and the second is a corporate equivalent.

You will get, in return for your investment, a 'prime' seat (within the 22s) at Rodney Parade initially but then at the redeveloped Memorial Stadium when we return. £2,500 for 20 seasons of rugby.

The corporate equivalent also costs £2,500 +VAT and is held in a company name so can be used by any number of people within that organisation although obviously only one person per game!

Yes. Payment needs to be received by May 30th 2008.

The questions that have been raised with the Clubs Board and that will be answered at the Public Meeting this evening are detailed below:

1. Why did the Club publicly state that that we would be playing in Bristol and then chose a temporary location outside of Bristol?

2. What has changed to bring us to this position?

What has changed since last year when:

a) the Board assured us we would be playing in Bristol during the redevelopment.

b) In April 2007 DW answered questions at the same meeting where he claimed to be dealing with an organisation used to dealing with temporary grounds and that neither cost nor Planning permission would be an issue, why were these statements made?

c) How are the Club planning to liaise more effectively with the supporters groups to ensure that supporter views/concerns are acted upon at an earlier stage than has been the case to date?

3. How long will we be required to play at the alternative venue and what is the break even point in terms of average attendance required during that period?

4. What compensation will the Club receive from the MSC during the development period?

5. What plans have the club got to get us back to Bristol ahead of the Mem being completed? How can the supporters help by (Maybe) lobbying the city council to make this happen?

6. Please list the alternative venues that have been approached in the last 18 months and advise why they were rejected.

7. Have the club made plans for Nat Div 1 or GP over the next 2 years? If the Club are planning to stay in the GP then what calibre of recruitment is planned over the next 24 months?

8. What attendances have been budgeted for the next 24 months?

9. What analysis has the Club conducted to understand the likely gate size at each of the temporary venues and what were the results?

a) The survey on the unofficial site about playing in Newport (should Bristol play in Newport) shows:

Yes 5.80%

No 22.46%

I'd go to some games but not all 16.67%

Only if the club provides free transport 4.35%

I would go to some games but would not renew my season ticket 46.38%

Don't care where we play 4.35%

10. Are the Board considering investing in purchasing land which in the long term could prove to be an asset where Bristol might one day have their own ground?

11. Do the Directors of Bristol Rugby consider owning their own ground important to the future of the club and as such be investing time and effort in future to make that possible, or does the board feel that the current situation of being tenants is not desirable but an acceptable situation?

12. Will the club be in any way funding the new stadium development and will they have any direct control in the future over these facilities?

13. In the past the board have commendably stated the clubs five year objectives and up to this year have exceeded those objectives. In light of recent announcements will the board be re-stating its objectives for the next five years?

14. Can the Club explain their policy regarding the allocation of seats for season ticket holders when home games are played at Ashton Gate?

a) I am season ticket holder but have only been able to attend two of the three ‘home’ games at Ashton Gate, and each time, I have been allocated a poor seat. The first was the first row of the Dolman Stand, at pitch level, when there were so many people walking along the path at the edge of the pitch that my view of the game was severely restricted. After that game, I complained to the Club, but it made no difference at all as my seat at the second game I attended was right at the end of the Dolman Stand when I was in line with the try line.

15. What arrangements for supporter travel has the Club looked into i.e. rail/bus etc?

16. What days are the Club predominantly planning on playing their games?

17. How are the Club planning to incentive long standing supporters to remain loyal throughout this period?

18. Will the Club be continuing with "family tickets" next season as in previous years? My family of 4 have bought family tickets for several years now and will not be able to afford four individually priced tickets. How many games at are the Club planning to play at Ashton Gate?

19. Could the board offer free coach travel to and from Newport as part of a season ticket package?

20. What incentives could there be in place to make this as cheap and as viable as possible for those who have hectic enough weekends with families, especially with families who aren't interested in rugby, as it is to still come and support the club. More regular trains, free coaches to and from Bristol?

21. Is a cash back arrangement for season ticket holders possible if going to Newport means missing more games?

22. What arrangements will there be for existing groups sitting together now to stay together?

23. Have the Club considered the impact on travelling home support to home games i.e. some fans live a long way away, the loss of occasional fans

24. Can some games be played on Saturdays?

25. How can I be certain that in the new Mem that we will be allocated seats of a similar standard and position to our present ones rather than just allocated a random seat? I cannot see the club will loose out if they do this and it may encourage more people to renew - I would like to maintain both the view and the people I sit near. Is this possible?

26. What is going to happen to the Memorial Gates, while building work is in process and what is going to happen to all the rugby memorabilia?

27. What was the rationale behind the dismissal of Ben Sturnham just when the Academy is starting to produce players capable of performing in the Premiership?

28. When can we have our true and only colours back on our home shirt's of BLUE & WHITE HOOP'S?

29. Why did Bass cease to be sponsors and do the club have a replacement sponsor?

30. Why is the Club giving out "bad news" in respect of attendances at "only 8,500", which is nearly 80% capacity! What do the club expect as a good attendance for a club near the bottom of the GP? Shouldn't a competent marketing dept give out "good news" that the stadium is operating at 80% capacity, which would encourage the casual supporter and corporate clients instead of bemoaning the "missing 1,000" odd supporters for not turning up this season? Why the bad news, what is the point, what has this achieved?

Dear Trust Member,

Due to circumstances outside of the Clubs control we have had to change the date of the public meeting at the Mem from 29th April to Thursday 1st May.

This is to allow the necessary agreements to be in place so that the Club can disclose all of their plans as they have committed to.

The meeting will commence at 7.30pm as previously scheduled. We will let you know tomorrow if the tour of the Memorial Stadium Facilities scheduled for a 6.30pm start has been successfully rescheduled to 1st May as well.

We will be communicating this message through the Bristol Evening Post and BBC Radio Bristol but please let people know who are planning to attend to avoid any possible inconvenience.

Apologies,

Dear Bristol Rugby Supporter,

The BRIS Trust and Bristol Rugby Supporters Club had a very productive meeting with David White (CEO), Rob Clilverd (Director) and Richard Hill (Head Coach) where we were fully briefed about the Clubs short, medium and long term plans.

We represented all of your questions and concerns and believe that the Club is acting in the best interests of the long term future of Bristol Rugby and have made provision to minimise the disruption to supporters during the temporary move in the measures that they have planned.

Looking forward we believe that Bristol Rugby has a clear and exciting direction and the Club have asked both the Trust and Supporters Club to remain in regular contact to represent your views.

We can assure you that the Club are actively listening to your comments. Over the next couple of weeks they will be finalising negotiations and the Club have committed to announce the information about the temporary venue and the future of the Club at the redeveloped Memorial Stadium at the BRIS Trust meeting in the Bristol Room at the Memorial Stadium at 7.30pm on 29th April 2008.

In the meantime the Club have asked for your patience whilst final negotiations take place.

Please note that the meeting on 29th April is open to all supporters and entrance is free.

- ENDS -

A very good second half performance at Leeds secured our first away win for more than 12 months, with a 4 try bonus point! Before today’s game we will have also had a second and even longer trip up North, to play the Newcastle Falcons. Another 4 or 5 point win, we hope.

I have recently had a very productive meeting with David White, Chief Executive. The Trust has a long-standing agreement with the Board of Bristol Rugby to meet with David on a quarterly basis to report on and discuss areas of mutual interest.

I updated David on our work this year and funding of £6K and £5K respectively.

David re-stated that the Board is fully aware of supporter’s concerns and anxiety on the issue. He reiterated that it remains the intention of the Club to play in Bristol during the proposed re-development of the Memorial Ground. News will be announced to supporters as soon as the Board has it.

David is very keen to develop ways to do this and obtain the views of the 16th Man and Woman. I was delighted to offer the support and co-operation of the Trust in this area.

The club expect to announce several new signings in the near future, following the recruitment of Adrian Jarvis who will almost certainly play a part for the Harlequins today.

The Club is fully supportive of the Trust leading this project again in 2008/9. For the ladies out there, and not forgetting Frenchy, unfortunately we can not include naked shots of the players a la Stade! Please see me in the Bristol Room after any game if you have ideas or would like to help or discuss sponsorship.

We discussed a presence at this year’s event as a vehicle for marketing the Club with our preferred charity PROPS. David will be taking this one back to his Business Planning Session.

David agreed that the Trust can have access to the Fullback Bar on match days to promote our work with Schools and Youth rugby and engage the Club’s sponsors and business partners directly in some of our projects. We will also produce Trust Newsletters on match days to promote the Trust to non-members and individuals who do not buy the programme.

Andrew Humphreys

The design of these webpages is the copyright of Bristol Rugby Independent Supporters Society.
redistribution, copying and associated actions are prohibited except with the permission of Bristol Rugby Independent Supporters Society.