2 Oct 2007 | Rugby
Discovered this week that Rugger enthusiast Malcolm Santer died earlier this summer.
Malcolm was a great lover of the game and was a frequent attendee of games and functions as well as being a wonderful raconteur , as anyone who has sat next to him at Lodge/Rotary or a dinner table can testify.
I am sure that you are already sat at a good table upstairs amongst friends with a glass in hand !!!
Below is a tribute from one of his former clubs , Aurora Barbarians in Canada
Malcolm Santer, originally from The U.K., arrived in Toronto via Bermuda in the late 60s. He joined The Barbarians and proved to be a useful full back with remarkable tackling skills. He was very supportive of all Club activities, and was respected for his wit and enthusiasm. He was elected twice as Club President in the early 70s. During this time the Club began their junior development programme, a legacy that has led to our remarkable success in recent years. Malcolm died last week. Present Club members and even those Black Sheep under 45 are probably unaware of Malcolm’s contribution to the Club; he retired to The Bahamas in the 80s and returned to Ontario recently.
It is important to remember those who helped our Club grow, and respect is due. We send our sympathies to Betty, his long time loving partner, and trust that she will be comforted by all the happy memories. Thank you Malcolm.
Here here
2 Oct 2007 | Rugby
Herb and Vic skins vs the Rest
Here’s the Schedule (all times Bahamian)
Oct. 6th
10am Australia vs. England (camm on ingerlund)
3pm New Zealand vs. France (allez les noir)
Oct. 7th
10am South Africa vs. Fiji (fiiiijeeeeeeeee!)
3pm Argentina vs. Scotland ( errm both of you can lose as far as i’m concerned)
Semi-Finals are on Oct. 13th (Aus/Eng vs. NZ/Fra) & 14th (SA/Fij vs. Arg/Sco),
Final on Oct. 20th
Check Herb at the club for details ( 352 2952) or Committee Member
Small $5 cover charge may apply ( don’t moan it cost me $20 to watch the dirge that England served up last week in a pub in lauderdale)
19 Sep 2007 | Rugby
After a break over the summer months, The Dolly Madison Youth Soccer Academy ( formerly the Grand Bahama Youth Soccer Development Programme) is scheduled to restart on Wednesday September 11th at Freeport Rugby Football Club at 5pm for all boys aged 9 to 21 years of age .
At present the following age levels will be coached on a weekly basis: Under 10s, Under 13s, 14 to 17 year olds, and 18 and over.
The Programme provides a framework which complements the YMCA and School programmes by offering players further higher level and qualified coaching and additional organized practices and competitive games.
Under its first full season with new sponsor Dolly Madison and Whirlpool, the Academy continues to expand and has ambitious plans for the future year including:
*Being able to utilize the new and expanded training facilities at Freeport Rugby & Football Club which are likely to open in early 2008. These will include a full size soccer pitch , 2 training areas and a 5 a side pitch ,
*Expanding of the Whirlpool Intermediate League, which is for boys aged 14 to 17 , from four teams to six or seven once the new pitches come on stream
*Continuing to assist in young players obtaining soccer scholarships to US Colleges. This summer , 3 players who have come through the ranks of the Soccer Academy obtained Soccer scholarships.
*Both hosting and touring against other Bahamian Islands and US teams in order that the players get the correct exposure to different players, other styles of play etc
Any interested players or persons interested in helping to coach can contact Mark Hardy at 357-5403 or come to Freeport Rugby and Football Club from 5pm every Wednesday.
7 Sep 2007 | Rugby
Whilst it will not cost us Six Mllion Dollars, the Club is back for the new season ; Re-vigorated , new pitches on the way , a fresh input of talent and a new man at the helm.
The club officially opened this week with rugby training on monday followed by women’s soccer tuesday and men’s soccer wednesday. Youth soccer starts on wednesday 12th .
The Presidents Cocktail Party is slated for Friday September 28th .
This season the Club have bought in Herb to promote youth rugby . Herb brings a wealth of experience and know-how and that kiwi charm.
So no excuse now to join up , come for a run around , watch or come and sip a cool beer
7 Sep 2007 | Rugby
In an effort to build bridges with the wives and girlfriends and hence enable to spend more hours at the club watching the world cup , here are a few basic rules for the Laydeeeees .
If, however, you cannot convince your better half to join you at the Club, please be re-assured that our new man Herb ( or Erb if your jamiaican or American ) has already been told about the golden rule
if the wife/girlfriend phones up, you’ve just left the Clubhouse and thus should be home shortly
RULES AND RUSES
The Match Each team has 15 players, eight burly forwards and seven much prettier backs. Matches are 10 minutes shorter than in football – that’s 80 minutes of bare-faced, politically incorrect, thrilling brutality.
Passing You’re only allowed to pass the ball to someone level with you, or behind you. You can move forwards by running the gauntlet of enemy defenders while desperately clutching the ball to your chest.
Tackling Apart from tackling above the shoulders, opposing players are allowed to do pretty much anything they want in order to get the ball off you – and they do. Crushing your face into the mud and belly-flopping on top of you are all encouraged. Watch and weep.
Scoring A Try, worth five points, is scored by running with the ball over the opponent’s goal line and planting it on the ground in a triumphant manner. You’re then given the opportunity to “convert” the Try – which means kicking it over the crossbar between two posts for another two points. If the opposition commits a foul, you get a penalty kick worth three points. Finally, you can take a Jonny Wilkinson-style drop kick during open play while everyone is doing their damndest to get the ball off you. Very difficult, so worth three points.
Lineouts These occur when the ball goes off the pitch. The players line up next to one another, the ball is thrown between them and they all perform acrobatic feats of athleticism in order to grab it.
The Scrum When play needs to be restarted there will be a scrum. Each team’s forwards put their arms around each other and lock necks with the opposition. Their aim is to drive their enemies off the ball.
Rucks These are the bits that look like a body-builders’ street brawl. They occur when everyone’s trying to get their hands on the ball after someone’s been tackled to the floor.
9 Aug 2007 | Rugby
Club’s youth players obtain US College scholarships
Youth soccer on Grand Bahama, and the Club in particular, received a further boost this week when 3 players obtained soccer scholarships from US Colleges. The 3 players, who have all progressed from the Dolly Madison Youth Soccer Academy at Freeport Rugby & Football Club, have been accepted to attend Oklahoma University of Science and Arts. The players expect to be traveling to their new surroundings next week to commence the next stage of their academic and soccer careers.
Dominic Adams has probably been the stand out young soccer player on the Island for the last 5 years having started playing with the Mens Freeport Rugby & Football Club at the tender age of 14. Dominic is a skilful midfielder who has won numerous awards (Young Player of the Year, MVP etc) and has been courted by numerous colleges in the US. Having weighed up his options, Dominic has now decided to attend Oklahoma to study Physiotherapy.
Antonio Charles will be joining his team mate at Oklahoma where he will be studying Civil Engineering. Antonio is another ‘big ‘player on the Island who is equally adept at playing in midfield or as a striker. A former student at St Georges High School Antonio is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
Mcyver Dean has come a long way for a five foot nothing’full back! Always known as a strong defender , McGyver has spent hours honing his ball skills and has improved greatly in this area in recent years; so much so that last year he was called up to the Bahamas National Squad. Mcyver intends to study Engineering at Oklahoma
In addition to these 3 players, Rika Bazile and Nichelson Archie Charles are also currently in talks with US Colleges concerning soccer scholarships and it is hoped that both will also shortly be accepted into Colleges shortly. Rika and Archie both graduated from Eight Mile Rock High School and formed the nucleus of the High School soccer team for a number of years . Rika is looking to study engineering whilst Archie will pursue an IT academic career.
All five players are part of the Dolly Madison Youth Soccer Academy which is for boys aged 9 to 21 years of age . They were all part of the Academy’s victorious Brita Red Bulls which , despite consisting of players all aged 16 to 20 years of age, won the last GBFL adult football title in 2005/6. The Academy will open its doors for the new season in Early September. It is hoped that the Academy will be able to utilize the expanded training facilities, including an additional full-size pitch , 2 practice fields and a 5 aside area at the club which are scheduled to be completed in early 2008.
Academy Director Mark Hardy was understandably ecstatic about the scholarships noting that the Academys original 5 year plan had included ‘getting players away ‘ on soccer scholarships in order to further their education and development. He said “ I have constantly harped onto the players that , whilst I would like to coach them indefinitely , I would prefer that they all left the Academy to pursue a College education . Winning the local soccer league was nice but they needed to look at the big picture , get a scholarship , further your education and develop life skills . Playing soccer ( or indeed any sport) can do this for you . I am immensely proud of all of the players who are going away to College. Players like Dom and Rica have been with me since the beginning of the programme 5 years ago and they should serve as a great example to the younger players coming through the Academy Programme. We have worked hard to achieve this alongside Dwayne Jennnings of Search Bahamas and it is great to see this hard work pay off. I would like to thank Dwayne for his help as well as the other coaches who have helped over the years in the Academy’s programme at Freeport Rugby and Football Club .
In order to celebrate the scholarships and to mark the end of an era , there will be a celebratory football game this Friday at Freeport Rugby & Football Club beginning at 7pm. All five players will join forces as the reigning league champions will re-unite in a match against their close rivals Freeport FC All Star XI. It is anticipated that the game will be a great send off for the young players as they close this particular chapter of their lives. All spectators and well wishes are invited to attend.
