Why Is Registration So Early?

Monday, 13 February 2012 20:52

Hi There Can you please explain why grading & registration is a month early. Note this has not been well publisized at all. Just a suggestion - but could the website be setup so registration be done online and fees be direct credited to save time & handling of money etc. Regards Mike Clark

Hi Mike, very good points, I'm sure there are many wondering the same things and I'd be pleased to clarify....

While it's true that Te Puru staff are helping us a little this year, the fact is that the Club is otherwise run entirely by VOLUNTEERS who all have very busy lives - Families, Work/Self Employed and no doubt other hobbies as well.

Registration is by far the biggest event of the season in terms of volunteer hours required. Please do not underestimate the mountain of work that a small but dedicated team of volunteers puts into registration (and the rest of the season) in their limited spare time.

Grading & Registration is run a month or more before the 1st official game because we need to have OUR paper work organised into Teams and into Auckland Football Federation (the organisation who sets the Competitions, from 9th grade and above) no later than the beginning of March.

This means we need to get Grading & Registration cracking early in Feb so that we get a chance to put our best foot forward in terms of getting well-balanced teams into compatible Divisions.

(A side note: while we do our best, the final placement of our teams in AFF divisions is ultimately NOT our call. Yes, sometime teams aren't placed in suitable Divisions, but we all try very hard to get it right, including AFF).

We run Registration & Grading over 3 weeks in Feb to (hopefully) give everyone a chance to make at least 1 grading game, so that our Grading team can get a good look at everyone. While we would like every child to make all 3 grading events, we recognise this not possible in all cases.

Further to this, an idea has been floated that this year we allow a little more flexibility between teams in early rounds of competition so that we can further refine teams if required. I understand that this idea is certainly under serious consideration by our Grading team -- which includes consultation with coaches of teams -- for this season.

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PUBLICATION OF REGISTRATION EVENTS
It is my understanding that the Registration information was distributed to both Beachlands and Maraetai Primary Schools in the first week of Term 1, 2012.

The information was published on this website as soon as it came to my attention. (The information did not come to me immediately, for reasons unknown to me).

Signage. Is there anyone associated with the club who works in a Signage company? While I'd be happy to assist with the design, professional signage is not cheap and not a financial priority for the club, given last year's losses. We'd love to have some help in this area!

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ONLINE REGISTRATION / FEE COLLECTION
While this is certainly possible and has been discussed at committee meetings before, the feedback from our Treasurer is that the extra reconciliation required is not desirable - the workload of the Treasurer at this time of year is unenviable to say the least.

Perhaps if this idea were to save us all time, we may have to run this digital system exclusively, rather than running a Paper & Digital system in tandem. Personally I'd prefer to go entirely digital too but I'm not the one who handles the money!

Also note that I, as editor/developer of the website, do so in my own limited free time. While I'd be happy implement a system, I'd want a clear directive from our members and ultimately our Committee before I dedicated my time to this project.

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A further side note: the Club is always on the hunt for more Volunteers to help spread the load. If you can offer assistance in any area -- particularly the areas which you think need improvement -- then please join our Committee and lend a hand!

In my 10 years involved with the Club at an Admin level, the numbers sitting in the Committee have remained at about the SAME LEVEL while our membership has grown from 80-odd to 360-odd! (To put this into perspective, last year's MiniLeague - 5 and 6 year olds - numbered 80 players alone). So you can see some things naturally slip through the cracks....

Yours in football,
Mark Bignell

(Website Admin)

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