Flagstaff Hill Cricket Club

Another successful weekend of finals cricket means Flagstaff Hill have 3 teams in 2 Grand Finals this weekend.

U14 Reds fought a close battle to edge out Kangarilla which means FH Reds now play FH Blue in the Grand Final. This is an incredible achievement by the boys, the coaches and the club when you consider we provided two teams into the competition while all other clubs provided just one and after minor rounds and finals we are the top two teams. This shows we are clearly doing a lot of things right at Flagstaff Hill. There are always issues at this age level of sport (U14) whether it be in cricket , football or most other teams sports. It is the transition from Primary School and sub-Junior ages to the first level of club sport where a little more competition is experienced. Some players and parents handle this situation very easily but some find it a little more difficult and possibly need another year to adjust. This is a balancing act for the coaches and club administrators as well. While there have been the inevitable 'issues' at times, I would like to point out that they have been at both ends of the scale. Some people believe more fairness and evenness is required while some believe we should be more competitive to challenge the stronger players and thereby help develop all players. The old saying that 'you cant please everybody' is very apt for this situation. The club will continue to develop our junior policy and endeavour to meet the needs of all while ensuring that a platform is provided to allow these young men to play, learn and enjoy cricket.
With that being said, congratulations is well deserved for all the players in both teams , the coaches and Junior coordinator. This week we will be celebrating the great effort by the U14s with a Grand Final win. More information later in the week.


The u16s fought a great battle also to defeat Noarlunga and earn the right to play Seaford Rise in the Grand Final. This will be a tough game and while we only finished third after minor rounds and Seaford were clear top, we have the team and coach to take them on and cause an upset win.


The B Grade played Noarlunga (3rd vs 1st after minor rounds) and were chasing 241 on Sunday to win. We didn't quite make the runs required on Sunday though so that is the end of the season for our B Grade. The Noarlunga team had players that had won A Grade Premierships 10 years ago (at Flagstaff Hill) while we had 7 players 18 years of age or less. Clearly some great potential in the years to come as these young players develop. With weekend working commitments causing considerable impact to availability it was a great effort by the team to get to the level they did. They will be out this weekend supporting our juniors.

This Wednesday Night sees the SCA (Southern Cricket Association) Awards Presentation at Noarlunga Cricket Club 7:30pm. The night presents awards to the winners of Batting, Bowling & Fielding across all grades plus Cricketers and Teams of the Year for all of Association. We are pleased to announce that Sam Hiosan from our U14s won the batting trophy with 174 runs for the season and will receive his award on the night. All are welcome to attend and a gold coin donation supper will be provided.

Don't forget raffle books MUST be returned this week for draw on Presentation Day - Sunday 28th March 5 for 5:30pm. This will be followed by gourmet dinner and football live on Big Screen - all welcome.

So this week's Grand Finals are:
20th & 21st March 2010

U14 Flagstaff Hill Red Vs Flagstaff Hill Blue @ Flagstaff Hill 8:30am
U16 Seaford Rise Vs Flagstaff Hill @ Cove 8:30am

C Grade - Kangarilla Vs Pt Noarlunga @ Flagstaff Hill 12:30pm

B Grade - Pt Noarlunga Vs Noarlunga @ Cove

A Grade - Cove Vs Noarlunga @ Pt Noarlunga

2 full days of finals cricket at Flagstaff Hill Oval but make sure you get out to Cove in the morning to support the U16s as well.

We are now back to the traditional 2 day games as we head towards March and finals. For U14 grades and up all minor rounds complete in February and finals are held for top 4 teams over the first 3 weekends in March over Saturday AND Sunday. That means each final is decided on that weekend with all grand finals on weekend of March 20-21. The club has held finals at our ground for last few years and hopefully will continue to this year given the excellent playing surface we now have. We are however only available to stage finals on the 1^st & 3^rd weekends as the 2^nd weekend (13^th/14^th) is reserved for the FH Athletics Gift. Once finals locations are decided you will be notified. Good luck to all those in contention and please get out to support our teams.

The U13s do not play finals and finish up on Wednesday 24^th February. On this last day of the final game for 2009/10 all players and family are invited to a BBQ at the club immediately following the completion of the U13 blues game.

Presentation Day 2009/10 will be held on Sunday March 28^th from 5:00pm .

This presentation culminates this seasons competition and all players from U13 to seniors are asked to attend along with families. Awards are presented to each age group. The presentation will commence from 5:30 but please arrive well before to secure a seat. Following the presentation a sensational meal will be available for all to enjoy and we will also draw the raffle winners. More detail to come.

Book in Sunday March 28 5:00pm .

Saturday /Weekly Presentations . these presentations will follow completion of Junior /Senior games so the remainder are as follows:

Saturday February 13^th 7:00pm

Saturday February 27^th 7:00pm .

During March we will hold presentations on Sunday after completion of finals while we have teams competing. These will be held at 6:30pm and notices will be sent out on a weekly basis.

Fundraising

The chocolate drive and the season Raffle are the 2 fundraising events we hold each season. These are vital events to raise funds for the club to keep our subs as low as possible and allow us to continue to improve facilities. Please ensure that you return complete money for chocolates ($57.60) in envelope provided. We cannot return chocolates to the supplier so we ask that you do not return them to the club as doing so just places extra workload on club volunteers. Several people work very hard to ensure successful fundraising for the club and each player is expected to contribute their fair share towards fundraising efforts.

The season raffle tickets will be issued to every player commencing next week. One book of 10 $2 tickets are expected to be sold (or bought) by each player. This again raises very important funds and this year we have great prizes on offer including Sir Donald Bradman replica bat (framed), 4 burner BBQ, signed Redbacks shirt plus many offerings from our sponsors at Cellarbrations. The raffle books should be sold and returned during February but no later than March 21^st. (Grand Final weekend)

Facilities

Our oval is now in very good condition , best summer condition most have ever seen. This is due to $80,000 of restoration work and a whole new pop-up watering system. The Cricket club is also completing the installation of a back net and top to the third net (installed last season). This will see over $15,000 value put into our practice area. If you look at other club practice areas it is now easily the best you will see at club level.

Merchandise

Wearing of club shirt and club cap (or white wide brimmed) is compulsory during games for all teams. Non club caps are not allowed. Club clothing and merchandise is available for sale at training and has proven very popular. Training shorts and ‘blue’ club shirts are also available .

SPONSORSHIP

As always we are looking for new sponsors. If you are interested in sponsorship of any size please contact Jon May on 0402000795 or fhcc@internode.on.net

Please support our sponsors

talk to Chris & Lisa Moyle at aussieofficefurniture.com.au

talk to Gus or Paul at

Cellarbrations at Flagstaff Hill