20 jumpers in 20 days: #4

•    Club website – it’s bright, uncluttered and planned to ensure it is easy to find out all about playing AFL with Ramsgate.

•    Registration Days – plenty of members available in club colours, well organised, plenty of information available

•    Online enquires or registrations – contacted within the hour of receipt if possible, but within the day at very worst case. All phone calls are backed up by an email detailing information about the club, the coaches, the training days, match locations, etc.

•    Ramsgate has a ‘boot bag’ where players can donate old boots and take a pair from the table, any leftover are sent to Africa in a joint venture with Bangor. This is very well regarded by all, again demonstrating the family friendly feel.

•    The club holds regular training events such as team sausage sizzle nights, pizza nights for all age groups – all free.

•    Auskick have an Annual Intra Club Under Lights Night game to change things up a bit.

•    Ramsgate has an AK Co-Ord for each age group (3/4s, 5s, 6s, 7/8s) and actively encourages as many parents to help at Auskick training as possible to reduce waiting times and maximise ‘ball’ time.

•    For the older age groups we hold training sessions at a local gym on a regular basis to mix it up and as a wet weather back-up.

Communication

The club keeps everyone as informed as it can about all of club news – via team emails, all club emails, facebook, team app, sms, club newsletter, club facebook. Some standard types of comms include:

•    Details of school boy reps, AFL reps, Swans Academy trials (sourced from websites)
•    Congrats for any rep or other achievements
•    Free Swans/GWS tickets when we have them
•    AFL offers and promotions
•    Match day photos
•    Thank volunteers

Home Games

•    Create a family friendly environment, full of colour – Bali Flags, banners, etc
•    Encourage families to stay around and watch subsequent games
•    Free lolly pop for every Auskicker after every home game
•    AK Awards from every mini game every week- some with medallions, trophies, Maccas etc

Recruitment

•    We offer $25 cash to players whom bring along a friend that registers, there is no limit to the number of friends. We present all cash at Presentation Night and call the players to the stage and read out the friends they introduced. This is public specifically to demonstrate that we want you to bring friends.

•    If we have an age group that we really need numbers in we offer $50 per referral and we run a competition such as ‘win an ipad’.

•    We start putting notices in our newsletter around the middle of the season asking players to bring a friend if they love AFL. ie (Do you love playing AFL at Ramsgate? If you love AFL, now is the time to tell your friends and encourage them to come and join in the fun in 2015. Our best advertising comes from our existing members bringing along a friend or two to play, and of course the more of your friends that play the more fun you have.

•    We have an arrangement with Dominos Pizza whereby we provide Ramsgate flyers to Dominos and they distribute a flyer with every home delivery pizza on an agreed Saturday night.

Presentation Night

•    We split into 2 events, non-comp teams and later comp teams.

•    We display ‘the season that was’ slideshows for every age group, and an ‘around the grounds’ for our volunteers and supporters

•    Every child receives a trophy

•    Every child receives a free raffle ticket and we have a massive free raffle from which you choose from the available prizes when your number is called. You must stay until the end for the raffle which helps to build the club environment by keeping everyone there. Everyone gets a prize – it could be a signed AFL jumper or a sheet of AFL club stickers and anything in between. It is VERY popular.

Re-register