Hi Onka Family,
This is the President's update for May.
As we near the mid-point of the season, we’ve had some great games of rugby and awesome events at the club.
Our juniors are looking great with solid numbers across the board and some big wins under their belts, our U12s sit undefeated at the top of the ladder and our U16s had a great run out against St Peter’s College on Wednesday night. One thing this club does well is showing up and supporting our teams and our crowds have often dwarfed the opposition even on our away games, which is incredible to see. The passion and love for our club lies behind everything we do, either on the field or behind the scenes.
And of course, we can’t overlook the huge win for our women’s team on the weekend, handing Souths their first home loss in six years! A huge effort from the women and some really positive signs for women’s rugby at Onkaparinga.
Unfortunately, our U16s and U18s have had a bit of a messy draw this year due to several opposition teams pulling out or merging, so let’s make sure we get behind them when they are playing Friday nights or away from home and give them that famous Onka support.
Another quick reminder also that passionate support is great, but we need to make sure we don’t fall to abuse, as this can have a big impact on the club and players.
Our committee has been working hard behind the scenes to keep things moving. We have finally received our coaches and committee jumpers – so this should help make us more visible around the grounds. These were delayed due to shipping issues. We also expect to receive the player polos in the next week or two - these were provided thanks to a generous donation by Mal Clarke.
We’ve had some big events at the club, with the Music Bingo last weekend and Miss Onka drawing big crowds, as well as our themed events like the Mexican night and this weekend’s music shuffle. Our social team have more lined up, so please get behind these events – including the upcoming Quiz night. These are big nights to catch up with your mates and help the club make some money for future upgrades.
I am currently working on business plan for the club, which outlines a number of upgrades we are looking into. This document will let us seek grants and investment as well as allowing the committee to identify what we want to achieve. Some of these investments include upgrading the gym, installing a shelter over the raised area and fixing up the warm-up area on the north side of the field. We’ll keep you posted as we progress with these.
We also have another big event coming up, which will help the club make some funds towards these upgrades. On the June long weekend, we will be assisting Netball SA with hosting the 2026 Country Netball Championships. We will be opening the club, bar and canteen for attendees to this event, which is expected to be around 8,000 people over the three days. If you’re keen to help, please let us know. This is set to be a huge weekend, make some good income and work towards fostering good relationships with our neighbouring clubs.
Finally, a huge welcome to our two newest club members, Danica and Kate, who have joined our Women’s team from Bayside Rugby Club in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada. They both played in the game on the weekend, with Kate scoring the winning try. Please extend them a huge welcome. We’re looking at building our relationship with Bayside and hope to be able to send some of our female players over to get some experience in Canada also.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions please message me or talk to me at the club.