England Touch Association - Annual Report 2014 England Touch Association - Annual Report 2014 | Page 4

ETA Annual Report

PRESIDENT (Report)
Another hugely successful and
personally rewarding year,
targets exceeded and exciting
times ahead for the association.
I’d like to start my report with a massive vote of
thanks to all of those involved in the ‘behind the
scenes’ work that makes the England Touch
Association (ETA) the success it is. Some of the
exertions that our dedicated volunteers have made to
the association throughout the past season have been
monumental and I applaud, congratulate and thank
you most sincerely for this. Much of it goes
unnoticed, so firstly and most importantly, I’d like to
formally acknowledge the huge contributions and
sacrifices you’ve all made, without which support the
sport simply would not exist.

As with any coalition, it also brings new and
motivating challenges for us too. We need to ensure
we capitalise on the opportunities it presents along
with meeting the targets we’ve set ourselves.
We must look at growth and development with a
different and more open mind set than previously
and work together with our new partners in a
proactive way. This is an exciting opportunity for us
all to take the sport as a whole to another level and
leave the next generation of participants and
administrators of the sport in a very strong position.
Commonly problematic to judge whilst absorbed in
the role at hand, it is my personal view that history
will look propitiously on the accomplishments and
successes of the last few years. We will now take
stock together and look to progress the sport to the
level we all believe it can be, leaving a legacy for all
to enjoy.

Touch is an entirely volunteer-led sport and as such
we are ALL indebted to those people that put their
hand up and make things happen; next time you take
to the pitch as a player to play the sport you love
consider the countless hours that have been put in by
our volunteers to enable you to do so. Whether it be
at club, regional or national level the contribution of
our coaches, managers, administrators and players all
combine to make Touch the great sport that it is. It
has been a privilege and honour working with each
one of you, and I look forward to continuing and
developing our relationships.
In 2013-14 the sport has continued in a very exciting
phase in its history with the continuation and
development of the Partnership Agreement with the
Rugby Football Union (RFU). This partnership has
been the culmination of numerous years of work by
both parties. From the ETAs point of view partnering
with world renowned and commercially-oriented
partners places the sport in a great place to meet the
wide range of challenges at both a strategic level and
a practical/member level. The encouraging feedback
the announcement has had across the sport reflects
the understanding people have of the importance of
. this development for our present and future as
4 . a sport.
England Touch Association