1 November 2011
We’re now only seven months from kick off in the opening match of Bingham Cup 2012, to be hosted by the Manchester Village Spartans at Broughton Park, Manchester, United Kingdom.
The Chargers are well on track to take a squad of our own to represent Melbourne. The effort invested in fundraising and sponsorship is paying off, but there is still a long way to go in raising our goal of $25,000. We’re working on more events to get to our target – as always your involvement is critical.
Now is also the time to get serious about training. November marks the beginning of pre-season training and the momentum will build from here until May 27 when we leave for Manchester. The club expects (as do your team-mates) that you’ll be doing everything possible to be in shape for three days of Rugby between here and June.
Let’s do everything we can to make a lasting impression at the tournament.
Cheers
Sam
1 June, 2011
Today is exactly twelve months from kick off in the opening match of Bingham Cup 2012, to be hosted by the Manchester Village Spartans at Broughton Park, Manchester, England.
The Bingham Cup is the largest amateur Rugby Union tournament in the world and the biggest Rugby Union tournament outside the RWC. Over 800 players from all over the planet are expected to attend Bingham Cup 2012.
There is a proud history of Australian involvement in the Bingham Cup – Our sister club, The Sydney Convicts, has won the Bingham Cup twice, in New York in 2006 and Dublin in 2008; The Bingham Plate in 2006 and, combining with the Melbourne Chargers, the Bingham Bowl in Minneapolis last year.
2012 will hopefully be the first year Melbourne is represented at The Bingham Cup by a full 25-player squad, and the first year Australian Rugby is represented by a club other than the Sydney Convicts, so will be a historic event both for us and for the gay Rugby Union movement in Australasia.
Taking our own squad to BC12 is an ambitious but achievable goal – there is a lot of hard work to be done both on- and off- the pitch, but the moment you pull a Chargers jersey on in Manchester you will understand why all the effort will be worth it.
Now is the time for each of you to seriously consider making the commitment to be part of this historic journey. For the Bingham Cup veterans among us, it will be particularly significant as the first Chargers squad to tour overseas leaves for Manchester; for the many Bingham Cup virgins it will be a rare opportunity to represent Australia at an international sporting event, and an initiation into the wonderful world of Rugby touring.
The road to Bingham starts here.
Cheers
Sam
