Message from the President
The National in Cairns this year will mark the end of my time as President of Australia Spurs or OzSpurs as we lovingly know it on this side of the world. It truly has been a privilege and an honour to hold the position for the last 4 years and as I step aside and hand the reigns over to the newly elected Sean Bielski, It seems only right to reflect on some of the things we have achieved and look forward to the future of OzSpurs.
At the time I stepped into the role we were still reeling from COVID and the continued lock downs , we had just cancelled our Sydney National and Steve Perryman event and all of our venues across Australia were a no go. For a club that thrives on the ability of our members to come together and enjoy the atmosphere generated by enjoying, often not enjoying watching Spurs together this had a huge impact on OzSpurs and its members. We took the decision the following year to extend memberships so that members who had been hit by the financial implications of the lockdown continued to enjoy the benefits as the world began to open up again, and when it did we were able to host our first national for 3 years and a first for our Newcastle chapter and what a weekend it was we hosted an incredible evening with Gary Stevens which we were able to provide for free to OzSpurs Members, had our first 5 a side competition in so many years we struggled to find the trophy!! And of course got to enjoy a rare win at the National a hard fought 1-0 win over Burnley, perhaps slightly ironically our previous National in Perth saw us also play Burnley in a 2-1 loss.
All of the attendees of the Newcastle national enjoyed visiting a new city so much we put in motion plans to host our next National in Cairns and all was going swimmingly until Spurs decided to interject, despite a short runtime we were able to organise some amazing events in Perth when the club visited in July last year. A win over the West Ham Supporters being watched by Ledley King, a fantastic evening with Ledley a signing session with the entire squad including the soon to depart Herr Kane, and for our newly inaugurated 10 year members breakfast with Daniel Levy and Donna Cullen.
This year our Cairns National will be an absolute blast, all of the committee are working hard to put on a National our members wont forget and if, as rumoured, the Spurs shape problem appears again, We will be cashing in all the credit we have in the Spurs bank to get them to bring something to our party.
For the last 4 years the Committee have been striving to bring as many free events to our members as possible including the incredible Perth experiences and I know that as I slip away that the members of the committee are keen to do the same and at this point I’ll paraphrase a liberal icon by saying “Ask not what OzSpurs can do for you, ask what you can do for OzSpurs”
Shortly we will be announcing committee vacancies , OzSpurs is able to achieve all of the things it does because of the efforts of those who currently and previously serve in committee positions. I feel fortunate to have worked with many dedicated and brilliant people in my stints on the committee and now that there are vacant spots I would urge those of you that are able to dedicate some time to helping all of us enjoy the benefits of OzSpurs to come forward when nominations are called for.
I know that not everyone can dedicate time to be a volunteer, and I would urge those people to either renew their memberships for the upcoming season or become a member, you can chose to be a full member and receive a members pack or just a digital member and receive the benefits of OzSpurs membership which includes discounted event entry to OzSpurs events, drinks discounts in some of our host venues and access to priority ticketing applications at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium or as a third choice you can simply create an account on our website we will register you with Spurs as an OzSpurs supporter. Membership is important on a number of levels, financially the membership fees are what allow us to put on player evenings as we have done with Darren Anderton, Ledley King and Gary Stevens but also it helps our standing with Spurs when it comes to events and ticketing.
I have heard from the club that next year our member numbers will be estimated on the number of members in the club portal, these are all of our members that have provided us with a CRN from the club, although it has not been communicated specifically , I have the feeling that sooner rather than later these numbers will be used to calculate the number of tickets a supporters club can apply for through the club portal, so put simply the more members we have that are listed in the club portal the more likely our members will be to receive tickets when they apply.
So what can you do?
- If you have the time and the passion Join the Committee and help shape the future of OzSpurs
- If you are a member ensure you renew your membership and provide us with your THFC CRN so we can add you to their portal
- If you are not a member Join us, The stronger we are as a fan group the more likely we are to get benefits from THFC, membership starts from $10 per year or if neither of those appeal to you them just register on our website and we’ll register you with Spurs who will create a CRN for you if you have not yet supplied one.
Lastly I would just like to say a huge thankyou to everyone who has supported me in the last 4 years and especially all of the committee members I have had the privilege of working with, We really pulled off some amazing events!!
COYS , COYOS
Paf
