EASTBOURNE ABOUT THE CLUB EAST SUSSEX Eastbourne Touch club a social team that’s separate from Eastbourne Rugby club. CLUB STATS 22 1 1 Club members SETA players England players CLUB DETAILS Gildredge Park, Saffrons Road Eastbourne, BN21 1DP Sundays 10am - 12pm Free (excluding donations for kit) Jameswilliamdearie@hotmail.co.uk

SETA CLUB CHAMPS TAPS OFF THIS SATURDAY! This Saturday sees the return of the incredibly successful SETA Club Champs! For the second year running, SETA are hosting a selection tournament for Sharks and Taipans across all age grades of the sport in our region. 17 teams are making their way down to Horsham RFC to battle it out and show off their skills in front of Nationals selectors. ​ Who will walk away with this seasons titles of South East Champions?Make sure to be following our socials on the day for all the updates and try lights of Club Champs! For all the information check out the spreadsheet below: Published 07.04.2022

CANTERBURY ABOUT THE CLUB KENT We are based in Canterbury, Kent and are part of the wider Canterbury Rugby Club. We have a good mix of social players and competitive players of mixed abilities and are always looking for new members either for a fun run around or to play in local and national tournaments. We currently have club representation in most categories in the England setup (mixed U15s through to Men's 50’s) and have a good track record in developing junior players to national and international representation. We train once a week at the moment on Thursday evenings. CLUB STATS 65 26 21 Club members SETA players England players CLUB DETAILS Winter: Simon Langton Boys School (3G) Summer: Canterbury Rugby Club (grass) Thursday evenings £19 / per month £228/ per annum canterburytouch@gmail.com

SETA NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2021 We hope you are all well and looking forward to getting back to playing some touch football. Come and be a part of the growing team! As ever, the more hands the lighter the work. Since the pandemic, we have been slowly increasing the volunteer work force and have totaled more than 3000 hours of voluntary work since October last year, and now have over 16 Volunteers putting plans together and developing new competition structures, social media and website, to help raise awareness in the South East. We are always looking for people who can dedicate 2-3 hrs per week to help, you can find a list of current roles that are available at the bottom of this newsletter. If there is something you feel you can add and there is not currently a role, just pop an email to us. We are looking to reward our volunteers with exclusive offers on SETA kit and merchandise to say thanks for all the hard work. We want positive solution driven people who can represent the South East. News: ​ DATES FOR THE DIARY (please note ALL dates are subject to change) SETA FREE Coaches Webinar - 01/04/21 20:00 : It is great to hear of the appetite for fixtures & competition this summer, I personally very much fall into the category of ‘cannot wait to get back’. As a first entry to the return to touch, we have 2 coaching leads who have agreed to run a webinar and take questions, they are: Will Serocold – current Men’s Open player & Women’s Open Sharks coach Jason Logan – current England M35 coach, England senior coach mentor, Men’s Taipans coach They have kindly agreed to give their time to give an insight into their current coaching ideas, experience and give insight into coaching practices. Outside of Touch in England, Jason has spent time coaching at NTLs in Australia, which is considered the most elite domestic competition in the world. Will has worked for a premiership rugby club and has current insight into delivery of coaching sessions and analysis. The current date planned is 1st April at 8pm . To sign up please reply to this message and Zoom links will be sent out prior to the evening. This is for any current coaches, players or people that want to start on their coaching journey and learn about our regional sides. This is open to all players, current coaches and people who want to give coaching a go. Agenda Coaching principles (Session Plans inc. Player safety) Building rapport with players Feedback Current game styles What makes a successful player What makes a successful team Q&A SETA update for competitions and regional sides IMPORTANT PLEASE READ SETA Club Championships is back, these replace the trial days we previously operated for selection for the Nationals competition. If you want to be considered for Nationals selection and are an eligible player, we are collecting expressions of interest from clubs looking to be involved. All teams must enter both events. Costs are yet to be confirmed, the expected host location is Horsham RFC, pending confirmation and is liable to change. Below is a guide on dates, again these may change due to things out of our control. The SETA Club Championships is a place to showcase your club’s talent and compete against south east regional teams. Set up as a mens, womens and juniors tournament held on a Saturday over two weekends. The regional coaches will be there to help and to select regional squads which will then feed selection for the regional teams. This will culminate in a Sharks and Taipans competition called ‘Face Off’ held on the 2nd/3rd July. Greater London Clubs - SUPERLEAGUE The London Superleague is a prerequisite for all the Greater London clubs intending to put teams in the SETA Club Championships. The London Superleague begins on Thursday 13th May 2021 in Wandsworth, London. The season will run for 12 consecutive weeks and see all the clubs do battle with one another, preparing for the SETA Club Champs and the England National Touch Series. For more info or questions please email performance@seta.org.uk NEW Partnership We are really pleased to announce a new partnership with In2Touch in Greater London to help organise competitions and pathways. They now have representation on the SETA committee and are collaborating with SETA to develop and grow the game in the south east. In2touch are able to offer assistance on setting up leagues and tournaments in all areas of the region; Please get in touch for further details. SETA/In2Touch & ETA domestic diary Please note that what follows is the domestic calendar only. Dates and times for the Home Nations International Series will be announced in due course. ​ What about April? All weekends are available for local matches/tournaments. ‘Local’ in this instance means your town/city/immediate area PLEASE FOLLOW RETURN TO PLAY GUIDELINES. Other Regional Leagues and Competitions If you have a league or competition you would like us to share with our members please send details to info@seta.org.uk We are currently looking for: Volunteer Coordinator (3-4 hrs per week) The Volunteer Coordinator plays a key role in making sure a strong volunteering culture exists within SETA. Their focus is on everyone who volunteers for SETA feeling valued, developed and supported. This role ensures that all volunteers have the confidence and knowledge to undertake their roles to the best of their ability. The volunteer coordinator will also lead the recruitment of volunteers for new and existing roles within the organisation. County Development Officers To ensure consistent support for all SETA members a new county level role has been introduced. Acting as the SETA development lead’s ‘person on the ground’ as well as clubs’, players’, referees’ and coaches’ first contact for development opportunities in their county. Helping organise local events and raising local awareness of the touch pathways available, especially working to grow less represented groups such as females and juniors. Email details will be available soon, the incumbents for 2021 are: ​ East Sussex- Alex Berger Greater London - TBC Kent- Chris Garland Surrey- Lee Hodges West Sussex- Ash Grimsey There is further opportunity to get involved with the supporting roles and growing touch in your county. Here are some of the roles - please contact your county development officer to get involved. ​ Club Development Officers Junior Development Officers Schools Development Officers University Development Officers League Operators Community/Charity Partners Team managers (2 hrs per week) Ideal for those that might be looking to get into coaching and not quite confident enough to commit. Must have good organisational and interpersonal skills. Proofreader (2 hrs per week) Did you spot some grammatical errors or inconsistency with any of our comms so far? We are looking for someone to help review documents, social media and our website for grammar and verbiage corrections. Please get in touch! Feel free to email any questions to info@seta.org.uk Andy Penniceard Published 24.03.2021

2020: YEAR IN REVIEW 2020 was a year like no other, due to the widespread pandemic and in order to maintain the health of everybody, grassroots sport paused. For a year we have been training, coaching, learning, and working out in the comfort of our own homes. Over the course of the year we observed Sport England and ETA’s return to play strategy, moving from one tier to the next. As a result during the summer there was a light reprieve of restrictions that allowed clubs across the country and the South East to return to training and local interclub leagues were able to be organised. 2020 was also a year where we all went virtual. England Touch produced a series of virtual coaching sessions ranging from attack and defence principles to improving talent identification in our sport. In total 18 CPD courses were hosted, attended by over 300 players and coaches across the country. Also taught virtually were 13 LVL1 Referee courses attended by 131 new officiators. All of these efforts are pushing forward the development of our sport. However, it was not simply grassroots development that upgraded: At the beginning of 2020, 139 SETA athletes were selected for England Training Squads. Attending a total of 2 camps at the beginning of the year and 2 virtual ones throughout the pandemic. All of these efforts were possible due to the constant support and effort of volunteers in SETA and across the country, all of which we are incredibly grateful for. Just before Christmas these volunteers were celebrated for their efforts in ETA’s Volunteer of the Year shortlist. Thank you all again for your continuous efforts: Matt Halligan - Thames Valley Vikings Julie Coulter - Surrey Bisons Dan Wines - London Eagles Hannah Marshall - London Eagles Bex Maxwell - London Eagles Nick Heath - London Eagles Laura Kay Nick Lewis - Barnes Green Rugby Club As 2020 draws to a close, we caught up with Andy Penniceard (Regional Lead) to find out his thoughts over the past 12 months and the future plans for SETA: Firstly, I need to thank Marnie who for many years did an incredible job as SETA’s lead. I had not and I think most other people do not quite appreciate how much time and energy goes into this role. Thank you Marns! When I took over as regional lead in 2020, I had one vision, that was to raise awareness of the opportunities with Touch Football and increase participation in the region from 440 to 1000 members over the next two years. Even though we have had all the problems due to the pandemic I personally think it is a still an achievable goal. I have been working in the background and with the help of an incredibly talented volunteer workforce, we have devised and developed many new opportunities and looked at ways to deliver a better regional experience. There is a sense that everyone is like a loaded spring and cannot wait to share some of the news and ideas we have had once we are permitted. We are happy to announce that in 2020 we partnered with In2Touch, the biggest organisation delivering social Touch in the region and are able now to deliver taster sessions to help raise awareness to those that were not aware of how far they can progress with Touch and use our extensive England coach and player list to help deliver and up skill players. We are also very pleased to welcome Gareth (In2touch) on the SE committee who will help organise our tournaments. A great partnership that will continue to grow the sport. As part of our growth strategy, we will be doing a relaunch with a new branded off field kit which looks great and continue to grow our social media platforms, with a new website, launching on the 30th of April. Finally, I would like to thank everyone that has committed and dedicated time to SETA in 2020 and I am very much looking forward to working with them in 2021 and getting a sense of normality returning to our sport again soon. Published 15.01.2021

EAST GRINSTEAD ABOUT THE CLUB WEST SUSSEX East Grinstead RFC is a vibrant and welcoming community touch and rugby club in the heart of Sussex that offers competitive and fun touch for all ages and abilities. One Spirit - One Ball. Our touch team provides a place for player development and enjoyable sociable sessions. CLUB STATS 45 0 0 Club members SETA players England players CLUB DETAILS The Gearon Pavillion, Saint Hill Road East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4JU Monday 7:30pm - 9pm 120 / per year operations@egrfc.com www.egrfc.com

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SETA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS THE INTENTION ​ Over the past few months, SETA has been in the process of planning regional-based competitions to deliver to the region. Initially, this was based upon protected weekends from the England Touch Calendar for specific regional events. ​ However, due to COVID measures developing and changing, our plans are always evolving and adapting. So this note will address the plans to launch our SETA Club Championships! TOURNAMENT PLAN ​ 2 rounds 3 games per round Teams: MO / WO / Juniors Groups split based on experience Venue: Horsham Each event will be Men’s and Women’s in the Opens, Juniors will depend on interest. Date: 29th of May & 5th of June. ENTRIES ​ Registration for this event is now closed. ​ REFEREES ​ SETA will be looking for support from as many referees as possible for this event, where the aim is to provide meaningful coaching and opportunities for badge upgrades. Expression of interest WHY THIS STRUCTURE? ​ More appropriate level games - players get to play in close games An opportunity for coach and club upskilling Referee development Provides a meaningful opportunity for Nationals team selection Reduced travel time relative to NTS No need for accommodation WHY NOW? ​ COVID restrictions will likely be based around travel distance A need to reduce the cost for playing quality touch Opportunity to implement a better player experience for those in the South East Likely strategic direction from England will be to place higher importance on regions We thank you for your collaboration. We cannot emphasise enough, these plans are likely to be adapted depending on COVID restrictions and implementation of an England Touch calendar. However, we have a massive opportunity as a region to make a positive change and drive the quality for the rest of the country. Please direct any questions or queries to performance@SETA.org.uk Kind Regards, SETA Performance Team Published 26.02.2021

GAME KNOWLEDGE The game of touch is built on fundamental principles and game trends are constantly evolving. As a result, our coaches look for a firm grasp of core game knowledge and will help to support players with an awareness of current policies and ways of playing and thinking. Moving forward your game understanding will be supported by some of the best players and coaches in England.

FARNHAM SAXONS ABOUT THE CLUB SURREY Farnham RUFC Touch is a social touch club welcoming both men and women from ages 16-75! We train and play mixed touch at all levels starting from complete beginner all the way up to the competitive level. CLUB STATS 75 5 2 Club members SETA players England players CLUB DETAILS Farnham RUFC, Wilkinson Way Monkton Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 9ND Wednesday evenings 7:15pm - 9pm First 4 sessions free £3 pay as you go or £80 per year O2Touch@farnhamrugby.org farnhamrugby.org/teams/167963

LONDON VIPERS ABOUT THE CLUB GREATER LONDON The club was set up in 2018 for good sportspeople from a variety of different backgrounds. Most haven’t played touch before and our aim is to introduce them to the sport, help them fall in love with it, and develop them into the best players they can be. We aspire to be a club that balances the highest quality touch with the highest quality socials! We run a variety of teams, including mixed, men’s and women’s. We run club training on a Saturday morning that is open to players in all stages of development. CLUB STATS 50 4 3 Club members SETA players England players CLUB DETAILS Clapham Common 2 - 4 days per week, can vary Unknown eytouchrugby@uk.ey.com