To ''''don''''t be an idiot'''' -you are more than welcome to come along to the next committee meeting and air your many opinions. All you need to do is request a presence at the meeting. You can request a meeting by emailing the club secretary at contact@stjamesaldergrove.com Or alternatively you can approach any committee member (you will know them from your active involvement) meanwhile your onslaught on everything & everyone at the club will remain unposted - the message board is moderated for a reason, free speech is allowed and ecouraged but continual faceless criticism of individuals and the club as a whole is unacceptable on an anonymous basis.

There is a huge difference between freedom of speech and comments from someone who may not even be a club member winding things up.

Just like to say well done to Guestbook admin. You''ve had a busy week!! Curious to know what ''helpful suggestion'' wants in return for their fees.

In reply to the as yet unposted message board post from ip address 86.175.145.22 - If you are willing to put your name to your reply it will be posted - until such time I will have to assume you are a wind up merchant.

I think the problem with the late notice for the cancellation of the U10 match against Rossa was that no-one in Aogans class got a note through school. Did the other players get a note? No system of communication is perfect. We all have busy lives but any unnecessary running around(ie to a match that is not taking place) is very frustrating and I think that is why the U10 parent made the post.

Good luck on Saturday boys.Lets hope with all the comments on this guestbook regarding OUR club we can have more than just the 2 members that where at the first match on Wednesday night

Admin Reply - Good luck to the Boys tommorrow. Some good performances up in hightown on Wed nite.

Could the club not buy a mobile for each team - which they can store all the parents/members numbers and send out a set of text messages every week informing them of matches etc.. or emergency events, you''d be talking £15 a month, its not much when you consider the fees paid by members and for the little they get in return for them! Ps the comments regarding club communication wasnt directed solely at trainers of the kids of U10s it mentions the club as a whole and its events. Its good that its been taken on board however as it shows that there is an obvious need for proper communication within the club at all levels.

Admin Reply - Don't be silly now there are other methods like Teamer.net which are free of charge. I'm glad you brought the Fee's into it as it shows you clearly haven't been reading the latest posts very well. You should try looking at what you can do for YOUR CLUB & not what the club can do for you. What would you be looking in return for your fee's? Can you please put your name to your post as I am sure someone would like to nominate you for committee as you seem to know how everything should be done.

Thanks for your best wishes for Saturday and the U10 tournament. Unfortunately due to work commitments from both sides the U10 game had to be cancelled. There was a note sent through the school to inform parents and it is unfortunate that this only went today but the decision was only taken yesterday after exhausting all avenues. With regard to the comment on the elite few getting word, all information is passed through the same communication channel as it stands so no one kid should get more information than any other. All U8 and U10 children are spoken to after training on a Saturday to inform them of the coming weeks events/ matches. With regards to matches, there was a list of matches for the go games league distributed at the beginning of the season, any changes to this are passed on through the children at training. The school is only used as a last resort should there be a late change. No matter what forum we use I am sure someone will be unhappy. Those people who go out on a Saturday morning and Sunday morning week in week out, are doing their best - don''''t have a go at them as they are dedicating time and effort even if at times it appears misdirected (in some peoples opinion). Maybe turn up and give a hand out and why not put your name to your comments after all it is a guestbook.

Admin Reply - It's a thankless task being a mentor at times but you can only try your best. Keep up the good work.

Good luck to the Under 10s for Saturday''s tournament! Pity there was no match for them against Rossa tonight(Thursday) as planned - - even more pity that parents couldnt have been informed a bit sooner about this. TRY USING THIS FORUM AS PART OF THE COMMUNICATION FOR THE CLUB AND THEIR MEMBERS AND PARENTS!! It''s starting to wear a bit thin that there is only an elite few get the word about things in the club - whether it''s club events or match/training fixtures for the kids! The lines of communication stop at a select bunch in St James GAC and the other parents and kids are getting the feeling of exclusion - this shouldnt be what the GAC is about. End the cronyism in the club and the club as a whole will flourish from the youngest member up!! A

You are not alone. This is on the website of a Belfast GAC with a social club. Why is YOUR money needed? Primarily it is used to fund the running costs of our sports club, Below is a brief breakdown of our club’s expenditure last year: Playing Gear, Footballs, Hurling Sticks £38,000 Ground Maintenance & Repairs £10,000 Travel Expenses £10,000 Players injury insurance premium £3,000 Water Charges & Rates £10,000 Registration Fees & GAA Membership to Croke Park £15,000 Heating & Electricity £28,000 Medical Expenses £6,000 Accountancy, Audit & Legal Fees £10,000 Average Cost per YEAR to run our Club £130,000 Summary The running costs of our club as you must surely appreciate, are continue to rise year on year. In the past, we relied heavily on the income from our social club to develop and promote Gaelic Games within our club but given the obvious changes in the economy we are no longer in a position to continue to rely on this as our main source of income and funding. Therefore, other avenues have been investigated and introduced by our club Committee to help in this regard, including: • A Monthly Direct Debit scheme for all Members • 3 Annual Fundraising Events • Funding Applications to Belfast CC, Sport NI and other • Local Sponsorship • 200 Club (launching soon) ------------------ Some time ago, we published a document detailing the financial strains our club were under and the financial challenges we faced moving forward in 2010. We are now asking our members for help and assistance to assure the short term future of our club. Our club faces an immediate challenge to our future; this challenge is to arrange for the payment of an outstanding invoice of approximately £10,000. We DO NOT currently have the finance to pay this. This invoice is from Croke Park, for the payment of our player’s insurance and also public indemnity. The invoice is due for payment before the end of March – due to other operational requirements we won’t have the money ‘in the bank’ to cover this invoice, however we can guarantee the money will be in place post this date. Without the payment of this invoice, our club will be required to stop functioning – we will be unable to field any team juvenile through to senior in any code – as we will have no players insurance. So what are we asking? Basically, we are asking for members of our club to offer some short term financial assistance, through the offer of lending or donating the club monies to enable us to pay this invoice. Any loan is guaranteed to be repaid to the individual(s) providing it by May 30th of this year. We are asking our members to offer what they can, but we would like to be able to place the offers into easily managed amounts – for example such as £250 or £500 offers. This is a time when our club needs you, more than ever – we can’t stress enough without urgent immediate help we may find our club in an unthinkable situation. If anyone can help, please contact the Treasurer or any other member of committee as soon as possible. Please also note the urgency of this appeal – any donations need to be made within the next 48 hours so we can lodge the monies gathered with our bank. Your help in the resolution of this issue will be a private matter, no one will know what your involvement will have been – but EVERYONE will be thankful of it. With thanks in anticipation, The Committee,

Admin Reply - There is no doubt all clubs are operating in a different financial environment. The costs associated with fielding teams are growing outwith our control (insurance, fees, Injury scheme) yet the part that is within our control remains static (club generated income). All clubs face this challenge and all clubs will no doubt turn to the membership to increase income. Our club (and all clubs) need to pay £5,000 (our figure) to Casement / Croke Pk by March or face the prospect of not fielding.

will there b any photos of the junior game @ st ednas too?

Admin Reply - If you have some, can you send them into us & we will get them up ASAP!!!!!!!!!

any photos of us playing St Endas?

Admin Reply - Yes Brendan I will try and put them up later. You lads played superb all season - the u 14s are a real credit to the club and the coaches.

The underlying positive on this thread of recent posts is that there are still some folks who do care about the club and its future. It may help to have a brief reminder of club running costs. No doubt we will get that info at this years AGM, however here is an overview of 2009 report:- total expenditure was £57K. If you strip away non essentials such as juvenile transport and members gear purchases then that equates to some £29K to just run the club. This £29K covers insurance, county fees, pitch maintenance,training aids etc. In Nov 2009 our club finally cleared several years accumulated debt with county. We need every club member to appreciate why financial commitments must be made so that we can pass on a better legacy to our children. If clubs such as Creggan can do it then why not Aldergrove?

Admin Reply - I think most people would be genuinely shocked at how much it takes to run this club and equally shocked at how little is brought in and by so few. Insurance alone is £100 every week, fees add another £115 a week. Most weeks the lottery falls well short of this and the lottery remains our main source of income. The maths is simple.

to be fair, i know the committee are working really hard to turn things for everyone. but i didnt see anything publicised on this website about a special night. the quiz nights, well we were all bombarded from every angles about the times and dates and from what i saw they were pretty well attended. I have alwaysd thought we need to be careful; about selecting dates for events that clash with ''big events'' the bank holiday weekend is big chance for most to enjoy the last holiday of the summer before the kids go back to school. many of our younger members (who i know have attended the quiz nights regularly) would have planned well in advance to make the most of the long weekend, head to croker, weekend away with the lads, and even the many festivals that are on offer in belfast on what IS one of the niggest bank holiday weekends of the year. it is unfortunatley destined for failure when you try to compete against these and the many other factors already raised on here.

Admin Reply - All good points. You sound just they type of person needed to help out in future events - interested?

It would be helpful if posters added their names to posts - it's easy to make faceless posts with anonymity. If you feel strongly about something please add your name. Any 'controversial' nameless posts will not be posted.