Catch-up: Robins Trust Updates - January 2024 & February 2024

18th April 2024 — 11 minute read

January 2024 Newsletter

Below is the email that was sent out to Robins Trust members on 30th January 2024:

Join the Trust to receive news and updates before anybody else.

Dear Robins Trust Member,

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2024. Firstly, recognising there are more important things than football, we want to mark the passing of Iain Purslow at the fixture against Bolton Wanderers on 13th January. We were heartened by the impeccable behaviour and respect shown by both sets of supporters. It goes without saying that no one should go to a game of football and not make it home afterwards. The Club released a statement and information around support for anyone who was affected by the incident: https://www.ctfc.com/news/2024/january/club-statement-iain-purslow/

There's no easy segue from that into our usual stuff, so we won't attempt one. As always, if you have any ideas or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: info@robinstrust.org

In this issue:

Update from Fan-Elected Director Dave Beesley
Update from Trust Chair James Young
CTFC HerGameToo page and Supporter Services Group Update
Episode 4 of the Ornithology Podcast
Community Noticeboard
Who are the Robins Trust Board? (see the bottom of this post)

Update from Fan-Elected Director Dave Beesley

Hi Fellow Trust Members,

As I write this, there are only a couple of days to go until the transfer deadline. This transfer window could be one of the most pivotal in recent history for the Robins.

We have already welcomed Josh Harrop, Liam Kinsella and Andy Smith - along with saying goodbye to a few loanees, and most crucially, Will Goodwin.

I'm sure we are all looking forward to seeing who else may join us by Thursday.

In terms of Trust and Club business. On Boxing Day, I had the great pleasure of hosting our wonderful runners up in the clubs third shirt competition. For those who may not have seen, the Trust, along with our partners Hope and Glory, produced five runners up shirts from the competition, and presented them to the lucky recipients - who also got to walk out with the team.

Some of our amazing Trust Board Members have been working very hard in recent months to come up with a plan and proposal around the improvement of cycling provision at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium. I shall be presenting this to the board soon - with the hope of getting this in motion ASAP.

We also have another piece of really exciting Trust news to come. But that needs to be kept under wraps for the time being.

That's as much as I can talk about for now. So let's all get behind Darrell and the team, and help them continue the good form and rise up the table.

COYR

Update from Trust Chair James Young

So what does the Trust do for me?

Well in a month like the one just gone, it's probably a fair statement to make. Lots is going on, but we're at the putting-things-together stage, rather than the talking about it one, unfortunately.

Suffice to say, the Trust board is probably the busiest it has been for quite some time, with lots of individuals and groups currently working on projects that will be shouted about, but just not yet!

The survey we carried out at the end of last season has shaped what we hope will be a really popular project for a growing number of supporters.

In that survey a significant number of supporters asked for improved provision for cyclists and we listened. Work is currently being done to finalise some plans. So watch this space.

The other important, but probably more boring, task is to make sure that the Trust is in order, legally.

A group of our board, Jaimie Henderson and Jenny Hancock and Leo Hoenig, are currently working alongside the Football Supporters Association on a governance audit.

It's a bit of an arduous task, but a necessary one if we are to prove to an incoming Independent Regulator for Football that the engagement work we want to do is being done by an A-grade organisation.

As part of that look into the future, Sam Nair - one of our newest board members - has started work on a vision document, so we can communicate what we're about in better detail in future.

We're also exploring some new fundraising methods and are almost ready to go live with a bit of a launch, that will not only benefit the Trust, but the local community too. Again, watch this space.

And I'm still working alongside the FSA following the structured dialogue meeting we had with the EFL in December on something that I hope will lead to long-term benefits for CTFC fans.

The annoying thing is that most of this stuff is nearly ready to shout about, but not quite...

So if you are asking what does the Trust do for me? I'd plead for a little patience, soon there will be lots to shout about - I promise!

James

CTFC HerGameToo page and Supporters Services Group Update

CTFC have launched a dedicated page for the HerGameToo partnership. The Robins Trust played a pivotal role in bringing this initiative together at the Club, and it's great to see HGT Ambassador Kelly-Marie Selby, and HGT Advocates Mary Stone, Taz Scoles and Emily Moore developing HerGameToo's work with our Club. You can read more here: https://www.ctfc.com/fans/her-game-too/

CTFC's Abuse Reporting Line: 07856 869985

Instagram: @hergametoo_chelt

X/Twitter: @HerGameToo_CTFC

Supporter Services Group

The Club's new look Supporter Services Group (covering and developing the Club's Supporter Liaison Officer requirements) has published it's January update - covering managing pigeon mess at the stadium, the latest Kids for a Quid announcement and more information on the people and work involved in the SSG: https://www.ctfc.com/news/2024/january/an-update-from-the-supporter-services-group/

Episode 4 of the Ornithology podcast launches at the start of February

The next episode of Ornithology will be launched on Monday 5th February - featuring a chat with CTFC's Head of Medical Gavin Crowe. Gavin provides an outline of how the medical team is structured at the club and the people involved, as well as talking us through how injured players are treated during a match, how the rehabilitation and fitness work is done, and how potential signings are assessed.

You can find details on how to access episodes of the Ornithology podcast here: https://www.robinstrust.org/posts/robins-trust-podcast-launch-listen-to-ornithology-now/

The Cheltenham Town Community Noticeboard

In January, the excellent 'Not the Top 20' podcast published a special episode, with the second half featuring an interview with Robins boss Darrell Clarke. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xzC3CEZ6y6KZLGSvk0tTR Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bailey-cadamarteri-and-darrell-clarke-ntt20-chats/id1112915286?i=1000641518993

Their 'Mid-season predictions' episode also made heartening listening for Cheltenham supporters (particularly in light of how pessimistic Ali and George were about us at the start of the season!) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xbv5WJ8CBv7ptkusdjVTB Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mid-season-predictions-who-will-go-up-down-in-the-efl/id1112915286?i=1000640927746

As mentioned in previous newsletters, we’ve now made recent Robins Trust documents available on the website, so that they are readily available to all members; you can find the latest Accounts, Minutes, Rules and Policies here: https://www.robinstrust.org/trust-documents/

February 2024 Newsletter:

Below is the email that was sent out to Robins Trust members on 29th February 2024:

Join the Trust to receive news and updates before anybody else.

Dear Robins Trust Member,

Welcome to the February newsletter from your Supporters Trust. Thank you to all of our members for your ongoing support.

As always, if you have any ideas or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: info@robinstrust.org

In this issue:

Update from Fan-Elected Director Dave Beesley
Update from Trust Chair James Young
Support the Robins Trust with the Cheltenham Lottery
Episode 5 of the Ornithology Podcast
Community Noticeboard
Who are the Robins Trust Board?

Update from Fan-Elected Director Dave Beesley

Hi Fellow Trust Members,

Today coincides with the Club filing their accounts with Companies House for the year ending 31st May 2023. I'll keep it short in this newsletter, you can read the Club's statement here: https://www.ctfc.com/news/2024/february/annual-accounts-update---may-2023/

Obviously, a lot of the work in the past few weeks has been related to this and financial planning, so I will provide a more rounded update of our activities in the next newsletter. If you have any questions about the financial statement (or anything else) drop us a line at info@robinstrust.org - we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

The sharp end of the season is rapidly unfolding, so let's continue to give our full support to Darrell and the team as we inch our way towards safety.

COYR

Update from Trust Chair James Young

The referee's a .....

I'll take a wild guess that the next word you're thinking of isn't accountable!

But, times they are a changing, hopefully.

At Wednesday night's FSA EFL Network Meeting, supporter representatives from up and down the country had the chance to quiz Kevin Friend, director of Select Group Two at the PGMOL about refereeing in the EFL.

It's fair to say that such a thing would probably not happened a year or so ago, and it is an example of a bit of a change of thinking from the men in black.

Kevin and his colleagues have taken the decision to be more open, communicative and transparent with supporters, something that has to be a good thing.

There will be a chance for members of our Trust board, if they wish, to go to experience a PGMOL training day later in the season - what better reason could there be for wanting to join our board?

At the same FSA meeting there was also a discussion about fan engagement strategies, with both the EFL and the Government set to publish new guidelines.

The fact that the Government are moving slower than an arthritic snail in introducing the legislation from the Fan Led Review is holding up that process.

And so the wait continues, here's hoping there is some news, finally, to share next month.

James

Support the Robins Trust with the Cheltenham Lottery

Since the global pandemic and the unforeseen changes in match-day habits, we've been trying to think of ways to revive the raffle that we previously ran in various guises as 'the match-day raffle', '50/50' or '1 to 100'.

A lot of the feedback we received from members and supporters reflected a desire for more flexibility and the fact that a lot of you no longer have cash at games.

So, we've signed up as a good cause on the Cheltenham Lottery to give people the chance to WIN three times over, by supporting the Robins Trust, other local good causes, and having the chance to win a cash prize in the weekly draw, held every Saturday.

It's all online, and you don't need to make sure to check your numbers, the Cheltenham Lottery send out an email with details of every draw on Saturday evening.

Details:

For as little as £1 per week, Robins fans not only have a chance to win cash prizes including the £25,000 jackpot, they are also able to increase the ability of the Trust to invest in their Club.

And if that wasn’t enough, each entry provides a vital boost to some outstanding causes and charities within the Cheltenham community.

That’s because 60% of the proceeds from each ticket goes towards helping the Trust and the other great Cheltonian organisations who are signed up to the lottery.

For more information and to join, simply log on to: https://www.cheltenhamlottery.co.uk/support/robins-trust

Episode 5 of the Ornithology podcast launches at the start of February

The next episode of Ornithology will be launched in the coming days - featuring a chat with CTFC's Stadium Manager & Ground Safety Officer, John Duffy. John explains the steps required to put a match on at the Completely-Suzuki stadium and all of the work we don't see that keeps us safe on a matchday. You can find details on how to access all episodes of the Ornithology podcast here: https://www.robinstrust.org/posts/robins-trust-podcast-launch-listen-to-ornithology-now/

The Cheltenham Town Community Noticeboard

As mentioned in previous newsletters, we’ve now made recent Robins Trust documents available on the website, so that they are readily available to all members; you can find the latest Accounts, Minutes (the most recent one are in the process of being uploaded), Rules and Policies here: https://www.robinstrust.org/trust-documents/

Who are the Robins Trust Board?

Please come and say hi if you see us home or away, we're always happy to answer any Trust related questions, discuss your ideas or just chat CTFC:

We are: