2020/21 Season Applications Now Open
The official closing date for a) Club Applications is 23rd June b) Team applications 1st July
We are pleased to announce the opening of applications for league membership of the KicKStart Youth Football League 2020/21 Season. This will be for Sunday football for age groups, U7's, U8's, U9's, U10s and U11's.
It is the responsibility of Club Secretaries to re-apply to the League for membership. The priority is for Club Secretaries to complete one Club application form only and a Team application form for each team applying for membership. The Club application form should be returned by 26th June 2020 (in order for Clubs to be registered in time for the AGM). Team application forms can be sent in separately but the deadline for receipt of all forms is 1st July 2020. You can now complete your applications online through our new portal by clicking on the purple buttons below. You can also still download the PDF version and post or email them to us. The online team application allows you to bulk upload all of your teams on one form.
Games will be played at central venues as usual, apart from the U11s who will play home and away games across the KicKStart sites as detailed and voted for via majority by member teams in our presentation meeting back in December.
As Usual we will be providing guaranteed FA Qualified referees for each and every game and a new addition for 2020 is the introduction of FA Qualified Linesmen for ALL U11's games. As usual, all pitches will be set up and broken down by our site staff including goals, nets respect barriers etc and toilet / changing facilities will be available at all venues along with catering services serving hot and cold food and drinks.
This season will also see the introduction of our Referee Mentor Programme which will include periodic feedback forms for managers to report back to KicKStart what referees are doing well and what needs improvement, along with several workshops provided to assist referees to improve their skills. Referees will also be mentored by referees working at a very high standard from the FA who will provide feedback and reports to again help improve the performance of referees at our venues.
Last season we experienced what has been described by all as the worst weather in a season ever, and although we do not anticipate that it will be as bad this coming season, we have introduced several new measures to ensure we can play as much football as possible through the winter months. These include but are not limited to: Increased numbers of pitches to allow us to rotate and rest pitches where required. Improved pitch maintenance programmes which will allow our maintenance teams to offer additional services and treatments when needed. Investment in the best machinery and equipment for our maintenance teams to provide pitch care that is required, plus FA interventions to provide surveys of the facilities and specialist teams and equipment to improve the quality and drainage of our sites where most needed. We are also looking to increase the number of venues within our structure and hopefully add 3G facilities to our portfolio of venues.
Our aim is to provide your teams with the best playing surfaces, at the best venues whilst providing adequate parking access, great facilities and catering, quality referees and on site management, which in turn will make for happy Children, parents, supporters and managers. We strive for the KicKStart experience to be a positive and fun experience for everyone involved, and we will continue to innovate and work towards our goal. There are many other new introductions that we are planning as we move forward with our vision, we can reveal more at our induction meetings where we can explain a little more about the above and also other interesting progressions we may have. Induction meetings have been split by agegroup for Team Managers / Assistants / representitives to attend and are planned to last for 1 hour after which you will be able to collect your player cards and WGS laminated team sheets.
Details of the induction meetings are as follows.
Under 7’s Wednesday 19th August 2020 - Meeting starts 18:30pm prompt
Under 8’s Wednesday 19th August 2020 - Meeting starts 20:00pm prompt
Under 9's / Under 10's Thursday 20th August 2020 - Meeting starts 18:30pm prompt
Under 11's Thursday 20th August 2020 - Meeting starts 20:00pm prompt
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL DATES ARE ASSUMING WE ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE GROUP GATHERINGS, WE MAY HAVE TO MAKE CHANGES AS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC UNFOLDS
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to email the League Secretary or ring Anne Griffiths on 07889 046460.
