November Update from Peter Kelly

Welcome to our update for November which we hope you will find informative and interesting.

Firstly we would encourage you to follow all of communication sources through our website, social media and the matchday programme (which is now easily accessible in a digital format on your phone). We also take on board the points raised from the matchday surveys we send out through email to our supporters.

Post Covid
It’s obviously been a hard and testing time for everyone across the world, everyone has been affected in one way or another. A huge thank you for all your support over the last two years, we run this club for you and are humbled by the support shown.

We are proud of the fact we did not make any of our staff redundant during this time and supported all staff and players during this time and pulled together as a Warriors Family.

We would like to clarify that online rumours about players and staff not being paid and other false assumptions about the club are not true and should be ignored.

During Covid we have made good progress on the plans to develop the site around the stadium as discussed previously and linked strongly to delivering the wishes of Cecil Duckworth and delivering a legacy as promised. We are hosting a President’s Memorial Lunch in Cecil’s honour this Friday 12 November with money raised going to the fantastic work of the Warriors Community Foundation.

We will be in a position over the next month to start revealing the exciting plans and delivering a timeframe for all to see, watch this space for more news…

Events
As you will have seen our Sixways Stadium team have been delivering some top quality events at Sixways recently including a sold-out fireworks display and three summer concerts. And there is plenty to look forward to over the festive period.

Skate@Sixways
Kristmaus Fest
Christmas parties
Red Riding Hood Panto
The Brasserie

Bars and Matchday
We have been working hard on managing the queues at bars and food outlets across the ground, as you will be aware there has been shortage of casual staff across the country (and Europe) especially in the hospitality sector. We have planned for this and have changed a raft of things to attract and keep more casual staff coming back including; pay rates, bonusses, travel and other benefits.

This is working and we will endeavour deliver the best service possible to enhance the overall experience at Sixways. We have 21 bars in place at the moment with another 5 temporary bars ready to come in if needed , this is a big increase over where we were three years ago with fewer than 15 bars in total. We are also moving some of the bars to busier areas to further alleviate the queues at peak times.

We also have a recruitment event on Tuesday 16 November and would encourage all those looking for part-time work to attend.

The Fanzone sponsored by EBC has been very popular especially when the weather is good and we have brought back the marquee to keep everyone warm over the winter months. We have also increased the bar facilities here as it has proven to be more and more popular, we hope you enjoy the music before and after the game and all the activities for children.

Retail
As you know we have had some problems with our retail stock, namely the all important home and away shirts which was caused by a combination of unfortunate events due to Covid affecting most parts of the process internal and external.

We did manage to get all the appropriate kit for the playing staff in good time and some extra third kit for the game against Exeter as you will have seen. We have added lots of new stock to the shop with some great gift ideas for birthdays and Christmas.

Home and away shirts have now arrived from O’Neills and are available to purchase in store and online. All pre-orders have now been dispatched and we thank all supporters for their patience.

We are also pleased to confirm 2021/22 O’Neills training gear has started to arrive in-store from today and is available to purchase.

Worcester Warriors
The men’s first-team squad has been significantly improved this year with the addition of two Lions which you will have seen. It is always difficult getting a new team to gel but the signs are there and the coaching team are working hard to deliver on the pitch consistently. We all feel the pain of losing and we’re glad everyone at the club could celebrate the recent victory over Sale Sharks at Sixways. The future still looks bright so keep supporting JT and the boys.

Warriors Women
Worcester Warriors Women are going from strength to strength under Jo Yapp’s leadership, having made some impressive signings and are working hard across the club as one family to fully utilise our facilities and expertise across Rugby.

We have managed to put in place four double headers, linking to the men’s programme to encourage more support, the more fans who watch will be impressed by the standards now being set and as you will have seen the coverage on TV which will essentially drive this sport is encouraging. We are also delighted to be hosting international rugby at Sixways as England Women face USA as part of their Autumn campaign and we hope our very own Lydia Thompson, Alex Matthews and Alycia Washington will be involved in the game.

Social Media
We would like to remind our supporters that respect is one of the core values of rugby. In victory or defeat, we ask that supporters and members of the rugby community are respectful to both the players and staff of our own team and all others.

Sustainability
We are making good progress on our sustainability journey, working with the UN, Basis and  more locally – GoGreen. We have measured our Carbon Footprint and will publish our plan to go carbon neutral in the next few weeks with timelines.

This is on top of the many things we have already done across the site over the last few years, including: waste recycling, LED and energy efficient lighting across the stadium, cup recycling, water saving taps, leak prevention and reduced paper use in the office which has saved over 239 trees so far. There is much more to come which will tell you about next time.

Peter Kelly | Worcester Warriors Managing Director

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