News from Ballina Rugby Club

The Nose would like to apologise for failing to write the last few weeks, but Mrs Nose has been riding him for breaking his toe at the first training session of the year. He would like to point out that the broken toe had nothing to do with advancing years and it was merely a freak accident.

After playing 37 degree heat at Lismore before the NSW v QLD match the Nose would like to discuss the importance of hydration with his loyal readers, especially this time of year, keeping up fluid levels is most important, not only for staving off dehydration but also to minimise the risk of injury. Keeping up the fluid should be a primary consideration of any training plan and keeping a bottle of water with you everywhere is the best suggestion.

If anyone is looking for a new adventure the Nose advocates watching the Biggest Loser and having a shot everytime one of them cries, the record so far is someone making it to the first break before failing to alcohol poisoning. More importantly it should be remembered that the training that the fatties are being through is totally unrealistic, if you are serious about dropping off some Christmas kilos come in and have a chat and get a realistic program.

The Nose will be more dilgent with his articles over the year and looks forward to a great season ahead.

All,

The tipping comp is starting next Friday with the first round of the super 14. We are playing using the betting rules (where points are awarded based on the sportsbet rates) for example if Waratahs ($1.50) are playing Chiefs ($2.50) if you pick the Waratahs you will get 1.5 points, and the Chiefs will award 2.5 points for the win.

Prizes are being organised at the moment, it is open to all club members (juniors, seniors and golden oldies), supporters and their friends, there is no cost to enter.

The details are below, please registered before next Friday to get in on it.

You are invited to join my Super 14 2010 Tipping Competition at http://www.OzTips.com
Comp Name:     Ballina Rugby Union Tipping Competition
Comp #:        194567
Comp Password: seahorses
To join:

1) Go to http://www.OzTips.com

2) Click the ‘REGISTER’ button on the homepage and set-up a Login (if you don’t already have one with OzTips).

3) Once you have successfully registered a Username and Password, click the ‘JOIN A COMP’ button.

4) Enter the Comp # and Comp Password details above.

5) That’s it! Full instructions on how to Tip can be found on the website by clicking on the ‘Help’ link in the top header.

Regardless of the weather training is on tonight at Flat Rock Beach starting at 6pm

After collecting the teak shoulder of Poppa at the World Masters Games, Peter Fitzsimons is trying to rewrite history in an attempt to justify his lingering concussion. As a celebrated writer of history he should know that to the victors go the spoils, and that Poppa is on the edge of his own account of the day… “The day I smacked a wallaby”

Ballina might have lost the Big Prawn but there is no way that we are going to allow glory to be snatched from one of our finest.

Saturday 23rd January 2010

The Australian Rugby Union and New South Wales Rugby are conducting a Train with the Waratahs – Skills and Drills Session from 10:30am to 11:30am on Saturday 23rd January 2010 at the Southern Cross University Rugby Ground, Lismore.

The training session is for Under 10 and Under 12 year age groups (ie; child is aged 9, 10, 11 or 12), and is a lead up to the NSW Waratahs Vs Qld Reds Super 14s trial match to be played later that day in Lismore.

The Ballina Junior Rugby Club will be taking current players and any other children who may be interested in playing junior rugby in 2010, to the training session.

It will be a great opportunity for your child to get some expert coaching from some of the best rugby union players in Australia in an environment where participation and fun are paramount.

Training stations will be set up to have a club coach assist and observe a NSW Waratahs player coach the kids. It is also expected that the Waratahs players will sign autographs following the session.

If you would like to have your child take part in the training session, regardless of whether your child is a current player or maybe thinking of playing, please feel free to contact our Publicity Officer via the following email address or simply leave a comment here. Either way, we will contact you to answer any questions you may have.

bjrc_ccoc@live.com.au

Firstly my apologies to the subscribers of the Nose, I have been under the thumb the last few weeks. As we run up into Christmas the offseason training group is winding up in two weeks, but the result has been exceptional. I will be extending the offseason training to a few days a week during January and February if there is interest.

This Friday there will be a boxing afternoon with the main event being a scratch off between Boony and Dangar. Boony has been talking up his game, and Dangar has been sharpening his nails with a promise that nothing is underhanded enough to ensure a win, expect biting, kicking elbowing and scratching.

In the wind up of the offseason training the darkhorse for 2010 will be Josh Lupton, if he doesn’t have a few runs in grade this year I will be very surprised, he is showing great promise and if he can transfer his off season to the season he will be a force to be reckoned with. That and he has finally put some meat on the bones.

Boony cracking 80lb, is now trying to show off his guns to anyone who is interested. The good news is that Beryl Jones has been messaging him incessantly. Boony is quickly getting the reputation of being the Tiger Woods of the Club, except the women are cracking 70 as opposed to 30. Boony has also shown great promise in the offseason and should be pushing for a lot of time in grade.

The rest of the lads trained well, if not a bit patchy but the overall fitness level of the group should be good for the year ahead. There is a level of anticipation for next year which can only be a good sign.

Finally the Nose would like to also admit that whilst he might have been a little under the weather, he failed to beat one of the club props in an endurance test on the weekend. Gallantly the prop has not raised this with the Nose but needless to say the Nose is a bit embarrassed and will be pulling his finger out for the remainder of the offseason.

I will be posting up pictures of the boxing for next week’s Nose.

Team work not only on the field but as importantly off the field will provide our Rugby Club with ongoing success, I don’t feel that it is healthy for the club to have a small amount of individuals doing or perceived to be doing all the work, this situation not only takes away the community aspect of rugby, it tends to create divisions or factions within the club resulting in various problematic issues that could be avoided.

To try to ensure that we continue into the future to achieve this, I would like to see I guess what you would call a job description for what is required by all our members including players, coaches, managers and all the various committee members outlining all the tasks that need to be performed then everyone is clear on what is required of them particularly those that maybe new to various positions.

I would also like to see a calendar of events compiled at the start of each season which will include all our annual functions, monthly meeting dates, the game drawer with details on which teams clean up for home games and any other points of interest that may need to be included.

As tradition is a fundamental part of rugby I don’t see too many changes in regards to what the club has been doing or done in the past.

There are a couple of traditions that have been lost somewhat and would like to see them come back like the wearing of dress shirts and ties for after games on Saturdays this may need to be left for a little later in the season when the weather conditions are more conducive.

I think it is important to try and hold some social events at our club house after home games whether that be dinner put on or other types of social events, but has to be something that can cross a broad range of members from the young, young at heart or the family base with small children.

I would also like to see our club represented at some of the various rugby tournaments held around our region I believe there are a number of benefits to be gained from attending these tournaments from as simple as giving our members match practice and bonding time to exposing our club to a larger area than just our local competition.

As much as tradition is a fundamental part of rugby we do need to be flexible enough to move forward with the times or risk being left behind and possible extinction.

The subject of a paid administrator is not new by any means this situation is used at our zone level and has been discussed in the past within our own club, it is my opinion that appointing a paid administrator is something that needs to be looked at as a matter of utmost importance it is a very big step for our club to take and needs to be given due diligence.

Our club has already begun and will continue to put considerable effort into exposing our self via the internet to not only provide our members and supporters with general club information but as a major form of player recruitment locally, nationally and internationally.

A major factor in our club is our sponsors no doubt we will continue to work on our sponsor base and how we can best support our sponsors i.e. with our traditional means of signage within and around our club house and some more innovative options thru our clubs site on the internet and alike.

Another integral part of our existence is our junior ranks I feel we need much closer ties with our junior club and provide them with all resources possible to assist them particularly with player recruitment and rugby skills coaching.

I would also like to see some closer ties with the Battered Prawns (old boys rugby) if nothing else to at least keep the lines of communication open and some interaction with the senior club at home games and functions.

The new field lights will continue to be the major capital works project for our club over the next twelve months and will need to be given a great amount of effort to be achieved ultimately to the huge benefit of our club.

I also see the need for continued upgrade of the kitchen facilities at the club house naming new cabinetry and bench tops, along with renewing the work bench top inside the bar, some tidying up of the male and female toilet facilities and general maintenance throughout the club house, all of which I am sure will be discussed and acted upon by our clubs committee in due course.

No doubt there will be more issues that will arise and need to be attended to all of which may make the work load appear very daunting, if we all ban together and support each other I feel this is very achievable and will continue the prosperous nature of the Ballina Rugby Club.

Sure hard work pays but many hands make light work I truly hope that I and for that matter Ballina Rugby Club has the full support of all its members and the 2010 season is one of great fun and achievement for all involved.

The club is proud to announce that Al Barrett  is the Club President for the 2010 sseason.

His committee includes Chris Long and Craig Dangar as vice Presidents, Nathan Wallace as Secretary, Mark Charter as Treasurer Col Groves, Rod Smith, Chad Dunsing, Troy Taylor, Karl Lupton, Greg Hart and Josh Piercy.

In a turn up for the books, Boony has claimed that he has cracked the 80kg mark and that he is going to ‘sort out’ anyone who says otherwise. This disputes an earlier report from the Nose and the Offseason training group who maintain that Boony has only recently cracked the 65kg mark.

The editor will be happy to publish any proof that Boony has cracked  80kg. This could include pictures, videos or a letter from Mother Boony confirming.

As to the concept of Boony being able to ‘sort out’ anyone who questions his rapid weight gain, the editor says to Boony “let’s bring it on”

The Nose is proud to announce that Boony has cracked the 65kg mark and is now pushing 70kg with fervour. In a program of weights, good diet and stopping wearing his sister’s jeans, Boony is benefiting from the offseason training. The only concern is that while Boony has stopped wearing his sister’s jeans, he has startted wearing her hotpants. More concerning is the emergence of one of the props a late joiner, who is intent on winning his bet with Rod Smith, whilst having the room in hysterics at the hurdle he needs to jump, the prop has a cunning plan which is making him odds on favourite.

This week the Nose would firstly like the thank Mrs Nose for the leave pass and would like to apologise, not for anything in particular, just to get one in, just in case. Secondly the Nose will be covering the importance of building lean muscle mass in losing weight.

A recent study has enforced the need to increase your lean muscle as the primary action in your training plan. Whilst general fitness is an important element, it is just as important to increase your lean muscle mass to increase the level of calories you burn during the day in normal activities.

For people who just bash the treadmill to lose weight, the problem is that you are not building your strength, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn and the faster the overall weight loss. Generally people who only focus on the fitness aspect will lose both muscle and fat, and are therefore just decreasing their weight.

Your Questions Answer

Can I target weightloss to a specific area of the body?

No, weightloss is an overall body issue, for men generally this is around the stomach, whilst it is easy to put on, it will also drop off fairly quickly as you start working out. It is not possible to target weightloss to any specific part of the body.

I have never done weights, where do I start?

Whilst not flogging my services, it is not a bad idea to at least get a program from a trainer and have them explain the exercises before you start off. Bad techniques is one of the biggest problem for people starting out, and can be cause of serious injury. Even a lot of the guys who have done weights training in the past come in for a refresher before re starting a program.

Has Boony really cracked 65kg?

The Nose can only confirm that the reading on the scales was 65.1kg, as to the rumours of Boony being dripping wet, having sinkers in his pockets or me putting my foot on the scales when the reading was taken… No comment.