I know this may come a bit out of the blue. Still, for some time now, after many successful years of Mini & Youth Rugby at Brighton Football Club (RFU), we have been thinking about how we can best bring people back together, to remember what, we hope were, happy and memorable times when younger, playing and representing our beloved Brighton Blues.

We could start a Brighton Blues Alumni group for all ex-Mini & Youth players and parents to keep connected to the club. However, one challenge after another is not having up-to-date contact details to add people, particularly young players who are now adults, to a WhatsApp group. So, the idea is to share a link with all those we are still in contact with so that people can join the dedicated WhatsApp group.

Here is the link
Brighton Blues Alumni WhatsApp Group Invite

We hope that ex-players and parents will want to connect after we send out this link to each of you. This way, we can get people back together, enjoying each other’s company and their connection with the club.

If we can harness enough interest, we feel we have the perfect opportunity to start, coming up in December. On Saturday, December 21st, 2024, the 1st XV Regional 1 South Central league fixture that precedes Christmas. So we are hoping many will be back with their families for the festive period and will look forward to a social get-together. It will also be the Club’s Official Christmas Lunch that day, so we can look at ways to accommodate more people who want to enjoy that as well.

The main drive, however, is to remind ourselves and the club of all the great people who once were involved but have either moved, got busy jobs, found new interests, or gone on further education away from Brighton to come to the club and have fun with friends while supporting the 1st XV for this festive fixture versus Jersey RFC.

Once we accept the link, all we need is for each person to tell us who they are and what age group they belong to (The coach’s name is the best indicator ); we will then keep everyone informed and organise more dedicated events to keep everyone interested.

Sharing the link will accelerate the group’s development. To be clear, we are looking for both former players and parents. Once joined, if people are happy to share their email addresses, we can add them to all club communications that are sent that way.

I hope you’ll all agree this is a good idea. So please can you join and start sharing with your old team members, so we can see what interest there is out there!

We are developing nicely for those who haven’t been to the club for a while. Last season was the best finish the 1st XV have ever had, achieving mid-table of an RFU league that is one promotion away from National league status. This season, the club has many new players who are starting to bond, and we expect to make significant progress in the weeks and months to come to exceed our performance from last season. Our seconds the Athletic, play in the Sussex league against many 1st XV sides in the area that you regularly played against in Mini & Youth festivals, and from time to time we also field a 3rd XV for games against various touring sides where anyone keen to don their boots again is welcome to join in! There’s a young women’s team now, along with the continued successful mini and youth division led by the current Mini and Youth Chairman, our famous prize draw architect, Daren Steers.

Many other social activities are being planned, such as live music, the Summer Ball, our famous 200 Club and the expansion of the club’s facilities. So we hope to encourage a place where people want to come and enjoy their affinity to our famous club. Remember, we were founded in 1868 and are proud to be one of the first-ever rugby clubs established globally. So we hope you can share in that feeling of being a part of something with a unique heritage and always being at home at Brighton Blues no matter where your life takes you in the future.

We look forward to you joining this group as a first step so we can communicate further

JB
John Blackburn
Vice Chairman
Brighton Football Club (RFU)