In case you want/need any information, feel free to look at or print off our home made commemorative program :)

And if you can't make it on the day we will be streamed live via the website below!

http://www.rfu.com/studentbucsfinals

Friday 22nd March is the AGM for KCLWRFC. Here we will go over the year's achievements, recommendations for change and vote in the new committee members.

The positions up for grabs are:
President
Treasurer
Captain
Fixtures Secretary
Social Secretary

With a very busy few weeks coming up with this, Twickenham, Macadam and Tour it will be good to get an idea of the future of the club. The new committee will get their first run out at Macadam with the incoming captain gaining authority on the pitch and the incoming social secretary sorting the post-game shennanigans (obviously with a bit of hand holding from the outgoing committee members). The results of the AGM will be posted here in due course.

We're all excited, are you?! (and this photo is from before the drinking ban...)

In case you haven't heard... KCLWRFC have been invited to Twickenham on the 24th March to play in a 20 minute LUSL demonstration game at 11am prior to the BUCS rugby championship finals. Please come and support, we'll be taking a coach load full of us and supporters, just join the facebook event and comment on the travel update post if you want to be there! 

https://www.facebook.com/events/177597685721507/

As the season is in its final two weeks, and our last two major games are creeping closer, Twickenham Stadium vs RVC (24th), and the Macadam Cup (27th), it seems a good time to publish the survey results regarding our insoles from Footbalance and how they've been helping the team prepare.

Footbalance is an innovative Finnish company specializing in custom insoles for both preventive and reactive purposes, and we are proud to have been a strategic partner with them during this season.

Survey Results:
90% of the team had not used insoles before Footbalance moulded the ‘Performance’ pair for us, however almost 40% had suffered muscle, tendon or bone injuries below the hip with difficulties recovering from the initial injury. 

The ‘Performance’ insole fit comfortably into 77% of the teams’ rugby cleats, which notoriously have a very tight fit. This included both older boots and newly acquired ones. More than 78% of the team also stated that the insoles made the boots more comfortable, which suggests that everyone who could fit the insole into the boot found it to be comfortable.

When asked how it felt to wear them for the first time, the following responses were recorded:

“Immediately felt more supported and more comfortable”
“I felt like I was an inch taller and running on air”
 
Quotes overheard after 2 months of use were along the same lines:
 
“I want my other shoes (with insoles) because it feels like walking on air”

When asked about the overall impression of the Footbalance representatives and the company, the following were recorded:

“Good impression, the presentation was professional, and so was all the process of the moulding, etc.
“Professional and very knowledgeable. Good idea to fill a gap in the market”

When the team was asked what changes they were expecting/if they were expecting any changes the following responses were recorded:
 
“More support in running”
“Not particularly as I don't have an injury so any help may go relatively unnoticed”
“Reduced 'niggling' pains, possibly improved posture”
 
Although an official follow-up survey wasn't conducted to see if the effects and expectations were realised due to it being anonymous, the general consensus of the effects of the insoles have been positive within the team. This includes recurring shin splints being kept in check, and generally higher comfort levels of cleats, trainers or shoes with insoles. Many of the team have used them in their running shoes during personal fitness training as well as their boots due to the comfort they give.
 
KCLWRFC would like to thank Footbalance for their support. We look forward to continuing the partnership, and playing with our (much more comfortable) insole-fitted boots at Twickenham Stadium and at the Macadam Cup.


For further enquiries, please contact our Treasurer Sara H Eskola at +44(0) 7429 344 487 or saraeskola@gmail.com, or go to www.footbalance.com.

In order to develop the leadership skill in current Committee members, and to get a tradition of succession planning going by developing freshers for potential committee roles, we decided to send Sara (current Treasurer) and Helena (fresher) to the Student Leadership Academy at Twickenham. In addition to this, the Men’s team also sent five guys, making KCL the most well represented University.

The Academy is comprised of three workshops at Twickenham over the next 12 months with the University Rugby Development Officers Jamie Traxon and Alex Hadley, as well as three follow-up calls between the sessions to make sure the personal development plan is being executed. A certificate is issued after successful completion of the Academy.

The aim of the Academy is to develop the leadership skills of current and future leaders in order to raise the standard of University Rugby. With twenty or so participants, both male and female, it was a great place to get to know other people as well.

The afternoon was packed with exercises to pinpoint everyone’s personal strengths, potential areas of development, and fears, followed by everyone developing an action plan for all of these.Focus was also placed on how to advance our clubs operations as a whole, and how to increase participation in the sport.

Well organised, (with good food as Helena discovered), and interesting, the Academy was less of a lecture in leadership, and more of a series of thought-provoking ideas and exercises. It was definitely helpful in breaking down leadership into smaller components, and considering the impact of each of them separately in order to develop them personally and foster an environment within the team that encourages these traits.


(Written by Sara Eskola)

With cancelled games galore and catching up of rescheduled ones I thought I'd share our current league tables!

Finger's crossed everyone has been keeping up their training programmes over the break because it's time to get back into the swing of things with what looks like a hectic 2nd term. The new fixtures as of today are now available to download on the match reports page (2 pdf documents at the side) so make sure you have a look and plan to do your coursework around them!

It's all here: STASH! The team (and coaches) are now all fully kitted out in their KPMG branded hoodies, polos, training jackets and tracksuit bottoms. Also, we've got our kit looking jazzy with our sponsor proudly printed on our shirts. Thanks once again to KPMG for being our main partner for the year, more details of this sponsor can be found in the sponsorship pages.