Chair’s Christmas Message from Darren Colville
Just a short note to thank you all for your contributions to the club during 2019, the Ards CC 75th Anniversary. I trust all those that participated/supported any of the events, club or 75th, enjoyed the experience. Also, can I thank all those that volunteered during the year at club events, be it marshalling, catering, organising, social media, etc. as the club couldn’t deliver its objectives without your help. Your contribution is greatly appreciated and I hope that the level of volunteering will continue into 2020.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and if you are cycling over the festive period stay safe.
“I feel like a failure”
You may have seen the story about Daniel Stewart on the BBC Sport website recently.
Daniel is a former member of Ards CC, and was a regular competitor in our club races along with his dad. He moved on in his mid-teens, and we followed his success in Ulster, and his racing career in France and Belgium, with great interest. Daniel is also a fascinating blogger, with an inquisitive and self-aware style.
The BBC article highlights that top level sport is not all glamour and success. The mental pressures can take their toll, and no-one is immune. Now is a good time to reflect on this as we start the build up to another racing season.
We haven’t done a Christmas review this year, but I have just read a great book published by The School of Life called “Big Ideas for Curious Minds”. It’s aimed at young people but even an oldie like me found it thought provoking. It looks at some big, philosophical questions like “What should I do with my life?”, “Good things are (unexpectedly) hard”, and “What’s Fair?” It’s good to reflect on these sort of questions occasionally. In the winter “off” season we all need to make space to re-charge our mental batteries as well as our physical ones.
Club Development Plan
The club is currently drafting a development plan for the next 3 to 5 years. At this time of year we all tend to review the great year we’ve just had, and start planning what we’d like to do next year. If you’ve any ideas for how you’d like to see our club develop over the next few years – whether that’s new things to do, existing things to keep doing, or stuff to stop doing – do let us know, and we’ll throw it all into Darren’s big melting pot over the next few weeks.
And don’t forget the Christmas 10 at 10am on Christmas morning!