WEEKLY BULLETIN – 26TH JUNE

YET MORE SUPPORT FROM THE COW COMMONERS
Hitchin Town Football Club have received a further boost from the Trustees of the Cow Commoners Trust. For a sixth consecutive quarter the Trustees have decided to give the club a rent free quarter.

Club officials were delighted to receive the continued support being offered by the Trustees. Managing director Andy Melvin was again taken by surprise that yet another rent free quarter had been granted and could only repeat his thanks for their continued support at a very difficult time for the club:

“The Cow Commoners could not have been more supportive throughout the pandemic and we are lucky to have had such helpful and understanding landlords. I cannot thank them enough for being so helpful. The trustees have continued to appreciate the severe financial problems the Covid pandemic has caused and have acted to help the club in the best way possible. I am so pleased our relationship with the Trustees continues to be so positive and constructive and we will continue to work with the trustees to create the best possible future for the club.”

Treasurer Roy Izzard was equally delighted at receiving another financial boost from the Trustees:

“To be given yet another rent free quarter at such a difficult time is a great boost and continues to have a really positive affect on our cash flow. On behalf of everyone at Hitchin Town Football Club I thank the Trustees of the Cow Commoners Trust for showing such great support over the period we have been suffering the pandemic. I doubt that many landlords across the country have been as understanding as the Cow Commoners and it has been a real boost to the club to know they are behind us in our efforts to continue to move the club forward.”

COMMEMORATIVE AWAY SHIRT UPDATE BY STEWART CURTIS
Just a quick update on the delivery of the commemorative 2021/22 away shirts which are currently being bespoke manufactured by Hummel.

We still anticipate delivering these in time for the 1st August 2021 fulfilment date outlined on Crowdfunder. They are currently in the final stages of manufacturing. Each shirt will then be boxed up before dispatch.

If you have any questions on these, please email stewart.curtis@hitchintownfc.club.

TRAINING STARTS
Pre-season training commenced at the Arena on Thursday night. Manager Mark Burke was delighted with the turnout with 24 players present including all the players he wanted to attend. He was pleased with their physical condition but stressed that the target is to have everyone ready for the first league game on 14th August.

TICKETING UPDATE BY CHRIS NEWBOLD
Friendlies Update
Last Saturday we put our first match tickets of the pre-season on sale. We had a maximum capacity of 900, and having allocated necessary spaces for season ticket holders and the requirements of both clubs, we had 650 tickets to sell for the Luton game. These sold out within six hours.

Naturally we could have sold many more. During the week I have received a number of communications asking if more tickets will or could be put on sale as there are a number of fans from both clubs without a ticket. With Covid relaxtions being deferred for four weeks, it seemed unlikely that there would be any chance of this happening and all I could say to people was to keep looking at our social media and if there was anything we could legally do, we would.

Key persons at the club have been working tirelessly this week to see if there is any way we could increase our capacity for the game. After extensive work to evaluate our current ground capacity and dialogue with the local council, we are able to up our capacity from 900 to 1250.

In addition, and before this outcome was known, for my part I have been contacting every season ticket holder and not only reminding them that their season tickets are valid for all pre-season matches, but to ask if they would be attending, as if they weren’t we would be able to sell an additional ticket, raising vital match income. Our fantastic loyal supporters have replied in numbers – many will be attending but many can’t make it – as a result we have the opportunity to sell another 50 tickets, bringing the total number of additional tickets sold to 400. Thank you all for your help here. These 400 tickets for the Luton game sold out on Friday.

Stevenage and Stotfold tickets remain on general sale.

Hitchin Town v Stotfold – Tuesday 6th July, k.o.7:30pm
Hitchin Town v Stevenage – Saturday 13th July, k.o.3pm

Season Tickets 2021-22
For all of our new season ticket holders who have bought a season ticket for 2021-22, if you requested a plastic card Season Ticket, I am advised that these will be with me by the middle of next week. If I can get these out in time to you for the Luton match I will, if not we will arrange for you to collect them at the Luton game.

It has been tremendously encouraging to see even more people buying a season ticket and we are sincerely grateful. Links to our tickets are as follows:
Match Day Tickets: https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/brand/match-tickets
Season Tickets: https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/package/hit2122hst/season-ticket-202122

MERCHANDISE UPDATE BY CHRIS NEWBOLD
Our new range of merchandise is continuing to sell well online. Online is the only way of obtaining the new merchandise at present and will be for a while, as currently we do not have suitable premises in which to establish a new club shop. This is being worked on but like in any scenario, there are other priorities which include safety and security, and of course there is the matter of available funds to finance it.

Some folks have contacted me and asked if they can pick stuff up at the ground. Currently we are holding no stock at the ground and will only do so when we have a totally secure unit in which to do so. When we do have a club shop, it will be a match day club shop and will not be open at any other times (unless it is for a special occasion).

Our dispatch commitments of 14-21 days for replica shirts and 7-14 days for polo shirts, mugs, scarves and badges are all being comfortably met at the moment. Unfortunately the commitment we have made to dispatch hoodies within 21-28 days is not being met at the moment (see below):

Hoodies Update
Firstly, thanks to all who have ordered hoodies online. Unfortunately we have had some difficulties in obtaining these at the moment – I am sure this is a “first time” teething problem as unlike all of the other merchandise, they have to be ordered from Hummel overseas. Hummel have had some dispatch problems but I am assured that they will arrive with our supplier next week and he will prioritise getting them to me for dispatch. I will keep you posted, and I can only apologise for the delay. Thanks for your patience.

If you would like to look at our range of merchandise, the website link is: https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/brand/merchandise

CANARY CLUB
Don’t forget that the Canary Club is the ideal place to watch the Euros with big screens and competitive drink prices. But for any England game tables need to be booked. The hall is also available for hire—please ring 01462 421888 or 07857 983345. Further improvements have been made to the toilets this week as we continue to improve the Canary Club.

VOLUNTEER UPDATE BY PAUL SPRAGUE
With just one week to go until we return to Top Field we are now into the final stages of preparing the ground. If you could spare a few hours on a Saturday morning then please come down. We will be there from 9.00 on Saturday really aiming to make Top Field shine for what is set to be a bumper crowd, tasks will include:

• Sweeping and weeding the concrete areas throughout the ground
• Sweeping the main stand and cleaning all the seats
• We have a small amount of equipment but please also bring your own tools if you have any.

As we look forward to recommencing football at Top Field we are keen to increase the number of matchday volunteers. As a matchday volunteer you will help ensure that all spectators are provided with a welcoming, safe and enjoyable visit to Top Field. Key Matchday Volunteer roles we are looking to fill include:

• Club shop retail assistant
• Steward
• Social media assistant
• Turnstile operator (cashless ticket reader operation)

In return for volunteering your time you will be rewarded with free entry to the game. If you are keen to find out more about the roles available then please get in touch with Kate.deller@hitchintownfc.club

SUPPORTER ENGAGEMENT UPDATE BY SASCHA GUSTARD BROWN
Firstly, I want to use this week’s bulletin to give an update on The Aviary, which is still progressing behind the scenes. To confirm, The Aviary will be ready for the first home game of the 21/22 season and unfortunately, not for the pre-season friendlies. I thought it best to clarify this point to avoid any disappointment from our Junior Canaries who are attending the upcoming friendly fixtures. Hopefully, it’ll be worth the wait!

Secondly, thank you to everyone who has participated in our feature to name our new mini mascots. There is still time to submit a suggestion as the deadline is not until close of play today. We will announce the chosen names in next week’s bulletin.

FA COMPETITIONS UPDATE
Draws for the following fixtures shall be released on Friday 9 July 2021;

The Emirates FA Cup – Extra Preliminary Round & Preliminary Round
The Buildbase FA Trophy – First Round Qualifying & Second Round Qualifying
The Buildbase FA Vase – First Round Qualifying & Second Round Qualifying
The FA Youth Cup – Preliminary Round and First Round Qualifying

BY ROY IZZARD