NOT JUST ABOUT SATURDAY AFTERNOONS

Q&A: ANDREW ROEBUCK – CLUB CHAIRMAN

BY IAN HODGSON

IH: I understand that before you became the club chairman you played for Broad Oak CC - was it a natural progression from player to chairman?

AR: 1998 was my first season at Broad Oak as a player. I used to go to the club after playing for Linthwaite Junior Football Club for a drink on Saturday lunchtime. I had played for Armitage Bridge CC previously but having just come back from Australia I'd go for a drink on a Saturday lunchtime to watch Broad Oak where I knew a few lads. I got friendly with David Quarmby, the then chairman of Broad Oak, who looked after me well. The following season they asked me if I would turn up to play for them and I played mostly second team games plus a couple of first-team games.

IH: What made you decide to become a chairman?

AR: I didn't, we first of all formed a junior committee which I was chairman of. We set that up because my son and my friend’s son wanted to play cricket. The junior committee at the time was stronger than the senior committee because of the numbers involved, so I was asked by the seniors to get involved with them. A few people had left for various reasons so I was asked if I would stand for chairman, which I did.

IH: What work does it entail?

AR: There's so much, because it's not just about Saturday afternoon. It's about the running of the club, the finance of the club and keeping the club above a certain level. We don't get any grants and we get very little help financially. There are a couple of local trusts that have helped us and to help ourselves survive we have become a community amateur sports club (CASS) which means we don’t have to pay rates anymore. It also means we aren’t allowed to employ players so we are just trying to keep the club afloat. We have spent a fortune on having nets, double-glazing and decorating in the last few years. We’ve had a lot of success at all levels apart from the first team and now we hope it’s all gearing towards a bit of success with the 1^st XI. So there’s the playing side, the finance side, the organisational side, the nets and the bar to look after.

IH: Do you get involved in off-field events to help raise money?

AR: Yes, very much so! With Phil Hargreaves we've organised quite a lot of bands at the club, which we have outside on a trailer, weather permitting.

IH: I understand the youth set-up is very good - are the junior teams successful?

AR: The junior teams are always successful but we’re mindful of the fact that the 1^st XI haven’t had a lot of success. It’s not just about the junior players, we’ve got some good experience and hopefully we’ll get the balance right.

IH: Finally, how do you see the future of Broad Oak CC?

AR: The future is good because we’ve got a lot of good young players and we just hope they stay around for the long term. The first and second teams have a lot of young players in with a good mix of experience and youth and hopefully the experienced ones can bring the young ones through. We've got a lot of hard-working people at the club, like Craig McCreadie, Angela Metcalfe and a lot of people on the committee. This year we are really making an effort to get back into Section ‘A’. We are behind other clubs in Section ‘A’ and hopefully that will attract some more players. I believe the future is good because the people involved care about Broad Oak. We’ve survived bad times and we’ve had good times!