Highbury Tournament and Festival of Football 2010.

Another year, another tournament!

As usual, preparation and paperwork etc began in January of the year, regular monthly meetings being held to ensure all aspects were covered.  The real physical aspects began on Friday evening (30th April) with the removal of the large Highbury goals, setting up of the tournament goals, putting up tents, laying out tables etc etc.  Many thanks to those parents and helpers that gave up their time on Friday evening to help setup the pitch for the following day.

Saturday 1st May.

Setup began at 06:30 with laying out all the sideshows (Tombola, cake stall, candy floss, childrens area, hair spraying etc), sorting out the public address system, setting up the gate.  The first entrants began arriving around 08:15, for a 08:30 registration with planned kick offs at 09:00.
The weather was warm and whilst the forecast was not great, all hoped the rain would keep off (And it did for the whole day).

Minor incidents of note on Saturday was the mystery of the missing ice cream man, who turned up, dropped his van off, then went for breakfast! (Unbeknown to the driver, tournament staff wanted him to move the van to arrange the bouncy castle). 

The gate staff were a little confused by an elderly couple who travelled from France to watch their grandson play and handed in a ten Euro note for entry fee. 

Some highlights from Tournament Day 1 Saturday

The calm before the storm. Setup area around 07:45

Highbury Under 12's getting ready

Matthew, Luke and friend on the taking advantage of attractions

Arlene and Michelle with Hair colouring

Highbury elders in the control area, Robin George and Chris Finch

Getting busy

Under 10's match

Pre match team talk for the Under 8's

Under 10 Reds in the Semi finals

Robin George handing out runner up trophys for Under 10s to Westfield

Under 8's awaiting their medals

Saturday came and went, all we knew was we had to do it all again tomorrow.

Awaking Sunday morning around 06:00 and seeing the rain did not lift spirits greatly, as before, setup began around 07:00 with a similar set of jobs to perform to get the site ready for visitors.  Oddly, setup appeared to be complete at least half an hour prior to first visitor today, we must be getting good at this.  Elaines bacon rolls helped raise the moods in the cold damp rain.

Whilst Saturday saw the Under 12's, 10's and 8's enjoy their tournament, today the Under 11's, 9's and 7's were looking forward to a day of skidding around and getting covered in mud!

Sunday also saw the first red card of the tournament, surprisingly given not to a player, but to captain of the tea-hut, Elaine for violently attacking referee Vince with an empty plastic sweets container in the referees area.  Elaine has been given a 4 month ban from playing boss lady in the tea hut on Sunday mornings.


Highlights of Sunday

I think the umbrellas say it all really

Tought it was raining, all turned up and enjoyed themselves

Undercover presentation for the Under 11's

Apart from being a spectator, the coldest place to be - Gate duty.

Not everyone could get undercover for the Under 9s presentation

Rain stopped, umbrellas away, still wet underfoot though.

Under 7's get ready for their games

So, another years hard work has come and gone.  Highbury's biggest event / fundraiser was done and dusted.  The Tournament sub-committee (Bill, Mike, George, Jim, Arlene and Michelle)  would like to thank the following, without whose help the tournament would not have been the success it was.

Helpers - A number of helpers worked tirelessly both days to ensure that the tournament ran smoothly and without problem. Jobs such as site preparation Friday evening, site closedown Sunday evening, stand in referees, tea-hut helpers, gate helpers, score keepers.  You all know who you are and without you we could not run the event. You deserve a major thank you and we hope you will be able to help next year also!

Visitors & Supporters - Everyone that came through the gate to watch, support or just join in. You provided the revenue to support the club. The club is 100% voluntary and we thank you for your support.

Sideshows / Attractions - We had a great selection of attractions this year to add value and entertainment to the event.  Bouncy castles, huge football inflatable (from Calne Leiasure centre), Ice cream van, Uk Sports Direct with football memorabilia, Warminster Lions for burgers and other hot foods and of course DE-Photos. In addition, we would not had half the event without Elaine in the tea-hut and Michelle and Arlene in the events tent.

Others -  Thanks to Kingdown school for use of their car parking facilitie and Shanleys for use of skip for rubbish over the 2 days.

Local Residents - With the Public Address system being turned on at 08:45 both days along with the numerous visitors that the tournament attracts (combined with the very limited parking available) we appreciate the inconvenience that you may have had over the two days. We thank you for putting up with our two day event again and hope that you were not inconvenienced at all. If you have any discussion issues you would like raised, please contact one of the tournament organisers (See About us page for contact details).

The following is a list of winners of the raffle prizes,

£100	T Guerri-Brown
Longleat Passport (1 Adult, 1 Child)	S Pennington
Insport Voucher #1 (£10)	Barry Guy
Insport Voucher #2 (£10)	Dean Prior
20% off City Plumbing voucher	Debbie Griffin
Meal for 4 voucher for Town Fryer	Wendy Nash
Harrods ladies bag	Mrs Hagan
Photo frame from Serendipity	Mrs Prince
Yard of Shortbread	M Poolman
Biscuit hamper #1	Derek Selwood
Biscuit Hamper #2	Doug Small
DE-Photos £12 voucher	A Sascha
De-Photos keyring voucher	Bond
Subway vouchers #1	Scott Drysdale
Subway vouchers #2	Helen Harding
Pantry Hamper	Andy Titt
Blackburn Rovers signed print	Colin Bowden
Signed Portsmouth photo (Younes Kaboul)	C Brown

DE Photo provided coverage of the Highbury and Warminster FC Tournament 2010.
The photos from the Tournament are now available for you to view online, to find the images simply click on the hyperlink below and this will take you directly to the appropriate folders. DE-Photos Highbury Tournament Photo Collection


And finally, some feedback already received from those that attended (More added as we receive it)

Parent - Frome Town Youth

Many thanks, great tournament, well organised.

Elsie and Geoff Grose

Dear Bill,
        Thank you for your letter delivered last week with news of the current annual tournament. Your advice in advance was appreciated, and we're pleased to see that the day has started with good weather

This event gives us an opportunity to say how much we appreciate the dedication that you and all the members and helpers of the WHYFC show to providing facilities and support for team members and their families. It is really encouraging to note the good work you do and the good response you get from many young players

We have for many years seen the tournaments and matches going on, and noted the responsible and considerate way in which the young players conduct themselves. They are a credit to the club and set a good example in this area. We hope this good recreational facility will continue to be provided for our young people for many years to come.


With best wishes

Elsie and Geoff Grose

On behalf of Warminster Highbury Youth FC, we would like to thank all those that attended and supported our annual tournament and hope that you had an memorable time and enjoyed the event.