A message from our Chair - David Durbin

Firstly I would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all our members and supporters who have enabled us to present a cheque for £10k to the Panthers Fund. Without your memberships and generosity this would not have been possible. This money will be used to re-sign key players that Simon wishes to retain for next season. More news on this will be forthcoming in the near future. So it’s down to earth with a bang! Our eight wins on the bounce came to a shuddering halt against Leigh. While we never gave up, we were clearly second best as they proved why they are one of the league’s favourites for promotion. Money certainly talks!! So now it’s onto Whitehaven to kick on again and pick up the wins which will consolidate our position at the top end of the league table. A final reminder now for you to book your place at the John Bentley dinner on Saturday 18th June at the Shay. Jonny Lawless is our compere for what will be an entertaining evening of fun and games with John and his friends. So please contact Carroll on 07977 596051 to book your place. All monies raised will of course be going to the Panthers Fund to continue to strengthen the squad for next season.

CONGRATULATIONS – WELL DONE Monthly Prize Draw Winner – Pat Fosset – Meal for 2 at Ivy House Match Dining Competition – Gary Clifford

Appeal If you have any pre-loved items that you would like to go to a new home, please contact us or bring to one of our stalls on a match day. Many thanks as always for your support.

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Panthers’ Community Update Mascot Creations, Miles and Major news this May! Well it’s been another fantastic month in the Community for Community Panthers CIC! This month we ran an exclusive competition for the 2022 Rugby League World Cup that will take place in October! We visited 6 schools throughout the month allowing over 780 children to take part in the official competition to create the mascot for this years tournament! Some amazing entries have been posted in and the winner will be announced June 24th! Fingers crossed it is someone from our local community! We have also taken part in a fundraising challenge this month and have ran 5 kilometres per day in May to raise funds for Cash4Kids West Yorkshire! The total funds raised within the month we £415.00 which will go towards support packages for disadvantaged children in our area. Finally, there is some breaking news this month and a fantastic opportunity has arisen, we are going to be looking for a new Community Panthers CIC Community Manager! Unfortunately, Jack Duffy will be leaving the Panthers this August due to a family commitment that is taking him back to Canada. Jack said: ‘ I want to send huge thanks to all in and around the Supporters Trust for the support you have shown me and the community activities in my time here! It is with sadness that I make this departure but the club will ensure all the hard work continues off the field to continue with the momentum we have gained in the Community.’

Kind Regards, Jack Duffy 07394 519091 General Manager – Community Panthers CIC

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Halifax Heritage Rugby League Lunch Club NEXT MEETING – June 13th 2022 at HALIFAX BOWLING CLUB, 11.00am with guest Damian Munro Please book you place in advance (with or without meal) Bar opens 11am, with two course lunch for £3.99 Car Parking available on Site Please book you place in advance (with or without meal) To reserve a place ring or e-mail: Chris Mitchell: 07947-827627 or chris-mitchell@live.co.uk

 

A message from our Chair - David Durbin Coaches come and coaches go but we have seen some changes already so early in the season. Both our neighbour’s the Bulls and Widnes already saying goodbye to theirs and putting out statements to their fans, which rather smacks of panic at this stage! All teams have made numerous changes to their squads and as we know it takes time for them to blend in. Our own Panthers are a good example of this and it shows that sticking with your coach during difficult times can bring its rewards as it is already showing for us this season. Getting behind your team during difficult times is the sign of a true supporter and you shouldn’t need a statement from your club asking you to continue with your support. Talking of support, thanks to everyone who attended our recent race night which was excellent. A massive thank you to Stephen Lambert for hosting this for us. I am hoping your support continues for our next event which is the John Bentley dinner on Friday 18th June at the Shay. The Trust has booked two tables so please contact Carroll on 07977 596051 to book your place if you wish to sit on one of our allocated tables. It promises to be another excellent evening compared by Jonny Lawless, with several past players also coming along to support it.

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Appeal After the success of our town centre market stall on Sat 7 May, we are appealing for donations of rugby merchandise including rugby shirts, polo tops, t-shirts, coats, hoodies etc as our stocks are running very low! If you have any pre-loved items that you would like to go to a new home, please contact us or bring to one of our stalls on a match day. Many thanks as always for your support.

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Panthers’ Community Update ‘Community Panthers CIC – Let’s talk World cup and keep active!’ It’s been another fantastic month in the community for the Community Panthers CIC! Schools continue to engage in weekly rugby sessions after school and we have welcomed back the term of resilience for Old Earth school in Elland! We continue to interact and bring rugby to around 200 people a week across Calderdale and continue to deliver half term camps to those new to the sport! This month, Community Panthers CIC are taking on the 5k a day in May challenge to raise funds for disadvantaged children across West Yorkshire in partnership with the charity cashforkids! To donate, please visit this link: https://www.cashforkidsgive.co.uk/campaign/cash-for-kids-day-2022-pulseghr-5k-a-day-fundraising/fundraisers/communitypanthers5k/ We are targeting £500 and have currently raised £190 of our target! This term we have also began a new roadshow that will allow children to take part in the Rugby League World Cup Mascot Competition! So far we have engaged with over 220 students who have submitted their entries to become the creator of the official mascot for this year’s tournament! Community Panthers CIC are now across Social Media! Follow our accounts below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/communitypantherscic/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommunityPCIC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/communitypantherscic/?hl=en Our Women’s Team and Wheelchair Team continue their winning streaks both receiving wins over the weekend and will look forward to a busy Month of May to continue their form! Matchday activities will be back for May 15th as we raise awareness for Mental Health week! We will welcome local mental health workers and charities down to the Shay against Sheffield Eagles to continue the battle towards Mental Health inside and outside of Rugby League! Thanks again for reading and we will see you soon!

Jack Duffy Community Panthers CIC

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BANK BALANCE OF 4TH MAY £13,789

RACE NIGHT FRI 22 APRIL We do hope you can come and join us for our fantastic ‘Race Night’ on Friday 22 April at Siddal RLFC. Tickets are just £5 each including supper and are available on match days from our stalls or via our website: faxtrust.org All money raised is to support the Halifax Panthers.

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Fax Trust proudly presents AN EVENING WITH JOHN BENTLEY and friends at The Shay on the 18 June 2022.

The evening consists of a Two Course Dinner & Coffee, fun and games with our compare Johnny Lawless, a Q&A with the man himself and his friends. This is a great opportunity to listen to one of your favourite players talking about their stories on and off the field. The price for a ticket for this fun event is £25.00 each, you can also purchase a table for 10 people for £250.00 To book a ticket / table please contact Carroll Willis on 07977 596 051. Tables are booked on a first come first serve basis. This event is proudly sponsored by S.J Craven Joiner Contractors

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A message from our Chair - David Durbin “Getting back on the horse” they say is easier said than done but our Panther’s have done that after two excellent wins on the bounce against Workington and Whitehaven. Let’s hope this is a start of a good run to take us up the table and consolidate our position there. While nothing can be taken for granted the style of play we are seeing now is a pleasure to watch and long may it continue. I would at this point like to thank all our supporters who attend our monthly quiz at the Ivy House, and of course Pete McNamara and all his staff for what is a very enjoyable night. It’s good to see new faces and all the monies raised goes to supporting the club. If you haven’t yet given it a try, I can ensure you that a good time is had by all so please feel free to come along. Our next one is on the 27th April starting at 8pm, it’s just £3 to enter which includes a supper. Bargain! Our next fundraiser is the race night at Siddal RLFC on the 22nd of this month which no doubt you have seen advertised. You can get tickets and buy a horse (don’t forget to name it) on our website or from our stalls on match days. A big THANK YOU to Steve Lambert the Club Commercial Director who has agreed to host the evening. We are also hoping to have players in attendance on what again should be a fun evening!

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Panthers’ Community Update ‘ Community Panthers CIC – World Cup Trophy Tour and More in March!’ It has been a fantastic month of March in the Community for the Halifax Panthers! We had the pleasure of showcasing the Rugby League World Cup trophies across Calderdale to a primary school, secondary school and a college throughout the day before the made their way to the Shay Stadium for our Monday night Premier fixture vs Leigh Centurions. This was a fantastic occasion for us all as we spoke in front of over 600 students throughout the day before interacting with our loyal home fans! This also gave our ambassadors from the men’s, women’s and wheelchair team to have a platform to promote their great work in sport throughout the day too. We have also begun new partnerships this school term with Lightcliffe, C.E primary school, Old Earth Primary School, St Malachy’s Primary School, Rastrick High School & continue our ongoing partnerships that supply both on and off field sessions throughout Calderdale at the moment. We are currently engaging with over 175 children per week allowing current and new players to get a taste of rugby league and develop their skills with our coaches. We are also running resilience classes in curriculum time to help pupils to deal with change, stress, emotions and the ability to become more resilient through school. We have also introduced a new programme named Tag Talks to our weekly schedule. This is a combination of mental health and wellness activities alongside Tag rugby games for men aged 17-24. We are aiming to allow students, men in their first job roles, those in university and anyone within this age range to release some stress and get physically active with us throughout our sport and wellness activities with Invictus Wellbeing. Try High Holiday club has now been confirmed for a full year of scheduling for 2022. We will deliver 13 weeks of programming throughout the year for children on free school meals and take rugby league activities alongside wellness, first aid, squash, boxercise, yoga and much much more!  Our next programme will begin on April 11th – 14th at both Warley Road Primary School & Trinity Academy Akroydon.

To register follow this link: https://www.invictuswellbeing.com/tryhigh Thanks again for reading! See you next month. Jack Duffy – Community Panthers CIC.

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Bank balance as of 3rd April £12,922

It isn’t always getting the win and the two points that make you come away from a game happy, it's also seeing a full blooded performance with nothing but 100% given. So it was against one of our local rivals Featherstone Rovers. A lucky try got them back into the game which gave them the impetuous to go on and win it. There were more encouraging signs that we can climb the table and with performance’s like we have just seen I have no doubt this is possible. Another fully committed effort will be required when we take on Leigh in our first televised game on Premier Sports on Monday 21st kick off 7:45pm at the Shay. We,the supporters can make a difference, so please come down in your numbers and let’s get behind the team and become the force that get’s them over the line! Your Trust are now in the process of arranging another fund raising stall at Sowerby Bridge market in the next few weeks so please keep an eye on our social media platforms for more details. I hope too that you have in your diaries the date of our race night at Siddal RLFC on the Friday 22nd April start at 8pm and the John Bentley dinner at the Shay on the Saturday 18th June. Both will be opportunities to support our fundraising for the club as well as being fun evenings. Please contact me on faxmad@aol.com if you need any more details about these events. Details are also on our social media platforms. The future is bright it’s Blue and White! David Durbin.Chair Faxtrust.

Message from our Chairman,

Looking at the second half of our home game against Fev it makes you wish for the season to be moved forward so that we can play in the Summer! With dry grounds it showed the style of rugby we like to play. Still, it’s early days yet and I’m sure we will improve as the season goes on. The changes to the team that Simon is making shows you have to put in a good performance every game as others are waiting to come in if you don’t. Healthy competition can only be a good thing! It’s also early to think about your memberships but please do join or renew as time is running out to be entered in the members monthly draws. The prizes we have given our so far are a polo shirt from the club shop, and family ticket for four courtesy of the Club. This month’s prize was a £30 voucher to Saks in Halifax. You have to be in it to win it! A reminder again now of the two dates for your diaries, Friday 22nd April for our race night. See the poster in this newsletter and the John Bentley dinner on Saturday 18th June at the Shay. We hope you can support these events as all the funds raised go to support the club. Your support as always is very much appreciated.

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RACE NIGHT FRI 22 APRIL

We do hope you can come and join us for our fantastic ‘Race Night’ on Friday 22 April at Siddal RLFC. Tickets are just £5 each including supper and are available on match days from our stalls or via our website: faxtrust.org All money raised is to support the Halifax Panthers.

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Fax Trust proudly presents AN EVENING WITH JOHN BENTLEY and friends at The Shay on the 18 June 2022

The evening consists of a Two Course Dinner & Coffee, fun and games with our compare Johnny Lawless, a Q&A with the man himself and his friends. This is a great opportunity to listen to one of your favourite players talking about their stories on and off the field. The price for a ticket for this fun event is £25.00 each, you can also purchase a table for 10 people for £250.00

To book a ticket / table please contact Carroll Willis on 07977 596 051. Tables are booked on a first come first serve basis. This event is proudly sponsored by S.J Craven Joiner Contractors

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Bank balance as of 2nd February £12,068

 

Message from our Chairman,

Firstly can I wish you all a belated happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. While Covid is clearly something we now have to live with please stay safe and well.

Here of course is the gentle reminder that membership’s run from now until December and these can be renewed on our website Faxtrust.org or at any of our home games were we will still be in attendance. The price for the year remains at £15,and the monthly members draw continues with the prizes worth more than your membership. The meal deal competition is also ongoing which again can be found on the website.The merchandise on the site will be changed as the season progresses. Our monthly Quiz on the last Wednesday of every month at the Ivy House has started up again, courtesy of Pete Macnamara. It’s a fun evening which is going from strength to strength. More new faces at the last one which was very good to see.

We want to announce now that we have two major fundraising events to look forward to this year. The first one is a race night at Siddal RLFC on Friday 22nd April courtesy of Steve Lambert. The second is a dinner with our Ambassador and Club legend John Bentley on the 18th June. Two big dates for your diaries .More details will follow in our next newsletter and on our social media platforms.

Like me I am sure you are full of optimism for this season as we have, thanks to the hard work by the Club Board, a much stronger squad in terms of numbers and quality which bodes well for the year ahead. The future indeed is Blue and White!!

David.Chair.

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Panther's Community Update

Back to Business.

Christmas is now unfortunately over but I wanted to start this caption today with a HUGE thank you to all that helped raise funds, selection boxes and gifts for our charity partners before Christmas. We contributed to the Pulse 1 Mission Christmas drive and donated over 700 selection boxes to the Lighthouse Project in Calderdale!

We were back in action from the get go as programming in schools, college and the community resumes to full effect! The Community team are happy to announce 4 new school partnerships! These partnerships are not only building and growing the game of rugby league on the field, but we are ensuring our up and coming athletes are also working on their game off the field too! Willow Park High School, Trinity Academy Sowerby Bridge, Trinity Academy High and Trinity Academy Akroydon are all now receiving weekly sessions in their schools and at the Shay Stadium! Rugby workshops, values & role model workshops and Panthers Prep Packs are flowing through the community and the effort from the children and teachers throughout has been fantastic! Trinity Academy Halifax took part in the RL Cares Ahead of the Game programme with Amy Hardcastle & Bob Beswick. A fantastic day for 38 female participants last week!

In addition to the school provisions, our Women’s team and College Academy have been back to training and competing. Our Academy have endured a close loss to Warrington Wolves 36 – 32 playing incredibly well in the second half and enjoyed a much deserved 30-12 win against Carmel College.

There are changes being made currently within the Community Sector of the club which we will be announcing in the coming weeks. It is a very exciting time for the club and we aspire to continue to grow not only our new brand but also grow the youth of Calderdale into future Panthers fans, players and who knows maybe even Community employees! Thanks again for reading and we will see you all back at the Shay this February!

Jack Duffy - Community Engagement Officer

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Bank balance as of 2nd February £10,365

Have you ever got excited at the thought of visiting a motorway service station? I know it’s not normal but when your are on your way to your first away game after such a long time due to the Covid lockdown it’s something to get excited about.   It’s not about deciding which venue to visit for lunch it’s hoping to find fellow supporters to finally catch up with and everything that goes with travelling away to support your beloved Panthers as they play Newcastle Thunder. While we recognise that social distancing is still in place it doesn’t detract from the fact that this is another step towards normality.   On arrival at the ground it’s another opportunity to catch up with friends again and join in the pre match banter with all the rugby league supporters of both teams. Guessing who is behind the mask is another game! We are all excited to be able to watch a live game in the flesh. The singing and shouting begins as the match gets under way and it feels so surreal as if it’s a dream.   The dream continues as an excellent away victory makes the journey home that much better with smiles on our faces and the songs in the car, reminding us all why we love this great game and are now being able to travel and support our team. The day ends as it began with another stop at a service station for tea!   Next week we’re are back at the Shay as Featherstone come to town and we hope the smiles can remain in place as we take on one of our fiercest rivals and look to consolidate our place in the league!   David Durbin.Chair Faxtrust.

In the English dictionary the word coach has been defined in many different ways. The essence of coaching is to help a person or team go in the direction they want to go. I have also seen a quote which helps this idea as it say’s “Don’t practice until you get it right, practice until you can’t get it wrong”.   How galling it must be then to watch your team continue to get it wrong. Watching as a fan it’s very frustrating but for the coach it’s hair pulling out time ,that is if he has any. And of course while it takes several people to put together a team it’s the coach who immediately takes all the flak.   This is the case with my beloved Panthers at the moment after only four games and I would personally call for patience and understanding. A new team takes time to gel and while it is very frustrating to watch there have been some positive signs and good performances from individuals. When all the parts become whole we will be flying and hopefully I won’t have to keep going out for long walks to calm down! We know we are in a tough league and no team has the right to a win, it's all down to a collective effort and hard work.   We supporters pay our dues and of course are therefore entitled to voice our opinions but when things are difficult surely it’s time to hold our nerve and get behind the coach and the team. We always have this roller coaster ride and for the majority of us we are here for the long haul.   So onwards and upwards to bring down the Rams and clip the Eagles wings before our fierce rivals Fev arrive at the Shay when hopefully we can get behind the team with that must missed vocal support! David Durbin. Chair Fax Trust.

If someone had say two years ago that the only way to watch live sport was through streaming or tv you would have said they were crazy. Now at the moment it is the only way to do it. This medium however still allows you to experience all the emotions of actually being there especially when you are watching your own team.   This was the case in the Durbin household when the Panthers played London Broncos in our first league game of the new season recently. The cries of “penalty ref” and “get them onside “reverberated around the room. Thankfully the team played extremely well and it was certainly more smiles than moans crossing my face at the time.   Top of the league for a few days, a very welcome sight!   The final result reflected our dominance in the game and hopefully this will continue in our next game against our local rivals the Bradford Bulls. Always an eagerly awaited contest and one which normally would draw one of our largest attendances of the season. This would have been our first away travel too in normal circumstances but of course it’s not to be at present so out comes the laptop again!   We have stayed active in our fundraising all throughout lockdown with the website continuing to generate sales and our auctions on Facebook have been very popular. This is in no small measure because of the involvement of our Trust Ambassador John Bentley, a former Fax favourite. Our recently held raffle was a success and again John was involved in drawing out the winners which was shown on a video on our social media platforms.   A big thank you goes to all of you who have continued to support us through lockdown. Your support as always is very much appreciated. More auctions will follow and we are also planning a summer sale of merchandise which will be advertised soon.   Stay safe and well and we will all be back in our favourite grounds before to long and perhaps we can finally switch off the laptop!   David Durbin .Chair Fax Trust (faxmad@aol.com)