2015 Vawdon Cup Update – 16 July 2015

Please find the following update in regards to the 2015 NSWTA Vawdon Cup

Due to a number of unforeseen circumstances this season we will only be entering Premier League and Youth teams into the Vawdon Cup. One reason is that NSWTA are enforcing the rule that all opens players (which includes Division 1 and Premier League) have to be at least 16 years of age. As a result we have published our updated Vawdon Cup squads below. Unfortunately this means there are a few Division 1 girls who will no longer be able to play Vawdon Cup this season and they have been contacted. As a result of having no Division 1 team this season it does mean we will be looking to commence our State Cup Women’s 20’s campaign a lot earlier than past seasons.

Our updated Youth squad is now 27 players, however this includes five players that turn 14 during the tournament and are not eligible until that time. We would like to stress this point to girls and parents of those players that are making their Vawdon Cup debut this season.  They should be viewing this season solely as a development opportunity. The Youth and Premier League squads will now be even more closely aligned, and this means those girls will receive greater exposure to all our Vawdon Cup coaches and just as importantly to our Premier League players who are regional, state and international representatives.  Additionally our Division 1 coaches including Keith Smith, Brandon McDonald and Sarah Peattie will now look to assist the Vawdon Cup Youth & GenNext Youth squads. Realistically with a large squad it means that potentially some players will not be playing each week and the selection policy will be based on training attendance and a number of other factors determined by the coaches.

Most importantly any player listed in the Youth squad that no longer wishes to play Vawdon Cup needs to let us know by Friday 12noon. This can be done via any of the coaching team via Facebook inbox, phone or via email@manlywomenstouch.com  After this time we will assess the squad numbers and make a further decision whether we need to reduce this number further, ideally we would like the squad at around 20 players.  Any player that does not play Youth can continue to receive development and training via the GenNext programme that we are running.

Another main factor driving us to confirm our Youth squad is that the NSWTA Vawdon Cup online registration window has now opened and closes at 5pm on Wednesday 22 July.  The cost for registration is $68.57 (this is reduced during the second registration window which is during the season). We are aiming to distribute the Youth registration instructions and codes by Saturday lunchtime at the latest, this should give all players adequate time to register.

In regards to Premier League our updated squad is now 18 players which assuming all players are available will create a healthy competition for places.

Our long term objective is to return to having three or more Women’s teams for next years Vawdon Cup. We do not expect the same issues with Division 1 and we believe through our healthy Manly junior base there will be numerous new girls interested in playing in the Youth division.If you have any questions or concerns please contact myself Anthony Dudeck, Barry Gibson, Keith Smith, Christian Browne or any of the coaching team.

SH253 Jul. 16 07.20