Hornets news

Hornets Rugby League

Hornets the record breakers!
Thanks to the hard work of the Hornets Community Department, the support from Hornets partners The Wheatsheaf Centre and not forgetting the Hornets faithful, the "Long Good Friday" promotion was a massive success for the club.

A number of attendance records were set or broken on Friday, including:

• Hornets best ever Co-operative Championship 1 attendance.
• The best attendance for any club in Co-operative Championship 1 this season.
• Hornets best League attendance in the last three years.
• The best Hornets v Oldham attendance in the last seven years.

The attendance was the culmination of a series of initiatives such as the new Community Voucher Scheme, which was rolled out for the game, producing some impressive results with plenty of local schools and amateur clubs taking advantage of the offer.

Also to celebrate Hornets paying out over £25,000 in prize money on the Hornets Goldlin£ Lottery, lottery agents also distributed some of the new Community Vouchers. 

The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre ran an extensive poster campaign for the game, and the club also did a major push on the local and electronic media, including the use of the social networking site Facebook, in an effort to engage with a new and younger audience.
The job for Hornets is now to continue with the excellent work already undertaken and push forward with more campaigns like the "Long Good Friday".

Hornets Co-operative Day
Sunday's clash between Hornets and London Skolars will be the first ever Hornets Co-operative Day.

With Hornets being the only Supporters Trust run club in the Professional Game, the club, in conjunction with the Co-operative movement, are hosting a Co-operative Day, which will see any member of the Co-op given free entry into the Hornets v London Skolars fixture on production of their Co-op membership card, with free children's tickets for under 16's accompanied by an adult. Hornets are able to run this offer thanks to the generous support of the Values & Principles Committee of the Co-operative Movement.

Kick off is at 3pm for the Hornets v Skolars clash and as part of the Co-operative Day, there will also be an exclusive pre match seminar starting at 1 pm offering Co-operative members the opportunity to find out more about the Hornets journey to become a Supporters Trust, with guest speakers including Paul Ormerod (Hornets President) and Laura Harrison (Supporters Direct). Representatives from the Family of Co-op Businesses will also be present on the day. If you would like to attend the Co-operative Day seminar before the match please email the number of places you require to: allen_brett@talktalk.net

Rochdale's Fastest Rugby Player returns!
After the success of last seasons Rochdale's Fastest Rugby Player, the competition returns on Bank Holiday Monday the 3 May during half time of the Hornets v Gateshead Thunder Clash.

Again it is hoped that all the local amateur Rugby League and Union Clubs will enter representatives in what was one of the highlights of last season's game day experiences.

Last season's winner Adam Wayne went on to sign for Hornets so it also puts players in the shop window. With Adam currently out injured the trophy will definitley have a new name on it in 2010.

Anyone who fancies their chances as the fastest Rugby player in Rochdale, needs to get down to Spotland on the 3rd.

All entrants in the race will receive free admission to the game for themselves and a guest.
Message from the Kettleton Family
The family of the late Brian Kettleton have today contacted Hornets to pass on their sincere gratitude for the support and condolences they have received from the Club and Hornets supporters.

They have also been taken aback by the amount of support they have received from Brian's former playing colleagues, both professional and amateur.

They also particularly wanted to mention how moved they were to be guests of Hornets at a recent game and how well the minutes silence for Brian was observed.

Brian's sister, Beryl, also wanted to say thank you to everyone who was able to attend his funeral.

Hornets director Geoff Hurst, who was Hornets official representitive at the funeral, also wanted to echo Beryl's words that the fantastic turnout for Brian was a moving and fitting tribute to this Rugby League stalwart.