It’s been a busy period out at Garioch with several programmes coming to an end for the year.
Red Start is one of the latest initiatives to be introduced in Inverurie. More than 800 Inverurie School pupils from Strathburn and Market Place primary schools recently received six weeks of free football coaching thanks to the ILWFC, GSC & AFCCT partnership.
On Thursday 1st December, 28 pupils (14 each) from the Strathburn and Market Place schools received a Stadium Tour at Pittodrie Stadium, with each participant on the day also receiving match tickets for Aberdeen vs St Johnstone.
The programme aims to provide a whole school approach where all pupils from each of the selected schools benefit from taking part in a variety of activity sessions, appropriate for each age and ability over a 6-week period. Red Start has been introduced not only to encourage children to engage in physical activity but to signpost them to opportunities within their local area and get them involved in sport.
The first Aberdeenshire Football Fans in Training (FFIT) programme also ended after a fantastic 12 weeks. The initiative in partnership with Inverurie Loco Works FC, Garioch Sports Centre, AFCCT and funded by NHS Grampian helps supporters feel better and live a healthier lifestyle by losing weight. FFIT is a health and wellbeing programme, where like-mind individuals attending the programme learn about healthy eating, portion control and increasing physical activity with a view to losing weight and becoming fitter.
The partnership has allowed Inverurie Loco Works to become the first Highland League team to deliver the programme and the weekly sessions are based out at the Locos home ground – Harlaw Park. Over the 12 weeks the group lost a magnificent 78kg due to their dedication and hard-work.
On the final week of the sessions former Dons player Steve Tosh visited the group for a Q&A and Steve was on hand to present certificates to each participant who completed the programme. Another former Don and present Locos Players/Manager Darren Mackie also paid a visit to the group earlier on in the programme. In addition, six FFIT Garioch participants took part in a 10 second penalty shoot-out during half-time at the Aberdeen vs Morton Betfred Semi-Final and the FFIT group were also guests at the Aberdeen vs Celtic SPFL league fixture in October.
Earlier in the year Inverurie hosted the first 5-a-side Over 35's football tournament 'The Garioch Cup' in the North Region.
The tournament in partnership with the Inverurie Loco Works FC, Garioch Sports Centre, Aberdeen FC Community Trust, Scottish FA and GPH Builders Merchants saw over 90 participants take part over the six weeks, with nine teams competing overall.
Within a nine team league table each team completed 16 League fixtures throughout the six weeks. On the final night held at the Garioch Sports centre the League table was split into two sections – the Cup Section (Top 4) and the Shield Section (Bottom 5) and from then a quick fire knockout stage took place.
In a pulsating final in the cup section, the Wizards of Skene were crowned champions of the Garioch Cup. The Wizards of Skene captained by Steven Petrie won a hospitality day at an Inverurie Loco Works FC home match worth over £750, sponsored by GPH Builders Merchants.
In the Shield Section, Garioch United romped home in a closely fought final and won 10 tickets to an Aberdeen FC match. The event will hopefully now run annually after such a successful six weeks.
On Tuesday 6th December, the Inverurie Community Football Partnership (ICFP) were awarded Legacy status at the recent SFA Quality Mark Awards, held at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel. The partnership includes three member clubs from the Inverurie area – Inverurie Loco Works FC, Colony Park Juniors and Colony Park Juveniles/Amateurs.
The award recognises all three clubs commitment to creating a full player pathway in Inverurie from primary school children through to adult football and also the community work taking place in the area involving each club outside 90 minutes on a Saturday. In addition, The ICFP have become only the second SFA Quality Mark – Legacy Award holder in the North Region alongside Westdyke Community Club.
Roger Langtree, Colony Park Juniors representative said: 'We believe this is the way forward in establishing a 'Player Pathway' for footballers from Primary 1 stage through to the adult game. This is exciting times for football in Inverurie and the surrounding area and hopefully, by establishing this partnership, it will allow players to learn their trade from well-trained coaches and in the long term, produce the quality of player who can compete at a higher level'.
The ICFP's successful application has been supported by AFCCT and SFA throughout the process. The appointment of an AFCCT Community Coach in Inverurie has allowed the ICFP to gain regular on the ground support for the SFA Quality Mark Legacy Award application.
On the same evening, Inverurie Loco Works FC were also awarded with the SFA Quality Mark Standard Award.
To finish off the night, all the SFA Quality Mark Award winners attended the Aberdeen vs Kilmarnock fixture at Pittodrie and a five star performance from the Dons rounded off a perfect evening.
