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OA CRICKET After a string of disappointing
OA RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB The last 12 months have been successful at the Old Alleynian Rugby Club. At the end of the 2023-24 season the 1st XV was promoted for the second season in a row to Regional 1st South. This represents a notable step up in performance, with level five representing a mixing pot of those clubs seeking promotion to the national leagues and amateur clubs like ours. Elsewhere in the senior club, we continue to field four teams a week: a real achievement that many of those clubs with national league ambitions cannot contemplate. The age-grade section of the club is also thriving. Participation, a key measure of our success as a community sports club, continues to be strong, with over 1,200 age-grade and associated social members. This makes the OA’s rugby one of the largest clubs in the country. As the club continues to flourish, there are increasing demands placed on our grounds at Dulwich Common and ageing facilities, which will need to be addressed in the coming years. We are grateful to members for their support with the fundraising efforts during the year and to those OAs who volunteer to enable us to continue to share the benefits rugby can bring to our diverse local community. Phil Kent Chairman OARFC
performances in the Cricketer Cup, the OAA (with the help of a newly formed OA Cricket Committee) set about reinvigorating OA Cricket ahead of the 2024 season. The main aims of the Committee were improving engagement (particularly with those who have recently left the school) and widening the pool of players available for selection to allow us to field the strongest XI possible for the Cricketer Cup. With these aims in mind, and with a slightly reduced fixture list of just the Cricketer Cup and a T20 against the school – something that has now become an annual fixture on the evening of the OA summer reunion – the OAs went into the 2024 season with high hopes. Unfortunately, planning and organisation can only get you so far and when we were drawn against one of the strongest sides in the competition, Old Wellingtonians, we knew that we would, once again, be facing an uphill battle to progress into the second round of the Cricketer Cup. Wellington turned up to an immaculate looking Dulwich College in slightly overcast conditions with an almost full-strength XI and, with the OA's suffering from a string of late dropouts in the week leading up to the game (something that has plagued our success in the Cricketer Cup over the past few years), unfortunately they emerged as comfortable victors after bowling the OAs out for 131.
OA CROSS COUNTRY The sun shone yet again on Wimbledon Common last September and those races that took place in the cold wet and gloomy afternoons of December past seem a long time ago now. There was a significant field of nearly 200 runners on the starting line to tackle the alumni five-mile cross country course. Although more cross country in name than in nature as several weeks of dry weather left the course bone dry and racing flats were the order of the day; spikes were certainly unnecessary. Our record-breaking team of last year was a little diminished, although all present felt the excuse of final preparations for the Valencia Half Marathon in the middle of training for the New York Marathon seemed very reasonable in the circumstances. As has been the case for over three decades now, Team Captain Jerry Watson (71-78) once again travelled down from Leeds for the event, which he has supported for well over thirty years. He was joined by Angus Fraser (08-18) (61st) Steve Georgiadis (74-81) (80th) who after a break of several years made an impressive comeback, finishing second in the over sixty age category giving some hope that we might be in a position to lift that age group trophy in the next year or two. Rob Rider (77-83) flew in from Germany finishing a short distance behind Steve in 110th with Dave Gibson (89-94) 129th, and Jerry completed the line up in 186th. If you want an excuse to get fit over the summer of 2025, keep an eye on the OA e-bulletins for next year’s date. Trevor Llewelyn
It is not, however, all doom and gloom. This was, even with the aforementioned dropouts, the strongest side that we had fielded in the Cricketer Cup for at least the last five years. Coupled with a new sense of drive and purpose from the newly formed committee, we have a strong foundation to build upon over the next few years. Whilst 2024 was about rebuilding with a focus on the Cricketer Cup, 2025 will, I hope, see OACC expand its fixture list to offer more opportunities to those wanting to play cricket at all levels. As we continue to chase what has become a rather illusive first round victory, there will, of course, be an emphasis on the Cricketer Cup, but I am hopeful that 2025 will not only be the year that sees the OAs progress to the second round (and beyond), but also one where our squad of players will continue to grow and where we will be able to offer more cricket to those OAs wanting to play. Finally, thanks must go to Trevor Llewelyn (72-79) and the OAA, Charles Fellows- Smith (66-75), Phil Hulston (74-83), Nick Howe (74-80) and Andy McKee (76-83) for their continued support of the club and in particular for all the effort that went into
this year's Cricketer Cup first round against Wellington. Alex Rackow (10-15) Captain of OA Cricketer Cup Team
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