Hiya Everyone!

It’s been a while since my last update about the Hammarby Clubtour 2025, and I’ve had more than a few folk glance at their calendars and say, “Wait a minute, it’s 2025—what’s happening with the clubtour?!”

Well, friends, let me give you the scoop. Clubtour 2025 is dead... long live Clubtour 2025! They say the best-laid plans rarely survive first contact, and our grand vision of bringing the entire club from cubs to mens’ and ladies’ teams on a single unified tour to one city or region began to crumble under the weight of reality.

But let me tell you, it wasn’t for lack of effort. We truly gave it the old Hammarby grit. Over the past year, we contacted 30+ clubs in six different countries—Germany, Ireland, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, even Italy. And time and time again, we got the same polite, slightly bemused response:
“It’s fantastic that Swedes want to visit us! We’d love to host you... Wait, you mean the whole club? Everyone? Well, that’s unusual… Uh, how about just one team?”

In the end, Newcastle-upon-Tyne emerged as the most promising destination. Thanks to the hard work of Tynedale RFC and Gosforth RFC, we had the beginnings of a truly amazing plan. A three-night stay in Newcastle with matches, socials, and everything you could imagine. It was all coming together, except for one pesky little detail.

The cost.

And oh boy, did those costs rise like a hot air balloon on a sunny day. By the time all was said and done, the price per person sat at around 4,000–4,500 SEK before flights. Add another 2,000–3,000 for plane tickets, and suddenly you’re staring down a weekend in Newcastle costing around 10,000 SEK per person. Now, for a single senior player, that might feel steep but doable. But consider this: if you’re a family touring with three or more members, that number quickly climbs into the 30,000 SEK+ range. And let’s not forget, late October in Newcastle isn’t exactly beach weather.

Furthermore, even in Newcastle, hosting the whole club would have meant being spread out across multiple clubs and several accommodation options. The “unified” tour we envisioned would have left us scattered across town, which, while logistically possible, didn’t align with the community spirit we wanted to create. Faced with these realities, soaring costs and a weak Swedish crown, the board made the difficult decision to shelve the original plan for a unified club tour. It wasn’t an easy call, but it was the right one.

But, as you all know, Hammarby doesn’t quit. If there’s one thing that defines us, it’s our resilience, our ability to adapt, and our determination to find a way forward.

So, let me introduce you to the new plan:

Hammarby IF Rugby on Tour 2025.

Instead of one big tour for the whole club, we’re aiming to get every single team on their own tour this year. Here’s the vision:

• Children and youth teams are likely heading to Denmark. Right now, the spotlight is on Århus. A quick check shows the journey takes around 8 hours by train, with transfers in Lund and Copenhagen. Hopefully, SJ will launch direct trains to Copenhagen in August to make it even smoother. More info will be shared with teams soon!
• Senior men and women, hopefully touch too are setting their sights on Greece. Last year’s men’s tour to Crete was a smashing success, thanks to the incredible hospitality of the Cretan Gunners RFC. The idea now is to bring both the men’s and women’s teams together for a return tour to Crete. It’s early days, so no dates are locked in, but discussions are moving forward, and we’re optimistic about what’s to come.

So, there you have it. Sure, our original dream of breaking new ground with an all-in-one-club tour didn’t quite pan out. But in true Hammarby spirit, we’ve turned a roadblock into a fresh opportunity. And technically, we are touring as a whole club in 2025—just not all to the same place. And as we all know, being technically correct is the best kind of correct.

On my next text, I’ll dive into the (sometimes shocking) costs of training and playing rugby in Stockholm. Spoiler alert: it’s much higher than you think.

Until then, stay strong and keep the Hammarby IF Rugby spirit alive!

All the best,
Nicholas Pappas
Senior- & Socialansvarig

Det är nu dags att nominera personer till vår styrelse inför vårt kommande årsmöte 15 februari 2025 och därför kommer här lite information från valberedningen. Vi letar efter styrelsekandidater som vill hjälpa till att driva vår förening framåt och skapa värde i Hammarby Rugby. Vi strävar efter en styrelse som representerar hela vår förening och välkomnar särskilt nomineringar av kvinnor och yngre personer.

 

Under det senaste arbetsåret hade vi flera ändringar i styrelsen eftersom vissa medlemmar var tvungna att lämna av olika skäl. Det är viktigt att säga att det var av personliga anledningar, men dessa förändringar hade naturligtvis en inverkan på styrelsens arbete. Vi hade turen att få några nya styrelseledamöter på vårt extramöte i september, men det kommande årsmötet är en möjlighet att ytterligare stärka vår styrelsegrupp!

 

Nomineringar kan göras av medlemmar och måste tillhandahållas till valberedningen skriftligen via valberedningen@hammarbyrugby.se senast 25 januari. Nomineringen bör innehålla följande information:

1. Vem de nominerade är såväl som kontaktuppgifter till dem.
2. Med vilken motivering personen är nominerad och om nomineringen är till en speciell roll.
3. Vilken medlem nominerar såväl som kontaktuppgifter till den person som är ansvarig för nomineringen.

 

Vi tar gärna emot tips, kan svara på frågor och gillar att prata om nomineringar med alla – så hör av dig!

 

Varma hälsningar, Valberedningen.

Mairtin O’Duinnin, Tel 0768 090 578, e-post valberedningen@hammarbyrugby.se

Välkommen till Hammarby IF Rugbyförening!