The Ladies of Old Leamingtonians Rugby Club celebrated the end of a very successful season with their annual awards dinner.

Like last season, the ladies finished the season in 3^rd position in the league. This year however saw a much stronger league than last year and the first two places in the table were taken by Oakham and Shrewsbury who were both new to the league at the start of the season. All in all the ladies won 5 more matches than they did last year.

The bid for promotion next year is boosted by the arrival of a new coach. Gemma Lewis, formerly coach at Earlsdon Ladies and currently assistant coach for the West Midlands ladies team, has joined Tim Burden at The Crofts. Working with two coaches will mean more intensive coaching for the players and hopefully this will be reflected in the results at the end of the season.

The award for Forward of the Year went to Caroline ‘Caz’ Lambert. Caz joined Old Leams at the start of the season from Bath. She brought with her a wealth of playing and coaching experience. A great player who played in the front row and on the flank and even as scrum half when Old Leams were struggling to get a team out. Caz is also involved in coaching the U17 Comets and the senior West Midlands squad. In the new season, she will be assisting coach Tim Burden and new assistant coach Gemma Lewis.

The Back of the Year award went to Kelly McLeod. Kelly has been with Old Leamingtonians for a long time and many times her drive and commitment have pulled Old Leams through difficult times. For a coach, players like Kelly are an important asset because they can carry the team, inspire new players and show that sheer determination, the absolute will to score that try, will get you where you want to go. For this reason, she also received the Coach’s Award.

Most Improved Player was Inside Centre Charlotte Hewer. Returning from serious injury at the end of last season, she dramatically improved her handling skills, leading to important tries and excellent tackling. Her determination to keep playing well, even when her old injuries played up have really made a difference to the team.

Club Woman of the Year was Marieke Vink. Marieke is responsible for Press, PR and Sponsorship as well as being the Treasurer for Old Leams Ladies. Her efforts have seen a dramatic improvement in the media exposure the team has received in the past season as well as keeping the bank account healthy!

The award for Most Unlucky Player went to Laura Knox. After spending most of the previous season out with a neck injury, Laura returned to the field for only a few games before she broke her wrist. This put her out of action for months. Being a good forward, she did not wait for her wrist to heal fully and put in a fantastic performance in the Cup Competition when Old Leams could not field a team otherwise.

With the Old Leams 1^st XV men hoping to bounce straight back after being relegated this year, it would be a wonderful finish to the 75^th anniversary year if the club could celebrate 2 champions in May 2007.

Old Leamingtonians Ladies are still very much looking for new players to join them for the next season. Anyone is welcome, regardless of fitness and experience level. If you are interested, please send an email t ladies@olrfc.co.uk.