Chairman’s report for 2024

2024 was a year of great challenges and once again we were on as a club, such as the youth event, women’s event, men’s matches, 7s event and national team match in the spring against Norway and several national team gatherings. It takes a toll on the club’s helpers and volunteers. We have had a great sporting year with good results, Dm for 7s men got a first place and the ladies got a second place, so really well done. Once again this year, 7s was held and it was the biggest event to date. There were 57 teams from 9 different countries with 159 matches over 2 days it was quite an achievement. Our steering group did a great job again this year, especially Simon and Joakim who did a great job. We should also not forget the teams who set up tents, manned the bar, cooked and Brian who was in charge of the roster. The great work that everyone did resulted in the best profit to date, which is good for the club’s coffers. The Oldboys went to the World Rugby Sevens series in Madrid, 17 of us had some fantastic days with lots of rugby and beer, you can’t go wrong. It would be good for speed to get an Oldboys team up and running again, so we can field a team for speeds 7`s. The generational change in the board is underway. Henning is stepping down as clubhouse chairman and Peter is stepping down as youth chairman, so we need some fresh young people who want to run for the two positions that will be available for the upcoming GF. We held a club day in April where a group worked on the club’s relationship with Rugby Denmark, the group put together a letter to the union, about Speed’s attitude to Rugby Denmark. After 7 months, the first answer came back. The answer was not exactly what we expected and very irrelevant, but we continue to work and do not give up. The club will be 75 years old on March 31 and we have set up a committee to organize a big anniversary event to be held on Saturday, April 5. It’s going to be a great day and I hope we have a fantastic day. Finally, I want to thank everyone associated with Rugbyklubben Speed, all our sponsors and the sponsor group, especially Doller and Anders who go the extra mile, all our volunteers, helpers, parents and all of us who are at Rugbyklubben every day, without you there would not be a club at such a high level.

Arne Jørgensen

Report from Women’s Officer, Linda Cecilie Osman

The year started with the team consisting of 8 players, so in relation to 2023 it looked bright, but before long we were only 5 as some of our childbearing ladies want to deliver more members to the club. Training started early in January in Rødovre, at SEPAS, which has now become a tradition. A number of runs were on the program, with a view to good basic form and preparation for the spring matches. As soon as we hit the grass, Sofie and Sophie worked their magic with fun games and a good warm-up, which gave the team a great atmosphere. Despite this, however, we had a hard time fielding a full team for the competitions. Regarding the 7 series and DM, we got help from different clubs and youth players from our own club. The 3 youth players who have moved up this fall have all participated in either Super 3, 15 a’side matches, and other youth player development. We have 2 women on the national team and hope to have even more players from Speed in the red and white jersey in 2025. Scandinavian 7’s:
A couple of good days in the sun, where we unfortunately lost more than we won, but it was a good lesson for our youth players, who got the opportunity to join the team. The total result of the weekend was 4 matches: 1 won and 3 lost. The fall was better than the spring, as our teamwork improved, which meant that we played our way up in the series and ended up in 4th place. All in all, a season where we fought for our existence, so it can only go forward. In 2025 we will start with 10 players, so we hope that again we can bring medals and honor to the club. Finally, I’d like to congratulate Demi and Linda on 100 games. Linda Cecilie Osman Female responsible Speed Ladies

Report from Youth Manager Peter Jacobsen

In 2024, we offered rugby for all age groups from U8 to U18, but were unable to field our own teams in several age groups. We have therefore collaborated with other clubs on joint teams and on sharing the cost of transportation. A collaboration we will continue with in 2025. We participated in all 6 B&U competitions this year. Unfortunately, the continuous DM tournament has been abolished and replaced by a single DM event where clubs can compete for the championship and only in the U16 and U18 ranks. The downgrading of the Danish Championship is a development we are very sad about at Speed, where we would have liked to see a continuous Danish Championship tournament for several age groups. Things are very bad in the U18 ranks where club rugby, under the auspices of Rugby Denmark, has almost been abolished and replaced by an offer to players to participate in 2 regional teams that play against each other at each B&U event. A development Speed has been opposed to. We believe that we can only retain and develop the U18 players if they train at the club and play matches as a team. It is devastating for the club if the only offer for the players is participation in a regional team. In 2025, we have decided to look towards Sweden and seek challenges for our U16 and U18 teams there. We have therefore withdrawn our U18 players from the regional team. We participated in the Viking Cup with U14, U16 and U18 teams. The Viking Cup is a well-organized event in Gothenburg, with the participation of many good teams. We didn’t manage to win any medals this time, but we had an educational trip and are keen to try again in 2025. Our biggest challenge in youth is still that we have too few players. As long as we don’t have full teams, everything is much more difficult both in training and when we have to participate in tournaments. We have therefore again this year carried out a number of recruitment activities, including a collaboration with the neighboring SFO, where we have introduced rugby to the younger grades. We held rugby festivals for students in 6th-9th grades at the municipality’s schools, where students visit the club during school hours and get an introduction to rugby. Around 700 students participated! We have also tried to retain our players by strengthening the social community in the club through activities such as dining after training, joint bus trips and Christmas parties. For the younger age groups in particular, it’s important to involve parents in the club, so we offer rugby training for parents and parent fitness and we have a joint dinner for children and parents after training. It has been positive to see parents getting involved in the club’s activities as helpers at B&U competitions, on trips and not least at our big sevens competition in August. Finally, a big thank you to the volunteers who make it possible, in the kitchen, at training, on trips, at events and not least thanks to the club and the sponsor association who have again provided financial support.

Report from the Men’s Manager, Graham Klusener

The 2024 season for the men’s team can be summed up with the words “unfulfilled ambition”. The team was unable to achieve its goal of winning the Danish 15-man championship. There are several reasons for this. First of all, it didn’t help the team to go through another season of coaching instability. The team had three different coaches throughout the year, as well as extended periods where the players had to do their own training. In addition, this year’s incredibly poor tournament structure led to several canceled games and many one-sided matches. This meant that the team was perhaps not quite as ready as required for the important duels against Frederiksberg, which were actually the only important matches for the team. Here we were defeated in all three matches. It’s alarming that the gap between FRK and Speed seems to have grown. Even though we won the silver medal again, we are left with a feeling of stagnation in our development as a team. The challenge in 2025 will therefore be to be realistic when setting goals for the season and then honest about the work required to achieve those goals. Players need to be more accountable to themselves and their teammates for their performance. The critical conditions that currently characterize Danish club rugby at the top level also make it necessary to consider whether the time has come to look differently towards the future. We could continue as we have done in 2024 and win silver comfortably for the next few seasons while the gap continues to grow between us and FRK. Alternatively, we could choose to focus even more on the younger, less experienced players in the team with many seasons ahead of them, making us less dependent on the experienced players who we already know can perform in the big games, but who are no longer able to dedicate the necessary time to the team. It’s probably a balance between the two approaches that needs to be found, but it’s an honest conversation that the team needs to have. In addition, the senior team should also ask themselves whether the team’s interests are really best served by the mediocre tournament that Rugby Denmark currently offers us, or whether the time has finally come to seek alternatives outside of these restrictions and forge our own path together with clubs from Sweden and those clubs in Denmark who share our dissatisfaction with the tournament structure. This is not something that is going to happen overnight, but as the situation does not seem to improve in the near future, I believe we should seriously explore the possibility of an alternative. If we are to find our bright spot for 2024, it’s the performance of our 7s. We once again defended our gold medal at the DM 7’s in Aalborg, where we once again went undefeated through the tournament, which this year had an even stronger field than in recent years. We also achieved a very good result at Scandinavian 7s this year, where we reached the semi-finals in a tournament with a very strong field of foreign teams. We met the strongest team in the tournament in the semifinals and gave them their closest match of the weekend. The team dynamic both on the pitch and socially continues to work very well. The mix of young and experienced players from a variety of backgrounds means that we have a team environment and culture that is very open and welcoming to everyone. We must remember that this is something that takes work to maintain. One goal we had last season was to ensure that we are able to offer playing opportunities for our entire team regardless of playing level. Although more matches were organized in 2024 than the year before, we were unfortunately hit by cancellations and low player registration. However, we will continue to work to create playing opportunities for as many people as possible. Speeds men’s senior was well represented across both national teams this year.

Seven players helped secure promotion for the Denmark 7’s national team in Belgrade from the Rugby Europe Conference to the Trophy level. In addition, 13 players represented the XV national team in 2024, winning three of their four official matches.

Finally, I would like to end this report with a few words of thanks. First and foremost to the entire club – volunteers, supporters, the board and everyone who has supported us throughout the year: Thank you. In addition, a big thank you to the players who have stepped in throughout the season to coach the team during the periods when we haven’t had a coach. A huge thank you to Christian Philip Jørgensen for stepping up and taking on the role of team leader after the summer of 2024. It’s a big burden that he has done an excellent job with. Finally, thank you to all the players on the team who contribute to the club both on and off the pitch. Continue to do so. As players and club members of RK Speed, you have a responsibility to ensure that the spirit of the club lives on for future generations. As we enter our 75th year as a club, it’s important that we recognize all those who came before us and remember how privileged we are to be a part of this club and this team. Enjoy it.