Otley RUFC are ready to move smartly into their next campaign, with pre-season training having commenced and the Annual General Meeting now out of the way.

The front row union, a body of men well noted for their application, have been hard at it for over a month and they will be joined by their old colleagues as holiday commitments allow. One face missing will be that of winger Matt Walker who has moved to Doncaster. Matt made only five appearances last year, one of them as replacement.

Two Otley players Andy Brown and Mark Kirkby, have been touring Chile with the English Counties side.

It has been a busy time for influential coach Peter Clegg. He was delighted that his last close season captures fitted in so well with his plans, Simon Binns, voted Player of the Year, ended as the league's leading points scorer with a total of 283, consisting of five tries, 30 conversions, 63 penalties and three drop goals. Strange that he was not considered good enough for the county side.

Phil Greaves provided class at centre. Signed from Kendal, No 7 Nathan Bland added pace to the back row when injuries allowed whilst James Tiffany played every game, the only person to do so, in the second row at the beginning but blossoming as he moved to back row, appearing in all three spots.

Knowing how tough it is going to be with two fully professional clubs moving up into League One Clegg is trying to add one or two key players to his squad. His first signing is second row Gareth Manuel from Wakefield but there is great competition for the class of player required and he has to work within the financial constraints imposed by the committee.

He finds himself asked to provide jobs whilst trying to entice players to Cross Green in addition to their other requests and this makes it a slow and sometimes fruitless exercise.

At the AGM Peter Fisher took over as President and ex-player Gordon Baines moved in as Vice-President. Gordon has already begun his first commission which is to set up a sub-committee to outline a ten year improvement plan for Cross Green and to seek the finances required. The first stage will be apparent at the start of next season with new goal posts to further enhance the spectacular ground.

Being the most successful members' club in the UK and lying in 19th position overall requires hard work and sacrifices from its amateur administrators but they remain confident they will maintain Otley's lofty ambitions.

A lot of the work on the ground is done by a small band of dedicated enthusiasts who are always glad of additional help, but projects on a larger scale will need financial backing. The new group has begun to generate ideas for fundraising which it is hoped will be attractive to the wider community as well as the Clubs' existing members. The Rugby Club generates business for the town through visiting spectators and it is hoped will be able to do even more by securing the team's position in National Division One.