Kids for FREE full article from club

[bafcdirect]

BARROW AFC OFFER to all PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS-
FREE ENTRY TO ALL GAMES UNTIL END OF THE SEASON
Accompanied by an adult

Starting this Saturday at home to Tamworth Barrow AFC will offer free entry to all primary aged pupils who attend any school in the Barrow AFC catchment area providing they are accompanied by an adult. All you need to do to take up this offer is to turn up to any turnstile and on purchasing an adult ticket your youngster will be allowed in free of charge. This offer is not just for one or two games but for ALL GAMES until the end of this season( 7 in total). This means that you can bring your younger children along for free allowing your other half a few hours peace and quiet or better still why not come along as a family and enjoy the game together. By offering free tickets it might hopefully give those youngsters who want to come to watch live football the opportunity of dragging their dads or mums even out of their comfy armchairs on match days. Either way it will hopefully increase the size of our crowds which in turn will create a better atmosphere on match days.

Our gates have been much lower than expected which does not help the club financially or give the lads on the field the best possible atmosphere to play to. When we first entered the Blue Square Bet Conference we averaged 1600 per game which not only brought in the necessary gate receipts needed to run the club but created a wonderful atmosphere in the ground. We need as many of those missing fans who were regulars in the last few seasons together with those extra thousands who went to Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Wembley to come along and give your town’s team the support it needs to help it to achieve safety and another season in the Conference. If you are one of these please come back and give your team your support again.

Saturday’s gate and game is massive for the club. We need as many fans to turn out to support the club both on and off the field. A great atmosphere with 1200 plus fans cheering the lads on to victory and three valuable points would be a great boost to the club both financially and in creating a great atmosphere for the team and you the fans to enjoy. Tuesday’s game against top of the league Wrexham saw some good football with great enthusiasm and endeavour from every single player wearing a Barrow shirt. This shows that they still have the stomach for the fight to achieve safety. The missing fans of Barrow AFC now have an opportunity to show that they have the desire to support their team in this their hour of need.

Barrow AFC needs your support now more than ever before. If you want to keep your team at this level of football you all have a massive part to play over the next couple of months by attending as many games as possible. This will give the club the financial backing it needs to survive at this level of football and it will give the team the atmosphere to help it once again become the fortress it was in previous seasons.

If you want Barrow to survive at this level for another season then there are only a few games left for you to play your part in achieving this. The first opportunity is this Saturday when Barrow are at home to Tamworth who we have already beaten twice, once away and then at home in the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup. Mark your calendar now:-

Saturday 2nd KO 3pm March Furness Building Society Stadium, better known to many as Holker Street.

Hope to see as many of you as possible this Saturday cheering Barrow AFC your team onto victory.


John Mackay (Director Barrow AFC)

[Holkerbird]

Just to clarify John what age group does this apply to? I understood you to say on Tuesday it was U11's but I have the impression people think it is U7's and some think it is U16's.

[GTBLUE]

It says in the E.M it's primary school pupils.

[Kieran]

A positive move, but I do have some gripes.

Firstly, there shouldn't be the restriction of having to be accompanied by a paying adult. It should just be free entry regardless.

Secondly, I'm not sure why its restricted to primary school pupils only. All under 16s or at least under 14s would've been much better.

Lastly, the article is focussed far far too much on what it can do for the club in the short term, not least with the implication that its hoped it will lead to an increase in revenue which is mentioned more than once. The primary focus of such a scheme should be to help build a future fan base, make easier for kids to attend etc. The article is also focussed too much on the negative, going on about disappointing crowds etc. We should be focussing entirely on the positive aspects of this offer, that article would hardly inspire me to attend or take a child along.

Thats my thoughts anyway, a very positive move but there is a lot of room for improvement in my opinion.

[bafcdirect]

The article clearly states Primary School pupils.

You cannot put an exact age on this as some children will be 11 at primary while others will still be 11 in their first year at secondary.

This is why we chose Primary age so that the cut off would be known to all. Attending Infant, Junior or Primary School means that your child gets in for free.

If your child attends school up to and including Year 6 or for the older generation Junior 4 then they can attend free with as long as they come with an adult.

Secondary children of any age are NOT eligible for this offer.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

John Mackay

[HenneysKnee]

Not as good as it first sounded...still a good idea but extending it to all under 16's would have been better

[patrickstarfish]

How do you know they are at Primary School?

The child might not be ,yet their parents could just say they are, no way of proving it.

Good idea, weird age group.

[Jonty]

I'm pleased about this. Let's hope it gets a good response.

[Kieran]

You cannot put an exact age on this

Why not?? If anything that would make it simpler IMO.

Under 16s would be a much better idea I think, and would be just as easy to implement. Can I ask why its specifically been targetted at Primary School pupils only and not older children as well??

My post wasn't meant to have a dig at those involved in setting this up, I just feel that this sort of thing is vital to the club's future. Not only does it need to be done properly but we need to commit to it long-term, the remainder of this season is a good start but it really needs to be extended much much longer than that. In all my time going to Holker Street there has never been a time when there has been such a shortage of young supporters on the terraces, that is extremely worrying for the future of the club and now is the time we need to be doing something about it. This offer is a good start, but it really needs to be done properly and with the right motives if it is going to work.

[Reg]

I see absolutely no reason to make this conditional.

I've gone from being really pleased to feeling like a withered, deflated balloon.

I don't like the way the article has been written either.

[EHB]

God we're crap at communications.
Not having a dig at volunteers (well I am but I dont want to) here but we're just rubbish at PR. Great idea, but we still manage to balls it up by publishing a crappily written press release with confusion. The whole thing is too negative and sounds like another lecture.

Feel like a recently popped balloon.

[Barrowabc]

I see absolutely no reason to make this conditional.

I've gone from being really pleased to feeling like a withered, deflated balloon.

I don't like the way the article has been written either.

+1 find this strange

[Barrowabc]

I understand what's been said and also why ! But I think club is missing a trick here ! No parent worth there salt would let there child go to football on there own up to the age of I would say 14 'would thay ?' there is a few young ones there week in week out and it's a good move. Yet I agree the club should be looking at under 14 's teams and below ! Also what's happened to kids taking pens at half time ? Could this not be done with the under 14's and belows as away of bringing them to club as if my child was on pitch at half time I would want to see it wouldn't you ? WE NEED MORE KIDS AT CLUB

[barrowfan_chris]

I see absolutely no reason to make this conditional.

I've gone from being really pleased to feeling like a withered, deflated balloon.

I don't like the way the article has been written either.

+1 sadly should have been U16 but its a small step in the right direction.

[ant]

I understand what's been said and also why ! But I think club is missing a trick here ! No parent worth there salt would let there child go to football on there own up to the age of I would say 14 'would thay ?' there is a few young ones there week in week out and it's a good move. Yet I agree the club should be looking at under 14 's teams and below ! Also what's happened to kids taking pens at half time ? Could this not be done with the under 14's and belows as away of bringing them to club as if my child was on pitch at half time I would want to see it wouldn't you ? WE NEED MORE KIDS AT CLUB

A bit over the top there Barrowabc. Me and my mates from my school football team,s ages 10+ always went to watch Barrow playing together.Congregate behind the Holker ST nets (when we had a roof.. )and meet up with lots of other school football kids. Didn't need or require to be with parents(regarding your "not worth their salt" ).We preferred our own time and friendships together.And so it continued until we progressed 40 odd years later onto the pop side. IMO this latest worthwhile initiative should have been extended to under 16,s just until the end of the season to see how it all worked out.