Welcome everyone to February’s Despatches.
We have now commenced our outreach to schools in the vicinity of Blackburn. Whilst we’ve had more new members join NWA in the past six months than more than the previous six years (even if we exclude COVID) there’s still opportunity for us to offer gaming opportunities to people of an age most of us were at when we first discovered the hobby. This is a nascent effort, and we’ll keep you updated on the progress.
After our request in the last Despatches for ideas on how we present ourselves, we didn’t receive any submissions. As a consequence, the committee had some pretty robust discussion on a way forward, helped along by some really well-crafted ideas presented to us. This resulted in unanimity within the committee that the club will keep the Classic Emblem, the Hoplite and Dragon NWA symbol. This will be supplemented by the NWA Logo, the new image that most have see, which will be used for brand and marketing activities. Both are useful for different activities and purposes, so we will use the right tool for the right job when it comes to presenting the club to the public.
The new NWA Constitution 2023 was adopted unanimously by members voting at the Special General Meeting held at Croydon RSL on Sat 18 Feb. We had one third of members attend the meeting, easily achieving quorum before the scheduled start time. For those who couldn’t attend, this doesn’t affect your ability to turn up, grab a table, and push toy figures around the tabletop. It does now make us compliant with the Consumer Affairs Act regarding the Constitution itself and the committee has now caught up with all the regulatory obligations we are required to meet.
Don’t forget that if you have any ideas or issues to raise with the committee please feel free to speak with any of us at a one of the venues, or alternatively email us at president@nwa.org.au or secretary@nwa.org.au
Recruitment Update and Meeting Attendance
At the last meeting in February the club has 67 financial members. 9 new members have joined the club and we have had 27 visitors come to at least one meeting (and haven’t signed up yet)!
The club has had excellent attendance at Blackburn and Croydon meetings with more games being played and tables brought out each week. Attendance has been so good were are looking at how to maximise the number of tables we can fit in each location to ensure everyone can get a game in.
Napoleonic, Medieval and 20th Century wargaming continues to be the main periods played at Croydon, with Warhammer 40K (and its derivatives) make a strong showing at Blackburn.
If you know anyone who hasn’t renewed or wants to join the club, send to the membership form on the website.
Of note at Croydon in Feburary was the Team Yankee game put on by Tom and Adam. They haven’t been at it for a while in WW3, so it was great to see their excellent tabletop with NATO and Warsaw Pact forces pushing through the urban area.
Something we’ve seen a few times now at Blackburn was the 0200 Hours game played by Aaron and Ashley. Originally designed for WW2 commando raids on German facilities in France prior to the Normandy invasion, the guys have been pretty innovative adapting it to the club Bush Wars setting. There they’ve used it to supplement other rules so as to give them a range of different gaming experiences set within the one conflict on Imaginafrica.
Club Terrain Update
As reported in January Despatches, the committee has been investigating opportunities to build a collection of club terrain. The aim is to have a diverse selection of themed terrain which will available for members (and guests) to book, avoiding the need to bring a tables worth of terrain to every meeting.
We want to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to two fantastic local businesses who are donating some of their terrific MDF kits to the club to start our collection. Click on their logos to visit their websites.
Mike and Lance, have been stalwarts of the historical gaming scene in Melbourne.
Viv, has been supplying MDF terrain and foam carry cases for over a decade. He is a great supporter of wargaming in Melbourne
The committee is working on other initiatives so watch this space for more updates.
Just in case you don’t know, the committee meets on the 4th Thursday of every month. Whilst there is a lot of mundane behind the scenes work which just has to get done, there are always a few interesting actions which we are working on.
February highlights:
- It costs around $4,000 per year to meet the basic overheads of the club. So it is fantastic to report that with number of memberships (new and renewals) we have achieved breakeven revenue target.
- We have commenced planning for the Sale Day on Sunday 16 April, so start preparing the items you’d like to rehome or offer up on the club bring-and-buy table. Don’t forget to also save your wargaming dollars to spend at the great range of vendors we’ll have at the hall that day.
- A sample of new shirts are on their way, so you’ll be able to see what the options include shortly. This time they will be print-on-demand, so we can order the shirts we like without having to carry unsold items for the foreseeable future, better managing club funds.
- We are working on the first themed month which will be Medieval May. The overall aim is to have lots of medieval focused games played during May. As there are a lot of different games there should be a medieval option for all tastes. However for those who like a little structure, the club will run introductory and coordinated games of L’Art De La Guerre (ADLG) in 15mm.
