We would like to update you on what has been happening at Queen of the South during the past year.
We understand that things could be healthier on the field of play, and no-one is hurting more than the Board , Players and Management team that the results haven’t been better. We feel that the performances have surpassed the results over the season so far, with a couple of exceptions, but the table doesn't lie and, at the moment, we are in a 5 way fight at the wrong end of the league. We have also been hit in recent weeks with a number of injuries, particularly in defensive areas, which has not helped matters. We intend to strengthen the squad in the transfer window, giving the management team more options on the field of play.
Off the field things continued to grow.
2021 proved to be another turbulent year in terms of organisation, restrictions, social isolations and many a sad tale. It was a very unusual year, with red zones here, red zones there, seating plans, social distancing, passports and vaccines amongst a number of protective protocols put in place across football.
In January 2021 the world was still in the midst of a lockdown and we saw our School is Cool initiative pick up national recognition on TV’s “The View from the Terrace “ as we linked learning with football and football with education. Lessons focusing on English, Maths, Geography, Drama, Art got not only the children involved but also saw the adults sending in some wacky kit designs, and demonstrated that we have a fan base full of bright children. The initiative allowed children to be involved in education in a different way to what they normally experience, and our initial post saw the involvement of more than 30k people.
However children weren't the only people who needed a football boost, which led to the creation of the 'Social South'. This project was aimed at fans needing a football fix who were living in isolation, and saw large numbers from the start communicating with Queens fans in varied locations from the comfort of their own homes. Chats usually centred around Queens, picking all time favourite line ups and of course speculating as to when we would get back to our beloved Palmerston. We hope this project allowed those involved to feel connected to the club, and form some sort of bond in what was a terribly isolated time for a lot of people. This programme drew to a close as the restrictions lifted, and we slowly emerged into a more normal daily life.
Unfortunately, Covid brought to an end the 4-4-2 reading challenge in which the club engaged with more children than any other Community Trust, partnering with the local library and 23 schools. We hope that this project may run again with support from the SPFL Trust.
With restrictions on a number of our key community initiatives, it was quite difficult to maintain our usual engagement numbers. However a donation of 250 QOS kits to local disadvantaged children helped place a smile on the face of a number of young people across Dumfries and Galloway. This was delivered in partnership with D & G Council.
The club played a role in the vaccination programme, hosting a vaccination centre at the QOS arena, and offering the use of KGV for the testing site which occupied the car park for many months. To be able to play our part in the COVID-19 recovery and offer some assistance was fantastic, and a huge thank you goes out to every single key worker involved in helping everyone during this Pandemic.
The numbers for our soccer camps were our largest ever and were spread across the region with 3 camps in Dumfries, and other camps in Lockerbie, Dalbeattie, and Castle Douglas. The project engaged with over 340 young people with each camp averaging just under 60 participants. Over the Summer we worked with our partner, Cash for Kids, who allowed us to put on a free summer camp for 50 children from the local area. We worked with local clubs Threave Rovers, Dalbeattie Star and Mid Annandale as our community relationship with these clubs strengthens.
Every single one of the coaching staff on board had been a participant at a Queen of the South camp in their youth demonstrating the beginning of a new pathway for our youngsters in the region. Not only this but over the course of the summer we gave out 340 season tickets, 180 shirts , 340+ medals and thousands of smiles. The summer camps proved a huge hit and we thank every single parent, coach, child, club and person involved in making these a success.
Then came our biggest challenge, keeping momentum going over, while visiting schools was still not possible. The decision was made to ensure every single child from Dumfries and Galloway under the age of 16 who wished to attend Palmerston was able to do so. Our free Junior Blue Season Ticket offer was launched. The uptake has been fabulous with over 600 taking Junior Blue Season Tickets and it is encouraging to see all the kids at the front of the terrace.
School visits were then allowed! This brought a resumption of the Breakfast Club. This scheme is now into its 5th year. Supporters will know from previous reports what a great benefit this has been to a number of children over the course of the previous 4 years. We are very proud of the difference this makes. So much so, the Community Trust was invited to speak at the Board meeting of Cash for Kids. This was a great honour to talk about the differences being made to young people’s lives, and how we can evolve and grow this superb initiative.
A funding application was then accepted by the National Lottery which granted the Community Trust enough money to deliver the School is Cool initiative again within local schools. This has only been able to start in the last term before Christmas, and Ryan Muir and Dom McMahon have taken the lead in the majority of sessions, with Dan Armstrong also attending a number of schools. The schools involved this term have been, NWCC, Loreburn, Shawhead, Brownhall, Locharbriggs and Georgetown. The visits involved 6 weeks of core PE with football based skills. The scheme will be available throughout the year to 20 schools and January is already set up with Heathhall , Lochrutton, Noblehill and St Michaels occupying slots. During the last week, participation across Community Trust activities involved more than 450 different individuals. As part of the club’s sponsorship agreement with Alpha Solway, 600 footballs will be supplied across primary schools in Dumfries via the School is Cool programme.
The club supported the white ribbon partnership, the leading charity against domestic violence, by way of the third choice pink kit for the current season. This also allowed us to thank those supporters who purchased season tickets in 2020/21 by having their names embroidered in the shirt.
In the past week, the club has launched the festive friends campaign which saw 55 guests from the “ Young at heart “ programme join us for a three course meal, take part in Christmas bingo, and leave with a Christmas gift from QOS. A similar event was organised for the Lochmaben lunch club.
You will have noticed that the floodlights have been fully restored now with new LED lights in place. This has been an ongoing project over the last 2 years and we are proud to have the best and largest free standing floodlights in Scotland.
New, additional, dugouts were purchased and installed in the stand enclosure to allow substitutes to be accommodated in a Covid compliant way. In turn, this allowed the Alpha Solway Stand to be reopened for spectators. It is likely that substitute numbers will increase in future seasons and so we now have facilities to cope with bigger squads.
Our Playing surface passed the latest test with the best results so far according to the testers but we realise that it will also need to be changed in the not too distant future. We are currently looking at the options available and the timescales involved in laying a new surface. As you can imagine, there will be a substantial cost involved. We are also aware that Palmerston is an old stadium and plans to upgrade different areas have been considered, with the aim of making it a safer and more comfortable environment for spectators. All these plans cost money of course, and it is very much a balancing act to maximise the playing budget whilst upgrading facilities.
We continue to have conversations with interested parties wishing to take on the Queen of the South Cafe again and negotiations are ongoing with this and we will advise you as soon as anything is confirmed. Understandably, in the current economic climate, this has taken longer than we hoped.
Lochmaben and KGV continue to grow and we feel it is vital that we have a place in the community promoting Health and Well Being and sporting activities. The redevelopment of KGV is still very much at the forefront and again we will update you as and when plans are finalised. In the meantime, KGV and the Arena are used by Dumfries Academy on a weekly basis for PE classes.
All members of our reserve and under 18 squads will study for their coaching badges in the New Year in association with the SFA. This follows Palmerston hosting a CPD event for the football authority in the past month. This should then give our young players the chance of an alternative career should playing not work out as planned.
Last week, Finlay Jack and Dan Armstrong completed a training course as part of “ The Changing Room Project “ which encourages men to open up and talk about mental health. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 and a support project will be announced by the club very soon.
The club was recently awarded a grant from the National Lottery Eco Fund in support of a project aiming to conquer food waste and poverty. The Queens supermarket will give an opportunity for those most in need to come to Palmerston and select food products as if they were in a regular store. The project aims to remove the stigma attached to foodbanks and allows customers to pay what they can afford, or take goods for free. Any revenue generated will be reinvested in the food hub.
A new link with D&G College has been agreed which will see 12 students based at Palmerston to study Sport & Recreation at SCQF level 5. A press release will follow soon and again this provides local young people with a chance to further their education while forming a bond with the club. The course will involve participation in community projects but will also allow students to participate in the matchday experience.
The Community Trust sees disability sport as a key area and after teaming up with The Usual Place for work placement schemes the club has been awarded our Disability Confident and Disability Committed Employer awards. We hope to make major strides forward as regards our community work in this respect.
Hopefully that provides supporters with an indication of the off field work which was carried out in 2021, and a flavour of what is in the pipeline for 2022. The Board wishes to place on record our thanks for your loyal support and hopefully the form of the team will take an upturn in the coming weeks. In the meantime we hope you have a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.