By Oliver Gaudion
August 13 2003

On the 9th and 10th August the BRISTrust began to turn its talk into positive action, by paying for and manning a stand at the extremely popular Bristol Balloon Fiesta. A small promotions group led by the Trust’s promotions officer were in attendance with the aim of promoting the club in preparation for the coming season, as well as attracting new members to the Trust itself.

As a show of support for the Trust, the club helped with many of the resources required. Three 1st Team squad members (Richard Skuse, Chris Morgan and Sean Marsden) were in attendance on Saturday afternoon to further strengthen the ties between the supporters and the young Shoguns squad.

The Trust also intend to buy a season ticket for the winner of the ‘free prize draw’ they ran during the event which has helped to bolster theirs and the clubs mailing list (359 people entered the prize draw). The winner of this draw will be drawn at the public meeting on Thursday 14th August at the Memorial Stadium, 7.30pm.

4 people were persuaded to sign up to the Trust on the day (including a certain Dave Hilton, Bristol’s new captain and player-coach for the coming season) and many more were interested enough to take away Trust leaflets and application forms.

Much work was done in raising the profile of the club itself after 8 months of turmoil, including the promotion of forthcoming games against Newport (Rodney Parade, Fri 15th Aug, 7.15pm k.o.), Fiji (Memorial Stadium, Bristol, Wed 27th Aug, 7.15pm k.o.) and Penzance & Newlyn (Memorial Stadium, Bristol, Sun 7th Sept, 3pm k.o.).

The stand manners were also treated to a number of visits from a few old friends, as players past and present all wandered up to say hello.

Overall the event was a fantastic success in promoting both the Club and the Trust, as well as in helping to feed the flames of excitement gripping the support as the new season draws ever closer. With a young, talented and predominantly Bristolian squad all chomping at the bit to ‘get out and play’, the Trust hopes the supporters are as hungry in the coming weeks of euphoria, desolation and hopefully…success!

You can still contribute to that success if you have not already done so by joining the Trust for as little as £20. Contact us now to request an application form at:
Phone: 0870 246 7625
Address: Box 365, 14 Clifton Down Road, Bristol, BS8 4BF
E-mail: enquiries@brist.org.uk
Website: www.brist.org.uk
Or simply turn up at the meeting on the 14th and pay on the night.

Its almost here!

Oliver Gaudion
BRISTrust Promotions