The Pattaya 10’s 21st Anniversary
First of all please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in getting this invitation finalised and out to you all. I do know that many of you have been anxious to finalise your arrangements and I hope that this delay has not caused too many problems or led to your team deciding against attending. During the past three years we have faced a large number of problems that were a direct result of the outbreak of the Corona 19 virus, which meant that many countries including Thailand imposed restrictions on travel and many public gatherings including sports such as Football and Rugby.
We were subject to those restrictions and this prevented us playing competitive rugby during that period. I am very pleased to say that conditions and the restrictions that were imposed upon travel and gatherings of groups have been modified and therefore most sports events are now back to normal!!! We did manage to organize a curtailed version of our tournament last year and now we plan to return to our normal size and position in the Far East tournament calendar Chris Kays is back!!!
On behalf of the Pattaya Panthers Rugby Football Club, I would like to extend an invitation to your club to participate in the forthcoming Chris Kays Memorial Rugby Tournament 2023 aka “ The Pattaya 10’s “, this will be the 21st time that this tournament has taken place and we are pleased to announce that due strong public demand we will be returning to our spiritual home at Horseshoe Point and we are keen to reignite the spirit and atmosphere of many former tournaments which has been missing in recent years. As you are all aware this tournament is dedicated to the memory of our former captain Chris Kays, who was tragically killed in the Bali bombing in 2002.
This year’s Tournament will take place over the weekend of Saturday 29th April and Sunday 30th April 2023. In Thailand May Day ( 1st May ) is a public holiday therefore Monday will be a public holiday so there is every opportunity to come early or stay a little longer so that you can have a really enjoyable stay… make a holiday of it!!! The Chris Kays Memorial Rugby Tournament is a “CLUB” tournament and our objective is a standard commensurate with more mature teams. There is always a heavy emphasis on off the field activities and we aim to create a competitive spirit in a festive atmosphere with all the camaraderie associated with the great game of rugby.
The tournament will be played in a “round robin” format on the Saturday with each team fighting out pool games to determine the seeding for the knock out stages to be played on Sunday. Each team will have at least two games on the Sunday depending on their round robin results.
I close with my very best wishes for an enjoyable experience participating in one of the best tournaments in Thailand and South East Asia!! I wish you every success!!!. Pray that you stay safe and healthy and look forward to meeting you all again soon. I and everyone associated with the Panthers are committed to making this a tournament that will be remembered!!!
Yours in Rugby – Jim Howard – Chairman – Pattaya Panthers RFC
Committee Emails: [email protected] – y[email protected] – [email protected] – [email protected] – [email protected]
