Might be wrong here, but I can't see WISCA getting into bed with the rest of the groups, I've been to Quins twice with them on weekend trips' staying at firstly Stevenage and then Feltham and had two fantastic weekends', BUT the wisca people including Lady Di are stauch TR fans imo and would take a lot of persuading to come on board.

I've never been involved with any supporters association until now, however the fact that the trust has been formed, to galvanise all supporters for the best of WT, seems the most important and probably only reason anyone should need.
I'm presuming that as the formerly official supporters club of WT, WiSCA will become almost obsolete should the WTST have the backing of the club, equally if enough members join the WTST from WiSCA it's numbers will drop and the WTST will be the largest group.
If as you say WiSCA is more aligned to TR than WT, then that explains perhaps their reluctance to be part of the WTST and also why we should just leave them to their own.

As I have said its only my opinion, but it would appear that some people are still loyal to the Richardson family and therefore reluctant to embrace the new regime, the reason I mentioned the two wisca trips was because of the Richardson family envolvement in them leaving me with the feeling that it might not be that simple trying to get them on board if there is any bitterness over the way they percieved to have been treated.

So we will have the Wakefield Trinity Supporters Trust and the Ted Richardson Supporters Trust? See what ends up more popular in the end....

If that is the case, then WiSCA as a WT supporters association are pretty much defunct anyway.
Wasn't the I in the anacronym "independent" how ironic.
Clearly now the way forward for supporters of the club is with the trust and affiliated groups.

Which brings it back to the question as to what do each of the groups offer? One has the ear of the club, and a mandate from the fans, and the other has.....?

I don't know anything about WISCA or any of the other supporters groups; what I do know however is that the ST is not starting out with a blank sheet of paper - whatever the relative merits or affiliations of the various groups, the fact is that people have put time, energy, emotion and dedication into them and in their day, I'm sure they were the best thing since sliced bread.

Given all of that, don't you think it's unreasonable to expect all the existing groups to blink themselves out of existence, just because the ST is the new best thing? It may happen eventually, but it's very unlikely to happen over night.

As far as I'm aware we aren't asking them to 'blink themselves out of extinction'. We are merely asking them and their members to support the ST so it can become the 'one true voice' that the club wants. All other groups are completely independent and able to function in what ever way they feel fit. It would just be easier if any concerns were raised to the ST and those concerns voiced to all the fans and the club, not just a minority. Saves the same thing being talked about/voiced to the club over and over again.

Independent until it became 'integrated' with the Supporters Club, because, if memory serves me correctly, the club only wanted one supporters group.

*****

Will be nice with the Trust, as alluded to by Sandal Cat, that this will be for the good of the club and it's future, rather than used for tittle tattle and such from the top table of the club.

I thnk thats the only way to build up trust from supporters and the only way the trust will work, its been on the minds of the steering group from day one and they have been very cautious in the way they've dealt with it.

Once again it needs to be said that its going to take time to build up trust and get a strong membership.

Apologies - I didn't make myself clear; I'm 100% supportive of the Trust and the proud owner of share number 66 - I think the approach that's been taken in terms of inviting the existing groups to the table is a good one, and I hope it works.

My post was aimed at RichieWarlord and the others who seem exasperated that the pre-existing supporters groups aren't immediately coming into the fold; the point I was trying to make is that from their perspective, the ST is the new kid on the block and as such, they're entitled to take some time before they make a decision about affiliating, or not.

As the inventor of the name WiSCA I can categorically say that the 'i' was small as it stood for nothing. Before WiSCA was WISA - and in that name the I was for independant. The name WiSCA was kind of borrowed from RoSPA with the name created to include the phrase 'Supporters Club' when the original merger took place.

There is much water yet to pass under the bridge, but before people write-off WiSCA, please remember the valuable work they have contributed to the club on match-days and beyond for many years - work which I'm sure the Trust would wish to embrace. WiSCA can, in effect, continue on their own path, as have SB, but under the umbrella of and sharing the benefits of the inter-relationships between all of the various groups therein.

Let us not be niaive though - there may well be disagreements along the way and the Trust won't please everyone all of the time, but that's the point - it's a fully democratic organisation formed under the protection of the Co-operative society - and as such it is open to people of all groups etc to join, vote and even stand for election. In time it's position will become clearer - but it is most definitely is the product of whatever we, the supporters, make it to be!

And the ST wouldn't have it any other way. There is no pressure on any group or individual to join, it wouldn't work otherwise. The more people that join the bigger the voice we the fans have. Any chairman would be silky not to listen to 80 90 or even 100% of the clubs fans.

P.s I'm the poor sole that ended up with writers cramp on Wednesday morning after all the certificates had been written.

Talking of WiSCA, does anyone know the number to ring to book a place on the coach for Friday?

And the ST wouldn't have it any other way. There is no pressure on any group or individual to join, it wouldn't work otherwise. The more people that join the bigger the voice we the fans have. Any chairman would be silky not to listen to 80 90 or even 100% of the clubs fans.

P.s I'm the poor sole that ended up with writers cramp on Wednesday morning after all the certificates had been written.

I know Im being thick here but what does this, or any of the supporters bodies, aim to achieve, and before anyone has a go its a genuine query, what are the actual aims of the relevant groups? I dont include the disabled supporters group in this as I know their aims and how they are going about achieving them.

Oh and before Al bans me I understand squadbuilder too!

From the website:

Mission Statement

To provide a democratic united voice for the supporters of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and the Community it serves.

Trust Identity

Trust and Honesty, Respect and Integrity
Ensure that we act as a professional organisation respecting all individuals and their opinions promoting an honest environment based on fact.

Communication and Information
Act as a conduit for information between the club and the supporters ensuring this is in both directions.

Community and Unity
Support the club throughout the area in all age groups. We especially need to help the club promote themselves within the community and encourage the players to visit/help at schools and develop the junior support.

Sustainable and Endurable
Help support and safeguard the club to ensure it has a future, to help manage the supporter’s expectations.

Positive and Proactive
Promote the club to the supporters helping to be positive. We need to look to the future leading the rest of the Super League by setting the example. Wouldn’t it be good if the RFL set the targets for franchises on things our club has already achieved?

Objects

The Trust’s objectives are, either itself or through a subsidiary company or society trading for the benefit of the community and acting under its control:


■To strengthen the bonds between the club and the supporters of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and the community it serves and to represent the interest of the supporters in the running of the club.


■To encourage the club to take account of the interests of its supporters and of the community it serves in its decisions.


■To encourage and promote the principle of supporter representation to and on the board of any company owning or controlling the club.

already read all that TRB and whilst its like someone starting a meeting and saying they are a facilitator I cant see a clear aim for the group, Wisca at some point I could as it was the ground, squadbuilder say what it is and its clear, whilst I seriously respect people like sandal cat and the clan, who i know are involved in this, this to me is an agenda, not a statement of intent.

Plenty of liason, voices to be heard, discussions to be had, but purpose??

Ultimately - to seek representation on the board - possibly even ownership of the club, but that is entirely subject to the position of the club and currently there are no opportunities for this.

What it can do for now is create a conduit - somewhere the fans can have an opinion with teeth and somewhere the club can go to for help. The idea / benefit of having all the supporters groups represented is to try and co-ordinate events and share resources etc.... but it was not intended to replace anyone and hence ALL the groups were invited and attended earlier meetings and remain invited, although clearly the events of the past 6 months have been difficult for many adjust to.

to be fair for a supporters trust to get ownership of a club the club would have to be in a pretty dire situation, thanks anyway phil, but I would like to have seen aims that could be seen as judgeable such as;

The aim of the trust is to increase WLTRLFC core fan base by 1500 by 2013
The aim of the trust is to achieve through events and fundrasing 3 player sponsorships per year.
The aim of the trust is to see a lasting memorial placed in a position of prominance the the legends seen at belle vue by the time we leave said ground.

What you have to remember is that the ST was initially conceived when the preverbial had well and truly hit the fan. Since then AG has come in and it seems the club is on the up. It may be that it's 10 years (hopefully never) before it hits the fan again. If it does the ST will hopefully be in a position through it's members (the fans) to help the club out of it in what ever way. IMO the major short term aim of the ST is to open up the channels of communications out of and more importantly into the club. Look at how much the new regime have listened already. Surely this can only be aided by the formation of the ST.

This is Wakefield. Together we are stronger.

Fair enough - but I would consider them to be short term goals - and the Trust is aiming to be around for much longer than that. There is nothing to prevent those being goals within the Trust, but that is something for the committee to consider and for the moment the main target is to achieve sufficient membership for the machine to work properly.

I would suggest that if you wish to further the aims suggested, you get the attention of the current committee members and ask them to put the items before the committee. That might sound long winded, but it is felt that it is more important to get these things right than to rush things and get them wrong! If you ain't happy with the response you get - put yourself up for election, but you have to be a member first!



PS - as someone else posted - we can all remember a time when we were perfectly happy with our lot under the previous owners and there is much work to do to ensure that the future of this club really is secured on strong new foundations - albeit things are encouraging right now.

Everythings changed since this trust began Chappie, in the early days it maybe had a different role to play, thats all changed. That and the people who are setting this up are only a steering group (a good one mind

)

IMO it would hardly be fair to state long term aims from a steering group that will be standing down in August and then doing as its membership wishes from that point on.

I understand the question and thats the best way i can answer it, maybe someone else can offer a better explanation.

I accept that but it also true that the trust was being discussed before said solids hit the fan, if we had not found an owner then perhaps its purpose to me would have been clearer, ie find one or do the very best we as supporters can to keep the club alive.

as you also say its there is if anything goes wrong in the future, and whilst I accept that I question the value of a an army being formed that currently has no war to fight, and if a major benefactor comes to the table does it in fact deminish the need for this group? Am only asking I may be completely and utterly wrong, so please no one get on any horses!!

understood mate and also would like to make sure it does not undertmine squadbuilder, which I know you are involved with, for me its either have one big group which encompasses all these things or smaller roups for specific tasks, ie disabled group, SB. This seems a bit too woolly and unfocussed for me at present, but of course il be joining at some point and standing for election!!!