Just a reminder that the following Centre is not running tonight: FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CENTRE Bishopmill Primary School. 6pm-7pm. Messages have been sent to all participants. See you all next week!

***GOALKEEPER CENTRE UPDATE*** Due to frozen surfaces of entrances and pitches, the goalkeeper centre has been cancelled tonight, for player safety. SMS messages were sent out to each participants earlier this afternoon. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

WE ARE NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR OUR EVER POPULAR EASTER HOLIDAY FOOTBALL CAMPS WHEN Week One: Monday 2nd April to Friday 6th April. Week Two: Monday 9th April to Friday 13th April. WHERE Lesser Borough Briggs, Elgin. TIMES 10am – 11.30am WHO FOR For Boys & Girls 5-7 years olds (12 Spaces) INTRODUCTION TO FOOTBALL 8-9 year olds (16 Spaces) FOUNDATION LEVEL 10-12 year olds (14 Spaces) ADVANCED LEVEL COST £30.00* per week and includes a participation trophy. *50% discount for extra siblings. *20% for Elgin City F.C. Football Academy players. To download a booking form, follow http://www.elgincity.net/?p=7960 For more information or to obtain a booking form contact Craigh Stewart via the following options: community@elgincity.com. PM the page. 01343 551114. Visit Borough Briggs to collect directly. Please be aware that spaces WILL NOT be given unless form and fee is received. There is limited places so please book early to avoid disappointment.

***MID TERM BREAK*** Participants are reminded that the following sessions are NOT running between Friday 9th February & Monday 12th February: FRIDAY Football Centre, Bishopmill Primary School, 6-7pm. SATURDAY Little Dribblers, Elgin Community Centre Sports Hall, 9-10am. Football Centre, Lesser Borough Briggs, 11-12pm. MONDAY Girls Only Football Centre, Elgin High School, 6-7pm. Football Centre, Elgin High School, 6-7pm. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Enjoy the break!!!

‪Well done to Lossiemouth F.C. U20s who beat Elgin Thistle F.C. in the final of today’s Moray Challenge Cup! Over 70 men competed for over 4 hours in the competition! What a shift from everyone!‬ Full report and photos to follow next week!

Elgin City FC Event practises positivity to begin year of '365 Brighter Days' A campaign to encourage Scots to practise a positive outlook to life throughout 2018, is being led by Breathing Space, Scotland's mental health helpline. Research shows that positive emotions such as optimism benefit our mental wellbeing. The 365 Brighter Days campaign is designed to offer a year round approach to positivity. Elgin City FC are once again hosting a football games for local teams to promote good mental health for all on the back of Breathing Space Day which was celebrated on 1st February. Tony McLaren, Breathing Space National Coordinator, explained: "Life has its ups and downs and it's sometimes really difficult seeing the positive. Looking for something positive every day helps us to develop resilience and cope better. Encouraging a positive mindset through simple approaches such as mindfulness, breathing techniques, exercise and positive interactions with others, is important for our wellbeing. The annual football event arranged by Elgin City FC is a great way to remind us that exercise is good not only for our physical health but even more for our mental Health and Wellbeing. Talking can also be a positive first step for people suffering from poor mental health. The more we talk about things, the better life can be for us and that should you be suffering some form of distress that phoning Breathing Space is a positive first step for anyone feeling low, anxious or stressed." Maureen Watt MSP, Minister for Mental Health, said: "The 365 Brighter Days campaign - led by NHS24’s Breathing Space helpline - is a great way to remind ourselves to see the positive in every day. This can be something as simple as spending time with friends or family. " Breathing Space is a free telephone service where advisors offer care, compassion and advice over the phone to anyone feeling low, depressed or anxious. If you think you need Breathing Space, the service is open evenings and weekends on 0800 83 85 87. MORAY CHALLENGE CUP Sunday the 4th of February was the date of the 3rd Moray Challenge Cup, hosted by Elgin City’s Community Football Scheme in partnership with Breathing Space. Sport plays a significant role in bringing people together and helping them form bonds of trust, support and friendship. Over 70 adults (10 teams, referees and volunteers) competed in the tournament, in two groups of 5 with the top 4 of each group progressing to the quarter finals. The games provided spectators with a mixture of footballers young and ol... seasoned! Group One was staunch with talent! We had Toby F.C., Hutton Dressed as Lahm, Hopeman 5s, The Mad Hatters and Lossiemouth F.C U20s all competing for top spot. Group 2 was just as competitive, as it had Elgin Thistle F.C., Klopps & Robbers, Canarihnos, Bayern Bru and The Lighters (Incase they lost all their matches) vying for a place in the knockouts. It was a very cold day; however that did nothing to dampen the spirits of players and volunteers. Most of the teams arrived early and eager to go. All of the participants were given the opportunity to listen to a talk from one of the Moray Wellbeing Hubs champions. He spoke to them all about the benefits to your mental health, taking part in physical activity can provide. With the rules explained and team talks given by the managers it was time to kick off, which saw the odd player scrambling for a lost shin pad, socks and even goalie gloves! The games were played in fantastic spirits, with teams displaying some great football and playing at a high tempo. The most important thing noticed by all spectators was the community spirit on display from the majority of the teams taking part. For example, having scored a few goals quite quickly, Toby F.C. did not continue to push for more, instead, slowed down their game, allowing the opposition a chance to get forward and try to attack their goal. Another fine example, this time from group two, when one team went down to 4 men due to injury (and the substitutes nowhere to be found), the other team took one of their own players off to make sure the game remained fair. Both groups had some shock results which meant there wasn’t much between the teams, however The mad Hatters and Klopps & Robbers were the first teams to exit the competition. The quarter finals were quite one sided, except for the Toby v Canarihnos which went to sudden death penalties. Unfortunately for Toby’s however, their first penalty struck the post and the opposition did not miss! The Semi-finals proved to be just too much for Canarihnos and Hopeman 5s, who after excellent displays all afternoon, just couldn’t make the extra step to the final! The final was expected to be hotly contested between two very good sides, Thistle however couldn’t handle the young guns from Lossiemouth. Thistles intense display in the Semi-final seemed to have sapped the energy from them, and Lossiemouth U20s ran out worthy winners on the day! The tournament was played in great spirits by all and huge thanks must go to the following volunteers for their time and efforts, as well as to others for their support during the event, making it what it was: • Moray Wellbeing Hub – For providing a stall with information for players to take away. • Referees – Mike Duncan, Ariel Kapitkowski & Al Dawson (Moray & Banff RA) for putting up with the players and officiating the whole afternoon. • Drifters Fish & Chips for providing their catering services for players and volunteers. • Breathing Space for their support and providing freebies to hand out on the day. • Gary Souter for taking many pictures throughout the day. • To Katie Stewart for running the ex training and match kit stall. We hope you enjoyed the tournament and we will see you again next year.

COACH EDUCATION COURSES 2018 There will be a Youth level 1.1 'Development Activities' Course on the Main/Youth pathway Sunday 4th March 2018 at Lesser Borough Briggs 10am-4pm. Coaches can login or create accounts using the following link - https://www.scottishfalive.co.uk/scottishfa/coaches/ For more information on Coach Education visit the following link - https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/football-development/coaching/

Due to snow covering the pitches and frozen surface underneath, tomorrow’s Lesser Borough Briggs Football Centre (11-12pm) is cancelled. ☹️ Apologies for any inconvenience caused. Craigh Stewart Community Football Coordinator

ELGIN CITY F.C. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Shane Sutherland recently visited Seafield Primary School to talk to the Eco Committee. The Committee are trying to reduce food waste within the School by encouraging the pupils to eat all their vegetables! Shane highlighted to the pupils how important it was to eat all your vegetables to become fit, strong and healthy! Keep up the good work boys & girls! http://www.seafield.moray.sch.uk/school_life/eco_committee.html