Melbourne Meet 2024

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Hi there Gooners.

Wow what a brilliant Season it has been! We’ve certainly taken another massive step forward with the Squad pushing Ci$y all the way to the finish line.

As a result of Arsenal recently announcing the Ladies would be touring here in Melbourne at the end of the Season, preparations for the National Meet had to be swifty re-organised. Fortunately, no deposits for events developed for Sydney had been paid already so the switch was relatively painless.

Whilst last years’ Meet was also held in Melbourne, we will be enjoying different Events this year and another great opportunity to get together with Gooners from all over Australia. So, this year’s National Meet will be hosted by Melbourne again from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May.

For those who attended last year I will be repeating myself here but being familiar with Melbourne’s reputation for fickle weather, don’t say you weren’t warned to pack accordingly, shorts, sunnies, thongs, jumpers, overcoats and Wellies!!

The local Melburnian Gooners Rod Jeremiah, aka Aussie Gunnersaurus, Jon Gooner Soon, and Don ‘aving a Party Howard will be assisting with the fun Events and activities we have lined up for you to enjoy. As tends to happen at these Events we’ll all have to wait and see whether we get any ‘special’ guests joining us at some point in the proceedings.

For the recently joined Members here, the traditional National Meet has occurred every year since the Club originated back in 2007 when we achieved official status as an AFC Supporters Club. It has grown over the years, enabling us to get together to celebrate being Arsenal Fans, meet new Gooners and catch up with old Friends.

Friday 24th May 2 – 4.30pm
(planned early to enable everyone to get over to Marvel Stadium for the matches)

As per usual we kick the weekend off with the traditional Gooner Gathering Meet & Greet event.

As Gooners arrive from their various places of origin we will meet up at The Crafty Squire Hotel www.thecraftysquire.com.au located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD for an informal welcome over finger food and a couple of refreshing drinks. During this event we’ll outline the specific arrangements for the Events to be held over the weekend. The Schedule below gives you with an idea of what’s to come.

Post-match fun will be enjoyed back at the Crafty for those looking to maximise their Friiiiiiday!

Saturday 25th May

As the Friday will be a long and late night for many, Indoor Mini Golf is our first event on Saturday between 2 and 4pm. This will be held at Holey Moley at 590 Little Bourke Street in the CBD, located close to the Crafty our Hub venue. We will attempt at playing 9 Holes and share pizzas and some drinks whilst trying our ‘best’ to put a small ball into progressively smaller holes!

There will be time for a break before we gather again in the early evening at 6pm for the AASC Annual Member Dinner event at The Crafty Squire. The Arsenal Trivia Event will follow the Dinner and the Rod & Don Show will, as usual get us all racking our brains and scratching our heads trying to retrieve obscure Arsenal knowledge. Spot prizes will be given out during the Event with the winning Team receiving a Team prize and all the bragging rights!

Sunday 26th May

Sunday kicks off with our usual first Event of the day, the Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is an Event that will be held downstairs in the Crafty. We are obliged as an official Supporters Club to run this meeting every year. However, no need to stress, it takes place at the civilised time of 10.30am, enabling us to grab a strong coffee and switch on our listening ears!

The AGM provides us with the opportunity to discuss the Supporters Club activities during the past year, review the Finances and explore new ideas to improve ourselves. In addition, we formally debate and agree on new roles and personnel changes within the Club structure.

Following the AGM, we will head onto a Barefoot Lawn Bowls event at 578 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy North for the afternoon. The event will begin at 1.30pm and run through to 4.30. Depending on numbers coming in from each State we may hold an Interstate Comp. It will be interesting to see who can bowl best with a few ‘refreshments’ consumed!

After a break for those keen to discover how well they can handle hot & spicy food, we will head across the road at 5:30pm to the Horn Please an Indian Restaurant (167 St Georges Road) to refuel for our traditional Curry Night. This has become a firm favourite over the years, especially with the Ex-Pats. It can get messy so be prepared!!

Next Steps to book your Gooner Marvellous Melbs Magic weekend

To book to join us we need you to go to our website at www.arsenalaustralia.com.au and login using your Membership details and go to the Shop, where you can purchase a Meet Access Ticket for only $70. The Ticket will provide access to all Friday to Sunday events. The Events are in the main subsidised by the Club and included in the Ticket price. The exception being the Curry Dinner Event, which if attending, only 1 drink will be provided. Unless advised at the Events additional drinks on top of what is in the Meet ticket is at your own expense of course.

We urge you to book your place promptly so we can plan the numbers attending each Event.

For those who are unaware, Trams are free everywhere in the CBD area. For those staying on the perimeter of the City, you will need to purchase a Myki Travel Card when you arrive (available from machines at the Stations) for approx. $6 and load a minimum of $10. This will enable you to use Trains, Buses and the Trams that travel outside of the CBD area to places such as Fitzroy North Richmond & beachside Suburbs like St Kilda. You may need to ‘top up’ the Card as you go over the weekend.

Finally, we are looking forward to seeing as many of our Members as possible in Melbourne to enjoy catching up and share in the conclusion of a fabulous Season. See you all soon!

Cheers & COYG!
Tony Kendall
Chairman
Arsenal Australia Supporters Club