RGOA

History of the R.G.O.A.

The Romford Greyhound Owners Association (R.G.O.A.) was formed in 1977 to assist in homing retired racing greyhounds at the end of their racing career at Romford Stadium. (At the inception, Owners were invited to join the organisation for a nominal yearly fee)

Whilst Owners' greyhounds were racing at Romford Stadium, points were awarded for their performances and greyhounds that achieved the best results won monthly and yearly competitions. At the end of their careers, kennels belonging to a private trainer in Wickford were used to home them from. Our current chairman Doug Hayes was involved from 1977 in the racing side and later Irene & George Reptowski and Phil Woolf became influential in the homing side. In 1998, the committee was reinforced by a new group of Owners and the first major step (Nov 98) was to rent our own kennels (Fallowfield Kennels in Langdon Hills, Basildon) where we could kennel our retired greyhounds and from where we subsequently home them. (Advertisements were taken out in the local newspapers to promote the homing kennels). Our next step was to ensure that our fund raising events, Quiz nights, Annual Charity Night of Racing, Annual Retired Greyhound Show, Annual Dinner Dance and, from 2006, a Monthly Trophy presentation night & the RGOA shop at the Stadium become successful. In 2001, we instigated a Website (WWW.RGOA.CO.UK) to promote our retired greyhounds. (Photographs are taken of the greyhounds at our kennels twice a month and transferred to our website). Then the Bookmakers agreed to subsidise the Owners Organisation with regards to our kennel costs and in 2004 the Stadium were able to include in the race card 4 pages dedicated to the R G O A. (It is here where we carry advertisements for fund raising & reports of the racing greyhound competitions). All these improvements was rewarded with an increase in Greyhounds homed and in January 2005, the R G O A received a prestigious award from the British Greyhound Racing Board, The Award for Services to Retired Greyhounds 2004. In May 2005 , we celebrated our 1,000th greyhound homed (from Fallowfield) with guest of honour Vikki Michelle. With Coral Romford Stadium taking the decision to make membership of the R G O A mandatory for all Owners (from November 1st 2005), the support of the Stadium can only ensure the continued success of our homing procedures. In December 2006, our kennels moved from Langdon Hills to a refurbished kennel block in Ockendon Kennel complex in North Ockendon. In 2007, funds raised by our supporters through sponsored walks & other events enabled us to cover the front Paddock. All the improvements to the Kennels were made possible by private donations and significantly by financial assistance from the British Greyhound Racing Board,Coral Romford Stadium and the Stadium Bookmakers. This involvement of the Racing Principals is an indication of how the Greyhound Welfare issue is being treated seriously by the authorities of the Industry. The homing of retired racing greyhounds is an huge ongoing process, as soon as you home 1 greyhound, there are always 2 awaiting the kennel space.

The R.G.O.A. are thankful for the assistance we receive from the Coral Romford Stadium, the Racing Authorities, The Bookmakers & private donations from supporters at our Kennels and with the continued support we will continue to home as many retired greyhounds as is possible.

Membership Conditions

Membership of the RGOA is mandatory to all owners of greyhounds running at Romford under the trainership of any of the 9 contract trainers currently at Romford. (From November 2005)
Membership runs from November 1st to October 31st of the following year.
Membership costs £15 per annum (£10 from March, Ł5 from July). (from Nov 06)
Membership subscriptions are collected via Trainer's kennel bills to Owners
All greyhounds running at Romford are eligible for inclusion in the various competitions and monthly member's races.
Members can sponsor individual races with a race name of their choice through the RGOA for a minimum donation of £75. (contact any member of the Committee)
Members can get assistance in homing their retired greyhound on completion of its racing career at Romford. (contact the Kennels on 01708 640895 for information)
Members can collect a quarterly Newsletter from the General Office, advertising forthcoming events and reporting upon competitions and past events.
For further information, please visit the R G O A shop at the Stadium.
The shop supplies Greyhound food, collars & leads, books & magazines, gifts etc.

Competition Rules

Greyhounds belonging to Members become eligible for competitions from the date of joining the R G O A. To win a competition, the greyhound must be in the care of a Romford contract trainer at the end of the appropriate month /year.

(From November 1st 2005, Coral Romford Stadium made membership of the R G O A mandatory for all owners)

RACE WINNERS:
A rosette is given for each win except TROPHY or OPEN races.

Prize: A rosette is collectable from the R G O A shop.

HAT-TRICK
This is awarded to any greyhound with 3 consecutive wins in a CALENDAR MONTH (it will also be awarded to any Greyhound with 4 consecutive wins (over 2 consecutive month) that did not earn a CALENDAR MONTH hat-trick in either month)

Prize: A Commemorative Trophy & Certificate

DOG & BITCH OF THE MONTH:
This is awarded to the Dog & Bitch which achieves the highest average points score in a CALENDAR MONTH. A minimum of 4 races is required before a greyhound can be considered for this award. In the event of a tie, the greyhound with most runs will win. If still tied, the greyhound with most wins will win.

Highest average points is Total of Points divided by Number of Races

Prize: Trackside Presentation of Commemorative Trophy & Certificate with a complimentary photograph.

YEARLY AWARDS - DOG & BITCH:
These are awarded to the DOG & BITCH which achieve the highest average points score in the YEAR PERIOD. Minimum runs for Dogs: 30. Minimum runs for Bitches: 25.

Highest average points is Total of Points divided by Number of Races

Prize: A Commemorative Trophy and Jacket presented at the Annual Dinner Dance with a complimentary photograph.

Points Allocation: Race Winner - 10 , 2nd - 6 , 3rd - 4 ,4th - 3 , 5th - 2 , 6th - 1 .