Seen a strange man in orange watching Oatley FC games this season? That’s Paul Spight, and he’s been around Oatley FC for many years. His company, The Currency Exchange, proudly supports the club and we caught up with him to ask the tough questions that everyone wants answered, including why he isn’t currently wearing the club colours.
Q) Hi Paul A) Hi, OFC
Q) First things first, you supposedly love OFC but this season are playing for Lugarno FC. Whose side are you on? A) How rude. I’ve played for Oatley for many years, currently sponsor the club and have been active on the committee. This season our over-45 team fell over and will be revived next year, allowing me to come back in all my glory. Lugarno offered me an option to keep playing Friday nights.
Q) Sounds suspicious to us. Where do we play our home matches? A) Renown Park
Q) Who is our President? A) Peter Jones.
Q) What colour socks do we wear? A) Red. How long is this going to go on for?
Q) Alright then. So, you made a lucky winner at last season’s OFC Gala Dinner a millionaire. That’s a very generous donation and we thank you. A) Always happy to make people millionaires – just has to be in Indonesian Rupiah. My business is The Currency Exchange and we buy and sell foreign currency cash.
Q) Nice segue into The Currency Exchange. So, your just change cash into foreign currency, right? A) We change Aussie to foreign, foreign back to Aussie, and we also issue and reload travel cards called Cash Passports. These are a great way to take money away overseas, and also an alternative or backup to the traveller’s own credit card, because these things can get lost. We have stores inconveniently located in Wollongong and the Northern Beaches. Oatley is….mutually inconvenient.
Q) So, no branches near here for us to use? A) No, but we do have a home delivery service so can deliver currency or cards straight to people’s homes. It’s a great option.
Q) How long will it be before nobody needs to carry cash on a foreign holiday? And what will that mean to you? A) Cash is declining but there are pockets where cash is still the best. It’s usually best to have a bit of cash as well as a card – especially for small purchases. Surprisingly Japan is very cash based – Ramen houses and smaller shops are cash only. Other places like Hawaii and Vegas still love cash as well – easier to get tips! Sweden has a goal of becoming the first cashless country. They even want people to use cards to pay for toilets and other small items., and many shops and restaurants there already don’t take cash at all. Obviously the move away from cash will affect our industry, but as we also sell travel cards we are slightly insulated – I don’t need a new job just yet.
Q) Back to football. Who’s your favourite team outside of OFC? A) Tranmere Rovers.
Q) Tranmere who? A) Pride of the Wirral – newly promoted back to England’s League 1. I lived there when I was a kid. I guess it’s where I got the club sponsorship bug from – they were passing around a bucket to keep the club afloat when I first saw them play in 1983.
Q) That’s cute. What about Lugarno? Where do they come on your list? A) My catchphrase is “pass me the ball in the box and I’ll score you a goal”, as long as they keep doing that they are on the list.
Q) How do our members make use of your business? A) Via our website https://thecurrencyexchange.com.au which has links to home delivery, and other information including travel tips are regularly updated on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCurrencyExchange/
Q) Lugarno are playing Oatley. It’s 2-2 in the last minutes of the game. Who are you rooting for? A) You’re not letting this go, are you?
Q) No. Want to buy an OFC hoodie and prove your support? They’re available on TeamApp. A) I’ve already got one thanks. Bye!
As you’ll have seen, we’ve been making a transition to our new building over recent weeks. The process is almost complete, aside from some lock changes (waiting on council, details to follow) and our organization of training gear to their final positions in new racks.
We need your help in three key areas: 1) Training Gear and Other Equipment: Let’s get this right. Space is limited and we’ll need your help to ensure items are returned to clearly labelled areas so that everybody can find items easily when arriving for training. This will be finalised shortly and signace placed in the room. 2) Changing Room Use: If your team makes use of the new changing rooms, it is your team’s responsibility to ensure that the home AND away rooms are clean of rubbish and other items, immediately following EVERY TIME they are used. Let’s make sure that the team following you arrives to a clean environment. 3) Matchday Equipment – Caged Area: This is the equipment located near the tank. This equipment is only to be used for match day – not for training. Items such as witches hats, poles, balls etc are located in the gear room
Committee members will monitor usage of these areas until everything is functioning smoothly – please ensure your players take pride in the club and the facilities that we share.
The St George Warriors are a fully integrated special needs program that provides the opportunity for players to participate, engage and enjoy mainstream football.
Check out the flyer below for contact details and training times.
St George Warriors you are #Awesome
Registrations for 2019 at Oatley Football Club are now open and we’d like to communicate some changes to the female age groups on offer this year from St George Football Association.
SGFA will continue to offer a graded U16G and All Age Women (AAW) competition just as it did in 2018.
In 2019, two new age ranges for female football will also be offered:
U21 Women’s competition for females aged 17-21years (16 year olds may also ‘play up’ in this age group if desired)
O30 Women’s competition for females aged over 30years who may not wish to play in AAW.
These new age groups have been created by SGFA for the purpose of retaining existing players in these age ranges and attracting new players who may have felt the previous age ranges did not cater to their needs.
Oatley FC encourages you to consider registering for teams in these new age ranges if they apply to you and are something that interests you. In the event that there are not enough registrants to form a team in either of the new age ranges, then we will contact you to discuss options regarding AAW teams.
Oatley F.C.’s Gala Dinner was held last Saturday evening at The Kyle Bay. Over 100 Oatley F.C. members and guests dressed up for a night of good food, great company, prizes and purchases, and our DJ kept the dancers going.
The event, hosted brilliantly by Renown canteen BBQ boss John Stanton, was a great success with many highlights, including:
Speeches by VIP guests Mr David Coleman MP and Mr Mark Coure MP; who are both big supporters of local football and continue to generously assist Oatley FC.
Oatley F.C. President Peter Jones’ speech; commenting on our recent restructure to become ‘Oatley Football Club’ and the advancement in club-wide facilities, and then encouraging Oatley F.C. to look forward with a focus on the development of coaches and players within the club.
Presentations and recognition of attending sponsors from Vortex Property Group, Alland Group, and The Currency Exchange
30 year service award to Russell Robinson.
The Gala Dinner Raffle; topped off with the “Millionaire Prize” and cash shower courtesy of Paul Spight.
The conclusion of the Silent Auction; where we nearly had to pull out the yellow cards as people protected their bids in the last few minutes.
Besides being an entertaining night, the event raised nearly $6,000 which will go towards further improvements to Oatley FC’s facilities, gear and coaching resources. We sold or raffled off 57 items; congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who placed a bid or bought a raffle ticket.
Oatley F.C. would like to thank all attendees, in particular our VIPs; the team at The Kyle Bay for the glamorous setting and delicious food; and the following donors:
