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U-16s go free, scrapped ...


scotty
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Well not really (or at all) ... but why pass up the chance to use an announcement as a stick to beat the club.

My only worries about the new way of administering this is that for away fans it may have been an incentive for people to come along to games they wouldn't normally attend if they could bring along their kids free to a game. I'm thinking of neutrals.

Secondly I would hope that U-16 season tickets can be bought without purchasing an adult one. Hopefully the club will have worked out the pros and cons of the changes.

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36 minutes ago, scotty said:

Well not really (or at all) ... but why pass up the chance to use an announcement as a stick to beat the club.

My only worries about the new way of administering this is that for away fans it may have been an incentive for people to come along to games they wouldn't normally attend if they could bring along their kids free to a game. I'm thinking of neutrals.

Secondly I would hope that U-16 season tickets can be bought without purchasing an adult one. Hopefully the club will have worked out the pros and cons of the changes.

To me one of the major benefits of the kids go free scheme was the ability for non-regular fans (or non-Thistle fans, even) to turn up on the day with their kids. Maybe they’d catch the bug and keep returning etc. Another major benefit was that local kids maybe around 13-16 (again, who might not be regulars or even Thistle fans) might turn up on the day and, again, catch the bug.

This change would seem to make that much less likely, which seems a pity. 

Edited by KemoAvdiu
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48 minutes ago, scotty said:

Well not really (or at all) ... but why pass up the chance to use an announcement as a stick to beat the club.

My only worries about the new way of administering this is that for away fans it may have been an incentive for people to come along to games they wouldn't normally attend if they could bring along their kids free to a game. I'm thinking of neutrals.

Secondly I would hope that U-16 season tickets can be bought without purchasing an adult one. Hopefully the club will have worked out the pros and cons of the changes.

I don't think the free for under 16's extended to away fans. I might be wrong though.

I've had two under 16 season tickets for 6 years now. I have always gone for the £60 nominated seat option just so we were supporting the club in a small financial way. My son is now 16 so will not qualify. So he'll be an under 18. I'm pay as I go so hope I don't need to shell out for an adult just to qualify for an under 18.

What I do know is that the system has been being abused as several of my son's pals who are a year older than him and didn't qualify last season, continued to get in free. I'm not criticising those kids, I used to do it myself during the 70's and 80's cos I looked younger, but that is costing the club money so seems like this might be a forced route to go down. 

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43 minutes ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

Aye that popped into my mind. I'd assume tho' that Gerry B will be more than au fait with that sort of thing given his youth academy past.

Taking people’s data for being part of a team and taking people’s (children’s) data for marketing or whatever are completely different kettles of fish. I’m sure the GDPR statement when you sign up will clarify this, but handling and protection of children’s data is a mine field 

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The original idea was that it would encourage local kids to "wander in " and hopefully get the Thistle Bug or Young Fans who would bring there Mates and Peer Pressure would convert them - in short what they are proposing goes against the original principles and is simply making it available to current Fans - of all the things to cut

Kids Go Free is the last one 

So its an attempt to cut the number of Kids Go Free Tickets - simple as that  - its worked for 10 Years there is no need to change it on any level 

Funny enough the Person who was always adamant that local Kids should be able to walk up and get a Ticket on Matchday was David Beattie - he considered it a key part of Kids Go Free - but we have New Leaders - different views of what its about I suppose 

In one of the event Days ( Red & Yellow Day ) we managed to get over 1000 U16 to the game - that was a Proud Day for those involved 

Nor will I ever forget when the BBC News at 10 ( UK ) re big Headlines and at No3 they said "and we will be going live to Partick Thistle to look at there Kids GO Free Campaign - Ami Small & Stuart Mcphee put in a 14 Hour Shift that day   

Now apply for a Season Ticket - Sad Day - we were 100% committed to this idea - 100% now its another chip away 

For me this beyond anything is simply end of the line - time for change  

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From the Official Site:

Since 2008, Partick Thistle has been committed to making football as affordable as possible for families through its Kids Go Free initiative.

Supporters under the age of 16 will continue to get free access to Ladbrokes Championship matches for the 2019/20 season, but they will require to be signed up for a free U16 season ticket to do so. There will be provision to sign up for a free season ticket before all matches at the Energy Check stadium at Firhill, but supporters will no longer be able to pick up a one-off free ticket ahead of kick off.

The U16 season ticket remains completely free in the family section with the standard £25 booking fee applicable for seats outside that section. Alternatively, young supporters will automatically receive a free season ticket when signing up for a Junior Jags package.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Thistle Chief Executive, Gerry Britton, said:

“The Board of Directors and I remain committed to allowing under 16s to watch football for free at The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill. This won’t change that. But we have reached the point where we do need to be able to keep track of those young fans who are in the stadium on a match day. Having our young supporters sign up for a free season ticket is the easiest way to do that.

“We also currently have no reliable record of how many under 16s regularly use the scheme, or who those supporters are. This makes it very difficult for the Club to communicate with them and almost impossible to get any feedback. This change to the scheme should help improve what we are able to offer our young supporters and will certainly help us engage more effectively with them in the long run.”

Under 16 tickets will be available for £5 to anyone not wishing to sign up for a free season ticket.

Details on how you can sign up for an U16 season ticket will be released alongside the launch of 2019/20 season ticket sales.

 

 

Am I the only one who thinks this sounds fair enough?

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Nope, I agree with you Always. As I posted earlier it sounds fine in principle. I also get JJ's point as well. What was decided under DB is now being altered slightly, isn't everything organic though?

 

There is also an additional aspect to this that some might not be aware of. The CYP Scotland act 2014 and the children Scotland act 1995 covers parental obligations over children. So at present there would be children (under 16) inside the stadium without adult supervision. This makes the club responsible for that childs care whilst the child is in the stadium. It could also be argued that even after the child leaves the stadium and until the child is back in the care of their parent the club could still be seen as the responsible person for that child. Under the present system the club employes any kids, unsupervised by an adult charged with their care, can pitch up at the porta cabin, get a ticket and enter the stadium unsupervised. In effect a free creche. 

It's the same with a lot of organisations, cinemas, sports centres etc and they are starting to catch on that they might, under extremely unfortunate circumstances, be liable for that childs care whilst on their premises. It's a bit of a minefield and up until now the clubs been fortunate nothing untoward has befallen any unsupervised child in the ground. Perhaps this is the or one of the motivations and from a safety aspect it makes complete sense.

 

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1 hour ago, Thistleberight said:

Nope, I agree with you Always. As I posted earlier it sounds fine in principle. I also get JJ's point as well. What was decided under DB is now being altered slightly, isn't everything organic though?

 

There is also an additional aspect to this that some might not be aware of. The CYP Scotland act 2014 and the children Scotland act 1995 covers parental obligations over children. So at present there would be children (under 16) inside the stadium without adult supervision. This makes the club responsible for that childs care whilst the child is in the stadium. It could also be argued that even after the child leaves the stadium and until the child is back in the care of their parent the club could still be seen as the responsible person for that child. Under the present system the club employes any kids, unsupervised by an adult charged with their care, can pitch up at the porta cabin, get a ticket and enter the stadium unsupervised. In effect a free creche. 

It's the same with a lot of organisations, cinemas, sports centres etc and they are starting to catch on that they might, under extremely unfortunate circumstances, be liable for that childs care whilst on their premises. It's a bit of a minefield and up until now the clubs been fortunate nothing untoward has befallen any unsupervised child in the ground. Perhaps this is the or one of the motivations and from a safety aspect it makes complete sense.

 

Or given everything else thats going on its another Cost Cutting Exercise  ? Which do you think is the more likely 

Its complete nonsense changing the Rules - we have a Big Empty Stadium  

 

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29 minutes ago, Jordanhill Jag said:

Or given everything else thats going on its another Cost Cutting Exercise  ? Which do you think is the more likely 

Its complete nonsense changing the Rules - we have a Big Empty Stadium  

 

Don't see how this is cost cutting. Look, I'm on the same page with concerns about how our club is being run but this is just silly, complaining about this change. It's churlish to use this policy change to have a dig at the board. The rational behind this is completely understandable. 

I completely get what you and your mates/colleagues started and the principle that local kids would rock up and get in for free and you make a good arguement that if these types of attendees are still attending then they might not come anymore. Time will tell but as I posted earlier, there are quite a few kids I know who are pals of my son and are now 17 going on 18 who were still asking for and getting a free ticket. And they're jags fans. They'll still go to games.

Perhaps a suggestion to GB that kids walking up who are 12 or under as it's harder for older kids of 16 to 17  to look younger, could still get a free ticket. It's still a version of what your guys created, perhaps not as good but the premise is still there.

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5 hours ago, AlwaysOutnumbered... said:

From the Official Site:

Since 2008, Partick Thistle has been committed to making football as affordable as possible for families through its Kids Go Free initiative.

Supporters under the age of 16 will continue to get free access to Ladbrokes Championship matches for the 2019/20 season, but they will require to be signed up for a free U16 season ticket to do so. There will be provision to sign up for a free season ticket before all matches at the Energy Check stadium at Firhill, but supporters will no longer be able to pick up a one-off free ticket ahead of kick off.

The U16 season ticket remains completely free in the family section with the standard £25 booking fee applicable for seats outside that section. Alternatively, young supporters will automatically receive a free season ticket when signing up for a Junior Jags package.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Thistle Chief Executive, Gerry Britton, said:

“The Board of Directors and I remain committed to allowing under 16s to watch football for free at The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill. This won’t change that. But we have reached the point where we do need to be able to keep track of those young fans who are in the stadium on a match day. Having our young supporters sign up for a free season ticket is the easiest way to do that.

“We also currently have no reliable record of how many under 16s regularly use the scheme, or who those supporters are. This makes it very difficult for the Club to communicate with them and almost impossible to get any feedback. This change to the scheme should help improve what we are able to offer our young supporters and will certainly help us engage more effectively with them in the long run.”

Under 16 tickets will be available for £5 to anyone not wishing to sign up for a free season ticket.

Details on how you can sign up for an U16 season ticket will be released alongside the launch of 2019/20 season ticket sales.

 

 

Am I the only one who thinks this sounds fair enough?

Reading between the lines - there have been a couple of incidents involving the kids. This is maybe an attempt to curb  it ?

Edited by Lenziejag
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16 minutes ago, Lambies Lost Doo said:

It's still free.

It still applies to walk ups.

It still applies to randoms.

They just need to fill a form.

More hyperbole.

Is that true ?

Free season ticket only available for the family section ? If the kids wanted to go in the North stand they would need to pay £25 -or have I got this wrong ?

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7 minutes ago, Lambies Lost Doo said:

Is that a big problem?

I'm all for raising issues about the club and how it's run.  But when it's a constant pile on of this and that the real message gets lost and people switch off.

What is the real message ?

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9 minutes ago, jlsarmy said:

What is the real message ?

Ibsusoect the real message might be this,

Some kids are taking the p1ss and have spoiled it for kids who 

A/ are genuinely under 16

and

B/ behave and add to the atmosphere. 

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2 minutes ago, Thistleberight said:

Ibsusoect the real message might be this,

Some kids are taking the p1ss and have spoiled it for kids who 

A/ are genuinely under 16

and

B/ behave and add to the atmosphere. 

That’s all true , could we not just get a few extra stewards to check that u16s were as it says under 16 .

There are kids / people who are ripping it but now what it’s saying if any under 16s fancy watching a game as a one off game they’ve got to get a season ticket.

It’s kinda the same as making games all ticket with no pay at the gate , you find the stadiums half empty because people haven’t got the time to get tickets in advance or want the hassle in their busy lives . Do we really want to dissuade any future supporters from going to games ?

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18 minutes ago, jlsarmy said:

That’s all true , could we not just get a few extra stewards to check that u16s were as it says under 16 .

There are kids / people who are ripping it but now what it’s saying if any under 16s fancy watching a game as a one off game they’ve got to get a season ticket.

It’s kinda the same as making games all ticket with no pay at the gate , you find the stadiums half empty because people haven’t got the time to get tickets in advance or want the hassle in their busy lives . Do we really want to dissuade any future supporters from going to games ?

Correct - its always going to be an issue ref Kids at the Game - you simply manage it  

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55 minutes ago, Lambies Lost Doo said:

Is that a big problem?

I'm all for raising issues about the club and how it's run.  But when it's a constant pile on of this and that the real message gets lost and people switch off.

No they need to apply in advance for a Season Ticket - so we dont have any Walk Ups - thats a Major Change and goes against the whole concept of encouraging local kids off the Streets   

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