Last updated on Wednesday, 9^th April 2008

Welcome to the West Anglia Branch (WABITS)website....

WABITS Branch Meetings

Thanks to all those who attended the recent Branch meeting in Bedford.

We have set a date for our next meeting - it will be on Wednesday 30th April 2008.

The venue is likely to be The Cricketers Arms pub in Bedford. We will confirm this in the next few days....

The minutes from the 2007 AGM can be downloaded (in MS Word format)

WABITS Ten Pin Bowling

Max has arranged a Ten Pin Bowling match against the MK Dons Supporters Club.

Date: ~~Wednesday 2nd April 2008~~ – POSTPONED in respect of Mark Avery

Venue: City Limits, Central Milton Keynes

Time: 7pm

If any WABITS or West Anglia Yahoo Group members are interested in coming along to take part (or even boost the "away" attendance!!!), please drop an email to Max (treasurer@itfc-blues.com)

Signed ITFC Shirt

Ipswich Town have recently donated a signed white away shirt to the Branch - it is brand new and still has the tags attached (see pic below).

'The West Anglia Branch of the Supporters Club (WABITS) are raffling a signed 2006-8 Away Shirt in memory of Luton-based season ticket holder, Mark Avery, who died suddenly at the age of 46 on 28th March 2008. Mark was Webmaster of the WABITS website (www.itfc-blues.com), and regularly travelled to Portman Road with his 6 year old son, Matthew, where they sat in Block FF of the Britannia Stand.

His friends at WABITS agreed to raffle the shirt, which had originally been donated by the Club to help towards Branch funds, to raise money instead for a gift for young Matthew. The raffle is open to all, with donations of £5 earning each contributor 5 numbers in the prize draw, which will be held at the Supporters Club Awards Evening in Legends on Sunday 4th May. To enter, please email secretary@itfc-blues.com for further details.

Mark Avery – RIP – A True Blue

WABITS Chairman, Chris Robinson, hopes that Town fans from all areas will contribute towards this appeal. 'Mark was a very special guy - a dedicated Town supporter, but also a real family man. He regularly made the 200 mile round trip to Portman Road, often with his 6 year old son, Matthew, who was recently diagnosed as having Aspergers Syndrome. Obviously, our thoughts are with his wife and two children at this time. We want to raise money for a gift for young Matthew - the exact details of which we will discuss at a more suitable time with Mark's widow. Some of our members shared the trip to Scunthorpe with Mark recently, and his death has come as a shock to us all. However, we have been overwhelmed by the messages of support that we have received from the Club and fellow Town fans, and we hope that as many people as possible will take part in the raffle.'

Mark's funeral will take place at St.Luke's Church in Leagrave, Luton, at 2.00pm on Monday 14th April. Town fans attending have been invited by his family to wear their Ipswich shirts as a mark of respect for one of the Club's most loyal supporters.'

The raffle will be run on similar lines to the one for the signed ball last year:

Entry to the draw will be £5.00 for five tickets
To "reserve" a tickets, please send an email to secretary@itfc-blues.com.
You will then need to either send a cheque for the total for the number of entries to the draw (payable to "Max Roe" – address secretary@itfc-blues.com ) or give cash to Chris, Martyn or Max in person, or at the Branch meeting on 30th April
Only entries which have been fully paid for will be entered into the draw on 4th May 2008
There are no limits to the number of tickets any one person can buy
There is no obligation for the winner to give any proceeds from any possible future sale of the shirt (eg on eBay)

WABITS - so, who are we then?

The West Anglia Branch was formed in 2003, and covers an area roughly the same as that of Anglia TV West. Towns in the WABITS "patch" include Bedford, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Sandy and Luton, plus all the surrounding towns and villages.....

We are always pleased to welcome new members, so to find out a little bit more about us, click on the "Who Are We?" and "The Members" links at the top of the screen....

If you would like an application form to join the Branch, please Click Here. The subscription for 2007/8 has been set at £1.00 per member.

Blues Foundation

The West Anglia Branch has a number of members who have joined the Blues Foundation......

What is The Blues Foundation?
The Blues Foundation is an exclusive members club with a limited membership of 2,500. The aims are to give you - the fans - a closer link to Ipswich Town, the same time as raising valuable income to support the Academy.

How does it work?
For less than £10 per month you will receive numerous exclusive benefits and a membership card bearing your exclusive draw numbers. These numbers will be entered into all of the draws: an annual Blues Foundation Super Jackpot draw, weekly cash Big Blue Game draw and a number of exclusive Blues Foundation draws for unique Ipswich Town experiences.
All winners are notified automatically and winning numbers will appear in the local press, matchday programme and on the Club website, www.itfc.co.uk
It's a win-win situation, with the Club generating valuable funds for the Ipswich Town Academy and members winning some top prizes.

Amazing Ipswich Town experiences up for grabs........
There are some incredible prizes which will be won by members during each season
■ The ultimate matchday experience-you and a guest spend the matchday in the company of the players and directors and enjoy the club's hospitality-4 winners (and their guests) each season.
■ The ITFC experience- you and a guest spend a full day with the players at the training ground, enjoying lunch with the lads in the player's canteen and then get a guided tour of Portman Road by Ipswich legend Simon Milton (once a season).
■ The Blues Foundation away day experience - you and a friend can experience an away game with one of the Ipswich Town Directors, including transport to and from the game and directors box seats (once a season).
■ Club Photographer experience - be a club photographer for an ITFC home game. Get a pitch side spot, the loan of a camera and the chance to have your best shot framed and signed by the player in the photograph! You can also be a part of the after match press conference and get to submit your own match report with pictures on www.itfc.co.uk. (twice per season).
And enjoy exclusive benefits
■ The opportunity to attend two exclusive Blues Foundation events per season (e.g. ‘An Evening with...’).
■ Free access to all Ipswich Town Academy 'showcase' games.
■ Free Blues Crew membership for children/grandchildren (one per member)

■ Membership pack consisting of: official letter of acceptance, exclusive Blues Foundation gift and your membership card.
■ Exclusive Blues Foundation Newsletter twice a year.

Even more prizes
Entry into the Big Blue Game weekly cash draw with the chance to win weekly prizes of:
■ Seven £100 cash prizes every week , guaranteed.
■ Loads of £5 cash prizes.
■ ITFC match tickets.
■ Plus £1,000 every single month of the year!

Helping your club
And remember every penny raised (after costs and prize money) will be invested in the Ipswich Town Academy to help to develop the Ipswich Town players of the future...all for just £2.25 per week!

Also, if any WABITS members join the Blues Foundation, our Branch will receive a payment from the Football Club of £10.00 to add to our funds. So, joining the scheme will benefit the ITFC Academy and our Branch, plus you could also win one of the prizes!!!

If you would like a Blues Foundation leaflet (pdf file) please click here. We will email the pdf file to you.

Thank you for your support

WABITS Committee

Our predictions 2007/8

At the AGM, those attending were asked to forecast who would finish in the top six and bottom three, plus where the three East Anglian clubs would finish at the end of the 2007/8 season.

After 2/3 of the season (31 games), see how our predictions looked against the actual League positions.

Haverhill to ITFC Charity Run - April 2008

Town fan Malcolm Thompson is going to run from Haverhill to Portman Road before the last Home game of the 2007/8 season. He is running to raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, a charity close to the heart of Town legend Kevin Beattie.

If you would like to find out more about Malcolm and his 40 mile run, or to sponsor him online, please go to his website: www.justgiving.com/northstander

Many thanks

WABITS Committee

Yahoo forum

The West Anglia Branch runs a Yahoo forum which is also open to all Ipswich Town supporters around the world. We currently have over 60 members - if you would like to join the forum, please click here .

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