By Sara Jacob, Marketing Executive
We've had a busy year, but it's been a terrific season for Young Royals members as we launched the new-look scheme - and there have been so many highlights. Over the course of this first year we've attracted more than 2,500 members, and that number is growing all the time.

When I began working for Reading Football Club in 1998, on work experience while studying at the University of Reading, my very first role was to assist with the administration of the Young Royals and I immediately understood the importance of communication with our fans. This continued in 2000 when I began my full time position and one of my roles was to deal with player appearances and charity requests. I very much enjoyed being able to give something back to our supporters and so when I was given the opportunity to develop a new Young Royals membership for 2007/8 as Marketing Executive, I was very excited to ensure that we maintained the relationship with our members throughout the season. Our aim is to develop the best junior membership in the Premier League and we are very proud of what we have achieved so far.

Over the course of 2007/8 we've lined up some great benefits for Young Royals members. With excellent support from Dara Thomas, Marketing Assistant, we've held exclusive Community Trust Soccer Schools, organised trips to the players' training ground and run competitions to be a matchday mascot, as well as given away signed goodies galore.

Yesterday, we held a special Fans' Forum for Young Royals members - it's our take on a traditional football fans' forum. All of our members sent in their questions to put to the players, we chose the top 50 questions, and invited the children to come in and speak with four of our biggest stars - Marcus Hahnemann, Shane Long, Brynjar Gunnarsson and Andre Bikey. The afternoon was a great success and lots of happy Young Royals left with the Royals stars' autographs and football tips, as well as some funny stories about their heroes.

And we're also looking forward to a new event, which is going to be held between 3-5pm on Tuesday 15th April - the 2008 Young Royals Spring Spectacular. There will be all sorts of fun activities on the day - face painting, an inflatable Speed Cage to test your goalscoring skills, player visits and a prize draw to win a signed football. We also offered our members the chance to register for a tour of the players' tunnel area - the places were filled in less than 24 hours and so this is something we will be organising again. Kingsley the Lion will also be around and we'll have plenty of goodies to giveaway.

So there's always loads going on!

The response we've had from the young fans has been amazing this year. We know that the youngsters are a crucial part of our fanbase - they are the supporters of the club's future. In terms of feedback, it's sometimes more difficult to get an idea of which things have gone right and which could have been done better - children don't tend to give you structured feedback via phonecalls, emails or letters in the same way an adult does.

But hearing the excited voices and seeing the smiles when a player visits one of our events tells its own story. And Dara and I do get letters and drawings from the children and their parents, thanking us for organising such unique Young Royals experiences. One lady even wrote in to say she'd like to become a member herself for the chance to go to the training ground - so it looks as though it's a big hit! Following the success of the Young Royals, we are currently investigating ways in which we can extend these unique experiences for our adult Season Ticket holders. Watch this space.

As a club we are delighted with the way the Young Royals has gone this year. It's really important for us to give something back to our young fans. I've been involved with Reading FC for almost 10 years now and, obviously, the club has changed a lot since it arrived at Madejski Stadium in 1998. One of the big differences from when we were lower down the leagues was that we had a closer interaction with the fans. We had smaller numbers of fans and less of a take-up on schemes such as Young Royals. But now we're in the Premier League, we need to make sure our operation caters for bigger numbers but at the same time still maintains a personal connection with each and every member.
It's important the fans realise that close communication between the supporters and the football club is still very important to us, and via the Young Royals, we have an excellent way of connecting with the youngest group of our fan base

We're coming up to the end of the season and so it's time to look at renewal. Membership of Young Royals costs just £10 for the whole season. Existing members for 2007/8 have been sent an email with all the information on the renewal package.

In 2008/9 we're looking at some exciting new developments as well as offering more of the fantastic benefits which have proven so popular with our members this season.

What we're still trying to do is get a feel for what our members enjoy to see as part of the scheme, and then look to do more of those things. It's clear that the Young Royals love meeting the Reading players most - the looks on the faces of the children (and the parents!) prove that.

Everyone who signed up this season will still receive all the benefits until the beginning of our next season. But we're giving existing members the chance to renew now. If they renew before May 31st they have the chance to win a Reading FC signed shirt. They will also receive a new 'renewal pack' with a scarf, pencil case, sweatbands and a newly designed kit bag - all for just £10! And they'll then be a member right through the 2008/9 season.

New members can also sign up now; their membership will start straight away and run through to the end of the 2008/9 season - also for just £10. Young Royals joining for the first time will receive the brilliant introductory pack - with lanyard and ID card, logo projector pen, kit bag, folder and stationery set.

And don't forget to look out for our Young Royals Matchday Kiosk, located just outside the Megastore at Madejski Stadium. We're always doing giveaways on home matchdays, with goodies such as Premier League sticker albums, Match Attax stickers and Chupa Chups lollies. All you need to do is present your Young Royals lanyard to claim an item. And anyone who is not a member can sign up on the day to make sure they don't miss out.

For all the latest information on Young Royals, visit our section of the Reading FC website - www.readingfc.co.uk/youngroyals