Annual General Meeting 2015
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting - Thursday 06 August 2015 7.30pm
East Anglia Tennis and Squash Club, Lime Tree Road, Norwich
Present:
From the current committee:
Adam Goodson (Barnham Broom)
Tim Venes (Treasurer & Secretary; Fakenham)
Andy Trim (EA / Sportspark)
Matt Bolt (Rossis Leisure)
Tom Bobbins (Heywood Sports, Diss)
Wendy Farrer (Beccles)
Tony Henden (Broadland)
Attendees from clubs:
Martin Braybrook, Barry Starling (Cromer)
Kevin Harvey, Paul Gedge, Max Dawson (Bannatynes)
Hadleigh Farrer, Elliot Creak (East Anglia)
David Gouldby (Bannatynes / East Anglia)
Adam Goodson chaired the meeting in the absence of the President and an incumbent
Chairman
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from David Youngs (President; East Anglia)
2. Approval of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 23 July 2014 and any matters arising.
Minutes proposed as a correct record - Barry Starling; seconded- Andy Trim. Minutes approved.
Matters arising - Barry Starling asked why the 2015 summer league was not to be completed before the end of July, despite his representation at last year's AGM. Adam Goodson replied that there had been an earlier start this year and the racketball league had been split around the summer league, so there was an earlier finish although not before August. (Committee to consider possible improvements next year).
3. Annual report on NSRA activities
Tim Venes gave a verbal summary of the year's activities:
Committee
2014-15 had been a difficult and disrupted year in some respects. The Chairman, Tim Allenden, had resigned in October 2014 and the committee had been unable to identify anyone willing to take on the role. It had agreed an acting Chair at each meeting but the lack of leadership has not been good for Norfolk Squash.
Paul Bradnock had also stood down from the committee as had Kevin Blake as League Secretary after completion of the winter league 2014-15. Tim expressed thanks to Paul and Kevin for their services to Norfolk Squash - Paul particularly for restarting league trophies and his role in organising and running the County Closed, which the committee hopes he may be prepared to continue; Kevin for running the leagues for several years, always a thankless task but without which people wouldn't have the opportunity to enjoy inter-club league squash.
Despite these setbacks, the committee had continued to function. It had been successful with a bid for a £1,000 grant at 50% from England Squash's Grassroots Development Fund for a modest programme of junior squash development in the current year but much more than this would be required to reinvigorate junior squash in the county. Tim also expressed thanks to all committee members in 2014-15 for their contribution to
Norfolk squash and racketball.
Tournaments
The County Closed competition in January 2015 was another very successful event - thanks were also due to Jack Pearse and David Youngs for their parts in organising and running this.
Full results were on the NSRA web site, but the winners were:
Mens A - Jamie Goodrich
Ladies - Nicky Green
Mens B - Jack Bell
Mens C - Phil Slack
Under 23 - Alex Williams
O45 - Steve Moxey
O55 - Gary Snelling
O60 & O65 - Martin Pearse
Only one senior Grand Prix had been run last year, at Rossis, which had more or less broken even.
County teams
Senior (captain - Jamie Goodrich)
In the first round of matches in the autumn, the team had come 4th out of 4. In March v Derbyshire, Northumbria and Lincolnshire, the latter dropped out at the last minute so only 2 matches were played. The team lost 4-1 (18-7) to Derbys and 3-2 (17-10) to Northumbria but were safe from relegation as Lincs were relegated.
O35 (captain - Ian Cox)
The team won the first round of weekend matches in October at Berkhamsted to qualify for the finals in March at Stourbridge, where they finished 3rd.
O45 (captain - David Youngs)
No results were available but it was thought the team had won promotion to Div 1.
Racketball (captain - Jack Pearse)
The team had played two matches, one in the south west and one in Nottingham but results were not available.
Leagues
Both summer and winter leagues had continued to run, although a continuing trend of reduced participation was apparent (21 teams from 11 clubs in summer 2014 compared with 23 from 12 in 2013; 28 teams from 13 clubs in winter 2014-15 compared with 31 from 14 in 2013-14). This clearly had implications for the future of the game if continued, and underlined the importance of junior squash development. A Ladies league had been run in winter 2014-15 (thanks to Tony Henden for organising) and a racketball league had been run in spring/summer 2014, and was continuing in the current year, although with only four teams - participation from more clubs would be good.
Junior Squash
Disruption to the of committee and a requirement to spend time on other matters had made it difficult to make progress on junior squash development in the last year, although the importance of doing this in view of reducing participation and ageing teams in the senior game was reiterated. The number of junior Grand Prixs was reduced compared to previous years; there had also been some inter-county events. The committee was aiming to address this situation through appointment of three committee members with a junior remit, who would look to involve others.
4. Presentation and approval of accounts 2014-15
Tim Venes presented a summary of the NSRA accounts for 2014-15 with 2013-14 and 2012-13 income and expenditure shown for comparison.
He noted that NSRA still has a healthy balance of over £5,000 in its current account at year end, and also had around £7,000 in a deposit account.
However, there had been a reduction in the surplus achieved compared with previous years (£240 in 2014-15 compared to around £2,000 in the previous year and over £700 in 2012-13), the main factors being lack of income from competitions other than leagues, and some one-off miscellaneous costs. Martin Braybrook noted that county team expenses were nearly £1,200, which was not begrudged, but asked whether it was possible to provide more information to the Norfolk squash community on county matches and results. Tim Venes said this was something the committee was aiming to do, including promotion of home matches for spectating opportunities. A new role of County Teams Rep had been created on the committee. Paul Taylor had prepared a summary of the accounts for junior squash but was not present to present these. It was noted that there was an overall deficit for the year, reflecting the reduction in events which were income generators, although the bank balance was still healthy. Approval of the accounts was proposed by Matt Bolt, seconded by Tom Bobbins - agreed.
5. Election of Executive Committee 2014-15
The Chairman explained the committee's nominations for committee roles and the positions / roles for which there were no nominations. He undertook to speak to Jake Bond about assisting him with the League Secretary's role. It was suggested that circulation of a brief job description for the vacant roles might help to encourage people to take them on. A discussion on automation of league results also took place. Following discussion, Hadleigh Farrer agreed to take on the role of League Secretary. Hannah Colby was later approached regarding the role of meeting secretary and agreed to take this on.
The committee / roles for 2014-15 are:
Chairman - Andy Trim
Vice Chairman - Adam Goodson
Meeting secretary - Hannah Colby
Treasurer - Tim Venes
(Junior squash funds treasurer - Paul Taylor)
League Secretary - Hadleigh Farrer
Junior Squash Development Officers - Matt Bolt, Tom Bobbins, Tom Smith
Senior Grand Prix Coordinator - Matt Bolt
England Squash / County Association Reps - Tony Henden, Andy Trim
County teams Rep - Matt Bolt
Communications Officer - (vacant)
6. Resolutions for discussion and decision
(None received)
7. Items for discussion / any other business
a) Suggestion for winter league
Received from Craig Aldred / Simon Howling, Barnham Broom( presented by Adam Goodson):
b) Suggestion for 4 player teams in winter league Received from Craig Aldred / Simon Howling, Barnham Broom (presented by Adam
Goodson): The suggestion did not receive general support. Consensus of the meeting was that if late finish times were an issue team captains should communicate to agree and achieve an earlier start, it was also felt that PAR scoring had made matches shorter on average.
c) Communication issues within the committee
Previously requested by Paul Gedge. Paul said that the committee had not responded to emails on a matter of a disputed decision regarding a league match involving Bannatynes. He felt that there was a need to respond promptly to enquiries and for the committee to communicate decisions clearly and promptly. The Chairman said that he recognised that there may have been some misunderstanding or lack of communication amongst the committee but felt that decisions had been made and communicated, and had been recorded in minutes of the meetings that were available on the NSRA web site. Following discussion amongst representatives present at the meeting, it was agreed that the committee would review its procedures for dealing with any complaints and disputes, and communication of decisions.
d) Unresolved abuse issue - Max Dawson
Related to the issue raised by Paul Gedge, Max expressed his discontent at what he perceived as inequity and lack of response from the committee's to complaints about allegations of abusive behaviour by him during a league match and by a spectator at a subsequent match. Following extended discussion, the item was closed and no further correspondence or representations relating to this incident will be considered by the committee.
Meeting closed
.
Presentation of league trophies
Following the meeting, presentation by Adam Goodson of league trophies to representatives of the winning teams took place. Winning teams and those receiving the trophies on their behalf were:
2014 Summer League
Premier Division - Broadland (Tony Henden)
Div 1 - Broadland II (Tony Henden)
Div 2 - Broadland III (Tony Henden)
2014-15 Winter League
Premier Division - Diss Heywood (Tom Bobbins)
Div 1 - East Anglia III (Hadleigh Farrer)
Div 2 - Fakenham (Tim Venes)
Div 3 - Broadland IV (Tony Henden)
East Anglia Tennis and Squash Club, Lime Tree Road, Norwich
Present:
From the current committee:
Adam Goodson (Barnham Broom)
Tim Venes (Treasurer & Secretary; Fakenham)
Andy Trim (EA / Sportspark)
Matt Bolt (Rossis Leisure)
Tom Bobbins (Heywood Sports, Diss)
Wendy Farrer (Beccles)
Tony Henden (Broadland)
Attendees from clubs:
Martin Braybrook, Barry Starling (Cromer)
Kevin Harvey, Paul Gedge, Max Dawson (Bannatynes)
Hadleigh Farrer, Elliot Creak (East Anglia)
David Gouldby (Bannatynes / East Anglia)
Adam Goodson chaired the meeting in the absence of the President and an incumbent
Chairman
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from David Youngs (President; East Anglia)
2. Approval of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 23 July 2014 and any matters arising.
Minutes proposed as a correct record - Barry Starling; seconded- Andy Trim. Minutes approved.
Matters arising - Barry Starling asked why the 2015 summer league was not to be completed before the end of July, despite his representation at last year's AGM. Adam Goodson replied that there had been an earlier start this year and the racketball league had been split around the summer league, so there was an earlier finish although not before August. (Committee to consider possible improvements next year).
3. Annual report on NSRA activities
Tim Venes gave a verbal summary of the year's activities:
Committee
2014-15 had been a difficult and disrupted year in some respects. The Chairman, Tim Allenden, had resigned in October 2014 and the committee had been unable to identify anyone willing to take on the role. It had agreed an acting Chair at each meeting but the lack of leadership has not been good for Norfolk Squash.
Paul Bradnock had also stood down from the committee as had Kevin Blake as League Secretary after completion of the winter league 2014-15. Tim expressed thanks to Paul and Kevin for their services to Norfolk Squash - Paul particularly for restarting league trophies and his role in organising and running the County Closed, which the committee hopes he may be prepared to continue; Kevin for running the leagues for several years, always a thankless task but without which people wouldn't have the opportunity to enjoy inter-club league squash.
Despite these setbacks, the committee had continued to function. It had been successful with a bid for a £1,000 grant at 50% from England Squash's Grassroots Development Fund for a modest programme of junior squash development in the current year but much more than this would be required to reinvigorate junior squash in the county. Tim also expressed thanks to all committee members in 2014-15 for their contribution to
Norfolk squash and racketball.
Tournaments
The County Closed competition in January 2015 was another very successful event - thanks were also due to Jack Pearse and David Youngs for their parts in organising and running this.
Full results were on the NSRA web site, but the winners were:
Mens A - Jamie Goodrich
Ladies - Nicky Green
Mens B - Jack Bell
Mens C - Phil Slack
Under 23 - Alex Williams
O45 - Steve Moxey
O55 - Gary Snelling
O60 & O65 - Martin Pearse
Only one senior Grand Prix had been run last year, at Rossis, which had more or less broken even.
County teams
Senior (captain - Jamie Goodrich)
In the first round of matches in the autumn, the team had come 4th out of 4. In March v Derbyshire, Northumbria and Lincolnshire, the latter dropped out at the last minute so only 2 matches were played. The team lost 4-1 (18-7) to Derbys and 3-2 (17-10) to Northumbria but were safe from relegation as Lincs were relegated.
O35 (captain - Ian Cox)
The team won the first round of weekend matches in October at Berkhamsted to qualify for the finals in March at Stourbridge, where they finished 3rd.
O45 (captain - David Youngs)
No results were available but it was thought the team had won promotion to Div 1.
Racketball (captain - Jack Pearse)
The team had played two matches, one in the south west and one in Nottingham but results were not available.
Leagues
Both summer and winter leagues had continued to run, although a continuing trend of reduced participation was apparent (21 teams from 11 clubs in summer 2014 compared with 23 from 12 in 2013; 28 teams from 13 clubs in winter 2014-15 compared with 31 from 14 in 2013-14). This clearly had implications for the future of the game if continued, and underlined the importance of junior squash development. A Ladies league had been run in winter 2014-15 (thanks to Tony Henden for organising) and a racketball league had been run in spring/summer 2014, and was continuing in the current year, although with only four teams - participation from more clubs would be good.
Junior Squash
Disruption to the of committee and a requirement to spend time on other matters had made it difficult to make progress on junior squash development in the last year, although the importance of doing this in view of reducing participation and ageing teams in the senior game was reiterated. The number of junior Grand Prixs was reduced compared to previous years; there had also been some inter-county events. The committee was aiming to address this situation through appointment of three committee members with a junior remit, who would look to involve others.
4. Presentation and approval of accounts 2014-15
Tim Venes presented a summary of the NSRA accounts for 2014-15 with 2013-14 and 2012-13 income and expenditure shown for comparison.
He noted that NSRA still has a healthy balance of over £5,000 in its current account at year end, and also had around £7,000 in a deposit account.
However, there had been a reduction in the surplus achieved compared with previous years (£240 in 2014-15 compared to around £2,000 in the previous year and over £700 in 2012-13), the main factors being lack of income from competitions other than leagues, and some one-off miscellaneous costs. Martin Braybrook noted that county team expenses were nearly £1,200, which was not begrudged, but asked whether it was possible to provide more information to the Norfolk squash community on county matches and results. Tim Venes said this was something the committee was aiming to do, including promotion of home matches for spectating opportunities. A new role of County Teams Rep had been created on the committee. Paul Taylor had prepared a summary of the accounts for junior squash but was not present to present these. It was noted that there was an overall deficit for the year, reflecting the reduction in events which were income generators, although the bank balance was still healthy. Approval of the accounts was proposed by Matt Bolt, seconded by Tom Bobbins - agreed.
5. Election of Executive Committee 2014-15
The Chairman explained the committee's nominations for committee roles and the positions / roles for which there were no nominations. He undertook to speak to Jake Bond about assisting him with the League Secretary's role. It was suggested that circulation of a brief job description for the vacant roles might help to encourage people to take them on. A discussion on automation of league results also took place. Following discussion, Hadleigh Farrer agreed to take on the role of League Secretary. Hannah Colby was later approached regarding the role of meeting secretary and agreed to take this on.
The committee / roles for 2014-15 are:
Chairman - Andy Trim
Vice Chairman - Adam Goodson
Meeting secretary - Hannah Colby
Treasurer - Tim Venes
(Junior squash funds treasurer - Paul Taylor)
League Secretary - Hadleigh Farrer
Junior Squash Development Officers - Matt Bolt, Tom Bobbins, Tom Smith
Senior Grand Prix Coordinator - Matt Bolt
England Squash / County Association Reps - Tony Henden, Andy Trim
County teams Rep - Matt Bolt
Communications Officer - (vacant)
6. Resolutions for discussion and decision
(None received)
7. Items for discussion / any other business
a) Suggestion for winter league
Received from Craig Aldred / Simon Howling, Barnham Broom( presented by Adam Goodson):
b) Suggestion for 4 player teams in winter league Received from Craig Aldred / Simon Howling, Barnham Broom (presented by Adam
Goodson): The suggestion did not receive general support. Consensus of the meeting was that if late finish times were an issue team captains should communicate to agree and achieve an earlier start, it was also felt that PAR scoring had made matches shorter on average.
c) Communication issues within the committee
Previously requested by Paul Gedge. Paul said that the committee had not responded to emails on a matter of a disputed decision regarding a league match involving Bannatynes. He felt that there was a need to respond promptly to enquiries and for the committee to communicate decisions clearly and promptly. The Chairman said that he recognised that there may have been some misunderstanding or lack of communication amongst the committee but felt that decisions had been made and communicated, and had been recorded in minutes of the meetings that were available on the NSRA web site. Following discussion amongst representatives present at the meeting, it was agreed that the committee would review its procedures for dealing with any complaints and disputes, and communication of decisions.
d) Unresolved abuse issue - Max Dawson
Related to the issue raised by Paul Gedge, Max expressed his discontent at what he perceived as inequity and lack of response from the committee's to complaints about allegations of abusive behaviour by him during a league match and by a spectator at a subsequent match. Following extended discussion, the item was closed and no further correspondence or representations relating to this incident will be considered by the committee.
Meeting closed
.
Presentation of league trophies
Following the meeting, presentation by Adam Goodson of league trophies to representatives of the winning teams took place. Winning teams and those receiving the trophies on their behalf were:
2014 Summer League
Premier Division - Broadland (Tony Henden)
Div 1 - Broadland II (Tony Henden)
Div 2 - Broadland III (Tony Henden)
2014-15 Winter League
Premier Division - Diss Heywood (Tom Bobbins)
Div 1 - East Anglia III (Hadleigh Farrer)
Div 2 - Fakenham (Tim Venes)
Div 3 - Broadland IV (Tony Henden)
