Minutes of the Annual General Meeting

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at The Chimney House, Brighton on 4 th February The meeting opened at 6.05 p.m. Those present: JON MORRIS, RICK CARTER, SIMON WOOD, MIKE BROWN, MIKE NEWCOMBE, MAX KIDMAN, ALAN MALBY, ROB EASTWOOD, MARTIN WATTS, MATT LAWSON, DMITRY MORGAN, RICH HALL, JOE GATFORD, JAKE BROOKS, KIERAN LIND and NICK HOLLANDS. 1. Chairman Dmitry Morgan took the chair and welcomed those gathered to the AGM. Dmitry noted that written officers reports had been made available and would be presented as short summaries only during the meeting. 2. Apologies for absence Apologies were received from Jamie Will, Kevin Rice, and Geoff Stringer. 3. Minutes of the 2017 AGM The minutes of the 2017 AGM, having been posted on Pitchero with no matters arising, were accepted as a true record of the meeting and signed by the Chairman. 4. Proposed changes to the club Constitution The Committee proposed a number of changes to the Constitution concerned with the organisation and responsibilities of the Committee. These were based around a need to clarify the responsibilities of Officers and of the Committee as a whole. In addition, changes to the ECB template constitution for cricket clubs needed to be followed. In summary, the Officers would now be clearly responsible for the business of running the club and the Committee for all cricket decisions. The proposed new Constitution and a copy with proposed changes marked up was made available on Pitchero 3 weeks prior to the AGM and notified to members via Pitchero Messaging. The changes were summarised by Mike Brown, who prepared the document for the Committee. In discussion, members expressed concern that the 5 Officers were being given responsibility to run the day-to-day business of the club without referral to the overall Committee. A second concern was allowing a vote for junior members. The Committee explained that the changes were required to speed up routine aspects of running the club, as at present the entire Committee needs to be consulted for relatively mundane decisions. Reassurance was given that significant decisions would always be referred to the Committee and the AGM as required, and that the club Chairman had a remit to maintain an overview of that process. Regarding votes for junior members, it was pointed out that as a club with no junior section (ie under 13 years old) a junior would be at least 13 years old and we felt that it was reasonable for such an individual to be a full part of the club. Dmitry called for a vote, which was passed with 14 in favour and two abstentions. The

2 updated Constitution was duly signed. 5. Adoption of the ECB Safeguarding Policy Martin Watts informed the meeting that it is now an ECB requirement that the club formally adopts and publishes the ECB Safeguarding policy. This was unanimously accepted by the meeting. 6. Horsdean Community Sports Association (HCSA) report Simon Wood s report: The recent AGM of the HCSA and the progress of the 25 year lease for Horsdean was the main topic. Progress is very slow and mostly down to the Council s solicitors being painfully slow. A small stumbling block might be the containers at Horsdean might require retrospective planing permission. Ian Todd from Dome Mission is personally paying for our legal bills which is very generous of him. Once the lease has been granted we can apply to a variety of sources for grants for ground improvements, nets, artificial wicket and multi games area as well as a new pavilion. Grant applications from dual sport clubs should hold greater credibility rather than just single sport applications. We have an excellent and very cooperative committee with Alan Wildig the main driving force and he does a huge amount of work with the committee and also on the ground. Alan has been responsible for sourcing and repairing a number of second hand pieces of equipment for the ground and 2017 proved a steep learning curve as to what could be comfortably achieved. Joe Gatford is our Senior groundsman and he has worked hard to try and improve the square with significant help from Max Kidman and Jake Brooks. As well as Alan Wildig. The major project in September 2017 was the deep scarification of the square and reseeding. Any visitors to Horsdean will now see a deep green carpet of strong healthy grass and the square looks in far better condition than it has for sometime. We are hoping that all the machinery and the heavy roller should all be ready for action by the start of March. We have kept the cost of pitch hire to member clubs to around 50 in 2017 as compared to the Council s current charges of 90 + per match. The charge will have to rise in 2018 to 60 per match. The 4 HCSA Cricket clubs have each paid 300 to cover additional equipment and ground preparation costs incurred in 2017 and PUFC have additionally put in 250 giving HCSA a working fund of 550 for 2018, to which can be added Natwest monies. There is nothing in current plans for 2018 which should require further funding as the pitch fees are invoiced and collected monthly generating approx. 3.5k over the summer which should more than cover ground maintenance costs. We are hoping to start rolling as soon as a long dry spell arrives so hopefully sometime in February will allow a period of rolling with the hand rollers and then the heavy roller can be used as we get closer to the start of the season. There will probably a Saturday morning organised in the coming weeks to train all those members who can offer some assistance and time to roll and or cut. The Council remain responsible for the cutting of the outfield as it remains a public park. The maintenance of the pavilion once the lease is granted will be the responsibility of the HCSA made up of the 4 cricket clubs and Patcham United FC.

3 Nat West Cricket Force Day will be Saturday 14 th April when The Albion are away to Crystal Palace. We should have around of paint and raw materials to spend from the Jewson sponsorship and the pavilion needs the internal walls and floors painting. The aim is also to cut back the undergrow around the perimeter of the ground and cut back the scrub at the South East end of the ground in the large flower beds. We hope to have a better turn out from other clubs in 2018 especially the football club. Any ideas and suggestions to improvements would be appreciated. ECB facilities presentation In February Alan Wildig and Martin Watts are attending a presentation by an ECB facilities manager in conjunction with Matt Parsons the county cricket development officer together with a 1:1 meeting with them. This is to gain information on the processes and ways in which either ECB and/or county can support planned projects. Initially we would be looking at possibilities of installation of an artificial wicket, and then an artificial practice area. A question was raised about possible future legal costs. The expectation is that any such liability will be minimal. 7. Treasurer s report Martin Watts Martin s report: The accounts for year ended 31 December 2017 show a deficit of 191, 2016 pitch fees from the council ( 842) were received very late and therefore the true result was roughly 650 surplus. The loss on the Annual dinner was over 500. We currently have 1,974in the bank following the payment of 300 subscription to HCSA. We have a good stock of balls and hopefully kit repairs are minimal. Only 12 daytime home fixtures were played in 2017 (3 games with Streat abandoned or postponed!). We make about 65 surplus on each home game after paying 50 pitch fees. Away games surplus is about 40 per match. We spent 675 on pitch fees plus 300 additional to HCSA to cover principally machinery purchases and repairs as above ie 975 in total. 842 in 2016 and 1,335 in 2015 when we were paying the full Council rate for pitches - 75 from memory. The council are now charging in excess of 90 for pitch and changing facilities. HCSA will be charging 60 for pitches in I have recommended increases to the Annual Dinner charge from 2018 and Annual Subs from 2019 with match day subs remaining the same, to keep the finances healthy. 8. Secretary's report - Rick Carter Rick s report: The Committee has held 3 formal meetings since the last AGM pre-season, postseason and pre-agm. In addition, 2 ad-hoc meetings using were held to discuss specific issues arising. The Committee now uses a private WhatsApp group for speed of communication.

4 In the pre-agm meeting, the Committee identified that changes to the Constitution are required to clarify the working roles and membership of the Committee, and these are to be presented to the AGM for discussion/approval. In addition, the Welfare Officer has found that a formal declaration of a Child Protection Policy is required for the club to be compliant with ECB guidelines, and this will also be presented to the AGM. To fully comply with best practice, the Committee will complete an online Safeguarding presentation, and documents regarding Safeguarding processes in place will be placed on the club website. The Committee identified player recruitment as a critical factor for the future and an informal sub-committee of Matt Lawson and Rich Hall are working on this and making progress. Since the last AGM the Pitchero site has been moved to a more attractive format designed by one of the Pitchero designers. The cost was sponsored by Morgan Financial Services and the ongoing annual charge will be met by the club. The new format is cleaner and has less space assigned to advertising but requires input from more members to keep the content fresh. I have insufficient time to do more than minimum housekeeping on the site, and help would be much appreciated. The membership on Pitchero is currently 77, but only around half of that number is active in the club. Some pruning of inactive accounts is needed. The club is up to date with requirements for documentation and meetings should we wish to apply for ECB-supported grants or funding. 9. Fixture Secretary's report - Simon Wood Simon s Report: The major issue in 2017 was the unreliability of a number of our opponents. Numerous calls towards the latter part of many weeks was the norm with clubs with a shortage of players. Often Crescent provided players for our opponents but many clubs turned up with as few as 8 players has seen a bit of fiddling with the fixtures and it is a case of dropping the odd team like Henfield who are consistently a problem. The balance between home and attractive away fixtures is always a bit of a balancing act so Ashburnham. Jevington and Ardingly (Brook House are no more) will all be visiting Horsdean in Scaynes Hill and Southbourne of Eastbourne are new away additions. WG Gracefully was a very good end to the 2017 domestic season and Findon away is now a little earlier in the season to accommodate our Portuguese adventure. The French tour in 2017 was a brilliant success off the field though the weather and the cricket on the field was Catus apart a little disappointing. We have a 3 Test midweek series with Streat though I have held back with any additional fixtures as we have no guide yet as to how many players we will have in Organising fixtures is not a problem IF we have the players. The T20 match v Firle has been dropped in favour of an afternoon match with Streat. The 2018 fixture list is now available on Pitchero.

5 10. Tour Secretary's report - Mike Brown Mike noted that accommodation for the Gloucester tour is felt by some members to have fallen below acceptable standards. Mike had looked into some possible alternatives and noted that the choice is very limited and that prices would be much increased. The point was raised from the floor that a major part of the Tour is staying in the same accommodation, and Simon Wood and Rich Hall undertook to find suitable alternative places to stay and to report back. Mike informed the meeting that he intends to stand down as Tour Secretary and was thanked by all for his efforts over the years. 11. Captain's report Jon Morris and Matt Lawson Jon noted that he had missed most of last season with injury, and that Matt, who skippered most of 2017, would present the playing report. Jon informed the meeting that he would be standing down. There was unanimous appreciation for his skill and efforts over the past 17+ years in taking on a difficult job following on from an inspirational captain in Richard Ford, and that he did not suffer in the comparison. Jon noted that he greatly appreciated the efforts of the players over that time, and most notably the spirit in the club and the acceptance of the club s rather unique attitude to the game in making sure that everyone on the day gets to perform. A unanimous vote of thanks was passed and a round of applause ensued. Matt s report: saw the continuation of our opponents to play the game with a more league style outlook. Whilst it is important to recognise this trend, it is vital that we remain true to the Crescent ethos of ensuring all 11 players are given an opportunity to contribute. Our batting continues to be a strength, and a simple game plan to put 200 plus on the board and let the spinners chip away at the opposition is working well. At times we ve struggled take early wickets and have too often found ours giving the opposition a helping start. We need to ensure next season we have a clear plan on how we are going to get batsmen out, making sure we bowl to the field set. Clearly, we are missing a strike bowler which would help massively. As a team we need to ensure we stay switched on whilst both in the field and our running between the wickets. There is an opportunity to put the opposition under pressure by being a touch sharper. I d also like to thank those few members who are doing most of the set-up for our home games and point out the need for all players to contribute to the off-field duties. It is not fair to turn up 15 minutes before a game and then leave shortly after the game finishes. Recruitment of new players must be a priority between now and the new season, as such with the help of Rich I ve produced a recruitment plan with the intention to actively look for ways to increase our membership predominately by developing our online footprint. A key suggested change is to replace our current Facebook group with a new Facebook Business page designed to advertise our club to potential new members as well as keeping members up to date with club events.

6 The club needs all members to take joint responsibility to find new players, and as such would encourage members to proactively consider how they can help in this objective. The two club tours last year were a resounding success, I d like to encourage where possible members continue to support the planned tours this coming season and thank those behind the scenes who continue to do a great job ensuring things go smoothly. 12. Team Secretary Report Geoff Stringer Geoff s Report was read to the meeting by Rick Carter: As in the last few seasons team selection was fairly straightforward due to the majority of players updating their availability on a regular basis although there were one or two less diligent who shall remain nameless! We had 11+ players for nearly every game and when we didn t I was able to rustle up one or two players thanks especially to Simon and Matty s help and contacts. The forthcoming season promises to be more of a challenge, so we will probably need extra bodies to help us through To re-emphasise the selection criteria is as follows: i. Please aim to fill in your availability on Pitchero for at least four weeks in advance ii. If you are not sure if you can play please add an additional comment as this will help to determine why you re unsure, i.e. will play if short, may arrive late iii. Please ensure your availability for the next forthcoming game is on Pitchero six days before For Sunday games the deadline is Monday evening and for Wednesday games it is Thursday evening and so on. iv. Team selection and invites to play will appear on Pitchero five days before the game, i.e. on Tuesday for Sunday games. v. If you are not selected, then in all probability you will be selected for the next available game you are available and a fair rotation team selection policy applied. Thank you all for your support and generally ensuring that the process has been relatively seamless. 13. Update from Child Protection Officer Martin Watts Martin s report: I have completed the Safeguarding course on line and believe all is now up to date. As we hopefully attract under 18 players we need a system to ensure that Player profile forms are completed by parents/ legal guardians, to be held by the Club Welfare Officer. We also need a system to ensure that relevant information from this is available to the captain on the day of each match. I should be grateful for volunteers/assistance/ suggestions in how to organise this.

7 I shall ensure that the notice board has all the relevant ECB guidelines and our club policies. 14. Election of Officers Mike Brown (Tour secretary), John Morris (Club Captain) and Jamie Will (Player representative) had stepped down, leaving those positions open. Nominations were received for Tour Secretary (Rich Hall, proposer Jamie Will, seconded Joe Gatford) and Player representative (Jake Brooks, proposed Jamie Will, seconded Rich Hall). The Committee nominated Matt Lawson as Captain and noted that Matt should nominate his choice for Vice-captain. All Committee members noted that each was willing to step down should any nominations arise at the meeting. No votes were necessary, and the following were duly elected: President John Wood Chairman Dmitry Morgan Welfare Officer Martin Watts Hon. Secretary Rick Carter Fixture Secretary Simon Wood Team Secretary Geoff Stringer Tour Secretary Rich Hall Treasurer Martin Watts Player representative Jake Brooks Club Captain Matt Lawson Vice-captain Rich Hall 15. Match fees, subscriptions and Annual Dinner subsidy Annual subscription and match fees to be held for season For 2019 the subscription will be increased to 25, but match fees to remain unchanged. After some discussion the price for the Annual Dinner is to be increased to 30 ( 25 Juniors) to decrease the subsidy required from club funds. This was passed by a unanimous vote. 16. Any other business Social media This topic had been covered in other discussions during the meeting Proposals for proxy and/or postal voting at future AGMs Although initially received positively by members, the Club Secretary explained that significant changes would be required to the Constitution and to procedures prior to future AGMs in order to ensure voting remained fair. It was agreed that, for a club with less than 30 paid-up members, the effort outweighed any benefit given that members wishing to have their voice heard could do so via those attending or the Committee Officers to record hours spent on club business

8 Kevin Rice had suggested to the Committee that recording volunteer hours is common practice and can help with, for instance, grant applications in showing that the club is well-run and has a value to the members and the local community. After some discussion, it was agreed that it was worth trying and that the Officers will look into finding a system to make it as painless as possible Nets It was noted that in order to advertise for new members we need to get regular nets organised ASAP. Joe agreed to look into this urgently Date for the Annual Dinner Agreed to keep the date as late October or early November. The meeting closed at 9.07 p.m. Accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman: