Horncastle Hockey Club 24 May 2017 AGM Agenda Present: Neil Hopwood (NH), Rebecca Hopwood (RH), Lottie Hopwood (LH), Sophie Hopwood (SH), Claire Howden (CH), Julian Howden (JH), George Steadman (GS), Rob Scott (RS), James Cartwright (JC), Jack Read (JR), Mark Johnstone (MJ), Emily Tokelove (ET), Laura Neame (LN), Dave Seymour (DS), Steve Seymour (SS), Steph Brayshaw (SB), Katy Wood (KW), Cath Conway (CC), 1. Apologies for absence: Alan Foster, Alex Tokelove, Julian Rinfret, Maria Elliot, Hannah Wood, Jo Beach, Tamsin Roark, Richard Leggate, Lindsay Leggate, Jack Leggate 2. President s report: GS reported probably most successful season in club s history. Very pleasing to see not only the men s 1 st XI win the league but the brilliant work from the 2 s and ladies to stay in their leagues after promotion. Promotion for the men s 1 st XI will see them compete in Division 2N next season, the highest division the club has competed in. Hearty congratulations from GS to 1 st XI. GS concluded stating that the pitch is looking great and juniors progressing leaps and bounds but that the club still needs more volunteers. 3. Treasurer s report: RS reported a good financial year. Started with 1400 in account and owing nearly 2000 in outstanding pitch hire costs. The club has ended the year with a balance of 1400 and owing no outstanding bills. Biggest expenditures keeper kit, lock up and quad bike ( 1500 for the last two combined). Money also spent on both Introduction to Hockey and Sessional Hockey coaching courses. We are waiting for funding back from Hurricane Sports towards the cost of these courses. RS highlighted that whilst everything has improved dramatically more needs to be covered and controlled online to keep better track of memberships. The functionality of is there within the website so we must use it properly. RS stated that the club accounts will be provided for verification. 4. Men s 1 st team report: RS reported that the 1 st XI won their league to take the club to compete at the highest level in its history. The only sour note on a very successful season was the loss away to Cambridge City Vets before Christmas, meaning the side lost the chance to go unbeaten all season. The aim next season is to consolidate their league standing. RS also reported there are a few new players who have indicated they will be looking to join the club who will increase the strength of team next season. 5. Men s 2 nd team report: JR reported that the main target for the 2 nd XI was to consolidate their standing following their promotion. This was a target that they achieved. The fact that they only lost to one opposition team on both occasions. JR reported that the problems facing the side once again was consistency, though they managed to travel most of second half of season. JR highlighted a key victory was a 6-0 win secured away to Cambridge. JR concluded that it was good to see youngsters coming through and developing and hopes this continues to be the case. 6. Ladies 1 st team report: LN reported that the target for the ladies XI was much the same as men s 2 nd XI, consolidate following promotion. The ladies finished last season placed 2 nd with Wisbech ladies winning the league, however it was Horncastle who managed to step up and retain their league standing after promotion. The past has always seen the ladies
yo-yo between leagues which shows just how successful a season it was for a very young side. The young players have stepped up admirably and not only did the ladies consolidate their league standing but they also had a fantastic win in the CC plate, beating Spilsby ladies in the final. All in all LN is very happy with how the season has gone and is looking forward to the next. 7. Junior teams report: JC reported that the junior section has gone from strength to strength this season. The new pitch and change in coaching structure has seen the number of junior members registered with the club more than double. JC commented how as he was only able to attend the u12 and u14 tournaments at the beginning and end of the season he noticed an amazing difference in the performance of junior sides. The change was noticeable and JC was very happy to see them working much better as a team. CC reiterated the positives highlighted by JC and thanked parents, coaches and umpires for their help. All in all a successful year for both the U12 and U14 teams. 8. Subscriptions, match fees & training fees 2017/2018 season: DS explained the proposals for changes to memberships, match fees and training fees for the coming season, and opened them up to those present for discussion. Training fees: When funding for the pitch was secured a business plan was agreed and approved by the HPFM Ltd and EH. This detailed that the revenue produced by the pitch would enable the facility to meet its operational costs and put aside money annually into a sink fund to ensure that when the pitch requires resurfacing again the money is there to cover the costs. As such the costs of hire shall increase for both training and matches, it was agreed that rather than an extreme one-off rise in prices this could be achieved gradually. Therefore, training fees and match fees shall increase for both junior & senior sessions from 2 to 3 per person to enable to club to cover this additional cost. Seconded by: CC Match fees: Both Junior and Senior match fees will also need to increase in line with the increased pitch hire costs; For the senior sides the pitch hire cost for the coming season is increasing to 60, changing facilities are charged at an additional 10 per changing room. This means that men s team home matches will cost 80 in facility hire alone, the ladies matches will be 70 if they choose not to have a changing room (one must be provided for the travelling team). On top of this cost is the additional outlay to provide match teas and umpire(s), this brings the total cost for a home match to over 100. It is therefore proposed to increase the league match fee from 6 to 7 per match. NH & RH raised the issue of league playing junior members being asked to pay the same match fee as senior members, was a lower match fee an option? DS responded that due to the high number of younger club members playing senior hockey this was not a viable option. If junior members were offered a lower match fee for senior hockey then the club
would not be able to meet the costs for matches (as detailed above). It would be unfair to ask senior players to also pay increasingly more as they are often required to transport players to matches as well as pay match fees. Seconded by: ET This year we have relied heavily on the same few coaches giving up their Sundays to accompany the junior sides to tournament days around the county. It has been proposed that in order to compensate these coaches for their time and transport costs for attending junior tournaments. Therefore, any coach accompanying u12 or u14 sides so that they can take part in these tournaments shall be able to submit a coaching claim form. Coaches who submit this form will be entitled to receive a payment of 10 for attending the tournament. In addition, any coach required to drive to attend a tournament shall be offered fuel compensation at a rate of 10 pence per mile. In order to receive this compensation coaches shall provide the club with a mileage claim form. Submitting the forms to claim payment for attending junior tournaments is at the discretion of the coach. It is therefore proposed to increase the junior match fee from 2 to 5 per tournament. Seconded by: JC Membership subscriptions are to be revised and restructured provide a fairer rate for those unable to train due to other commitments. In an attempt to bring senior training in line with junior training it is proposed that included within this additional cost the club will cover the cost of provided a qualified coach for both the men and ladies to their sessions. Until now members have been asked to bring an additional 1 for the coach to each of their sessions. As training is compulsory for all first team squad members, alternative membership subscriptions are only available to club members outside of the 1 st XI sides or to occasional players. Membership subscription options & breakdown; Full senior membership (including training) - 130 per season (can be paid in 5 instalments of 26) which includes; 70 membership, 60 training fees (30 sessions @ 3 discounted for upfront payment) League playing senior membership (excluding training) - 70 per season (can be paid in 5 instalments of 15) - any training sessions attended will be charged at 3 per session League playing junior membership (including training) - 100 per season (can be paid in 5 instalments of 20) which includes; 40 membership, 60 training fees (30 sessions @ 3 discounted for upfront payment) League playing junior membership - 40 per season (can be paid in 5 instalments of 8) - any training sessions attended will be charged at 3 per session
Occasional league player - 20 club registration charge plus 10 fee per match (includes 7 match fee and 3 membership charge) any training sessions attended will be charged at 3 per session. (Occasional membership is limited to 6 matches this is 25% of league matches, after which the balance of 32 membership will be due prior to participating in further matches) Junior membership - 10 membership fee any match or training fees shall be collected based upon attendance in line with the prices detailed above. It shall be the responsibility of each club member to ensure that they are registered with the club through the club s website. Each team captain will be given training on how to manage their side using the website. The preferred method of paying memberships to the club is by members setting up a direct debit (using GoCardless) which can be done as part of the online registration process. This will better enable the club to manage the collection of membership subscriptions and ensure subscriptions are paid to the club each month. For those who wish to pay their membership in full can do so either by direct debit, cash or cheque. Paying membership by either cash or cheque does not absolve the member of their obligation to register as a club member using the website, it simply means that they do not need to complete the direct debit sign up. ANY MEMBER NOT REGISTERED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL NOT BE ELLIGIBLE TO PLAY FOR ANY TEAM NOR WILL THEY BE COVERED BY THE CLUB INSURANCE REGARDLESS OF ANY MEMBERSHIP PAYMENTS MADE TO THE CLUB. Seconded by: RS 9. Election of officers Proposals: Proposed Seconded President George Steadman DS JR Chairman Alan Foster DS ET Vice-Chairman Dave Seymour ET RS Vice-Chairwoman Emily Tokelove JR DS Secretary Maria Elliot LN DS Treasurer Rob Scott JC SS Welfare / DBS Officer Dave Seymour LN JR Development Officer Gary Johnson DS JC Disciplinary Officer Alan Foster DS MJ
Social Secretary Emily Tokelove RS JC Marketing / Web Officer TBC nominations were made but none present to confirm interest Umpiring Liaison Dave Seymour KW ET Officer Fixtures Secretary Dave Seymour MJ GS Youth Coordinator Cath Conway DS RH Head Coach (Juniors) James Cartwright JR CC Head Coach (Ladies) Mark Johnstone LN NH Head Coach (Men) Ben Read RS DS Masters / Vets Steve Seymour GS DS Co-ordinator Men's 1st XI Rob Scott GS SS Ladies' 1st XI Laura Neame ET SB Men's 2nd XI Steve Seymour DS JR Men's 1st XI Vice- James Cartwright RS LN Ladies' 1st XI Vice- Lottie Hopwood LN JC Emily Tokelove Men's 2nd XI Vice- Richard Baldock SS JR Sam Spendlove 10. Any other business NH asked whether the pitch lighting had been investigated & offered to provide information on potential funding streams to upgrade to LED lighting (which will significantly reduce operational costs) DS is to email all club members regarding club hoodies. An order for new playing shirts for the men s 2 nd team (and to supplement the other teams) will be placed toward the end of June. It was agreed that the numbering for the new shirts shall follow a club numbering format to follow on from the 1 st team strip. 11. Date, time and place of next meeting: Pre -season meeting shall be held Tuesday 22nd August at the Bull, 7:30pm. Please let me know if you would like anything on the agenda