Minutes of meeting held Thursday 25th January 2018 at Mere Bowling Club
The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everyone and wished them a Happy New Year.
Apologies for absence Mike Grocott (Oughtrington) Allan Edwards (Victory Hall) Ken Heaton (Goostrey) Brian Jones & Celia Brown (Railway) Kath Perks (Cranford) John Glover (Swettenham) Barbara Palfreyman (Chelford) & Allan Burdett (High Legh). Railway High Legh & Victory Hall were not represented.
- Minutes of previous meeting held 17th August 2017 were posted on the website and it was agreed they were a true and proper record.
- Matters arising There were no matters arising
- Officers Reports
The Chairman had nothing to report this being the closed season. The Secretary advised the meeting that an application to join the league had been received from Great Budworth Bowling Club. As we currently have 24 teams competing in two divisions we don’t at this time have a vacancy. The Secretary had looked at creating three divisions, but the reduction in league games and loss of revenue from greenage makes this a non- starter. Should we retain our 24 teams following the AGM the Secretary will advise Great Budworth accordingly. The Treasurer presented the annual accounts, which showed a balance in the bank of £661.04. He said that he anticipated that income and expenditure would be in line with the previous year and therefore he would propose that greenage and prize money stay at 2017 levels. He went on to inform the meeting that he intends to propose at the AGM a rebate of £11 per team should be paid to all teams competing in the 2017 season. This would leave a bank balance of £397.04 and comply with rule 6.3 which says that the bank balance be restricted to £400.
- Competition Venues
The Secretary advised the dates and venues for the 2018 competitions and asked the delegates to confirm that their clubs were prepared to host them.
Individual – Church Inn Bowling Club – Sunday 3rd June
Pairs – Knutsford Bowling Club – Saturday 30th June
Mixed Pairs – Cranford Bowling Club – Sunday 2nd September ****
**** This venue may change due to potential car parking problems at weekends.
Jack Bryning – Knutsford Bowling Club Quarter-finals on from 17-23rd Sept
- Proposals for AGM
The Secretary proposes that rule 8.1 be amended.
It presently reads: Qualifying games: 2 games for new players, not regular players in the previous season. Amend to read: Qualifying games: 2 games for new players, previous seasons players to have played a minimum of 6 league games.
- Future of Jack Bryning Competition.
Officers are concerned that entries are declining for the Jack Bryning competition. Last year we only had 12 entries, and even one of those dropped out before the start of the competition. It was generally agreed that the pairs format was right and we should continue without any changes. Delegates were asked to try to whip up more entries, after all we have 24 teams and in excess of 300 league members
- Succession of Serving Officers.
The chairman said that to date no nominations have been received for the post of President, Chairman, Treasurer or Secretary. All have indicated that they are prepared to stand for one more year.
However, Chris and Alan have served the league for over 30 years between them and feel it’s time for a gradual hand over so that all the change doesn’t happen at once. Therefore, Chris has decided that this will be his final year as Treasurer, but will be available the following year to help the new Treasurer as required. So, we will need a new Treasurer to be appointed at the 2019 AGM. Alan will continue until the 2020 AGM when he too will step down, and a new Secretary will need to be appointed.
The workload for both Treasurer and Secretary isn’t massive and is well documented. Both Chris and Alan will help the new incumbents as needed through their first year, but better still if we can get a volunteer to shadow them during their final years, and learn on the job as it were. All expenses are reimbursed and additionally there is a small honorarium.
There are two other members of the management committee, President and Chairman. I would like to see the new Treasurer and Secretary in post before stepping down in 2021 - more about the role of Chairman nearer the time.
Finally, and by no means least we have our President. Ken has indicated that this will be his last year and we thank him for all his service both as past Chairman and President. This position has no day to day involvement in running the league, but is a vital sounding board where we draw on his experience and knowledge when we make certain decisions or make recommendations.
So, to recap, we need to appoint a new Treasurer and President at next year’s AGM, the following year we will need a new Secretary, and in 2021 a new Chairman.
The league can’t operate without these positions so if you want to continue Friday League bowling we need to get around our members and find some volunteers.
All the Officers have been happy to continue in post for many years, but perhaps it would be appropriate to consider a maximum time for any officer to serve – say either 3 or 5 years. Perhaps if members thought that they would only serve for a set period it may encourage more volunteers.
- Any Other Business
The Secretary read out two e-mails from members regarding Presentation Evening. One complementing the event organizers, and the other saying that they and others felt that it was a bit of a “let down”. The Secretary said that he thought it had become a bit stale, although no one had come up with alternatives. A general discussion followed without reaching any conclusion, and it was suggested that a small sub committee be formed to come up with some suggestions.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 8.55pm with the Chairman reminding the meeting of the AGM on Thursday 22nd February commencing at 8pm.