24 November 2003, 7.30pm
Held at Cheadle Conservative Club
The President asked delegates to stand for few moments in silence in memory of colleagues who had passed away in the last year. These included Peter Durrands of the Nursery, Neville Hawkins and Bernard Whelan of Waggon & Horses, Harry Kelly of Crown Hotel, Roy Lamb of Ladybridge, Alan McKee of South Reddish.
Present: President, Secretary, Veterans’ Match Secretary, Treasurer and delegates
Apologies: Ladybridge, Withington
Absences: Bramhall Queensgate Bowling Club, Burnage Garden Village, Fallowfield Bowling & Tennis Club, Ladybridge Park Bowling Club, Northern Etchells Bowling Club, P. C. S., South Manchester British Legion, Woodley Sports Bowling Club
The minutes of the previous half yearly meeting were read and approved.
Bungalow want to re-enter their first team. When they withdrew a team their A division team was removed, so the secretary thought the new team should go back into division A.
Farmers Arms had given up the struggle with their green and landlord. The players had moved to Cringlewood. So for next year there would be no Farmers Arms team but two Cringlewood teams. Since the players are the same (more or less), Cringlewood A would take the place of Farmers in Div B, and Cringlewood B would take the place of last year’s Cringlewood, relegated from B to C.
There was no other firm news about teams joining or leaving.
The experiment of having a merit qualifying round on a Tuesday had seemed to be a success and we expected to do it again next year. We were also looking at running the first (and possibly second) round of the Newlan on a Tuesday. Our fixtures currently interlock with those of the S&D because several of our clubs share greens with S&D teams. The S&D were also considering running their team knockout on match nights, which could affect us. See their web site for details.
In the veterans’ league, four teams had applied to join: Didsbury Bowling Club (playing at the Didsbury pub), Nursery B, Poynton Royal British Legion and West Heaton B. This meant there would be 65 teams, which would be organised in five divisions of 11 and one of 10 teams. Promotion and relegation would be adjusted to achieve this.
Vernon Building Society had ended their sponsorship of the Vernon. The competition has a new sponsor for at least one year. The council want to build up a bowls festival, based around the final of this competition and the international matches. The idea is to have a series of “super-finals” in the few days before the ex-Vernon final. These would be in categories like men, women, vets, and would be open to the top four finishers in local league competitions. All these events to take place at Alexandra Park.
So if it goes ahead and we take part, the semi-finalists in the Merit would qualify for the main super-final. Likewise the semi-finalists in the vets merit would qualify for the vets super-final.
To take part, we have to arrange that our competitions finish before the festival, which is expected to run from 21 to 29 August. This is no problem for the evening merit, but would be a big change for the vets, who currently play their merit at the end of the season.
We need someone to represent us on the bowls development group. The secretary called for volunteers.
All but one club had now paid their fees. The missing case was under control and payment was expected.
The presentation night had been a reasonable success. The treasurer especially wished to thank Stockport Cricket Club, who had been unable to attend but had nevertheless sent a prize for the raffle.
Delete rule 1.13 (Disputes) in its entirety, and substitute the following rule.
1.13 Disputes
Stage 1 Dispute heard at league level. If there is a failure to agree or to accept the decision, an appeal may be made to higher authority.
Stage 2 Dispute heard at county level. If there is a failure to agree or to accept the decision, an appeal may be made to higher authority.
Stage 3 Dispute heard by the British Crown Green Bowling Association, whose ruling shall be final with no further recourse.
The appropriate documentation and dispute fee as requested at each level shall accompany all requests for a hearing.
Proposed by Great Moor Conservative Club.
Mr Beech explained that there had been a dispute during the season involving Great Moor Conservative Club and another club in another league. This had not been resolved satisfactorily by the league, whose rules offered no right of appeal. The club had applied to the British Crown Green Bowling Association, who had confirmed that a right of appeal did exist. The BCGBA had also stated that leagues which offered no right of appeal (including the Cheadle and Gatley League) were out of order and should amend their rules.
Mr Beech also said that a right of appeal was a natural right of everybody.
It was pointed out that the proposal should be an amendment to rule 1.15 and not 1.13. The secretary stated that he had interpreted the letter from Great Moor. The reference to a specific rule, and the error if any, were his. He suggested that the spirit of the rule change was clear. If the proposal were accepted he would agree a definitive wording with Mr Beech, which would be put to the AGM for ratification.
The secretary confirmed that he had received no correspondence from the BCGBA on this subject.
The motion was approved on a vote.
In rule 3.8 (Doubling-up), delete the sentence “For the purposes of this rule, all matches shall be considered to have been played on the original dates specified in the fixtures.”
Proposed by Stockport Cricket Club.
The Stockport CC delegate explained that he had been short of players one week due to holidays. He had cancelled the second team match, and two second team players had played in the first team. When the second team match was eventually played, these players were included, but the league had disqualified them under rule 9.2. He could not have played the two first-teamers who were unavailable on the original date because they had plus averages. He felt the rule was unfair and prevented clubs like his from fielding two teams.
The veterans’ match secretary the infringements there had been under this rule; there were seven in the 2003 season. Several delegates argued that the fundamental problem was insufficient players. The secretary said that the rule had been introduced in 1997 following a dispute, and re-affirmed in 1999. There were a few infringements every year; he was sure these were unintentional.
The proposal was defeated on a vote.
In rule 3.6 (Registration of players), delete the sentence “ Players shall be deemed to refer to male members of the Club.”
Proposed by Crowcroft Park Bowling Club.
Mr Bradley said that many clubs had women members who wished to participate in the league, and were often of a high standard. In this day and age restrictions to men only were outdated. The proposal might also help to alleviate some clubs’ shortage of players.
Counter arguments from the floor were that the league was traditionally a men’s league and that women had ample opportunity to play in existing women’s and mixed leagues.
The proposal was defeated on a vote.
There was a suggestion that the evening league should change to ten a side, as a means of alleviating the player shortage.
Robinsons asked how promotion and relegation would work in the evening league, with a new Bungalow team coming into division A. There was a suggestion that the Bungalow B team, which had finished top of division C should stay there and not be promoted. In addition, Northenden Social said that they were withdrawing one team. They would prefer that the remaining team be in division B (teams are currently in A and C). The secretary would review all these factors and discuss the problem with the other officers. He was aware of the need to be fair to clubs which believed they had earned promotion or avoided relegation, but some hard choices might have to be made.
There was no further business and the meeting closed at 8.35pm.