Minutes of AGM held on 19th September 2016 at the Talbot

Present:  Sandy Churms, John Clarke, Dave Cooper, Neil Davies, Terry Davies, Luke Evans, Richard Evans, Mike Hillier, John Lea, Shaun Murphy, Jon Parkins, Ray Potbury, John Pritchard (minutes), Ted Randles, Barry Tipton, Gordon Vickers, Margaret Walker, Nigel Walker, Pat Wallace, Derek Waters, Brian Welch. 

Apologies: None.

The Chairman opened the meeting at 8.10pm, welcomed all those present, thanked everyone for attending, and gave a brief resume of the Agenda.

1. Election of Officials

The first item on the agenda was the Election of Officials and the following people were all nominated, proposed, seconded and unanimously elected:-
 

Thanks go to everyone who has re-joined, and we welcome Luke Evans and Shaun Murphy who are both new to the committee.

2. Statement of Accounts

New treasurer Mike Hillier presented the Statement of Accounts for 2015-16 and copies were made available for those present.   On the reverse of the Statement of Accounts there was a very useful photocopy of the latest Bank Statement which showed our balance at the bank on 12th September 2016, and this figure tallied exactly with the statement presented by Mike.   It was pointed out that the Cross Foxes A and B teams have still to pay their Summer League fees which will add £40 to the balance.  After everyone had had chance to look at the figures, some questions were asked.

Looking at the amount spent on trophies and engraving, John Lea asked if Certificates could be presented instead of trophies as this would save a considerable amount of money.   Some thought this was a good idea, others thought that some teams would still prefer to receive trophies.   Nigel Walker suggested this could be discussed at the next Committee Meeting.

Dave Cooper questioned the reduced amount awarded as prize money and asked where the money had gone, and why the Presentation Night had not been held earlier.   We could only refer to the financial statement to explain where money had been distributed, and the reduced prize money allocated had allowed the league to make a small profit over the year.    Prizes will be lower than in previous years, in the past Jack Dodd had made contributions which allowed us to award higher prizes. Also there had been a poorer-than-anticipated attendance at the Presentation Night and income was down on Rollerball etc. Ted Randles informed the meeting that the steward at the USC was disappointed with the Presentation Night attendance (around 16 people) and, if the Presentation was held there again next year, they would probably want the food paying for up front (approx £70).      Dave Cooper pointed out that the last payment received from Jack Dodd was back in 2011, and while this is correct, at that time the Committee decided to reduce the levels of money paid out to keep prizes higher than normal for longer, and also to keep the Open Knockout going to 2013.

Nigel Walker asked if the Presentation Night could be held on a Wednesday in future, rather than a Thursday, and this seemed like a good idea to everyone.

The Presentation Night itself was delayed because we had difficulties in registering new Treasurer Mike Hillier as a signatory for cheques.      Following changes to the committee last year we went down to one signatory for cheques (we now have two - Mike and myself).    It meant that we were unable to access any funds for trophies / prize money etc which regrettably caused the Presentation Night to be held much later than normal.

Also, this year we have inadvertently only paid out prize money for 7 competitions, not 8, the Highest Away Average being identified as the one not paid.        Thinking about this after the AGM,  I think this could be raised at the first Committee meeting and Paul McLaughlin could be retrospectively awarded a prize (£30) for the Highest Away Average of the 2015/16 season, should the Committee agree.

Dave Cooper asked about sponsorship from Abbey Taxis and we're pleased to say they have agreed to continue their sponsorship of the league for the next 12 months and have paid us £100 accordingly.

After all the discussions, Ray Potbury proposed that the statement could be accepted as a true account of our finances, this was Seconded by Margaret Walker and carried unanimously by all present.

3. Any Other Business

The chairman informed the meeting that 11 teams will be entering the Winter League, and they are Bawn Lodge, Cottage, Cross Foxes A, Cross Foxes B, Royal Oak, St. Theresa's, St. Werburgh's, Spital Vaults, Talbot, Union Vaults and United Services.   The league will start on Wednesday, 19th October and break for Christmas after games played on Wednesday, 14th December.   League games will resume on Wednesday, 4th January 2017 and all games should be completed well before Chester Races start on Wednesday 10th May.

The chairman outlined fees for the coming season, which will be the same as last year, namely £50 for entry to the League, £2.50 each to enter the Northgate Cup and West Cheshire Shield and £4 to enter the 351 Competition.    The 5-a-Side competition will be free to enter, and Singles and Doubles will remain at £1 and £2 respectively.   The Veterans competition will also remain free to enter for anyone aged 65+, and the prizes will remain fluid!

Proposal discussions

Three proposals were received this year, and notices have been in pubs and clubs for some time.     Copies were made available to those present at the meeting, and these were discussed, considered and then voted on (all the proposals can be read here).    The chairman advised the meeting that Proposals 1 and 2 were so similar that John Clarke and Mike Hillier had agreed they could be discussed and voted on together.

Proposals 1 and 2 - One team one vote
Proposals 1 and 2, submitted by John Clarke and Mike Hillier, put forward the idea that each pub and club should only have 1 vote on each proposed change in future, suggesting this was a fairer system.    If approved, the new voting system would start at the 2017 AGM.   Mike Hillier's additional suggestion was that teams had to be members for 12 months before receiving a vote.     No-one objected to the one-team-one-vote proposal, but the suggestion that teams had to be league members for 12 months was not seen as fair.   Two votes were taken, first the One-Team-One-Vote proposal was approved unanimously, but having to be a member for 12 months was not.   So, for any proposals made for the 2017 AGM, every team will have one vote, and a form similar to the example below will be distributed with any proposals made.    Each team can then decide how they wish to vote and return the form to the Secretary before the AGM, or attend the AGM with the form.

 
Proposal 3
3.1   Scrap the 'Point-A-Man' system
Dave Cooper briefly outlined his objections to the 'point-a-man' system used in the last Winter League, saying it distracted from the status of team performance and also produced an over-complicated league table.   Also it sought to penalise teams that can't field 8 players.   Neil Davies felt that 6+2 was unfair to teams who could field 8 players as often teams with good players could field 2 of them again whereas teams with 8 may have weaker players making up the numbers.   A vote was taken and the meeting decided overwhelmingly to scrap the point-a-man system.

3.2.A    West Cheshire Shield to return to former status
Dave proposed that the 'Handicap' system should be scrapped, and felt that playing on a neutral table was handicap enough.   While others agreed, some thought the idea to give weaker teams an additional chance of winning had been a good one.     A vote was taken, and by 9 votes to 6 the Handicap system was rejected.

3.2.B    Return West Cheshire Shield to a Thursday Night
Dave proposed that the West Cheshire Shield should be played on a Thursday along with all the other cups.   However it was pointed out that in the 2 years the West Cheshire Shield has been moved to a Wednesday it has been more popular than the Northgate Cup which has remained on a Thursday.    A vote was taken, and the meeting voted by 10 to 8 to reject this proposal and the West Cheshire Shield will therefore remain on a Wednesday evening.     Some gaps will be left in the league fixtures to accommodate it.

There was no other business raised so the Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.20pm.

It just remains for me to thank Pat at the Talbot for hosting the AGM and for the plates of sausage rolls which all disappeared in traditional bagatelle fashion!
 

END OF MINUTES