archived agm minutes ...

GREAT SHELFORD TENNIS CLUB AGM 2005

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday 9th February 2005 in the Tennis Club Pavilion.  

Welcome:        The Chairman welcomed the Members, the President and Club Coaches to the AGM. 

Present:         Margaret Beeston, Fiona Bennett, John Bicknell, Elaine Bowman, Nick Bowman, Sarah Coppendale, Norman De’Ath, James Diver, Sue Fox, Tim Goode, Elaine Granger, Dani Grant, Hannah Grant, Neil Harvey, Hamid Hejazi, Colin Hitchcock, Jacqui Lloyd, Sylvia Morton, Sandra Nowottny, Rachel Prowse, John Rodger, Penny Saich, Dawn Sanders, Mark Sanders (Chairman), Jeff Scripps, Steve Shaw, Nick Tait, Guy Thomas, Ailsa Weir, James Wescott 

Apologies:      David Grainger, Sarah Gregson, Lance Guron, Damaris Hitchcock, Tisha Hug, Sue Hughes, Mike Lovatt, Jill McMenemy, Clare Pembury, Roger Pembury, Ian Perry, John Plummer, Neil Ruffles, Gordon Scripps, Val Scripps, Colin Tait, Ed Walters, Clare Ward, Elsa Wilkie,

Minutes of the last AGM (4th February 2004) were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting     

Matters Arising:

The rule change covering Family Membership requested by Fiona Bennett at the last AGM, and subsequently added to by the committee, was agreed and will be added to the Club Rules.  Student membership will no longer be age limiting.   

Treasurers Report:

The club remains in a solid financial situation and in fact the position is largely unchanged from that reported last year.  

Net assets are currently running at £21,789.86, up by £1816.81 from last year. 

A further £1000 has been transferred to the clubs sinking fund, so that the clubs assets are now represented by £11,000 in the sinking fund and £10,789.86 left to the Capital account. 

The only point of note here relates to last years accounts in which a Lottery grant actually spent in this financial year appeared as both an asset and liability to negate its impact on the 2003 accounts. 

Income and Expenditure

Total income for the year was £22,260.71 up by £1092 for last year and came from three main sources. 

1)      Subscriptions where the amount collected was £1074.50 lower than 2003. This appears to be due to reduced number of members and particularly juniors, who qualify through the family membership scheme.

2)      Social activities, which as noted in (1) are due to largely to monies collected for the club’s Annual Dinner which was organised for the first time this year.

3)      The Awards for All lottery grant made to support junior coaching activities. Since this was a one off award with spending ring-fenced for these activities, this has been accounted for with a dedicated Income and Expense entry for the award, rather than subsuming it into other categories. 

The other point of note on the income side is that relating to coaching activities, which as predicted in last years report, are substantially reduced. Monies relating to coaching have this year been largely processed independently of the club i.e. directly by the head coach. This provides additional incentive for the coach to provide successful activities and allows for more efficient administration. 

One the expense side the Awards for All spending exceeds the income, meaning the club has contributed approximately £1000 to this junior coaching scheme. This is typical of amounts we have traditionally contributed to junior coaching.  

The large reduction in expenses due to coaching has already been explained. 

Repairs to the courts this year have been more substantial than last. These included respray of courts 1 & 2 and replacement of fencing. This increased the maintenance costs by c.a. £3400 to around £6,600. This is still small compared to the costs of court resurfacing that will be needed in the future and emphasises the need for forward planning in order to have contingency for this. The Club is looking to further increase the sinking fund over the next few years until required. 

Finally, the club dinner is the final main variance of note and should be compared to the Social income made for this event. Being the first year of this event, the committee decided that a fair sized subsidy was justified in order to launch the event.  The Committee will look to reduce the subsidy made by members by either reducing costs or transferring this to the price of a Dinner ticket in future. 

Mark thanked James for his report and proposed that the accounts be accepted, seconded by John Rodger.  Accepted unanimously.  

It was confirmed Mrs. J. Diver is prepared to continue to audit our Accounts.  Thanks were extended to her.  

Match Captains’ Reports

James Diver reported on the Men’s and Mixed matches. The 1^st team were defending champions, and finished in 4^th place.  Men’s 2 in Division 1 found it very hard, but they managed to finish in 6^th position thus avoiding relegation.  The 3^rd team were promoted to Division 2, having finished on the same points as Huntingdon but with 5 games less. The 4^th team finished 6^th, but because Foxton pulled out and Newmarket 3 gifted us a walkover, we managed to avoid relegation.  The 5^th team were able to remain in Division 8, narrowly avoiding the drop zone.  

James thanked the team captains, Andy Chalmers, Nick Tait and Neil Harvey.  

Results:

Summer League: 

Men’s One Division 1 –            Won 4, Lost 2, Drew 1            finished 4^th       

Men’s Two Division 1 –           Won 1, Lost 4, Drew 2           finished 6^th

Men’s Three Division 3 –          Won 5, Lost 1, Drew 1            finished 2_nd/promoted

Men’s Four Division 5  -            Lost 5,                                    finished 6th        

Men’s Five Division 8  -           Won 2, Lost 5                          stayed put.                          

Winter League:

Men’s One Division 1 – won 4, lost 1, Drew 1                          Could win 

                        Men’s Two Division 1 – won 2, lost 1, Drew 2             Stayed put

Men’s Three Division 3 – finished in 5^th place out of 7   Stayed put

James reported that the Men’s 1^st team still have to play the 2^nd team, and if they win 8-0 they will win the Division, beating St Neots by 1 game.  Regardless of the result the Men’s 2’s will remain in Division 1.

 Mixed Results:

Summer League

Mixed One in Division 1 were in a tough division, drew 1, lost 1 and were relegated.

            Mixed Two in Division 2, won 1, drew 1, lost 2, finished 4^th, stay in div 2.        

Mixed Three in Division 3, won 1, drew 1, lost 3, finished 4^th,stay in div 3

            Mixed Four in Division 4, won 1, drew 2, lost 3, finished 4^th, stay in div 4

            Mixed Five in Division 6, lost 5, relegated.

Winter League

One team entered, playing in Division 1, won 2, drew 1, lost 2, had 2 walkovers, and one match still to play.  Could finish 2^nd or 3^rd in the division.  

NCL – Two teams were entered, the aim being to encourage older juniors to participate.  There were problems with nominations, preventing nominated players to represent the other team.

The first team got through to the regional section but lost to a team from Ipswich.  

A T Kerney – Men’s doubles county knockout.  3^rd, 4^th and 5^th team players eligible, GS was knocked out in the quarter finals.  

Club Tournament 11th September 2004

Men’s Singles:              Mark Sanders beat James Westcott                             

Ladies’ Singles:            Marsali Grant beat Elaine Bowman

Men’s Doubles:            Jeff Scripps and Mike Thompson beat Nick Tait and David Grainger

Ladies’ Doubles:          Marsali and Dani Grant beat Elaine Bowman and Hannah Grant

Mixed Doubles:            Sylvia Morton and Mike Thompson beat James Westcott and Jacqui Lloyd 

Rachel Prowse reported on the Ladies Winter and Summer Leagues. She thanked the team captains, Ailsa Weir, Jacqui Lloyd and Dawn Sanders for all their hard work in fielding the teams and getting the results to Rachel. She also thanked Elaine Bowman for all her help and advice. She also thanked Neil Harvey for organising the Vets teams.  Lastly she thanked all the ladies who made up the teams, particularly those who did so at very short notice. 

Results:

Summer League – 4 teams entered.

            Ladies One Div. 1,       won 4, drew 1, lost 1, finished 3rd                                                        Ladies Two Div. 3,                won 1, drew 2, lost 4,   finished 7^th, relegated

Ladies Three Div. 4,     won 4, drew 1, lost 2,   finished 4th

            Ladies Four Div. 7,       lost all 6 matches

Winter League – 2 teams entered.

            Ladies One Div. 1,       won 2, drew 1, lost 2, finished joint 2^nd

            Ladies Two Div. 3,       won all their matches and finished 1^st

Vets League – 2 teams entered.

            1^st team,           won 4, drew 0, lost 2, finished 2^nd

            2^nd team,          won 2, drew 1, lost 3, finished 5^th        

Grays Cup

Thanks to Elaine Grainger for organising the Grays cup matches.  After a very interesting semi-final at Risbeygate, the final against Cambridge was played at Hills Road, and unfortunately GS lost.   

Junior Organiser’s Report

Hamid reported that there were girls and boys teams in the NJCL at under 12, under 14 and under 16.  No team got through the initial round robin stage.

In the Club tournament, Harriet Reynolds was girls’ champion and Janie Lau was boys’ champion. 

Road to Wimbledon - Jamie Lau won the boys tournament and Amanda Black the girls’.   

Hamid updated the meeting on what he had achieved since he took over as Head Coach in October 2004.  He feels there is more structure to coaching now.  He has an assistant, Guy Thomas.

His main priority is to look after GS members and provide a service for GS players.  There are no true junior performance players.  Numbers are picking up, mini tennis now has 40 members, against 9 in December, club programme has 34 as opposed to 8.  Hamid was concerned that there was no continuity for juniors, who would come to GS for coaching, but play elsewhere.   Hamid feels this situation is improving and will continue to do so.  

Mark thanked Hamid for his report, and encouraged the members to encourage people to come to the Club because the coaches are very good.  

Election of Officers and Committee 

Some committee members are standing down, some others are changing their roles. Member standing down are Mark Sanders, James Diver, Colin Hitchcock, David Grainger.  Although he is not willing to remain on the Committee, Colin Hitchcock has agreed to remain as the Club’s Child Protection Officer.  

Nominations for new Committee members are:

Ailsa Weir - Ladies’ Club Captain -proposed Elaine Bowman, seconded Rachel Prowse

Jacqui Lloyd - Non-specific - proposed Nick Tait, seconded Jeff Scripps

Hannah Grant - Non-specific - proposed Rachel Prowse, seconded Jacqui Lloyd 

Nominations for specific Committee positions are:

Nick Tait – Chairman – proposed Mark Sanders, seconded Sylvia Morton

Neil Harvey - Men’s Club Captain – proposed James Diver, seconded Norman De’Ath

Rachel Prowse - Social Secretary – proposed Steve Shaw, seconded Colin Hitchcock 

No other nominations were made at the meeting.  

Mark asked if the meeting would vote for the Committee en bloc.  Agreed unanimously.  

The full 2005 Management Committee will be  

 Mark thanked James Diver, Colin Hitchcock and David Grainger for their service on the Committee. He also confirmed Margaret Beeston is standing down as Minute Secretary and he thanked her for her efforts over the last 6 years.   

Mark also thanked Simon Miller for his continued support with the website.  Simon is handing this over to Elaine Grainger in 2005, and Mark confirmed that the website will be used more actively as a communication and information tool for members. 

At this point Sarah Coppendale requested permission to read a message from Neil Ruffles, who was unable to attend.  He thanked Mark for all he had done for the Club in his 5 years as Chairman.  Neil remembered when he suggested that Mark be asked to take over as Chairman, and he felt it was a very good choice and Mark has been an excellent chairman to the Club, he and his family have been very supportive.  GS is now recognised as one of the best tennis clubs in the region, which is in no small way due to Mark’s efforts.  Neil continued that he would like to take the opportunity to offer Nick his support and to wish him well in the role of Chairman, and Neil feels the club is very fortunate to have Nick taking over as Chairman.  

Subscriptions and Entry Fees for the 2005 Season

Mark confirmed that the Club is financially sound, and he gave reasons for the small increase in subscriptions.  These are to cover inflation and anticipated running costs, which will include the reintroduction of shoe tags for the new season.  

It was proposed that

Full Membership is increased from £80 to £83.

Associate and student rates to be increased from £48 to £50. 

Junior Membership: 2 categories are being proposed – Minis (under 8 years) at £16 and Junior under 16’s at £32 from £30.  Junior membership has not been increased for several years.

Family membership:  Where 2 members paying senior or associate rates, their children are free.

Jill McMenemy asked, via Sarah Coppendale, if the committee would consider a concessionary rate for over 60’s.  John Rodger felt it was something to be discussed by the Committee and brought to the AGM next year.  This was agreed.    

A late payment fee of £10 will be introduced for all categories, including Juniors 

Mark proposed that the new subscription rates are accepted, Nick Tait seconded and it was unanimously agreed.  

The new rates are as follows:

Mark gave details of Club membership.

Senior numbers had dropped from 95 to 93, Juniors had risen from 132 to 168, Associates had risen from 110 to 128.

There is a problem in keeping members because of Next Generation, a lot of Associates and Juniors play there.  The club needs to attract members back to the Club and encourage new members.  

Penny Saich asked if coaching is for members only.  It was agreed that it is preferable that people receiving coaching are members.  Everyone will be asked to wear shoe tags in future.

Chairman’s Report

Mark gave a resume of 2004, it was a very challenging year.  So many teams had been victorious in 2003 and were, as a result, playing in a higher division.  Congratulations to Ladies’ 1 and Men’s 1 and 2 who remained in Division 1.   

There were also changes in the County LTA, with people coming in who do not know Great Shelford, therefore, work needs to be done to develop relationships.  

The Club coach, Ollie Holdenby moved to Next Generation and Dan Farrell returned to University.  However, the Club were lucky to have the services of Hamid Hejazi.   

There has been a slight downturn in membership for the first time in many years, this needs to be reversed. 

No major club house improvements have been undertaken as there are plans to provide a new pavilion for all sports on the recreation ground. 

Sarah Coppendale was asked to update the meeting on the situation regarding the Pavilion.  Not a lot of progress has been made, it has now been agreed to go for planning permission, and it is hoped approval will be received in April.  Included in the plans are 2 new tennis courts which will be by the river.   Sarah reported that there is still the problem of funds for this pavilion, and there does not seem to be any progress in this area.  

Mark thanked Nick Tait and David Grainger for the social programme culminating in the dinner at Emmanuel College on Finals Day, which was a great success.  

Mark was delighted to pass the Chairmanship of the Club to Nick Tait.  He has enjoyed his 5 years as Chairman, and thanked all members and committee for the support he has received in his time in the Chair.  

2 new cups are being awarded this evening, they are replacements for trophies that have disappeared.  One is the Ladies’ Doubles Cup to be known as the Pam Ousey Memorial Trophy, and Mark asked Sylvia Morton to say a few words about Pam Ousey, who was a former President of the Club.  (A copy of Sylvia’s comments is attached to these Minutes).  

The first winners of this trophy are Marsali and Dani Grant.  

Mark presented the second cup to the Club, to be known as the Mark Sanders Trophy for the Men’s Doubles, the first winners being Jeff Scripps and Mike Thompson. 

Mark closed by thanking everybody for their support and wishing Nick well as Club Chairman.

Social Events

2004 was a very successful year socially.  The BBQ in July was a great success, thanks to Steve Shaw and Nic Bowman. Thanks also to Hamid and Euan for the exhibition match they put together.  The Mixed Handicap tournament was reinstated in 2004, playing for the new John Rodger Trophy.  This was won by Mark and Dawn Sanders. The Finals Day Dinner at Emmanuel College was a great success, thanks were expressed to David Grainger, Hannah Grant and Rachel Prowse, John Grant, as well as Mark Sanders and John Rodger for their speeches. 

Various events are being planned for 2005 including a dinner on 17 September.  Unfortunately 2005 is not the Club’s 70^th birthday, but the dinner will go ahead, at Gonville and Caius College. 

Nick then gave information on the new club clothing.  He showed the new club crest, and he confirmed he is hoping to get signage for the clubhouse etc.  He said the clothing will provide very useful income for the Club. 

Members of the Committee then modelled some of the clothing.  

Any other Business  

Neil Harvey is keen to get more members into the teams and information will be circulated to members about this.  The Club wants to put out more teams in all leagues.  

John Rodger, congratulated Mark on the healthy state of the club.  He felt Neil Ruffles had adequately expressed his sentiments for the job Mark has done in the last 5 years.  Shelford was a village club until 1980, with 2 courts, and is now one of the strongest in the county.  Mark’s professional attitude as Chairman has had a positive effect on this situation.  John thanked Mark for all he has done for the Club.

With regard to the County, there are a lot of changes but John thinks the Clubs will benefit from these changes.   

Nick Tait also thanked Mark and James Diver for all their work for the Club.  

Mark closed the meeting by thanking everybody for all their help and support, and he urged the Club to keep “raising the bar” - moving on to achieve more for everybody.  

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.30 pm.