Minutes - AGM 2015

Minutes of A.G.M. meeting held at Tyldesley RUFC on 26th May 2015

Committee Present.   
Fred Swarbrick;  Reg Robinson; John Powell;   Jon Daldry;  Howard Hughes; Greg King; Tommy Hughes (Lancashire)

Apologies.
Tommy Hughes; Peter Rhodes; John Jeskins; David Burrows; Bert Lambert; David Todd.

Representing the Clubs.
Neil Hawkley; Clive Ennis.

Meeting Opened 20.05hrs.

Chairman’s Report

Chairman, Fred Swarbrick, welcomed everyone to the meeting and reflected on another successful season for the North West Intermediate Leagues. He was disappointed to note that 19 teams had left the leagues during the previous season and that the concede rate was at 8% both of which were the highest figures in the leagues history. However 23 applications had already been received for the season 2015/2016 and 2 or 3 more were in the pipeline. This included a welcome return of certain teams from Cumbria. He told the meeting that there were only 2 minor rule changes to be discussed at this time as all else seemed to be running smoothly. Luckily this season had not been too badly affected by the weather and all fixtures were completed on time with only 2 evening games played. Thanks to the efforts of John Powell for keeping on top of this. Thanks also to Greg King for keeping the accounts most efficiently and presenting them clearly to the meeting. He confirmed that all committee members were prepared to stand for re-election for the coming season if the clubs approve. Fred reserved a special thank you to Reg Robinson who was retiring as Secretary to the Leagues after doing that difficult job so well for over 10 years. It was acknowledged that the success of our league system was very largely down to him.

Secretary’s Report

In his last report to the membership as Secretary to the Leagues Reg Robinson said that, as usual, Fred had already said most of the things he wanted to say. He congratulated John Powell on an excellent first season as Fixtures secretary and was happy to note that Howard Hughes had volunteered to assist in this job. In fact Howard had already had a meeting with Barry Allen in order to understand the computer programme invented by Barry to make this easier. Reg thanked the other committee members for their support over the years and announced that his replacement would be Paul Whiston from the Glossop club providing the meeting votes him in.

Neil Hawkley proposed a special vote of thanks to Reg for his work over the years. Seconded by Howard Hughes and carried unanimously with a large round of applause.

Treasurers Report

Greg King presented the accounts in a very easy to understand manner and noted that we are showing a surplus from last year in both the main account and the benevolent fund. There were some small outstanding matters but these would not affect the outcome by much. The Benevolent Fund is strong in spite of 3 claims against it last season. Craig Hine is still negotiating with Barclays for their charitable contribution.

Fixture Secretary’s Report

John Powell reflected that his first season as Fixture Secretary had not been too difficult due to the weather being fairly kind. Only 123 postponements had to be re-arranged and only 2 evening games in April. It was disappointing to lose 19 teams through the season 3 of which never played a game. Concedes run at 8% which is also disappointing but compared to some parts of the country where a 50% concede that is not uncommon it looks OK. There are 23 applications to join for next season and a few more possibly in the pipeline so next season should start with 14 leagues almost full to capacity. John sends his thanks to all the fixture secretaries at the clubs who have co-operated with him very well.

Election of Officers

Neil Hawkley proposed that all current Committee members be re-elected en-bloc. Seconded by Clive Ennis and carried unanimously.

Fred Swarbrick proposed Paul Whiston should join the Committee and hold the position of Secretary to the Leagues. Seconded by Greg King and carried unanimously. Fred Swarbrick proposed that Dr. Sara Shackleton should be co-opted to the Committee and serve as Honorary Medical Officer to the Leagues. Seconded by Andy Thompson and carried unanimously.

Motions Received

1. Alteration to Rule 14. Shortage of players.

In the Premiership AND DIVISION 1 each side shall provide a minimum of 12 players for a game to go ahead. There will be no more than ONE man advantage to any team at the start of the game.

In all other divisions the rule remains the same.

Proposed by John Powell (Preston Grasshoppers), Seconded by Fred Swarbrick (Vale of Lune)

Carried unanimously.

2. Rule 22a re-wording.

The Rules Committee (Chairman and Fixture Secretary) are sole interpreters of the rules with powers to co-opt.

Proposed by Fred Swarbrick (Vale of Lune), Seconded by John Powell (Preston Grasshoppers)

Carried unanimously.

A.O.B.

Fred informed the Meeting of £2500 which could be claimed from the CB’s of Lancashire and Cheshire to support Association Referees.
Other committee members expressed disappointment that only 2 representatives from the clubs attended this meeting. However it was pointed out that this could be a sign that the leagues were operating as well as could be expected and that there were no contentious issues to be argued.

Meeting closed 20.55 hrs