K & B LTC AGM 15/02/’21 at 19.00 by Zoom
Present – Dougal Atack, John Cain, Gillian White, Lucy Dickinson, Catherine Castro, Julie Saxton, Neil Maxwell, Ivan Curties, Martin Duke, Mike Green, Gary Payton, Pete Armstrong, Timea Vizmathy, Clare Pinkney, Tom Stenhouse, Tony Procter, Ed & Jane Ma, Sally Lansbury & Rachel Bazire
1. Apologies – Janaki Spedding, Caroline Fowkes, Jonathon Vickers & Jez Hale
2. Chairperson Welcome, Approval of 2020 Minutes & Report – Last years’ minutes were approved. “What a difference a year makes” Julie spoke about all the positives for the club at the beginning of the year, winning trophies, a new coach & the plans for the Bowling club development …. & then C19 hit.
We missed out on competitive matches, no club nights, or socials. Subsequently it was difficult to integrate new members whilst dealing with locking down the courts & following government guidelines. The Bowling club plans went on hold.
More positively we could play some tennis in a few months of the summer, including the use of the grass courts. Having Gary as a coach was a huge bonus for the club. New members joined, communicating through Messenger encouraged participation amongst members. Julie thanked the committee for their volunteering to keep membership growing, with resulting healthy finances & allowing everyone to keep safe. She also thanked Sally for her work in securing a further 5yr lease of the Fitz park grass courts at the same annual charge & supporting Rachel in a grant application for court repairs/accessible path/coaching plans at the Braithwaite courts.
Hopes for 2021 include returning to play as soon as C19 allows with a growing membership (especially juniors), social tournaments/events & competitive play. WCTL have a Zoom AGM on March 8th when we hope to have clarity on whether there will be a league this season.
3. Treasurers report – The club had a cash profit of £2700 due to C19 reimbursement from LTA/Gov (due to C19 effect on tennis), an increase in membership (despite 50% taking the reduced rate) & none of our usual league/social/advertising expenditure. There was also income from use of the floodlights (£150), as members joined through Clubspark this removed our DD discount & we benefit from no website costs by using Clubspark. The club sinking fund is healthy & allowing us to consider the 50% matched funding project at BI.
It was agreed at the preAGM meeting to set the subscription fees at 80% of the usual rates across all the categories for the coming year. The finances allow this & it is felt to be a reasonable concession with the unpredictable C19 effects.
4. Election of Officers – All the roles were proposed & seconded by participants at the meeting.
Chairperson – Julie Saxton
Vice Chairperson – Neil Maxwell N.B. As Neil is due hip surgery this month, he will need recovery time & has decided to defer his role as chairperson until the next AGM.
Secretary – Rachel Bazire
Treasurer – Dougal Atack N.B. A succession plan is needed during the year.
1st Team Ladies Captain – Probable vacant position as Clare Pinkney(who previously held this position) is likely to be moving out of the area
2nd Team Ladies Captain – Timea Vizmathy
1st Team Men’s Captain – Dougal Atack
2nd Team Men’s Captain - Pete Armstrong
Men’s Singles Captain – Ivan Curties
1st Team Mixed captain – Anna Hollinshead N.B. Only 2 couples for teams this year.
2nd Team Mixed Captain – vacant
3rd Team mixed Captain - Janaki Spedding
Club Coach – Gary Payton
LTA County Rep – Gary Payton
Junior Coordinator – Gary Payton
Fundraising & Advertising – Sally Lansbury Added after the meeting “ Just to confirm: I'm happy to do what's needed re grant applications but I can’t do any to Allerdale as I'm effectively employed by them as a Councillor so I’s not allowed - and I don't really have the time to do fundraising events like quiz nights etc but I can do other agency grant applications or work with Rachel on them when they come up”
Safeguarding & Welfare Officer – Rachel Bazire
Grass Courts Liaison & Fitz Park Trust Reps – Mike Green & Lucy Dickinson
Website Manager – Dougal Atack N.B. Ivan Curties volunteered to take over this role during the year. It was noted a number of people have administration rights on our LTA website but Dougal is the guru to do the handover. Ivan mentioned contacting Michael Bunting, a member who is also a website developer for ideas/assistance.
Social Secretary – Julie will approach Catherine Castro (who had left the meeting prior to this election)
Braithwaite Institute Rep – John Cain N.B to include overseeing Braithwaite maintenance.
Press Secretary/Match Reports – Pete Armstrong N.B. It was commented that prior to having some play to write about it might be worth putting a report into The Reminder about 80% membership fees/return to play timetable/photos to entice - having it ready to go in at relatively short notice
General Committee Members – Ed Ma
5. Coaching & Competitions – A comprehensive coaching & competition programme had been circulated to all the committee & then discussed at the preAGM meeting.
Last year C19 prevented almost everything planned except for 1:1 & 2:1 coaching. Gary looks forward to meeting more members this year & having funding for equipment to support new ventures. There are all colours of junior programmes planned, working from balance to competitive play. Adult programmes include rusty rackets, club play options (club nights, box leagues & competitions) team play & cardio tennis. Box leagues are a new idea for the club through a platform that Gary will publicise & administer (Approx cost of £10/mth). Ivan commented that through his involvement with the Penrith Squash Club league play had been a good way to get to know other players & match standards of play. Sally asked if we could consider getting access to BI for indoor junior play in bad weather & whether Gary had other coaches to use when junior demand increased. John Cain will follow up as BI rep the first question. Gary regularly works with his daughter Hannah who assists as level 2 trained & DBS checked. Often teenage players learn to support the club coach as a natural progression in their tennis development.
Gary plans to enter a junior team to Cumbria National Summer League & will support Ivan who volunteered to run a Ladies/ Men’s team depending on interest. It is difficult to plan with uncertainties of C19 but Gary will communicate with the organiser before the closing date of 28th Feb.
6. Report from Braithwaite Institute – John said there had been no Zoom meetings to attend. He has circulated to the committee a calendar of events booked at BI for the coming year (which impact on the field/car parking etc) & directed us to the BI website for further updates.
7. AOB – Ivan was thanked by Julie for sending a document containing “suggestions for discussion in AGM AOB “which was circulated to the committee before the AGM. Club communications was a main point for discussion & it was felt that Ivan would be able to understand/improve communication with/for other members through his involvement in the website. Having a rota of “better players” for rusty rackets/new members/club nights with a duty to keep things moving was thought to be a good idea & needs a willing coordinator.
The meeting closed at 20.40
Next AGM Monday 21st Feb 2022 at 7pm. Venue TBC