Fulbourn Tennis Club Annual General Meeting

Monday February 25th 2019 

Fulbourn Institute

Present

Derek Burton (Chair), Ann Burton, Chris McMullen, Steve Collis, David Mann,

Philip Swift, Perdita Swift, Deborah Girling, Jo Cauldwell, Karin Olley, Stuart

Olley, Susan Lee, Thelma Miller.

Apologies for absence

Ian Halsall, Helen Schuilenburg, Julia Herrick, Tim Hands, Alison Cooke,

Sally Munday, Tim Cockerill, Alan Kindred

1: Chair’s welcome

2: Apologies for absence

3: Minutes of previous AGM held on 19/02/18

No matters arising, the minutes will be placed on the club’s website.

Proposed: Karin Olley

Seconded: Jo Cauldwell

4: Chair’s Report: Season 2018-19. (Derek Burton)

• Derek said that the present committee were happy to continue serving for another year, but it would be good if others would come forward with new ideas and a view to the future.

• It had been a good season with the new astra on Court 3 bedding down well.

• A number of new members joined in the autumn.

• Attendance at club sessions had been disappointing, as was the turnout for the Open Day in June to tie in with the Fulbourn Feast. It is hoped that there will be more support in the coming season.

• There have been problems with vandalism on the recreation ground. Things have improved thanks to greater vigilance on the part of the police.

• CCTV coverage of the tennis courts has also been increased , for which we have given a £100 donation to the Parish Council.

5: Club Facilities & Maintenance: (Derek Burton)

• The three astra and one hard courts are all in good condition.  RePlay will be doing the spring brushing of all three astra court on April 25th.

• At the same time the hedge bordering court one will be trimmed.

• We now have an on-going contact with Justin Furner of Furnleaf Landscapes. Justin will keep the court area clear of weeds and leaves and mow the grass. The branches overhanging court two have now been cut back.

• The vandalised bench has now been removed . Miranda St John has another bench and this will be installed in the spring and the inscription plate attached.

• The floodlights are all in working order.

• The windbreak opposite court two had to be removed as it was damaging the netting.

• Padlocks: Court 1: 1989, Court 3: 1978. Please report any vandalism to the committee. Members will be emailed with the numbers.

• Derek was asked to consider providing keys for the Monday/Friday players so they can access the hut.

6: Treasurers Report: (Steve Collis)

• Steve presented the annual financial report to the meeting. This will be made available on the website. Steve thanked Alan Kindred for doing the statement . Alan is happy to do the accounts next year.

Proposed: David Mann

Seconded: Stuart Olley

7: Membership: (Deborah Girling)

• Current membership: 128 (138)

• Full membership: 42 (45)

• Off peak members: 21 (16)

• Family membership: 12 (17)

• Young adults: 6

• Children: 26 (16)

last year’s figures in brackets

• Deborah stressed that the club needed more members to increase our incomes.

• She suggested that we should rationalise the fee structure with the aim of increasing membership and making the club more inclusive.

• There followed a long discussion about the pros and cons of this proposal.

• It was agreed unanimously that a fee of £90 should be charged to all adult members who could then access the courts at any time.

• It was felt that we need not raise the income level  for this season.

• It was agreed that the club needed to advertise more widely. A sign will be erected near the court with contact details.

8: Club sessions: (Derek)

• There was discussion about the timings of the club sessions and whether these could be altered to encourage more players to attend. Sessions to remain as last season for the moment.

9: LTA/Wimbledon Tickets: (Ann Burton)

• Ann explained the new minimum venue registration requirements.

• Safeguarding.

• Diversity and inclusion.

• Welfare Officer: Ann Burton

• Annual risk assessment.

• Accredited coaches.

• The club is now fully registered and insured.

• Members of the committee attend all local LTA meetings.

• As last year the club will be using the LTA automatic ballot. This goes live on March 18th and closes on May 24th.

• We are allocated tickets based on the number of opted in members.

• All members who have been successful in the ballot will receive an email and should respond to this without delay. If rejected the ticket can be allocated to another Fulbourn member.

10: Coaching: (Olly Halliwell)

• Olly was unable to attend and his report will be posted on the website.

11: Match report: (Chris McMullen)

• Last year we had: 2 ladies teams, 2 mens team & 1 mixed team.

• Coaching for the teams is provided by Over & In.

• This year we will be fielding one ladies team and one mens team.

• Our mens team won Division 1 but those players are no longer available.

• The current team will now be playing in Div 6.

12: Fulbourn Institute:

• Those members who wish to join the Institute can purchase membership from the bar.

13: Open Day:

• As last year we will hold this to coincide with the Fulbourn Feast.

14: Hills Road Sunday Tennis: (Karin Olley)

• Despite the poor take up this year it was decided to continue with booking two courts for these sessions. Derek thanked Karin for organising these.

15: Any other business:

• Some members requested a list of members to be displayed so that games could be arranged. This is not possible due to the Data Protection Act. It was suggested that an informal  Whatsapp group could be formed.

• Karin said that Steve O’Donahue had said he was very happy with the way

the club was run 

• Derek thanked all the committee members for all their hard work.

The meeting closed at 9:45 pm.