Newton & Noss Tennis Club AGM:
19 March 2024
Attended: Richard Holman, John Denny, Stewart Barnes, Jason Vosper, Karen Jaggs, Liz Pearce, Laura James, Wendy Woodham, Phil Davis, Mike & Lesley Johnson, Danny Evans, Peter Leman, Roger Barnett, Ruipeng Sweeting (16).
Apologies: Jane Jordan, Simon Pearson, Jackie Rundle, Gill & Clive Woodyear, Diana & Peter Glanville, Louise Holman, Barbara Bultmann, Rachel Tew, Alan Gorcyza.
Minutes from AGM 2023:
No matters arising. The minutes were approved unanimously.
- Chair Report
Richard thanked everyone for coming to the AGM. He thought 2023 was a successful year, based on:
- Number of members
- Increased activity from junior players
- Having some fun
- People taking advantage of the coaching opportunities
- Match results
But none of the above can happen without people getting involved. So he thanked everyone who has been involved in one or more of those areas. With particular thanks to:
- The committee as a whole
- Team captains
- Laura
- Jane Jordan for organising club sessions
- Stewart and volunteers for keeping on top of the maintenance
- Karen Jaggs – our welfare and safeguarding officer. This is one of those thankless tasks that gets no recognition. She does it with a real understanding of what a club like ours needs to adhere too. She educates an elderly committee, without raising her eyes to the heavens, & we would be in trouble without her. Thank you Karen.
- Jackie Rundle - who was responsible for communications; thank you Jackie.
- Wendy Woodham - she has stepped down as the Social representative on the committee. There have been numerous quizzes and tournaments and others that she has quietly delivered for our benefit. Thank you Wendy.
The good news is that she has agreed to stay and help with certain events, if required, so if you were concerned about cakes – don’t be. We are particularly fortunate to have found a replacement quickly. That is Liz Pearce, so thank you Liz and we wish you well.
Liz needs help – please offer to help. Committee members should not do all the work, but help facilitate with others. I would like to see more people volunteer to get involved. Already good to see Mike & Graham volunteering to help with the maintenance & Danny with team tennis.
As I said earlier, there are more detailed comments about certain sections to follow, but it would be remiss of me, not to mention Gill Woodyear and her team, winning the South Devon Mixed Doubles Cup. It’s not all about team tennis as you know, but it is nice when people representing our club do so admirably
Social Tennis Report from Jane Jordan - the change from Saturday club session to Sunday seems to be working well. The new poll system has had a couple of teething problems which I think are now sorted and so should help the number of unnecessary messages on WhatsApp.
If there are 8 players already saying they want to play a session, don’t be put off, add your names and I always try to accommodate everyone by adding a session if possible.
The Monday session continues to be popular and we would always welcome newcomers. The timing will change in April when it is light enough to play till 7pm. Session will run 5-7 to accommodate working members. There is no reason not to play later if people support it.
Please look on the website events page to see all the events we have coming up, from fun triple events with Laura, to slightly more competitive doubles events. We also have our Open weekend in April, with activities for both adults and juniors, members and non-members.
Replacement Courts – we are aware that the courts will need re-surfacing in the fairly near future, and have been in consultation with Courtstall for advice. They recently inspected our courts and advised that the small cracks are normal for a 10-year old court. We will continue to monitor the state of the tarmac and anticipate replacing the courts at the end of 2025. With replacement fencing and new courts we anticipate we will need c£50k, and will attempt to attract grants and loans to assist us financially.
I also want to replace the existing logo, something more tennis orientated; so if anyone has any ideas please contact me.
The aims for this season are similar to last; so I hope to be reporting back to you next year, with even more positive news, and with new faces involved. Thank you for your support, I hope we can build on last year and get more people using our lovely facilities.
2. Treasurer's Report
John Denny provided the EOY accounts for 2023.
Income for the year was £8,165, a small increase of just £81 on 2022. Membership fees were slightly higher than 2022 at £5,370 (5,280). Court Fees were lower at £1,094 (1,358) however Coaching fees were slightly higher at £968 (949). We received £688 in interest from the funds deposited at Lloyds..
Expenses for the year were slightly higher at £1,742 (1,692) than 2022. The club spent £149 less on court maintenance during the year however there was a small increase in the cost of the All Risks insurance policy of £69 and other expenses increased to £281 (169) which included £140 for team training.
Surplus For the Year to Date and Cash Position
The surplus income over expenditure for 12 months YTD was £6,423 (6,392), which, when added to priors years, leaves the club with a net surplus of £42,594 (36,171). This is represented by £12,125 in the Lloyds current account.
Richard thanked him for the report.
3. Membership Report
Membership remains stable around the 250 mark. Leavers each year roughly match new arrivals, but it is worth noting the healthy number of Juniors in the last year. I have extracted the membership figures a different way this time which will hopefully overcome the duplicate accounts and other oddities that have plagued the ClubSpark-based reports in the past.
This gives the following numbers:
|
| Adults | Student/Inter | Junior | Child* | Total |
| 2023 | 184 | 13 | 62 |
| 259 |
| 2022 | 178 | 13 | 47 |
| 238 |
| 2021 | 177 | 15 | 64 |
| 256 |
| 2020 | 172 | 31 | 49 | 12 | 264 |
* We changed the membership categories in 2021
2024 Fees – these have been reviewed will go up to £30 for adults; £18 Intermediate and £12 for Juniors; this is well below the cost of any other local club.
Richard proposed these amounts for the 2024 subscription year; approved.
4. Coaching Report
Laura reported -
Juniors - Over the summer of 2023, we had just over 60 juniors playing each week aged 5 – 17; 48% girls & 52% boys. An almost even split that I’m really proud of.
We had our 2 older junior teams continuing to build their confidence in competing and playing in the Plymouth & District Junior League. Even having one or two successes finally which are well deserved too!
We had 1 team continuing through the winter, playing in friendly matches against local clubs. We have entered 2 teams again for the summer league this year.
Adults - we have such lovely groups with great atmosphere, laughs and of course lots of chatter.
Cardio Tennis remains a fun, feel good session, and runs twice a week.
Our lovely Improvers group has continued all year round.
The Thursday evening Intermediate group ran last summer, and continued as long as the light would allow. It will be returning for this summer too.
Events - we ran a successful Open Day last year on a lovely sunny day, with events running through the day like a family tournament, a ball machine session & a doubles competition.
We had our Christmas event with mulled wine and mince pies at the side of the court with 18 players in attendance.
And we ran an incredible Charity event in February that was important to me. I had overwhelming support and donations. We had 24 players, so thank you to all who supported, and thank you to the club for allowing this event to happen.
This year we have scheduled more events for adults and juniors and have an events calendar online. The next events are our Triples competition this Sunday afternoon, and our Spring doubles tournament on Saturday 27th April. Both available online to book now.
I count the courts especially, but Noss in general, as my second home and am always so grateful to work in such a beautiful place.
Looking forward to some sunny days and evenings on court!
5. Team Captain Report
Jason Vosper reported that the overall objectives for 2023 were:
- To get more people playing league matches.
- To enjoy the experience
- Represent the club well
To that end, we removed our mixed A team from the South Devon League (we kept the B team) and introduced a Ladies’ team for the first time. We also had new totally new captains for each side. We had a record number of matches (45) and 36 different people playing competitive tennis, with various degrees of success.
The ladies and mixed teams were up against some good sides, and with a seasons learnings, are keen to put that experience into use this season and improve on their positions within the league.
In the Plymouth & District League the Men’s B team struggled and were relegated; there were a number of reasons for this, not least the retirement of two key members from the A team; two long servants of the club – Ron Cole and Rob Thomas. Along with Yuen and Jason, they have represented the club for years, and I want to acknowledge their contribution - thank you Rob & Ron. This year Danny Evans will captain the B team.
The Men’s A team did very well to hold its position in Division 2, having been promoted the year before; it will be a similarly difficult challenge this year.
Our mixed A team continued to play in the South Devon Cup, and they surpassed last year’s gallant efforts, and won it!!! A great achievement for them and the club.
There are team practice sessions on Saturday mornings, and WhatsApp group for each team. As daylight hours improve the Men’s practice session will revert to an evening to free–up courts for Ladies’ and Mixed sessions. Anyone who wishes to play should contact the team captains, and attend the coaching sessions; we are particularly looking for more lady players. We have asked Laura to organise some doubles coaching sessions which the club will subsidise.
Our objectives for 2024 are the same as last year; we will maintain the same teams as last year, and we are all looking forward to representing the club. Hopefully, some youngsters will come on through and join Oscar Bultmann in playing league games, as we are ageing fast.
6. Welfare Report – Karen reported that there were no welfare issues to report. All committee members had been checked by the DBS (Criminal Record Check) system.
7. Election of Officers:
Richard had reported that Wendy had resigned from the committee; he nominated Liz Pearce as Social Organiser. Approved unanimously.
He asked for the current committee to be re-elected. Elected unanimously.
Chair – Richard Holman; Treasurer – John Denny; Membership Secretary – Simon Pearson; Welfare & Safeguarding – Karen Jaggs; Coach – Laura James;
General members: Jane Jordan, Stewart Barnes.
8. Resolutions from Members: None received.
9. AOB:
Questions from floor:
1. Phil Davis asked if there had been any progress on providing a shelter or clubhouse.
Richard replied that there were no firm plans to propose yet, but a clubhouse had been discounted. Discussions had started with the Parish Council, and it would be necessary to develop a firm plan before reaching out to the local residents and interested groups.
2. Roger Barnett asked if club sessions could be a roll-up, rather than having to book on WhatsApp.
Richard replied that the WhatsApp system worked well, and ensured everyone would have a game, and not have to wait for a game with no shelter. If more players showed interest an additional session would be added; or if someone was just to turn up they would be accommodated.
It was suggested that it should not just be the first 8 players that respond; a record of who played each week should be maintained so everyone had an equal chance to play.
It was also suggested that the first session each month should be a pure roll-up to see how that worked.
Richard agreed to inform Jane Jordan of these suggestions, who would seek the views of the WhatsApp group and review accordingly.
3. Phil Davis asked if the club was going to sell club sweat shirts/hoodies.
Richard replied that it would be sensible to wait until the new club logo had been approved. Danny said that he could assist with finding a local supplier.
Meeting closed at 8.25pm
Richard Holman
Chair NNTC