Minutes of the last RTC Committee meeting can be found by clicking on the link below:
(Click the back arrow on your web browser to return here)
Also, copied below
Attending:
Mike James (Secretary & Chairman for the Meeting)
Russell Hollingshead (Treasurer)
Deborah Herriman (Ladies’ Captain)
Mike Fellingham (Web)
Claire Crafter (Social)
Matt Fellingham (Coach)
Stuart Long (Trustee)
Apologies:
Rupert Matthews (Chairman)
Nicole Hamblin (Membership)
Doug Coton (Mens Captain)
Actions update (All)
Previous Actions were reviewed for progress. An update can be found by clicking on the link below:
(Click the back arrow on your web browser to return here)
Finance update (Russell)
As of the end on November 2018, the Club has a surplus of approximately £12,500 with a year end bank balance of approximately £55,000. Income is down from last year, with reduced Membership fee income being the main cause (possibly from unpaid fees - to be checked). Donations in 2018 included £500 from the 100 Club and £500 from ProCam.
In answer to Members questions about the Rugby Club electrical supply and costs : The Rugby Club has a separate electricity meter to us, measuring their usage, housed in the same cabinet as our meter. They have pledged £9,000 to cover half the cost of the cabinet installation, of which they have paid £3,000 to date. They paid us £875 up front to cover electricity use, and are paying £250 per month to pay for electricity and the balance of the £9,000 debt. The Treasurer will read the two meters before the AGM, and if the Rugby Club need to pay us more, they will be invoiced accordingly. Last year we spent about £1,400 on electricity; this year together with the Rugby Club, we have used about £3,000 of electricity.
Insurance Claim update (Stuart)
A Club member placed a successful claim against the Club, after sustaining an injury on court. After investigating the claim, our way of maintaining the courts, and reviewing our AGM minutes and Committee meeting documents, our insurers have paid out £1,000 to settle the claim. As a consequence of this claim, our annual insurance premium has increased by ~25% (~£250).
In answer to Members questions about the insurance claim: The claim was covered by our public liability insurance through Saffron brokers. We are insured for a combination of things through Saffron and the LTA.
Items raised by Members:
Q: Have the Trustees have met with the conservators to reject this proposal [parking charges] ..we were granted car parking in our lease with no mention of extra charges.
A: The Chairman, a Trustee, met with the Conservators recently. None of the RTC Committee is in support of parking fees for RTC members and their guests (e.g. visiting Club members coming to play league matches).
We do recognise the challenging and expensive issues the Conservators are facing in maintaining Therfield Heath for safe Public use. We are considering discussions with other sports clubs on the Heath to see how we can support the Conservators in ways other than agreeing to Parking charges for the clubs.
The Secretary noted that we have an easement in our lease which gives us the right to pass with or without motor vehicles and park on the land adjoining our Club. The Secretary also informed the meeting that the next Conservators meeting open to the Public is on February 12th at 7pm at the Royston Town Hall (see their website for details).
Q: Has the committee previously considered how the entrance to the courts could be modified so that the facilities could be accessed by players who are non ambulant (a ramp in the grass bank that runs parallel to the fence and then back on itself might work)? This would help make the club more inclusive.
A: The Club wants to be as inclusive as possible, and the courts were designed with double gates to the viewing and playing areas (courts 5&6) to allow access for wide wheelchairs or people with ambulatory difficulties. We would be keen to hear from any Member or potential Member who is worried about access.
Q: You no longer need to use a Google cloud for documents as Clubspark has its own storage cloud now on the website which is much easier to access than the existing system
A: The Committee documents (Club Policies, Rules, Court Diary, Meeting minutes etc etc.) are all stored electronically on a free Google Drive which links seamlessly with the email RoystonTennis@Gmail.com.
Some of the documents are accessible to all Club Members via links on the Club website (see the Information tab for example); other documents such as draft Agenda and meeting minutes are accessible only by committee members.
The current committee sees no reason to change this system, but any future committee may wish to.
Q: I would like to propose the following dates for the morning tennis tournaments this year & confirm I am willing to run these again:
The North Star Trophy – Friday 12th July 10am – Senior doubles with optional picnic lunch. The Christine Knight Trophy - Tuesday 17th December – Senior doubles with optional Xmas lunch in Heath Sports
A: Endorsed wholeheartedly with thanks.
Q: Can the Sunday morning Club Session be encouraged? Start at 10pm?
A: The Sunday Club session starts at 9 a.m. but of course Members can turn up later and join in if they wish. (See also the discussion below under Club Sessions)
Q: Could you discuss club attendance and possibility of trialling a 7pm start for 1 of the club nights?
A: The evening Club session starts at 6 p.m. but of course Members can turn up later and join in if they wish. (See also the discussion below under Club Sessions)
2019 AGM (Mike)
The 2019 AGM will be held in March, date to be confirmed, but plans are being made for Thurs 21st.
A draft Agenda, with a call for proposals, questions and a reminder of the opportunity for any Member to stand for any position on the Committee, will be circulated to the Membership well in advance of the meeting. The next Committee meeting will need to focus on AGM preparation.
The current Committee members will need to inform the Secretary (as per any Club Member) if they wish to stand for any position on the Committee.
As a further reminder to Members : the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer have all confirmed that they are not planning to stand for (re)election at the 2019 AGM. The Club needs volunteers who know the Club and will take action and serve on the Committee for 2019/20.
Court Schedule review (Mike & Matt)
The Court Schedule was last reviewed in June 2018. Time was spent at this meeting to check and amend the schedule. Some changes were to simplify the Schedule and adjust start times by 30 minutes to harmonise the bookings. Other changes were to add and remove Coaching slots.
The updated document can be found by clicking here: Court Schedule January 2019
or if this fails, then post the following link into your web browser: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Kw0WzFro8cS0rYiZFghExTcW6uAUFyoifMjekBlorpc
the document is also appended to these minutes.
The Club web page “Playing Times” and booked slots will be updated accordingly.
Action: Mike F Update the Club web page
Note : two items in the Court Schedule were clarified:
1/ Adult Club Sessions
During Adult Club Sessions, when 5 of the 6 courts are regularly booked for the Club Sessions, if the 6th court is not in use for coaching then Junior Members may book and use the it via the web site booking system - subject to the normal Rules of the Club including the Juniors on Court Policy. Also, if the 6th court is not in use for coaching, and not in use by Juniors, the Club Sessions may “overspill” onto the 6th court. [Note: Adult members may not book the 6th court; they should join in the Adult Club Session]
2/ Match Bookings
During the competition seasons, courts may be booked in advance by team Captains for home matches which will take precedence over general members bookings; these times are in italics on the Court Schedule. If these times and dates have no match bookings, any Member may book the courts for use via the booking system on the web site in the usual manner.
Matters Arising
-Revitalising Club Sessions
Considerable time was spent discussing how we could revitalise the evening and Sunday Club Sessions which are not well attended by Members. Suggestions included different start times, different days, organising 20 minute social matches, reducing the number of Teams, having post Session drinks at the Heath club, etc. The challenges for Members who work or have families were discussed, and the ageing nature of the Membership. No firm conclusions on how to proceed were drawn. The Secretary will poll the Membership for what they want at the Club Sessions to see if we can identify positive changes to make. The item will be added, again, to the AGM. It would be helpful if more people came to the AGM.
Action: Mike to poll the Membership to identify what they want at the Club Sessions.
- Revitalising Team Practice Sessions
The Monday night Team practice sessions were suspended in June 2018 due to lack of attendance. After discussion of several good ideas as to how to restart and reinvigorate Team practice, but no firm conclusion, a proposal for a further sub group discussion to be led by the Men’s & Ladies’ Captains was supported.
Action : Ladies’ and Men’s Captains to lead discussion and proposal on Team practice session for consideration by Committee at a later date.
- Team Fixtures
It would be informative to have the Team fixtures lists put on the Club notice board for the interest of Members who may wish to spectate.
Action : Ladies’ and Men’s Captains to place fixtures lists on Club notice board.
- LTA Tournaments
Should RTC charge a fee for court use for the planned LTA Tournaments to be held at RTC?
Held over for a later meeting
Next Meeting (Mike)
Mid Feb - with a focus on AGM preparation