Minutes of Letcombe Cricket Club AGM Held in the Clubhouse on 22 Jan 2007 at 20.00hrs

 

Present:

 

Jim Pike, Ken Trotter, Richard Taylor, Neil Hall, Dave Bowden, Rob Jones, Pat Bryan ( at 21:23 ).

 

Apologies:

 

Glyn Oliver, Joe Benson, Gary Stone, Laurence Gardiner, Simon Pittard, Paul Bryan ( to quote “touring the subcontinent proudly flying Letcombe’s flag resplendent in tropical gear and undersized baseball cap.” ).

 

1. Opening remarks.

 

In welcoming everyone to the meeting, the Chairman passed on Glyn Oliver’s apologies for being unable to attend.

 

2. Minutes of the last meeting.

 

The minutes of the 2006 AGM held on 06 Mar 06 had been distributed electronically. There had been no corrections or matters arising and the minutes were approved.

 

3. President’s Report

 

As the President was unable to attend, there is no President’s report, although he passed on his congratulations to the Saturday team for their Division 3 success last season, and wished everyone a successful 2007.

 

4. Chairman’s Report.

 

See Annex A.

 

5. Matters Arising from Chairman’s Report.

 

a. The Chairmans Cup match was a success, and a date should be set aside for it this year. RT confirmed that LSVG had earmarked a date in August.

 

b. Youth Cricket – Dave Bowden said that Joe Benson had offered to help with the Youth Cricket. Agreed by all that this was an excellent idea. Ken said that a younger face would be good. ( Editor’s note – I agree that Ken with a younger face would be good…. ).

 

c. Pavilion – Next step to get detailed drawings to go out to tender with plans.

 

d. Fundraising – DB - Club shop up together. E.g. In 2003 Simon did framed photos, which could be sold for a profit. We have a shop facility on the web site, so let use it. We should also have a new kit sponsor. RT said Gary Stone had expressed an interest.

 

e. Presidents Cup is also an opportunity for fundraising. Ideally an event on the Saturday night before to get people to.

 

Actions

 

RT – post photos on the Web Site for people to choose to buy framed.

RT – speak with Stew & Gary about new sponsorship & shirts.

RJ – speak to “John” about playing folk music at the St. Georges evening on the 23rd April 2007.

DB – speak with Joe ref Youth Cricket.

RT – New PAV drawings on the web site.

RT – add links to web site for goods to be purchased. Please see http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/how_it_works/ for details

 

Drinking with the Opposition after the game. This is an important aspect of the social side of the game, and needs to be encouraged. A Man of the Match award should help with this on a Saturday & Sunday.

 

6. Treasurer’s Report.

 

Simon apologised for not being here, as he was called away to Germany on short notice.

 

Opening Balance LCC Lloyds account (5th Jan 2006) : £4,630

Closing Balance LCC Lloyds account (4th Jan 2007) : £6,540

 

Therefore, we have increased our funds by £1,910 over the last 12 months.

 

7. Election of Officers.

 

The following officers were proposed, seconded and duly elected.

 

President

Glyn Oliver

Chairman

Ken Trotter

Vice Chairman

Paul Bryan

Secretary

Richard Taylor

Treasurer

Simon Pittard

Fixture Secretary

Laurence Gardiner

Saturday Captain

David Bowden

Saturday Vice Captain

Pat Bryan/Rob Jones

Sunday Captain

Neil Hall

Sunday Vice Captain

TBC

Midweek Captain

Rob Jones

 

Bommer suggested that Martin Key would be a good option, so Dave will chat to him about it.

 

A vote of thanks was passed for Laurence’s sterling efforts in continuing to keep a full fixture list.

 

Committee:

 

Geoff Stokell; Gary Stone; Kevin Rich; Chris Andrews

 

8. Match Fees

 

In view of the decision for players to provide tea contributions, the following match fees were agreed:

 

 

Sat (h)

Sat (a )

Sun (h)

Sun (a)

Sun (a ) if you played on Sat

Mid week

Seniors

£5 + tea

£7

£3 + tea

£5

£3

£2

Juniors/FTE

£2 + tea

£4

£1 + tea

£2

£1

£1

 

Junior = in Full Time Education.

 

9. Subscriptions

 

The meeting considered the current level of subscription could be maintained provided everyone paid. Even a small number of defaulters would lead to a rise in subscriptions. The direct debit scheme painlessly ensures subs are paid and is cheaper than paying a lump sum.

The following subscriptions were agreed:

 

Seniors

£50

Juniors

£10

 

Set a game threshold of 5 games after which you need to pay your Annual Subs.

 

10. Any Other Business

 

a.       Outdoor Nets

 

JP – look at outdoor nets

DB – To buy some net balls

Nets on a Tuesday Evening.

 

Indoor nets to be arranged. The 3 weeks before Easter. RT to liaise with Joe Benson, as there could be a cost saving if Joe booked the nets.

 

b.       Preparatory Tasks.

 

  • Laurence/Jim to mark out the square.
  • Ken to roll the square before cutting to minimise the scarring of worm casts.
  • Ken to prepare mowers and roller for the coming season.
  • Ken to replace rotten planks in sightscreens, particularly the top end sightscreen.
  • Bobby and family to paint sightscreens. After Ken has fixed it.
  • RT to ask Des if we can use the “protected walkway” rope around the square once the football season has finished.
  • Spray for worms. RT to ask Des Williams.
  • JP – will kill the moss.

 

Annex A – Chairman’s Report 2007

 

On the Field

 

The achievement of the Saturday side in winning the league and securing promotion to Division 2 was the highlight of a successful season for the club. Congratulations to David Bowden for his contribution as captain both on and off the field. It would be nice to think that the side’s success would draw in new players but clubs generally seem to be struggling to find enough players. The expected shortage of players early in the season because of the calls of higher education did not materialise – most of the younger players managed to make themselves available and we were able to field good sides throughout the season. We still have a relatively small pool of players and we need to recruit more.

 

Bommer’s first season as skipper of the Sunday side provided enjoyable cricket throughout the season. Once again, Laurence has arranged a full set of fixtures to provide enough cricket for everyone. The Chairman’s Cup match was well supported and it provided an opportunity to renew friendships with a number of former players, all of whom seemed to be in surprisingly good shape.

 

The second season of youth cricket was one of consolidation. The collapse of last year’s mini-league through the withdrawal of Hanney and the Hendreds meant that fixtures were more difficult to arrange. However, three games against Uffington all resulted in victory and Buscot also helped by providing two games. We as a club must continue to encourage youngsters to take up the game and I feel we need a younger senior player who is better able to relate to the youngsters to make the coaching sessions successful. Gary and Bomber provided invaluable support both in practice sessions and in matches and we need more help of this sort.

 

Off the Field

 

The most significant development off the field was the progress made with plans for a new pavilion. Planning permission has been granted and the architect is drawing up plans for building regulation approval in March. The next step will be to go out to a number of builders for quotes and when we have the responses we can then start the difficult task of obtaining the money.

The bring some stuff along method of providing teas seemed to work reasonably well although there is always going to be a problem either with setting out the teas or washing up afterwards depending on whether Letcombe are batting first or second.

The club has 5 sources of money:

Subscriptions

Match fees

Ground lettings

Fund raising events

Bar

Income from letting the ground to East Garston was down slightly last season and the cost of loam for the square went up. To meet our financial commitments we need everyone to play their part in each of the money generating activities. Pay your subs and fees, use the bar and support fund raising events. 

An essential element of a game of cricket is the social aspect after the game. Having a drink with the opposition emphasises the sporting nature of the game and its players. There seems to be an increasing trend for Letcombe players to come off the field, change and go. Not only does this deprive the club of income from the bar but it sends the wrong message to visiting teams. Letcombe has a long tradition of being a sociable and friendly side so let us all try to live up to that enviable reputation.

We have no plans in place for a fund raising event this year – and we need one.

 

Umpiring

 

Geoff Stokell is willing to continue standing as the representative club umpire this season. We are especially grateful to Geoff but we must be prepared to provide replacements if he cannot stand in a match for any reason.

 

The Ground

 

I will continue to do what I can by way of cutting the outfield and preparing strips but I will be away on occasions so I will need one or more understudies.