21 November 2012
Held at Carrington Spur BC
Present: President M. Bexon, Chairman D. Hurdwell, Secretary R. Kavanagh, Treasurer K. Mitchell, and delegates from all teams except Longford Park and Red Lion.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 7.35 and welcomed all delegates. He gave a brief account of how he felt the season had gone and congratulated all winners.
The Chairman then announced the passing of: Jim Flanagan and Bob Seddon (Cringlewood), Brain Cross (Quarry Bank) and Charlie Swainson (Bowling Green and a Vice-president). The meeting stood in silence for a short while as a mark of respect.
The minutes of the last AGM held on 9 November 2011 had been circulated. They were taken as read and agreed by the meeting to be a true record. There were no matters arising.
The secretary reviewed the season, which had been dominated by rain. Merit entries were slightly up, and Eric Dale entries down at exactly 16. However only 9 brave pairs turned up on a truly dreadful day.
The Roebuck had resigned from the league, leaving us with 17 teams. The secretary suggested two ways of structuring the league for 2013. Option 1 would be like the current set-up, but with an open date in Division 1. Option 2 would have divisions of 11 and 6 teams. It offered teams more matches, and a correspondingly longer season. After some discussion, the meeting voted to stick with option 1.
The Greater Manchester county AGM had happened the previous week. The secretary reported on the county's dire financial state and reported that there would be an additional levy of £2 per team, to be paid through the leagues.
The treasurer reported that we had recorded a surplus of about £48 and he highlighted the main contributory factors including the increase in the flat fee. Registrations had been anomalously low last year and had now returned to their normal level. We had a new sponsor in Peter Burgess and his company Bespoke Services. However Geoff Bailey of Bailey Motors had died during the year. We did not receive their sponsorship this year, and may not do so again. Also one of our vice-presidents (Charlie Swainson) had passed away.
Auditor Ken Brenner congratulated Keith on the way in which he had managed the League's finances over the season and for presenting the documentation on good order.
The officers concerned left the room. In view of the state of our balances, the meeting agreed to maintain the current payments: £100 each to the secretary, fixture secretary and treasurer.
The following were elected by the member teams for Season 2011:
President: D Hurdwell
Chairman: S Delaney
Secretary: R Kavanagh
Treasurer: G Tonge
Fixture Secretary: R Kavanagh
Management committee: K Humber (one vacancy)
Auditor: K Brenner
One match in division 2 (Chorlton v Carrington) had not been played, and the secretary had awarded the teams their average points. The Chorlton delegate pointed out that both teams had an unbeaten player, and playing the match may have resolved this tie. It was pointed out that the match had been scheduled for the first week of the season, and by the end of the season there had still been no date fixed for it. The rules allow 28 days. In view of the weather some latitude could be allowed, but a limit had to be applied.
The Chairman then closed the meeting at 8.50 pm.