Sale and District Bowling League

Minutes of Annual General Meeting, 2015

4 November 2015

Held at Brooklands

1. Introduction

Present: President D. Hurdwell, Secretary R. Kavanagh, Treasurer G. Tonge, and delegates from all teams except S Manchester RBL. Apologies had been received from the chairman S Delaney, also on behalf of S Manchester RBL.

The President took the chair and opened the meeting at 7.30. He welcomed all delegates.

The President then announced the passing of Ray Wright, a vice-president, and Alan Wain of Bowling Green. The meeting stood in silence for a short while as a mark of respect.

The minutes of the last AGM held on 5 November 2014 had been circulated. They were taken as read and agreed by the meeting to be a true record. There were no matters arising.

2. Secretary's and Fixture Secretary's report

The secretary reviewed the season. It had started with difficult decisions, due to the loss of Pickering, Partington and Carrington Spur B, partly offset by Legh Arms joining. We had decided to keep the first division at ten teams, leaving a much smaller second division. They had plenty of matches, but against the same few teams. In the event, Red Lion dropped out during the season, making the problem worse.

South Manchester RBL were the champions for the eighth successive year, with Quarry Bank second for a fifth time. Both Bowling Green and Chorlton struggled to field full teams, and they occupied the bottom two places. The second division was won by newcomers Legh Arms, with Trinity, last year’s surprise relegation team, coming second.

There had been two enquiries about joining the league. One club had decided not to go ahead. The other has still to decide, and its decision may be influenced by the league’s decisions on team size and admission of women.

In the circumstances it was difficult to set a structure for next year, but the secretary said he was determined to have two more balanced divisions. This would affect promotions and relegations.

There were a disappointing 27 entries for the Merit this year.

The Eric Dale got 17 entries. They all played, making for a long day.

Greater Manchester county have their AGM on 19 November. The accounts again show a small surplus, but the county still has not got control of club affiliation fees. There will be a proposal at the AGM to revert to direct billing of clubs. The secretary recommended all clubs to scrutinise bills for county affiliation and to challenge any multiple demands or unwarranted fees for late payment.

Our next meeting was expected to be on 16 March.

3. Treasurer's report

Accounts

The treasurer reported that we had recorded a deficit of about £55, compared to £15 last year. However it should be noted that last year’s engraving bill came in late and was included in the current year.

The increased flat fee and registration fee had helped.

Auditor Ken Brenner reported that he had examined the accounts and found them to be in order. He thanked the treasurer for his diligent work.

4. Proposal for rule changes

1. In rule 2 of the Pride of Sale and President’s Cup competitions, delete the second sentence (with the effect that the finals are also to be played on a neutral green).
   Proposed by Longford Park
   Longford Park said that this year’s Pride of Sale final was too one-sided. S Manchester RBL were playing on their own green, and the 20 point extra handicap made little difference. Finals should be on a neutral green. Cringlewood said that this year was exceptional: most years the home advantage, if any, is small. The secretary pointed out that if the proposal were passed he would have to arrange the final venue at short notice, after at least the first cup matches. Trinity suggested that the venue could be at a club not in the league.
   The proposal was passed with no votes against.
2. In match rule 2, replace “10” with “8”.
   Proposed by the committee
   Discussed with proposal (iii).
3. In match rule 2, delete “male”.
   Proposed by the committee
   Carrington Spur said that they were resigning from the league, because they had women members and wanted to play as a combined team. Had they realised this proposal was on the agenda they might have decided differently.
   The general view was that the restriction to men only was now archaic. Reducing the team size was not necessary and might not be beneficial.
   Proposal (iii) was passed with no votes against.
   Proposal (ii) was defeated, with one vote in favour.

5. League dispute procedure

Towards the end of a season there had been a formal complaint made against a member of Longford Park. The Longford Park delegates felt that this had led to an excessively bureaucratic exercise, and that other incidents during the season had not been properly dealt with. The secretary explained that once a complaint was received, the league had no choice but to treat it properly to be fair to both sides and to defend itself in the event of an appeal. The chairman, who had been acting as a referee during one of the incidents, asserted that he had acted correctly and that the alleged infringement (a player bowling before the jack had stopped) was not occurring.

There was general agreement that disagreements should preferably be sorted out at the time and amicably.

6. Honoraria

Both officers concerned had sent they were content with the present level, and the treasurer recommended no increase in the present state of finances. The meeting accepted this.

7. Election of Officers

The current chairman, Stan Delaney, had said he was resigning for personal reasons.

The following were elected by the member teams for Season 2016:

President: D Hurdwell
Chairman: F Warburton
Secretary: R Kavanagh
Treasurer: G Tonge
Fixture Secretary: R Kavanagh
Management committee: A Ball and K Humber
Auditor: K Brenner

8. General discussion

The meeting agreed a vote of thanks to the secretary and treasurer.

The Chairman then closed the meeting at 8.40 pm