6 November 2019
Held at Brooklands
Present: Chairman F. Warburton, Secretary R. Kavanagh, Treasurer G. Tonge, and delegates from all teams except Legh Arms.
The chairman welcomed all delegates. He thanked those clubs that had made their greens available for league events. He noted the co-operation which allowed Beech House to continue playing, mostly at Fallowfield, while their green was out of use. He also noted the challenge face at the beginning of the season when a team dropped out at the last minute.
The meeting stood for a few moments in memory of colleagues who had passed away. These included: Andy Bowyer (Beech House), Geoff Fletcher (Fallowfield), Colin Smith (Trinity) and Chris Stone (United Services).
None.
The minutes of the previous AGM had been circulated. They were taken as read and approved. There were no matters arising.
We were about to start the season with 13 teams, but Cringlewood resigned at the pre-season meeting. A fixture list had already been prepared where teams played some other teams once and others twice. Losing a team at the last minute messed this up, and quite a few changes to the fixture list were needed. Thanks to teams’ co-operation, we managed to get through the season. The Beech House green being out of commission all year didn’t help.
Beech House won the league, again. Below them there was something of a shake-up, with Nursery finishing second and Sale Cons also much improved.
The Pride of Sale knockout ran smoothly, with some close matches and only one team withdrawing. There was even a draw in the first round. In the final Bowling Green beat Nursery by twelve chalks.
We had very disappointing entries for the Merit and Pairs competitions. Only six pairs entered the Eric Dale pairs so this competition, which has run every year since at least 1986, did not take place this year. In recent years entries have hovered around the 16 mark, except in 2016 when we had eight. This year there were not even enough to fill a first of three rounds.
There were 17 entries for the Merit - around half the level in recent years. we went ahead anyway, though with only two rounds on the final day. In an all-Fallowfield final, Mike Bacon beat Chris Johnstone. Mike has now won the Merit five times - no-one else has won it more than three times.
There had been no news on teams resigning or joining, but the secretary was putting off planning next season until at least the current AGM season is over.
The Stockport Parks league, also playing on Wednesdays, are looking for teams, but as we have discussed before their area extends quite a long way from our patch. Also they play eight-a-side.
There were rumours that the Urmston league may be about to close. They have a first division of eight teams playing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a second division of 12 teams playing on Mondays and Wednesdays. It’s possible the rumour is exaggerated and it may be only the first division is under threat. We wouldn’t want to be seen as poaching, but if the league does pack in the secretary intended to write to the second division clubs offering them Wednesday matches. These clubs include Oughtrington and Partington who have been in the Sale league before, and other teams in Flixton, Urmston and Davyhulme. So that’s a better prospect geographically than the Stockport Parks.
Greater Manchester county had their AGM on Monday. There were no rule changes proposed, and no changes to their fees. As previously announced, the BCGBA levy goes up to £35 per club for next year. All clubs had safeguarding officers in place. The CEO of BCGBA was at the meeting, and gave us some idea of his plans. He said that crown green is still run by volunteers, whereas the flat-greeners and indoor players have full-time officers. It’s clear which way he wants the BCGBA to go. Part of this is to build a database of all players, which he said would be consultable by clubs. This should eventually mean an end to the paper CR1 forms. The proposal for a levy per player is off the table for now, but he clearly thinks that’s the way to go, and likely nearer the £5 level. He hopes that his database would mean that the income this would produce could be predicted. It might also mean that players would only pay once a year, even if they are in more than one club.
Work is progressing to convert the flat greens in Heaton Park for crown green use. The vision is of a new headquarters for the sport.
The pre-season meeting is expected to be on 11 March. If there were any radical developments between then and now members would be informed, and a special meeting called if necessary.
There were questions about what the CEO of BCGBA had to say, if anything, about efforts to bring more players into the sport. Mainly this seems to consist of two aspects: structured coaching and youth development. If the sport is to tap into national funds it must have accredited coaches and there is a complicated grading system for these and their assistants. Youth development occurs in schools, but also and often more successfully in groups like scouts and cubs. This seems to be very successful in a few isolated spots.
The treasurer reported a small surplus of about £50. However the end of season payment from Legh Arms had not yet been received. Income was down with the loss of two teams, though he confirmed that Cringlewood had paid their flat fee. There was no income from sponsorship or donations. Prize money was down, with only one division and no fives competition. We still had a healthy balance, but he warned that next year we would need to consider raising club fees.
The auditor had reviewed and signed the accounts.
The honoraria were unchanged: treasurer £100, secretary: £200.
11.1. Amend rules as required to reduce the team size to nine players
Proposed by Bowling Green
The aim of the proposal was the usual one: to counter the shortage of players experienced by some teams. However it was pointed out that other teams had sufficient players and for them someone would not get a game.
There was discussion of allowing one or more players to play twice. This is allowed by several leagues, with various conditions attached. For example the scheme in the Urmston Vets league allows the player from the first four with the worst score to play again.
The motion was defeated with no votes in favour.
A poll indicated general support for some form of playing twice, and it was agreed that a proposal would be put to a special general meeting to be combined with the pre-season meeting.
The remaining motions lapsed for want of a proposer:
11.2. The league to be run on a handicap basis
Proposed by Longford Park
11.3. In Match rule 16, remove the cut-off date for registration of players
Proposed by Longford Park
11.4. In rules for team knockouts, remove the requirement for players to have played three league matches
Proposed by Longford Park
11.5. Proposed end-of-season awards to be announced at the pre-season meeting
Proposed by Longford Park
The existing officers were re-elected en bloc.
The chairman thanked all delegates for attending. The meeting also expressed its thanks to the officers.
The meeting closed at 8.10pm.