MALVERN RFC

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Wednesday 6th July 2011

23 Members presentThe meeting commenced at 7.30 pm.

1) Apologies for Absence: Tony Brook

2) Minutes of the 2010 AGM were accepted with the addition of a paragraph clarifying the ring fencing of club funds.

3) Chairman’s Report (P Woods) Attached as Appendix 1

4) Treasurers Report (J Taverner)

J Taverner presented his report

The accounts showed a deficit on the year of £9.6K, this included an exceptional expenditure of £4.56k which was the costs incurred on the proposed Clubhouse extension being written off following the lapse of planning consent. The bar turnover was 12.5% down; Sponsorship was £10k down and the total club income was 28% downyear on year. On the plus side expenditure had been rigorously monitored and was 10% within budget. Times are hard!

The manning of the Club shop was closed down during the year and Club kit can now be obtained through iD sports.

John Taverner proposed, seconded Alan Evans

‘This meeting resolves that a full audit is not required”

PASSED unanimously

On the proposal of Alan Evans, seconded Peter Doran, the accounts were PASSED unanimously

5) Appointment of Recording Accountants

Proposed John Taverner, seconded Alan Evans

“That K Morris of Bromsgrove be appointed “

Passed unanimously

6) Subscriptions for 2010/20011

John Taverner reviewed the current Subscription rates, pointing out to Members that the rates had remained static for several years. The collection of the weekly Match Subscriptions had proved to be very problematical with collections way below expectations. Therefore the Committee proposed that the weekly Match subscription be discontinued and subsumed into the Annual Subscription rates.

The Committee proposed that the Rates for 2011/12 be:

Full member Playing (Adult)£75

Full Member Playing (Student)£40

Full Member Non Playing£70

Vice President£80

Associates£50

Youth Members£45

Parent Membership (Youth only)£50

D Robins proposed, seconded Peter Doranthat the Subscription rates for 2011/12 be accepted. PROPOSALCARRIED

7) Amendments to the Club Rulesnone

8) Election of Officers

The following officers were elected: -

PresidentD Robins

ChairmanP Woods

SecretaryW Pomeroy

TreasurerJ Taverner

Clubhouse CommitteeM Calvert Director of Rugby (confirmation) A Longley

Fixtures Secretary (confirmation)C Rawle

Youth Chair (by Youth Meeting)Ms M Dawson

9) Election of Senior Vice-Presidents

There were no proposed new SVP’s.

All current Senior Vice Presidents were elected ‘en bloc’.

10) Any Other Business

Malvern Supporters

The Supporters had been set up as a legally separate entity from Malvern RFC to provide funding for players. Members could not be involved in the running of both organisations.

A long and sometimes acrimonious discussion took place over the perceived separation of the two organisations and the ways in which the Supporters would go about their business. The Chairman undertook that the Executive Committee would liaise with the Supporters Committee and ensure that

1)Potential Sponsors were aware of precisely which organisation they were sponsoring.

2)Any use of club facilities by Malvern Supporters was correctly charged and paid for.

3)Malvern RFC letter heading was NOT used by the Supporters.

4)Funds raised for MRFC would be ring fenced and not transferred.

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Appendix1

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2011

The year was filled with both good and sad events.

Great sadness at the passing of Ian Budd, Shane Taylor, Bill Lock and Roger Stephens

The highlights and a few lowlights of the year were:

  • On the playing side of the club, the first XV and 3rd XV had good seasons, although the second XV suffered somewhat. The thirds, strengthened by some second XV players, won their merit table and were supplemented by some emerging players from the Academy. The second XV suffered from a lack of players and cancelled fixtures, often only the night before the match and sometimes on the day. There was also a lack of cohesion about the management of the team, although Grant Fraser did an excellent job in holding things together, and we are pleased that Marc Gaubert has elected to rejoin the club as player/manager of the second XV for next season. He will bring his renowned tenacity and inspirational skills to manage what I’m sure will be a resurgence of the second XV next year. The first XV, after a start to the season which saw several narrow losses, put together a solid patch of winning games before and after Christmas and finished in the middle of the table, having secured first ever defeats of notable scalps such as Broadstreet and Luton. The younger squad players showed a marked maturity and development over the previous two seasons, whilst the addition of Adam Billig’s experience and coaching strengths will be boosted by the addition of Ben Gerry as forwards player/coach next season. Ben has played at premiership and championship level and will be a welcome addition to the club’s playing and coaching strength. The players and coaches have set some demanding goals of themselves over the next couple of years and under Andy Longley’s leadership, we will continue to see rugby of high quality played by Malvern.
  • I have to say that the spirit and camaraderie shown by the players, throughout the teams, has been some of the best for some years and we wish to cement this by involving the players, especially the first team squad, with the youth section. If our youngsters get involvement from the senior players, it gives them something to aspire to, and might also encourage more parents and kids to come to Saturday matches, with subsequent increases in revenue.
  • The Youth section went from strength to strength and the Ian Budd Academy got off to a wonderful start as we try to bridge the gap between youth and senior rugby, where traditionally a lot of young players are lost to the game. We have a thriving youth section and struggle to provide for them at Spring Lane, and we are grateful to the Morgan Motor Company for the use of their field, without which we would have to find alternative pitch accommodation. Mel and her team do tremendous work in bringing on the youngsters, and she could always do with more coaching and off-field assistance.
  • Two Sportsman’s Dinners were held, plus the first Awards Dinner and Dance. These events have certainly raised the Club’s profile amongst the local business community, which hopefully will attract both future sponsorship and clubhouse bookings. The Awards dinner was a great success and was notable for the attendance of players and partners from all the teams and special thanks go to Phil Rawle and Mel Dawson for the enormous amount of effort they put in to these events.
  • Financially, it has been a tough year for everyone, and this has been reflected in the figures which John will speak about. Expenditure was well controlled through prudent housekeeping, but we fell down in some key areas of revenue generation, in particular sponsorship, bar and membership. I would say that we are already taking steps to address these areas of greatest concern, and are actively putting into place plans for increasing membership, sponsorship and bar sales. Hopefully we won’t get another bad winter
  • A lowlight is the travelling support for the first XV at away games – we are the poorest supported team away from home in our league. Often, there have been only two or three of us “long termers” representing the club off the field. Distance can’t be an excuse, when Scunthorpe and Peterborough brought a good twenty or more followers. We have been supplemented on several occasions by parents and families of players, but I am personally disappointed by the apathy shown by the core membership when our team is offering the best standard of rugby ever seen at Malvern.
  • The other area of concern is one which seems to affect every club – the lack of volunteers. It’s always the same small number of diehards who do most of the jobs around any club, and we are faced with the reality that many of the people who have given several years of (mainly) uncomplaining service are getting on a bit. We need more volunteers to replace them, so don’t be surprised if you are asked to help out in some small way. You can all start by cajoling your peers to become members of the club and to support the various lunches we hold! Inertia is our greatest enemy, so we ask all members to network amongst former players, lapsed members, friends and families – the more members and supporters we get into this place, the healthier the club will be.
  • Looking forward, we plan for the future on the field and off. We have appointed a Commercial consultant to bring in both new sponsorship and to devise and organise fundraising events – this is a new departure for the club, as he is obviously paid for his efforts but on a commission only basis.
  • We also want to look at the longer-term future of the club, and have asked Martin Pocock and Phil Rawle to look at possible – and I stress POSSIBLE – options for the club in the light of the fact that we are already stretched to provide adequate facilities at Spring Lane for the growing Youth and Minis section. As that is where our future lies, we would be foolish not to examine options open to us, and when the time comes for their recommendations to be considered by the club an Extraordinary General Meeting will be called.
  • Finally, I would like to thank the efforts put into the running of the club by the members of the executive committee and the selfless band of volunteers who help us to achieve our main goal, which is to provide a facility for quality rugby football for the people of Malvern.