DIARY
2008
AprilShore Championship of the British Isles – Camarthen
1st MayFriendship Cup – Ostend, Belgium
3rd/4th MayEFSA Species Championship (Flatfish) – Ostend, Belgium.
31st May/1st JuneEnglish Boat Championship – Plymouth
20th/21st JuneEnglishShore Species Festival - Dover Breakwater
27th/28th JuneLupus Summer Cod Festival – Helsingborg, Sweden
16th/23rd AugustEuropean Line Class & Boat Championships
Cobh, Ireland
26th/27th SeptEnglishShore Championships - Chesil
20th-22nd NovEuropeanShore Championship - Zeeland, Netherlands
1st/2nd DecemberEnglish Cod Festival – Mersey
2009
TBAEFSA European Species Championship – Plymouth, England
3rd/7th AugustEuropean Line Class & Boat Championships – Orkney
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
held at
The ArndaleCourtHotel, Wimbourne Road, Poole.
On Saturday 26th January 2008
Present:
Mr N.Bryant-Chairman
Mr P.Peck-President
Mr K.Bowden-Secretary
Mr D.Styles-Vice-Chairman
Mr P.Hart-Treasurer
Mr R.Barron-Competition Co-ordinator
Mr R.Ashby-Fish Recorder
Mr A.Selby-Boat Festival Officer
Mr B.Allum-Shore Festival Officer
1.Apologies:Apologies for absence were received from the following:
J.WhippyM.SmithJ.RobinsonJ.ReeceJ.Barrett
S.RileyB.KingE.EntwistleB.BookerA.Porritt
P.BadgerN.CottingtonB.Short
A total of 32 members were present.
.
2.Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2007:
Acceptance of the Minutes was proposed by K.Scaggs, seconded by R.Russell and accepted unanimously. The Minutes were duly signed by the Chairman.
3.Matters Arising:
There were no matters arising.
4.Executive Officer's Reports:
Chairman's Report:The Chairman gave the following report to the meeting.
May I firstly thank you all for attending your AGM here in Poole and I must say how much we, the Committee, appreciate your attendance as it confirms your commitment to the Section and demonstrates your appreciation of the Committees endeavours on behalf of you all. I believe it is an important part of the Sections calendar, alongside the actual events, because it is a time to meet up, find out what we are doing for the Section and in turn get constructive ideas from you for the future.
For the past seven years I have been Chairman of EFSA England and taking out the few years I was off the Committee, I have been on the Committee for some fifteen years or more. It seems like only yesterday I joined EFSA England, albeit that it was back in 1982 and now I must be one of the “older ones”.
Your Committee have also been concerned about the lack of new members coming into the Section and into competitive fishing. Where are all the younger people going and why are they not getting into Sea fishing? Maybe it is how it has always been, a solid core of members who enjoy competing against each other for a title, taking on the challenge of overturning a competitor who you know to be a good angler or maybe it is just that you enjoy fishing under the cloud of competition.
We have had numerous discussions at Committee about how to promote EFSA England and secure new members for the future and without the expense of advertising our organisation in the press, getting more entry forms out to the tackle shops, I feel we will always have the same hardcore of members. We have tried to encourage new blood as best we can and I know we should not get complacent and continue to look for the best way forward.
I am also concerned and very disappointed that no member has come forward to take on the role of either Press Officer or indeed Social Secretary. It has been left to the Committee you see before you to try and cover for these vacancies and I feel that if no one can offer their services then no one should complain and to quote a very old phrase either “put up or shut up”. We have tried and I have asked on numerous occasions for someone to consider taking on these positions and still to no avail, what can we do if you can’t help us?
Moving on, the Section had a very successful year in 2007 and as you know we hosted the European Line and Boat Championships in Weymouth, they were a resounding success with only a few small hiccups on the way. Tony Hudson and his team did a great job and we should be proud of their efforts and also I must thank the members who did the running about for the Committee.
Andy Selby and Brian Allum have both been very busy Festival Officers and I must thank them both for their hard work in organising the events over the past year. Mike Smith has had to stand down from being our Membership Registrar and I thank him and Niki for all their hard work on behalf of the Section. I must also thank Gary Galbraith for offering his services in taking over this position with the added responsibility of Stock controller and will welcome him onto the Committee later.
I could name all the Committee and thank them all individually for what they do and I know they do it for the benefit of EFSA England and you the membership but I won’t, as you already know what they do and who they are, other than to say thank you for their tireless support. They do not expect praise but I feel do deserve our appreciation from time to time - well most of the time.
Well, there is another busy year ahead in all disciplines and I would like to wish you all every success in whatever event you enter and please do spare a thought for the organisers of all the events who always try to provide everyone with a great time.
Finally, on a personal note I do appreciate the support I have had over the years and whilst it is difficult for me to be less active in the running of the Section for the foreseeable future, I will always be there to offer any advice that may be required. To the Committee, a big thank you for all the tremendous support you have all given to me.
I hope you all enjoy the meeting and once again thank you for your attendance.
Vice-Chairman’s Report: Mr Styles gave the following report to the meeting.
I trust that everyone had a great time over the Christmas and New Year period. Tomorrow sees the Section kick off our angling programme again with our annual Flounder bash in PooleHarbour; I wish everyone a good time and some nice fish.
Your Committee has been working hard to run the Section’s business as well as we can on your behalf so we can just get on with fishing in nice venues and making new friends within the EFSA family. On your behalf I thank current serving, departing and new Officers for their time and commitment. In particular the Organising Committee for last year’s European Boat and Line Class Championships out of Weymouth deserve a special mention. A splendid event was staged and the Section has a sizeable contribution to our financial coffers. The Section is very proud of what you as a team achieved for us.
This last year has seen me doing what I can to help out and in particular to streamline the Website. Results when notified to me are usually ready for viewing later the same day. In some instances events with short lead-in times till entries close this proves to be the only way to inform the membership about what is happening. With this in mind perhaps it might pay to have a quick look once a fortnight to check nothing new has cropped up as well as reveling in the joy of seeing your name “up in lights” when you have done well. When we fish an event can those attending arrange for someone to forward the main results and a short report to me? As you are probably aware current and past editions of the Newsletter can be downloaded from the site together with entry forms where available for future events.
If it is your wish, Gary Galbraith will succeed Mike Smith as our Membership Registrar, thank you Mike and Nicky for what you have done. Gary would like to keep a register of everyone’s E-mail address together with mobile telephone numbers so if as we needed to at Dover cancel an event we can communicate news in as timely fashion as possible. Might I suggest that without unduly burdening Gary now you either E-mail him the details, or for those without access to the internet simply give him a telephone call.
I look forward to fishing alongside you all this year and in closing remind everyone that if you wish to discuss any Section business I am always ready and willing to give any assistance or guidance that I can. All the very best for 2008, enjoy yourselves.
Secretary's Report: Mr Bowden gave the following report to the meeting:
It’s been another busy year for me and the rest of your Committee. I am sure most of us would give more to EFSA if it were not for the inconvenience of having to work for a living, so this is a good time to mention the fact that the Committee needs posts filling and just because you work is not an acceptable excuse not to join us!
I feel I should congratulate the Organising Committee for the 2007 Line and Boat Championships. Personally, I was not involved with the organisation as I have only been on the Committee for 2 years and preparations were well under way before I joined - such is the time scale to organise such an event. The overwhelming feedback was that it was amongst the best run Championships and that it set the standard for future events.
Hopefully, when contacted I have responded with your request in a reasonable timescale and to your satisfaction. On that, it is best to email me, as I am then able to give an instant response. Be assured I am doing my best!
Other than that I would like to wish you all the best for 2008, and may your participation with EFSA be enjoyable and your rod have a good bend with some decent fish.
Treasurers Report: Mr Hart gave the following report to the meeting:
This is a report of two halves and I’ll deal with the good news first. The European Line and Boat Championships held out of Weymouth in September 2007 was an unqualified success thanks largely to the magnificent efforts of the organising committee managed by Admiral Tony Hudson. We not only held what was probably the greatest European Championships ever staged but also managed to produce a budgeted £ 5,000 surplus from the event, and just as well we did because that leads me on to the second part of my report, the bad news.
Had it not been for the above surplus and the extra interest earned from deposits lodged we would have recorded a deficit of nearly £ 2,000 and that is of grave concern. Profits on other fishing events recorded very low surpluses, partly because of low returns from raffles. Because the large Irish contingent had a ferry to catch, the English Boat event at Minehead could not even hold a raffle so we lost out on vital income on that occasion. It would be a great shame if the financial success of Weymouth were lost in subsidising the running costs of the organisation. The subscriptions received from regular members barely covered the payments made to head office combined with the cost of attending a delegates’ meeting in Dublin.
Part of the problem here is the issue of Life Members. We have to pay head office a levy for all members but the interest on the Life Members’ fund does not cover the cost of that levy for those members. The deficit on Life Members’ funds for the current year was £ 440. Some of the longest standing life members not have attended events or meetings for many years but we still pay head office £ 8 per head as they are included in the register of members. If they were made aware of the financial pressure this continues to put on our finances year after year, including the cost of sending newsletters, they may kindly allow us to remove them from the register saving the Section vital funds. In most cases they could still access our revitalised website which is a source of the most up to date information and results, providing most of the contents of the newsletter but at a fraction of the cost to the Section.
Membership receipts continue to fall, as do attendances at events. As many of you are aware, the current year has started badly with the English Cod event at Dover being cancelled due to bad weather. The cost of this to our organisation appears to be minimal although The Grand Burstin does not appear to be very forthcoming with refunds for cancelled places. In some ways it may have been a blessing in disguise as low attendance may have produced a loss for the event.
As Honorary Treasurer it is my duty to report on the financial situation for the English Section so I make no apologies for painting a potentially grim picture. The financial future of the organisation is in the members’ own hands. The events need to be supported and the raffles subsidise our running costs so need to be promoted. We are not alone in our lack of support for events, the entire leisure industry has seen better times, but Weymouth 2007 shows that we can produce exactly what people want. It would a great shame if the future of such incredible events was put in jeopardy by members not attending events and supporting their hard-working Committee.
The Treasurer then gave a brief explanation of the Balance Sheet and informed the meeting that some of the costs incurred were one-off, the setting up of the EFSA England website as an example. It was generally accepted that all EFSA England events should aim to make a nominal profit but that the general situation was not helped by there being only 60 active members out of a total of around 200. The Chairman informed the meeting that it was the Committee’s intention to write to all Life Members to inform them of the predicament and to ask whether they wished to remain on the list of Life Members. It was agreed that this subject be raised at the next S.C.Meeting.
A proposal for acceptance of the Accounts was made by K.Scaggs, seconded by P.Peck and carried unanimously.
(Balance Sheet enclosed separately with this Newsletter)
Membership Registrar's Report:In the absence of Mr Smith, Mr Bryant gave the following report on his behalf.
After 3 years as Membership Registrar I felt it time to stand down and am pleased to report that Gary Galbraith has offered to stand for election for this post. Given the timings for registration of Annual members, Gary kindly offered to take on the registration duties over Christmas, therefore giving me more time with the wife and kids, almost making up for all the fishing trips and lap dancing club visits with EFSA colleagues!
At the end of 2007, I can report that the membership details are as follows.
Annual – 96 (5 of which joined late in the year, so their membership is carried forward into 2008)
Life – 91
Affiliated Clubs – 4
For Annual Members and Affiliated Clubs the numbers were down on previous years and I have advised the Committee of this issue and recommended that a letter be sent to previous lapsed members.
Fish Recorder's Report: Mr Ashby gave the following report to the meeting.
The overall entries this year are slightly up on 2006, and yet again some notable fish have been recorded.
Our Affiliated Clubs, in particular, West Wight, Cornish Fed, Portland and B.C.C continue to give regular support.
Efforts will be underway during 2008 to encourage some of the Affiliated Club members to join as PMs and to enjoy the full benefits that EFSA has to offer.
On the overseas fish front, we had fewer entries this year, with Colin Sargeant finally taking the honours with a Captain Fish of 31lb 4oz caught from the shores of the Gambia on what sounds like a memorable trip. Our Junior Fish of the Year winner this year, who also takes the Conger Club Tankard, is Clarke Wellington with a Conger Eel of 65lb 8oz caught out from Weymouth. A memorable fish by anyone’s standards. Clarke and brother Floyd continue to find some excellent catches, and no doubt will be challenging our more senior members for honours in the not too distant future.
Our final award is our premier award for the Fish of the Year, and this year is awarded to Mr C Griffiths of the West Wight Club for his Tope of 42lb 8½oz caught from the Brook shoreline on the Isle of Wight whilst Bass fishing. Some Bass! This is not only a fish of a lifetime from the shore (212% of NFSA Specimen), but to catch it in such circumstances must have caused some anxious moments. Our heartiest congratulations.
In an attempt to bring additional interest to the Fish of the Month awards, we are looking at changing the format for future years by replacing our fish of the month to best of each of 12 nominated species for the year. The species nominated will be Bass, Conger, Black Bream, Plaice, Tope, Sole, Ballan Wrasse, Cod, Pollack, Flounder, Skate/Ray and “Other”. There will then be an award for the best specimen of each of these species from boat and shore at the year-end. Updates for each species will be published monthly on the website and also in the newsletter. Our other main annual awards will remain unchanged. If affiliated clubs and members are agreeable we will implement this as from November 2008. Your feedback will be welcomed.