Bracknell & District Netball League

Minutes of AGM

Thursday 16 May 2013 at Blue Mountain Golf Centre, Binfield

Present:Laura Reeve (Eagles); Maria D’Amaro (Eagles); Neil Day (Eagles); Olwen Bonnie (Sunningdale); Laura Price (Sunningdale); Ruth Claridge (Woodley Tempest); Tracey Parnwell (Nemesis); Jacqueline Sanders (Bullfinch); Helen Gates (Wokingham Diamonds); Tessa Jones (Dragonflys); Trinity Brooke (Eagles); Simran Gill (Eagles);Jacky Baumgarter (Eagles); Natalie Fonfe (Nemesis); Sophia Willoughby (Scorpions); Megan Adams (Fireflys); Rachael Cummings (Gemini); Kim Bushell (Royals); Quali Barrat (Royals); Darcie Goulding (Goldfinch); Sybil Sellwood (Nemesis); Katie Manders (Nemesis); Val Challis (Pacers); Mary Stanley (Pacers); Gillian Belcher (Archers); Jennifer Clark-Whittle (GTI); Jennifer Digby (Woodley Ansons); Jane Challis (Pacers); Katherine West (Woodley Spitfires); Alyson Hobbs (Woodley Tempest); Sam Skinner (Wokingham Diamonds); Anne Wadsworth (Wokingham Rubies); Nicola Chapman (Hilton); Clair Darne (Nemesis); Jo Worthington (Gemini); Carole Fogg (Woodley Wildcats);Leighanna Nugent (Scorpions); Louise Brown (Goldfinch); Claire Moss (Chequers); Moya Burrage (Wokingham Stars); Val Hammerson (Woodley Jets); Kathryn Smith (Rosefinch); Mica Brown (Dragonflys); Sam Pedder (Firefinch); Holly Bray (Fireflys); Katie Wyett (Wokingham Sapphires); Ann Edge (Wokingham Flames); Diana Toft (Woodley Wildcats) and Sheena Kitto (Finch)

1. Apologies

Ronnie Bowes, Claire Yeoman, Sally Evans, Dale Bonnie

2. Minutes of AGM 2012

Werecirculated prior to the meeting and were approved and signed

Acceptance of 2012 Minutes proposed by Rachelle Kitto, seconded byJenny Clark-Whittle

3. Matters Arising:

Website Developments

Now fully up and running, will be main form of communication

Dale will be investigating with Sheena ways to manage team registrations, umpires, and pool list on the website

If team contacts change then need to let Sheena know to be on the round robin email communications

4. Proposed amendments to Constitution

BDNL Committee proposed amendments

Resolutions 1 to 5 a) and b) – See appendix 1

Pool List – See appendix 1

It was agreed to:

Increase squad sizes from 12 to 15

Restrict the number of pool players per team – 1 player per team for all divisions

Additional proposals submitted bymembers – See appendix 2

It was agreed to change penalties for scoring no shows/late arrivals

All amendments were agreed by and seconded by Kathryn Smith and Rachelle Kitto

5. Committee Members Annual Reports:

(a)Chairperson (Sheena Kitto) – See appendix 3

(b) Treasurer (Jane Challiss) – See appendix 4 and 5

Mary Stanley proposed and seconded by Katie Manders

(c) Affiliation Secretary (Sally Evans) – See appendix 6

(d) Umpiring (Sheena Kitto) – See appendix 7

Awards presented by Val Challiss:

Senior Umpire of the Year – Trinity Brooke (Eagles)

Star U18 Umpires of the Year – Sophia Willoughby (Surrey Heath), Leanna Nugent (Surrey Heath), Elysia Avery (Finch), and Katherine West (Woodley)

Thank you flowers were presented to Val Challiss and Mary Stanley.

(e) Fixtures (Neil Day)

Division / Winners / Runners up
Division 4 / Sunningdale / Rosefinch
Division 3 / Eagles / Surrey Heath Scorpions
Division 2 / Royals Blue / Woodley Tempest
Division 1 / Archers / GTI

Margaret Barry Cup for most goals scored: Royals Blue

Jackie Johnson Defensive Trophy: Eagles

Jane Cox Most Sporting Team:

Division 1: Pacers

Division 2: Wokingham Rubies

Division 3: Goldfinch

Division 4: B’s

Overall: Pacers

These three trophies have been presented over several years in memory of former BDNL players.

Sheena presented flowers to the 2 division reps from Royals who are standing down and to Diana Toft

6. Election of Officers

With the Chairman, Treasurer, Fixtures & Results, Affiliation Secretaries and Publicity all being willing to stand again, nominations received for Secretary, Umpiring Secretary and some Divisional Reps. Nominations therefore as follows:

Chairman:Sheena Kitto (Finch)

Treasurer:Jane Challiss (Pacers)

Secretary:Claire Hebbard (Nemesis)

Umpiring Secretary:Tammy Turner (Woodley)

Affiliation Secretary:Dale Bonnie (Sunningdale)

Committee Support Roles

Div1 Rep:Ronnie Bowes (Archers)

Div 2 Rep:Sally Evans (Wokingham)

Div 3 Rep:Royals - TBC

Div 4 Rep:Surrey Heath - TBC

Umpiring Co-ordinator:Val Challiss

Fixtures & Results:Neil Day

Scorecard Preparation: B’s

These was proposed by Val Hammerson (Woodley) and seconded by Katherine Smith (Finch)

7.Any Other Business.

Charitable Donations

£130 to go to Henry Tyndale School Association (Nemesis)

£192 to go to Patricia Balcombe for Uganda

Red Cross

It was agreed to cancel the Red Cross for next season, the league to consider investing in a first aid kit to look in to running a netball specific first aid course.

The meeting closed at 9.25pm

BDNL – Arrangements, Rules & Constitution Proposals for 2013/4 Season – proposed by Sheena Kitto and seconded by Sally Evans and Diana Toft

RESOLUTION 1: To reduce the number of Officers that comprises the Committee in the BDNL Constitution (Pre-notified to teams 7th April 2013)

Point / Existing / Proposed New Wording / Outcome
4.1 / The Officers of the League shall be: Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Umpiring Secretary, Fixtures Secretary, Membership Secretary, Publicity Officer, County Representative, and one representative from each division. / The Officers of the League shall be: Chairpersonman, Secretary, Treasurer, Umpiring Secretary Fixtures Secretary, and Membership Affiliations Secretary, Publicity Officer, County Representative and one representative from each division. / *Smaller committee structure.
5.2 / Five voting members shall form a quorum / Three voting members shall form a quorum / *Scale adjustment

RESOLUTION 2: To introduce a new Rule to penalise for failure to properly identify a borrowed player on the scorecard

Rule / Current problem / Proposed Rule
NEW / Borrowed players fail to identify on signature card, from which team (including Pool) they have been borrowed / Team for which they play to be deducted one point for non-compliance / Less time wasted by divisional reps in checking of signatures weekly.
NEW

RESOLUTION 3: To amend existing Rules to further restrict the playing opportunities of South Region and Premier League players, in the interests of fair play.

Rule / Currently / Proposed Rule Change
5 / Premier League players can play in divisions 1,2,and 3 / Premier League, South U16/U14 players can play in divisions 1 and 2
South Open & U19 players can play in division 1 / Better skills match of players and fairer competition

RESOLUTION 4: To amend the Rules to add the committee’s ability to appoint “committee support roles” as required, at the AGM

Rule
35 / In the absence of any other applicants that may wish to be considered for a Committee post * , the pool of league members to be considered for such roles will be selected from the divisions in the league starting from the teams in Division !. / ADD *or a committee support role / Sharing of responsibilities

RESOLUTION 5: a)To introduce Rules for the registration of players to the Pool list and:

b)To align the Rules for registration of Pool and Team players

Rule / Existing Rules / Proposed Rule Change / Outcome
3,4 /
  • Pool Players can register on the day of a game.
  • Players registering to a Team are required to give 7 days’ notice in writing
/
  • A player can be added to either to the Pool List or registered to a team by emailing the Affiliations Secretary before midnight on a Thursday preceding the first fixture in which they are to play.
/
  • Reduced administration for both clubs and committee members.
  • Fewer penalties applied due to misunderstanding of rules by teams.
  • Rules consistency

10(b) /
  • Allow unlimited Pool List additions
/
  • Please read the background **below to debate improvements on current pool registration process so that it becomes fit for purpose. Suggestions include:
  1. Increase the pool player registration fee substantially
  2. Limit the number of first-claim players each team can register.
  3. Increase the size of squads from 12 – 15
  4. Increase the number of de-registration and re-registration opportunities allowed.
/
  • Clubs will place more “available” players on the list.
  • Teams looking for a player will find the list user friendly.
  • If these rules were applied this current season, the list would comprise 28 people (including 6 independent).
  • Flexibility to accommodate team changes maintained. A team could start the season with only 8 players, register 4 more, de-register and re-register 3 new players and borrow from below and the pool.

**Background to suggested changes 10(b) above:

There are currently no rules dealing with registration of players to the Pool. The objectives of Pool List are:

a) to provide independent players (who do not want to commit to a Team) playing opportunities; and

b) to assist League teams source a player when their own registered players are unavailable.

Before on-line club affiliation was introduced this list typically comprised10-12 independent players who, regardless of their skill, were willing and able to play anywhere anytime.

In recent years the Pool List has become over-populated mostly with non-BDNL registered players of the larger clubs - (easy to finance at a cost of only £1 per player) – just in case they are needed by their own teams. Many will only play for their own clubs or are at university most of the year.

Teams looking for a truly independent Pool player can no longer distinguish from the list of over 140 players – it has become an administration burden and benefits only a minority. Two examples of how the current arrangements benefit neither the large clubs nor the single teams in the League:

  • Despite having almost 60 players on the Pool one of our larger clubs was unable to field “legal” teams for 5 Saturday fixtures – playing “friendlies” instead
  • For the penultimate game of the season one of our single teams found themselves short of 2 players at late notice. They registered two new players (from another league) to the Pool rather than attempt to use our own Pool List.

Current Situation:

We have only 6 truly “independent” pool players on our list – i.e. they are not first claim to any of the BDNL clubs

Borrowing rules enable teams to borrow from at least 28 players (i.e. the 4 teams playing at opposite time in the division below them – or same from Division 4)...

A team can de-register and re-register 3 players to their team in any one season.

A Pool player can play 3 times in each half of the season

Proposal to amend Rule 12 dealing with late/no show scorers

Background to introduction of Rule

Voted in unanimously by members at 2012 AGM

Proposed because teams reported that scoring officials were regularly not showing up or were doing so late and the scoring duties were having to be arranged by the teams playing on that court with no consequences to the offending team.

Penalties applied during this season

Three teams were penalised during the first 3 games of the season. Two no-shows, onelate arrival.

Current Wording

“Each team must also provide a scorer: failure to do either of these will result in the lossof 3 points and a fine of £20”.

Proposed New Wording

“Each team must also provide a scorer: where a scorer is late, (i.e. not present at the starting whistle) the penalty will result in the loss of 1 point and a £20 fine; whilst failure to provide a scorer at all will result in the loss of 2 points and a £20 fine.

Summary

Failure to supply a scorer by 9.30 am or 11am - Loss of 1 point and £20 fine

Failure to provide a scorer for entire game - Loss of 2 points and £20 fine

Justification

The severity of the penalty should reflect the misdemeanour. If no umpire is provided, the game will struggle to start. If the scorer is a no show, anyone else on the sideline may fill in until such time as the scorer appears.

It is not appropriate for the same penalty to be awarded for the failure to provide an umpire, who must be graded and approved by the league (and trained to an appropriate standard) compared to a scorer who could be a parent or other substitute who requires noofficial grading or approval. In addition, the fixtures manager and / or committee member approaching the club for an alternative scorer may on occasion, avoid the solution to this infringement.

In order to ensure clubs recognise the significance of this role and provision, it is proposed that the penalty be staged to reflect a late scorer, but the financial penaltyremains the same and is significant enough to ensure teams continue to provide scorers.

Chairpersons Report 2013

Great season

Launched website in time for start of season (following earlier project aborted)

Logo Design competition won by Ellen Brombley of B’s

Early hiccup – one team withdrew but thanks to Surrey Heath who stepped in

Thanks to Neil for great BOS rally.

3 fixtures lost to snow/rain and the EOS rally

Two paramedic call outs – open fracture and concussion

New Fixture Manager role working well - much improved efficiencies in many areas

Games starting on time, Val concentrating on umpires, me floating

Scorers – now turning up on time – learned from early penalties

Scorer’s still not concentrating - Not just kids either - Adults chitchatetc. causing queries on scores.

Umpire Assessment Forms – Vast majority positive – checked every week Saturday

Team Sportsmanship Forms – as above the vast majority are positive. Some teams marked down due to spectators/sideline bench comments being overheard. “Benches/Supporters should stand physically away from umpires)

For me - Most commonly asked question

Which court am I on? – Scorers, players (umpires are allowed to ask Val that question) swiftly followed by:

Where is that court?

Looking to new season ahead

Parking being improved – grassy mound and tree stump removal works over summer

One new club on the waiting list Laurel Park NC – back to netballers from Reading League

Awaiting 1 June deadline for all teams committed. Woodley dropping a team

In Div 4 some teams played all their games at the same time – Neil asked to consider that for next season

Clashes with South region fixtures – BDNL fixtures to be aligned with prem dates again.

Berkshire Netball Special Recognition Award for the league

Thanks to great committee

Jane for continuing in the Treasurer role

Sally for sterling job as Affiliation Secretary and moving to Division Rep Role

Diana for taking on the Secretary role for a year after having been press-ganged into it

Tammy who has helped with Umpiring this year and has agreed to continue

Division Reps, Ronnie, Carol, Kim and Dale - plus support roles, players and umpires

Neil for sorting out our fixtures and continuing to help

Special thanks to Nikki Haydon from Finch who inputted to spreadsheet

And to B’s for volunteering to prepare the seasons scorecards before the start of the season

Treasurers Report 2013

  • The audited accounts were posted on the Website.
  • In summary, over the year, from the transactions, which have actually gone through the account, the net result for the year was a DEFICIT of £1063.87. In reality, there are payments outstanding to be paid estimated to be £1500 less payments o/s from previous year of £900 which leaves a true deficit of approx. £1700-1800 clearly this cannot continue.
  • INCOME – fairly stable – the only income the League has is from Teams (same number so consistent). Income will only change if the fees charged to the teams are changed.
  • EXPENDITURE :-
  • COURT FEES paid out this year are about £900 higher, as there was some left over from previous season due to bad admin at the school. We also do not have to pay VAT as we have combined the booking with Prem League so block booking means VAT not payable (saving us around £615 per year)
  • RED CROSS – increase to £903 this year. When first booked, the charge was £40 per event but this was undercharged – the true charge is £59.40 per week and £580 more than last season. Do we want to carry on?
  • WEBSITE – biggest cause of increased expenditure – set up cost was £285, annual maintenance fee is £240 (due to rise to £300) and every time a new application this is chargeable, hence total cost this year is £730 (NIL last year). However, this is a good investment and a useful tool but the cost has to be accommodated somewhere.
  • CHARITY – less donated as donations previously was from raffle income, which we now do not hold. It was agreed at a Committee Meeting that donations to charity would be funds raised for that particular reason, & the fines collected from teams, and NOT from reserves held by the League, particularly as the League is running at a deficit.
  • WINNERS’ PRIZES – it was discussed at a Committee Meeting whether the amounts paid were appropriate, given the decision to increase expenditure elsewhere, & this is to be reviewed for next year.

The Bracknell affiliations at £1 per person generates around £380-£400 per year. Court fees have NOT increased for a couple of years, as Brakenhale is cheaper than Cantley. Income per week on Court fees is £288. Cost is £192 so surplus is £96 per week over 16 weeks is £1536. £1536+£380 is £1916 which is the only money we have to pay for everything.

Red Cross is £903 Website will be around £450 Winner Prizes/Costs £700 so total for this is £2053. = already overspent and this does not account for ANYTHING else such as admin, stationery, meeting room hire, other incidentals. If it gets to the stage of paying VAT, then there is a further overspend of £615.

Some funds were wasted this year, particularly on one umpiring course for which the cost of the room hire, refreshments, and printing were excessive and unnecessary. Actual costs were not sought before agreeing to go ahead and this cannot be repeated. Had I been aware of the costs before being presented with invoices to pay then I would have raised the question of value for money.