Chairman's report 2015-2016
The Playing Side
A much improved season for the club in many aspects.
On the playing side teams made great leaps forward in both playing ability and league positions.
At the core of these improvements are the coaching staff that have worked with the
club this year. It is our intention to continue to attract, develop and improve the best available coaching and coaches for our members. A big thank you to Ryan Cathcart and Simon Beere: our head coaches, and all of their coaching staff at all levels .There is a great buzz about the club, with everybody feeling that the club is really starting to move forward both on and off the ice.
It is the clubs intention, if possible, to enter two U15 teams into the league structure for the up coming season. This seasons U15 side had more squad members than were able to play in each game; this meant that some players did not get as much game time as they would have liked.
Since the changes in age group structure, the U15's league has now become very competitive and far more physical that the old U14 age group. It was felt by the coaching staff that most players coming up from the U13 side would benefit from a season playing “B” league hockey before progressing to the A league side the following season. Players would play more games and gain
more experience, making them more complete players for the following U15 season.
The inaugural season of the new U20's league was a great success in helping our more senior club member's make the transition into senior hockey. It is our intention to enter a team into the league again, if players feel prepared to make the level of commitment required to compete in what will be a much tougher challenge given the new geographical structure of this league.
We will look to maintain the strong links forged by Simon Beere between the senior part of the club and both the Buffalo and Bison organisations. This has given many great opportunities to our older players to experience and be exposed to level of hockey many of them to aspire to play.
Lets Play Hockey has again introduced the game to many and produced a good source of players for our more junior sides. LPH is cornerstone of our success going forward .Off ice Katie Childs, Denise Mogg and Carol Chandler have done a fantastic job of administrating and involving the newest members of our club. On the ice Stuart Mogg and his team have done a great job of introducing and developing new players.
A quick thank you to Toby Harris who continues to support this program each year by helping us provide much of the equipment we need to help more children get involved in our sport.
Ashley Skins has been added to team to head up the LPH program for the up coming season to help further develop the program .Ashley brings a lot of knowledge of the game along with a strong ability to impart that experience to young players.
Money
As will be reflected in the Club Treasurers report we continue to try and provide hockey at the
best price possible for our members . Bison In The Community (who operate the rink on behalf of Planet Ice Basingstoke) will continue to charge more for ice time with a further 5% increase in our ice rental in due October. The conditions of hire seem to change every few months placing further pressure on our cash flow. It is more important now than ever that members pay their fees in a timely manner to help us keep up with the increasing demands of Bison In The Community.
The Ice Rink
The condition of the rink continues to be an area of concern. The rink has severe permafrost problems that continue to effect not only the ice pad itself but the surrounding rooms and structures.
Some remedial work has started to be undertaken to make the areas surrounding the ice pad safe
to use. To fix the permafrost problem itself would mean closing the rink for many months to complete, this type of work is normally undertaken during the closed season. The window for attempting even a quick fix has now passed for the upcoming season.
There seems to be a political impasse between Planet Ice (tenants), the local authority and the current landlords (who hold the head lease for the building) as to who is responsible for undertaking major works on the site.
Nobody wants to spend any money on the ice rink whilst the proposed re-development of the Leisure Park as a whole is still in the offing. Meetings have been held recently between Planet Ice and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council regarding the ice rink. Hopefully we can soon be informed of the long term future of the current and proposed new rink.
Thank You
Once again we have had great support off the ice from the all of the managers, treasurers and parents. Without the effort put in by yourselves the club would not be able to put our members on the ice for training and games each week, so thank you for all your help and support.
Our thanks to Billy Banner for his stewardship of the website and social media for the club.
Billy has made the junior website the go to place for information about the club and has helped raise overall awareness of the club both internally and to the wider world.
I would like to thank members of the board for all of their work this season :
Carol Chandler our Club Treasurer who works tirelessly to insure the financial stability of the club
and liaises with the EIHA with regards, as well as producing the fixture coordinates with the
leagues administrators throughout the year. Keith also provides the board with a great many spreadsheets and much wise and considered advise .
Katie Childs who stepped in as Club Secretary making sure we are all fully compliant with
the rules and regulations passed down from the governing body as well as being the conduit for disseminating information to all.
Tan Norris has brought many years of experience and knowledge to her roll as our CPO.
Tan deals with issues in a professional and compassionate way ensuring both our members and
volunteers feel safe within the club environment.
Finally I would like to thank our sponsors and the members that brought them to us.
Your support and money is much appreciated and makes providing sport for our members
a lot easier for us all.
Thank You
Power Technique ITS GroupPenny Hardie
Stroma EvolutionCosta CoffeeRecarta
South West TrainsSmart Car at Mercedes-BenzFrankie and Bennies