2016 SSL AGM – Swordsands Bowl Club
3rd March 2016 7pm
Minutes
Attendees – Zoe Williams, Cathy Moore, Lisa Herbert, James Rodgers, Rhona Gray, Jamie Delderfield, Jodie Edmunds, Chelsea Ridgewell, Patrick Vega, Jerry Borel, Beefy Burgess, Nigel Davies, Bryan Barry, Adam Charlton, Andy Wood, Dave Gunn, Pippa Saunders, Tracy Robinson, Mark Robinson, Paul Langford, Sefton Chatfield, Matt Tebb, William Taylor, Asif Akhtar, Tim Day, Matt Andrews, Mike Doe, Alex Paoli, Ben Saukins
Apologies – Jim Porter, David Piesse
Re-Election of Officers –
Chairperson - Mike Doe Standing
Proposed – M.Tebb2nd – A.Charlton
Secretary - Zoe Williams
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – M. Doe
Treasurer - Jim Porter
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – T.Robinson
Membership and Fixtures Officer- Simon Tymms Standing
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – M.Doe
Tournaments Officer- Matt Tebb Standing
Proposed – M.Doe2nd – M.Andrews
Coaching Officer East – Rhona Gray Standing
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – M.Doe
Coaching Officer West – Nigel Davis
Proposed – M.Andrews2nd – M.Doe
Umpire In Chief - Adam Charlton
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – M.Andrews
Keyholders - Mike Doe, Cathy Moore Standing, Jerry Borel Standing
Proposed – S. Chatfield 2nd – T.Day
SSL Recruitment Officer West- Matt Andrews Standing
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – M.Doe
SSL Recruitment Officer East- Andrew Burgess
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – A.Charlton
Welfare Officer - Bryan Barry
Proposed – S.Chatfield2nd – A.Akhtar
Publicity and Media Officer - Sefton Chatfield
Proposed – M.Doe2nd – M.Andrews
Solent Mariners Organiser- David Piesse
Proposed – M.Tebb2nd – J.Delderfield
Teams for 2016 –
All teams are still entering this year apart from The Killa Whales.
List of SSL teams entering this year;
OAPS, Knicks, Sluggers, Dodgers West, Hurricanes, Sharks, Falcons, Shafters, Brewers, Zombies, Spitfires, Dodgers East
We are potentially gaining 3 new teams from the Southampton area; Southampton Spitfires Mk2’s, Redbridge Raiders and Pirates of the Solent.
Please inform the fixtures officer if you are entering or not this season by the 1st of April.
League Structure –
15-team structure will be in place
15 team structureTeams / 2015 position / 2016 league division
Dodgers West / 1 / 1 / 4 other div 1 teams played twice
Sluggers / 2 / 1 / 5 div 2 teams played once
OAP's / 3 / 1 / TOTAL = 13 games
Knicks / 4 / 1
Sharks / 5 / 1
Whales / 2 / All league teams played once
Hurricanes / 6 / 2 / TOTAL = 14 games
Shafters / 7 / 2
Dodgers East / 8 / 2
Spitfires / 9 / 2
Falcons / 10 / 3 / 4 other div 3 teams played twice
Brewers / 11 / 3 / 5 div 2 teams played once
Zombies / 12 / 3 / TOTAL = 13 games
Spitfires mk2 / 13 / 3
Redbridge Raiders / 14 / 3
Pirates of The Solent / 15
Solent Teams –
Many teams from the SSL are entering the diamond series this year therefore there will not be a Solent Stingrays or Solent Seahawks team entering this year. The Mariners are still entering B grade however.
Mike suggested we leave the C and B grade SSL teams this year and re-evaluate this situation next year.
Rhona suggested it might be better to take development teams to other tournaments such as Bristol DD as they are aimed at new players.
Indoor Softball –
Beefy led the discussion
Averaged 17 people a week at Crook Horn - 9/10 new players
Averaged 25 people in Southampton – 15 new players
Financially we are down in the East but hopefully the training in the West will allow us to break even. This will likely be the last year for us to use Crook Horn due to finances and time slots available.
Beefy is looking for a new venue for training in the East maybe in a different area such as Gosport or Fareham. This may allow us to have a better time slot on a better day for everyone.
Indoor sessions are falling as teams are holding their own indoor training. Perhaps we should focus our attention on Southampton due to the number of new players signing up.
Tom Prince – April 9th at Flemming Park, Eastleigh – UPDATED: ALL SLOTS ARE NOW FULL
Umpires Update –
Cathy Moore suggested we have a pool of players who will happily ring for any team rather than be stuck to divisions. (Would be useful for any Shafters who stay down here when their summer begins)
A new motion was brought forward from James Rodgers –
Motion – Any team of any division of the SSL can borrow from any player from any division of equal or lesser ability as long as the opposing captain agrees it. (Maximum of 2 players)
For:29 Against: 0 Abstain:0
James Rodgers brought forward an amendment to the ringers position motion – any ringer can play in any position.
Mike Doe wanted to reiterate that captains should be grown up about this and do not abuse it. Captains should try and fin a ringer from their division first before asking any other player of higher ability.
Adam then amended his motion due to the floors consensus that it should be:
Motion – Any Solent League team can play their agreed ringer in any position.
For: 18 Against: 10 Abstain:0
Fixtures:
The fixtures secretary will confirm the date of when he needs to know the confirmation of the fixtures list.
Mike Doe wanted to add that people need to be a bit more flexible on the days they can play due to the increased number of games that will be played this year.
Motion – A Team shall forfeit a tie should 2 Agreed Attempts by that side not be fulfilled. Rearrangements shall be made as soon as possible. 48 hours before the scheduled game time the 2 captains plus the umpires (or UIC as appropriate) MUST make communication, including identifying that there may be ringers included within the team line up.
For: 29 Against: 0 Abstain:0
Motion – Both teams’ line ups shall be agreed before the beginning of a game, with the line ups signed by a party of each team and the plate umpire. At the conclusion of the game, the score shall be agreed, and signed by a party of each team and the plate umpire. A record of the score shall be made public via Facebook. A score sheet may count as a record. Line up sheets shall be sent to UIC for MVP and roster collation.
For: 29 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Forfeiture:
Motion – A team that is forfeited against shall be awarded the match, with a 7-0 win and 3 League points. The forfeitee shall receive 0 League points.
For: 29 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ground Rules
Motion – Baffins SW Pitch (Left Field line towards Hayling Avenue, Right Field line towards Baffins Pond) – As the projected distance of the Field is in excess of 275ft (83.82m), the minimum Co-Ed Slowpitch home run fence distance, any ball that enters the hedge on the full or with a single bounce shall be awarded a Home Run. Any ball that bounces two or more times, or rolls continuously into the hedge shall be awarded a ground ball triple.
For: 23 Against: 6 Abstain: 0
Motion – Hursley - Until a member of the League Committee in agreement with either the UIC or the League Welfare Officer can recommend approval, the area known as the baseball third base coach’s box shall be declared out of bounds during game time to prevent injury to members of the fielding team. This is due to a number of stones and flints contained within the shale. Should a ball be heading on a trajectory near to the prescribed area the plate umpire should declare “Dead Ball” so as to stop any member of the fielding team from entering the out of bounds area.
This motion was agreed to be taken off the agenda as James Rodgers said he will happily get the stones/flints removed from the third base coaching box before the first game of the season is played there. An inspection will be carried out before that first game by the UIC or the Welfare Officer in order to confirm the safety of the pitch.
New Balls – Are being purchased from a new supplier this year.
Team sheets will now consist of only one piece of A4 paper – Tim Day suggested that a mini risk assessment should be put at the bottom of the line up sheet for umpires to tick and sign to say they have checked the state of the pitch and that is safe for play.
BSF update –
A structural review took place – the BBF SF and BFSF will be merging together in the next couple of years. This change will not mean anything to the Solent Softball League.
NSL 2 may well be happening this season – if it is the Mariners will probably attend.
The BSF pack is online so if you are interested please take a look.
Beefy is now in the BSF Hall of Fame so huge congrats to him!!
League Training –
Player Clinic - Something that will be continued this year and we are hoping to get 2 or more GB coaches to attend. Please keep an eye out for the Facebook event that will hold all the details.
There seems to be more teams who hold their own outdoor training sessions now so there isn’t much of an appetite for league training. Coaching officers need to push this, as it would be great to still have SSL training as a whole.
League Tournaments –
Player Clinic – Sunday 10th April – Portsmouth
Chichester Tournament – Sunday 17th April
Firstball – Sunday 24th April – Portsmouth
RookieBall – Saturday 30th April - Southampton
SummerBall – Saturday/Sunday 25th/26th June – Southampton
Nationals – Saturday/Sunday 13th/14th August – Farnham Park – Hopefully 3 Solent teams representing league.
Lastball – Sunday 18th September?? – Portsmouth
First ball will consist of only SSL teams.
Matt Tebb may request a team to run first ball but he may decide he would like to take this role so just listen out.
Matt Andrews - Summer ball will hopefully hold 20 teams and the SSL will have first grabs at the slots, after this the slots will be opened up to teams throughout the country.
James Rodgers suggested that the league could use Hursley’s grounds and BBQ area to hold a day of games in order to catch up with league games – this could potentially be very good for teams from Chichester as they will be able to play all their games in the West during one weekend. – this is something that James and the fixtures officer need to discuss in order to work out dates.
The anniversary series that was run last year is not something that will be continued to this year but we may bring it back for 2025.
SSL and SBA –
The SBA fees will likely increase with inflation just like previous years however if we go along those lines we may incur a decrease in our fees this year.
Last year the fee was £450
The league is able to use the club house/ facilities for anything but a date must be agreed and put in the Bowls Club diary well in advance. Please contact Zoe Williams (SSL Secretary) if this is something you need.
There has been a document put together on how to look after the clubhouse when it is under the Solent Softball Leagues responsibility. This document outlines everything you must do to ensure the clubhouse is looked after properly and thus will ensure our relationship with the Bowls Association will continue to be a happy one.
Treasurer’s report
Nigel questions – ‘Where has the short fall come from?”
Outstanding pitch fees from The Zombies, The Killa Whales and The Knicks
2016 fees –
Full Rate £185 (£10 increase on 2015)
3rd Year Team £140 (£10 increase on 2015)
2nd Year Team £125 (£10 increase on 2015)
1sr Year Team £110 (£10 increase on 2015)
Tournament team £160 (£10 increase on 2015)
University Team £70 (£10 increase on 2015)
Personal Medical Insurance £21 per team (£3 increase on 2015)
SSL Fee - £50 (no increase)
Balls - £45 per dozen (£90 total per team)
Pitch Fees – TBC – set by council
Motion from Beefy regarding The End of Season Party fees – Each established team pays £50 for the SSL EoS do. New teams can for go this fee for the first year in the SSL.
For: 29 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
The Solent Softball League will be officially moving to the use of the new balls – Do not mix old balls with new balls for the safety reason connected with these. Teams are still able to use the old balls for training but again, do not mix them.
If anyone has any of the old balls still in their wrapper they are welcome to donate them to tournaments (I.e. Rookie Ball)
However Will reiterates that we need consistency so we cannot use the old balls in league games.
Publicity –
Sef to lead..
One game sheet will now be used instead of the 2 A5 pieces of paper – this should then be photographed and put onto Facebook.
League tables are hopefully going into every paper.
Requests – Updated team roasters this year, updated photos of each teams.
Roasters need to be updated on the BSF website as soon as possible.
Welfare –
U18 requirements: we must comply with every regulation.
Byan will send out every document a team will ever need.
Incident forms: we are insured under the BSF but every incident must be documented whether it is during a game or training. No exception.
Incident forms should be with captains and coaches and in first aid kits.. everything needs to be logged from now on.
Just in case you still don’t know, there is a form so just fill it in.
Once an incident form has been completed it must be logged with Bryan and the BSF.
First aid kits must be on the field no matter what is going on whether it is a training session or a game. If the stocks are running low in the first aid, please inform Bryan.
Helmets –
Beefy – Wants this to evolve just like when people get their own gloves.
Slappy – can an opt out clause be implemented?
Motion – Compulsory helmets with a 1 year approach.
For: 23 Against: 6 Abstain: 0
The committee will review this motion next year and problems can be brought forward to the committee. An opt out clause can be discussed at the end of season wrap up meeting this year.
AOB –
An unofficial social committee will now consist of Matt Andrews, Cathy Moore, Pippa Saunders and Rhona Gray.
Pippa Saunders will take the lead for the End of Season Do.
Mike Doe: presented Will with a leaving gift.
Jerry Borel: Will be proposing a change of league structure… Would like a huge amount of feedback and comments on pros and cons of the proposal in order to have a diplomatic approach.
Tracy Robinson: Team registration form – can they please contain team name, preferred day of playing, contact of captain and an alternative contact number and team umpires.
Meeting closed – 9.30pm