SWIMMING HAWKES BAY POVERTY BAY Inc.
Minutes of the 121stAnnual General meeting of HBPB Swimming
Held at the Vista Motel, Wairoa at 11amon 5th July 2015
Welcome
Keith Bone welcomed everyone to the 121st AGM, and thanked those that had attended.
Present
Sue Hewitt, Keith Bone, Karen Busch, Paula Richardson, Mary-Jean Staniford, Trevor Adsett, Katrina Lee, Aidan Withington, Phillipa Layton, Mark Layton, Greg Meade, Greg Fisher, Mark Joblin, Andrew Bull, Donna Blair
Apologies
Brenda Roberts, Frank Wylie, Dave Argent, Gary Martin
Appointment of Scrutineers
Greg Meade and Sue Hewitt
S Hewitt confirmed that all clubs had submitted copies of financial accounts prior to the meeting.
Minutes of the 120thAGM/Matters Arising:
P Layton requested that “Others” be removed from those Present, and replaced with something like “Also in Attendance”.
Moved that the minutes of the 120th AGM which have been circulated, be taken as read.
P Layton/A Withington- carried
Reports:
Presidents Report
Moved that the circulated report be read.A Withington/G Fisher -carried
Annual Report
Move that the circulated report be taken as read G Meade /K Bone – carried
Financial Report
Move that the audited financial report be acceptedS Hewitt/T Adsett–carried
Thanks go to Knowledge Accountants for preparing and auditing the financial accounts for HBPB Swimming at no cost.
Blazer and Life Membership Awards:
HBPB Swimming Awards - There have been no recommendations for awards this year. Keith Bone noted that we must all remember to recognize and nominate people within clubs for these awards.
SNZ Awards - HBPB Swimming has nominated T Astwood (Service), and seconded a nomination for S Martin (Honours Award).
Remits:
None
Election of Officers:
All HBPB Swimming Management Committee retiring due to new constitution, and the election of the new HBPB Swimming Board.
HBPB Swimming is forming the Board under clause 8.3b of the HBPB Swimming Constitution, meaning there are four vacant positions on the Board to be elected. The remaining two Board positions will be filled through an appointments process.
Clubs have nominated the following to vote on their behalf – Andrew Bull (Comet), Greg Fisher (Enterprise), Trevor Adsett (Napier Aquahawks), Aidan Withington (Central Hawkes Bay), Phillipa Layton (Greendale), and Paula Richardson (Heretaunga Sundevils)
The following six persons are standing for the HBPB Board - Trevor Adsett (nominated by NAQ), Donna Blair (nominated by COM), Keith Bone (nominated by NAQ), Phillipa Layton (nominated by GDL), Katrina Lee (nominated by NAQ) and Mary-Jean Staniford (nominated by SUN)..
P Layton requested that S Hewitt read candidates Bio’s, which was done, and voting commenced.
Election Results
Elected Board Members – Keith Bone, Trevor Adsett, Donna Blairand Mary-Jean Staniford.
Keith Bone thanked the outgoing HBPB Management Board for all their work, and looks forward to working with the new Board.
Board Member Appointment Process
The remaining two Board members will be appointed by an Appointment Panel that will be formed through nominations and voting by Clubs. From there the Appointments Panel will be expected to advertise the Board positions and seek to fill these positions with people that can enhance the skill set of the Board.
Regional and Swimming New Zealand Affiliation Fees:
These are set by SNZ, and remain the same for the 2015/16 year.
Competitive Swimmer - $85.00
Awards Levy – $5.50
Coaches - $25.00
Technical Voting - $15.00
Clubs – $350.00
Competitive Swimmer - $50.00 is retained by SNZ, plus the $5.50 Awards Levy. As HBPB Swimming has agreed to pay the Awards Levy on behalf of swimmers, SNZ will only pass on $29.50 to the region per swimmer, instead of the usual $35.00 The HBPB Up & Comers meet is run to fund the Awards Levy costs to support our swimmers.
Greg Meade expressed concern that there is no pro-rata system when it comes to the Affiliation fee, and suggested that this is a barrier to participation as families are reluctant to pay $85 when there is 6 months or less of the year remaining. G Meade to provide remit to the Board that could be supported and put for consideration at the SNZ AGM.
K Bone provided detail on recent communication from SNZ regarding SNZ By-Law 3 – The Right to Compete. SNZ have finally listened to regions concerns relating to the ruling that regions cannot have non competitive swim in the same events as non-competitive, when SNZ has had a By Law allowing them to essentially break this rule when hosting the NZ Secondary School Swimming Championships. Various options are being proposed, with SNZ asking for feedback on the preferred scenario from regions by 17th July. SNZ will consider these in the August Board meeting, and look to implement the change 1 September 2015.
General Business:
Keith Bone asked if there were any extra items for General Business.
SNZ Update
K Bone spoke about the element of anti SNZ feeling,with the new constitution, employment challenges – with the swimming community awaiting key coach appointments –and a lack of a key sponsor meaning that things are very driven very much from a results and financial perspective, with SNZ currently very much at the mercy of HPSNZ. There are monthly CRC meetings to coincide with providing updates from Board meetings.
From a regional perspective we can do little but do what’s right at the club and regional level and serve the best interests of all our swimmers.
Central Swimming
K Bone provided a summary of both the activities and the activities of Central Swimming.
Sue Hewitt and Keith Bone sit on the Central Swimming Executive, which has been frustrating over the last 12 months with a lack of meeting, no AGM and basic constitutional matters failing. Waikato Swimming has comeback in to Central Swimming.
Central Swimming has taken on a coach driven approach, but there is little in the way of administration and governance. Over the 18 months both Lynelle Flynn and Lisa Rowe had resigned from the Administration position. Discussed also was the commitment from coaches, with only 12 coaches from all four regions attending the recent Coaches Summit in Rotorua.
It is the turn of HBPB Swimming to host the Tri-Series. This was discussed, and whether or not it was viable, and who would take responsibility. Aidan Withington provided some details of some suggestion, and planning he has done, and indicated that he would get information to S Hewitt.
M Layton commented that Central Swimming had had a negative effect on our Summer Championships, and questioned whether Central Swimming was positive to the region.
HBPB Technical Uniforms
Since the last AGM the region has introduced a Technical Uniform (shirt) that is worn by Technical Officials poolside – IOT and above. This has tidied up pool deck.
The introduction of the Meet Approval document – while it has had some challenges – has meant that there has been a far bigger regional focus on recruiting and training Technical Officials, and that overall there have been significant improvements with regards to Technical.
Sue Hewitt also acknowledged the work done by committees and key technical people within clubs in this.
NewCompetitive Pathway
The proposed Competitive Pathway has been a discussion point within SNZ and regions over the last few months. This proposal, although conveyed to some coaches, was not adequately discussed and consulted on with Regions, Clubs and apparently the SNZ Board.
Although not officially notified, it does seem that it will be status quo for National meets in the first half of 2016, as these have been loaded onto the SNZ website.
HBPB Swimming, along with many other regions did submit their thoughts on the proposal, and did have many concerns.
It is difficult to determine what the future pathway will be until SNZ fill vacant key coaching positions.
Keith Bone thanked everyone for attending.
Meeting closed 12.45pm