Wolverhampton Rugby Union Football Club Ltd

WOLVERHAMPTON RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB LTD.

Minutes of the 63rdAnnual General Meeting held on 4th June 2014.

1. Notice Convening the Meeting.

The notice convening the meeting was published in the Year Fixture Card and also on the Club website. The meeting was brought to order by the Honorary Secretary Nat Cooper at 19.45.

1. Apologies

Apologies were received from the following:

Mark Belcher, Paul Howells, Neil Howells, Ron Davies, Jon Doughty, Sam Bahia, Shaun Ryan, Saul Perry, Alf Grundy, Steve Bowden, John Edwards, James Whitehouse, Mitch Norman, Steve Bird

1. Minutes of the 62nd AGM

Minutes of the 62nd AGN were read out and accepted as a true account.

Proposed: Sue WhitehouseSeconded: Ralph Dawson

1. Director of Rugby Report.

Director of Rugby, Neil Jones, read out his report. The following points were made:

• The 2013/2014 season has been a more difficult campaign compared with last season and the achievements of all the senior sides have not been as good as the previous season. The First XV finished 7th in Midlands 2 League. This was considered a disappointing season in what is a strong league; 3 out of the 4 quarter finalists in the Intermediate Cup were from this league. The reasons for this loss of form were given as down to losing a number of key players from the previous season. Poor attendance at training nights was also noted. Captain Ian Harley is stepping down after six seasons in charge; the Club thanks him for all his efforts over the previous six years in charge of the team. Jeremy Delot will replace him as First Team Captain next season.
• The Second VX played in a very strong Midlands Second League and finished Seventh out of Eight, but it should be noted that they were only 18 points off the top team. However this team has also struggled for enough quality players. Jon Doughty is stepping down as Second Team Captain. Thanks are given for his efforts. He will be replaced by Matt Jones as Second Team Captain next season. The Second VX will be dropped down a league next season as Junior players will be encouraged to play and gain experience with older senior team mates.
• The Third XV finished below mid table in their merit league. The knock on effect of the sides above them struggling for players has had the effect of this team also being left short on a number of occasions. However this shortage of players within the club is relplicated in other local clubs and Wolverhampton is still one of the few clubs regularly putting out three senior sides.
• Junior sections of the club have strong numbers and are showing good quality:
• U12’s County Champs
• U9’s/U13’s/U14’s County Plate Winners
• U17’s County Winners and National Cup Winners. Congratulations are given to all the coaching staff for their efforts and thanks given to club members for all the support that was given.
• Colts team has struggled this season due to two successive seasons of poor quality and numbers coming through the club to keep playing at this age group, U17’s and Colts have amalgamated in order to supplement the numbers, but this amalgamated team was not successful to begin with but did improve as the season progressed.
• U16 player Lewis Evitt has been given a 24 month contract with Leicester Tigers.
• Ladies side has 7 fixtures arranged for next season and have participated in a number of contact games by amalgamating with other local sides.
• Thanks is given to Club Committee for their support, the Former Players Association, Club Sponsors, Precise Mortgages, Tile Choice and Ned Needham, Junior Committee of Chris Cooper and Neil Harris, Tom Grantham Wright and Dennis Kirkbootin for help with pitch maintenance, and special thanks given to Richard Port for his efforts with the First XV.

1. Chairman’ Report.

The Chairman, Ian Kendrick gave his Report. The main points were as follows:

• In a mixed year of achievement in Rugby terms, congratulations and thanks must be given to the U17’s side in winning the National knock out Cup.
• The social side of the club is very successful and has been admired by touring sides and tournament sides visiting the club.
• Funding for Club redevelopment has unfortunately been declined. The Club has been informed that to be successful with its application it needs “to demonstrate greater need in the community”.
• Thanks are given to Gareth Jones, Matt Jones, Neil Jones and Dave Parker for their help with the U17’s side.
• Thanks given to Committee and Nat Cooper as Secretary in helping to run the Club
• Thanks given to Chris Cooper, Tina Rowney and Neil Harris for their efforts with the age group reps.
• Thanks given to Ralph Dawson, RazAstbury, Steve Bowden and Jill Tonkinson for their help with the Former Players Association.

1. Treasurer’s Report.

The Treasurer Geoff Russell gave his Report. The main Points were as Follows:

• Bank Balance on the day showed £51,181.00 credit
• A report was issued showing Income/Expenditure of the Club from the previous five years for comparison. The profit for March 2013 has had to be restated from £12,177 to £8,144 as £4,000 worth of kit sales was mistakenly included in last years account and has had to be written off. The club has made a surplus of £10,323.
• Club Income has increased from £254k in 2013 to £275k in 2014. This has been due to better bar sales and more profitable kitchen and food sales. The Summer Events profitability was down primarily due to fewer people attending. Sponsorship deals had increased. Beer Festival takings had increased as did subscriptions.
• Planning application costs for Club Redevelopment have been kept to a minimum by asking members for voluntary expertise, but this has led to unsuccessful applications. Club will need to pay to get proper cost analysis figures for the stages of development.
• It was pointed out from the floor that the Summers Events revenue of £67.8k was less than the Purchases of £70.7k. The reason for this is that the Revenue figure is for ticket sales only and that the profitability of the events is from the bar takings which are not included in the Revenue figure in the analysis sheet.
• It was pointed out from the floor that Sponsorship Details were not given as a separate entry. These are shown as Income/other donations, but the floor feels that it would be better if Sponsorship was shown as a separate entry.
• It was asked by the floor why Advertising Revenue was not included in the Accounts for 2013. This was because the Ad Boards are on a three year deal and the payments have been received in previous years.

1. Election of Officers.

The following members were elected to be Officers on the General Committee:

Ian KendrickChairman

Nat CooperHon. Secretary

Duncan RutherfordPresident

Geoff Russell Treasurer

Neil Jones Director of Rugby

Sue WhitehouseHouse Committee Chairperson

Neil HarrisCoaching Co-ordinator

Kevin RoundCommercial Manager

Tina RowneyChild Safety Officer

Proposed: Ralph DawsonSeconded: Billy Farr

Chris CooperJunior Section Chairman

Proposed: Ralph DawsonSeconded: Billy Farr

Andy BroughJunior Section Chairman

Proposed: Jill TonksSeconded: Ian Harley

Each candidate spoke to the meeting and gave reasons as to why they wanted the position before leaving the room and allowing the members to discuss the merits of each. A vote took place in which Chris Cooper was successful and retained the position of Junior Section Chairman. Andy Brough was invited to take the position of Vice Chair of the Junior Section which he agreed to.

1. Approval of Accounts.

Accounts for the financial year were approved as a true and accurate record.

Proposed: Ralph DawsonSeconded: Ben Barnes

1. Appointment of Auditors.

Garrett and Co. are to be appointed as Club Auditors.

Proposed: Duncan RutherfordSeconded: Denis Kirkbootin

1. Any Other Business

Kevin Round, Social Events Co-ordinator, gave thanks for the support of the club in making a success of all the Club Social Events throughout the year.

Paula Levan as Captain of the Ladies Team wanted to ensure that the Ladies Team have their opinions on Club matters heard by having a position on the Committee. This may not be practical, however a Rugby Committee made up of representatives from the men’s and women’s team could then report their opinions to the General Committee to ensure that everyone has an equal input.

Richard Port gave special thanks to Kevin Round for his efforts in organising very special social events throughout the season. Thanks go to Andy Lloyd and Kerry Lloyd for their excellent efforts in organising the bar and kitchen.

Alun Whickam gave his thoughts on the Junior age groups. The U12/U14/U17 age groups were the most successful but the fragmented efforts of the different age groups were in need of proper co-ordination in order to maximise the success the club could achieve. In response Neil Jones pointed out the Wolverhampton is the envy of many clubs in the region with the numbers of children attending on Sunday morning. Many ex-first teamers are now age group coaches. Success of 7-12 year old teams is difficult to assess, as our current National Champion U17 team did not show much promise until the age of 14! Thanks given to Ralph Dawson who started the modern Junior sections in 1973.

After Social Events furniture needs to be replaced in the storage lock ups. The Licensing Laws for the Club need to be adhered to. A number of complaints of late night noise disturbances have been received in the last two months.

Meeting was closed at 21.44 for light refreshments to be enjoyed.