LEATHERHEAD LAWN TENNIS CLUB

Minutes of Annual General Meeting in the Clubhouse on

Sunday 1 February 2004, 2:30 PM

Attendance: 33 members of the LLTC, incl. 9 committee members

1.      Apologies for Absence

Liz Meikle, Philip Taylor, Sheila Pomfret, Jane Green, Lynda Tarling, Maggie Christie

2.      Approval of Minutes of AGM 17.1.03

The minutes, which had been posted on the Notice Board for the past 12 months, were unanimously approved.

3.      Matters arising

• Honorary membership has been offered to Betty Fuller, but she has unfortunately not been back to play.
• A new Table tennis table has been acquired; no-one has so far wanted the old one. It is still available. 
  (post meeting note: Mervyn has kindly disposed of it).
• The fence has been fixed in the past year. The padlocks were lost but fortunately there was a spare one.
• Handyman: Trevor has completed several jobs to our satisfaction, but he cannot meet the regular weekly hours that we require, and therefore a new handyman has to be found.
• Open day: This has been arranged with the LTA for 27 March and will be run by Paul Marshall with help from the committee.
• Limited Company status: this will have to be pursued by the new committee.

4.      Chairman’s report

Tony Collett had circulated a copy of his 2003 report, in which he started off with the enthusiasm, achievements and activities of junior members supported by Paul Marshall and many volunteers; the mixture of competitive and recreational tennis played by adult members, such as Winter league, club sessions, American tournaments, and a full programme of club matches. On the social side there has been a barn dance, race evening, quiz night, and Italian dinner evening, hosted by Mariano.

As to the future he mentioned the not too distant need for a new clubhouse. He finished off by thanking all those involved in giving support and their time and energy to the club and its members.

After 8 years as chairman and several years prior to that as a committee member, Tony announced it was time for him to stand down and pass on the baton.

5.      Treasurer’s report

Irene Gawne distributed copies of the signed Income & Expenditure account for y/e 30.9.03, and Balance Sheet.

She pronounced the past year as steady, with subscriptions up, but a slight fall in the number of members. All social events had been profitable. Expenses were up mainly due to bringing in contractors for jobs rather than finding volunteers. Club insurance is also up, as well as the excess amount. Our coach Paul Marshall has received a new contract with the club.

Funds will need to be set aside to relay the courts, this had last been done in 1994 and lasts approx. 15 years.

The accounts were proposed for approval by Bernard Burbidge, seconded by Joe Crawley. Approved unanimously.

Subscriptions: proposed increases are as follows:

Adults from £135 to £145 pa

Juniors from £33 to £45 pa

Associates from £96 to £105 pa

A £40 club joining fee is proposed for adults (not juniors). Rejoining members may exceptionally be exempt from this, depending on circumstances.

The above increases and joining fee were proposed for approval by Michael Hinchey, seconded by David Christie. Carried unanimously by the vote.

6.         Junior Activities

Peter Grabaskey reports that membership has increased from 65 2.5 years ago, with the majority under 14, to 150 now, with a dramatic increase in the over 14 age group.  Paul's coaching efforts, and the club's fuller offering of junior sessions and tournaments have clearly retained the interest of Juniors. There are now 4 teams established in local leagues which have all been successful.

There is a shortage of competitive girls, and the U13 and U14 teams currently rely on two U12s for all matches.

Challenges in 2004 are to 1) find more girls, and 2) find something for boys who want to but cannot play in teams.

Achievements for the year:

U16s were promoted in the summer. U14s emerged as League Champions. U13s are back in division 1. U12s won their league for second year running.

Junior reports are published in the papers frequently and are important for publicity.

The club's own 2 tournaments had 59 entrants in the closed event, and 57 in the open week. The closed event was followed by a BBQ; in the open only one trophy went outside the club.

The club also entered the National U14 Road to Wimbledon tournament in 2003.

The Friday night sessions continue to be very popular.

Integration with the senior membership saw two U12s joining in one of the adult Saturday sessions and two juniors playing for the Mens 4th team.

7.      Coach’s Report

Paul Marshall reports he now coaches 30 sessions per week, which is roughly 150 people, of which 15% are adults. The school links are doing very well.

He has set up a Tennis Calendar for 2004, with events planned for every month. This starts off with an American tournament, further events include the Play Tennis Open Day, Ladies invitation, bring-a-friend tournament, Parent & Child competitions, junior open and closed  tournaments, amongst others.

Paul suggested that a £1 charge per player be introduced on club nights throughout the year.

8.      Resolutions

The following resolutions, of which the members had previously been notified, were read out. A dissolution clause is required in the club rules concerning the distribution of funds should the club ever be dissolved. This clause is a pre-requisite of many bodies providing loans or grants.

Dissolution. In the event that The Leatherhead Lawn Tennis Club is dissolved following a formal resolution put to a General Meeting and passed by the necessary majority of those present, the surplus assets and funds shall be distributed to non-profit making organisations with similar aims and objectives in the district as determined by the committee and trustees.

Proposed for approval by Nigel Turner, seconded by Barbara Henry. Carried unanimously.

Rule 5.1. of the rule book should be amended to read: The management of the club shall be in the hands of the committee which shall consist of the officers, and up to six Annual, Student/Intermediate, or Honorary members.

Proposed for approval by Dan Carpenter, seconded by Christine Jones. Carried unanimously.

The secretary will amend the rule book accordingly.

9.      Elections

a.                  Officers & Committee Members

Tony Collett wishes to stand down as committee chairman. David Christie resigns from the committee. All other committee members, Lisa Barnes (secretary), Irene Gawne, Christine Jones, Janet Carr, Peter Grabaskey, Joe Crawley, and Dan Carpenter, stand for re-election. Irene Gawne has been nominated as new chairperson. Gail Collett has been nominated as new committee member, taking on the vacant treasurer role.

Proposed for approval by Bernard Burbidge, seconded by David Christie. Carried unanimously.

David Christie offers to continue to provide the publicity link, which he has successfully established.

Irene thanked Tony for his 8 year term as chairman. At the outset we only had 4 courts, now we have 6. We have new floodlights, over 4 courts. In April 2002 Tony presided over the opening of the new courts and floodlights with guest Jeremy Bates. He has also undertaken much maintenance in his spare time. The club presented him with a gift of theatre vouchers in appreciation of his work and dedication.

           Irene Gawne now took over the chair for the rest of the meeting.

b.                  Team Captains

Dan Carpenter had established a draft list of team captains, which in the final version looks as follows:

D&L League

Mens 1                         Nigel Catlow

Mens 2                         Richard Jordan

            Mens 3                         Blake Bowden

            Mens 4                         Peter Grabaskey

            Mens 5                         Joe Crawley

            Ladies 1                        Lindsay Iftikhar

            Ladies 2                        Ros Anwyl

            Ladies 3                        Lynda Tarling / Beryl Eisenegger

            Mixed 1                        John Brazier

            Vets Mixed 1                Tony Collett

            Ladies Midweek           Sheila Pomfret

            Friendlies                       Liz Farrar  

            Surrey League

            Mens 1                          Daniel Carpenter

            Ladies 1                        Jackie Gawne

            Chaucer League

  Mens 1                          Ross Hunt

There is now a new 5^th mens team captained by Joe Crawley. Members keen to be in a team should speak to the relevant captains. Dan will put this list on the notice board.

Members felt there was no need to vote on this subject.

Entry forms for teams will be sent out with subscription mail shot, in March.

 c.                   Auditors

This item needs to be discussed with the new treasurer, and decided upon later.

10. Any other Business

• Open Days: 25/4 and 25/7 tournaments are open to outsiders
• Michael Hinchey: Does the lease we hold include maintenance of the road? The answer is that it is the responsibility of the council, but the club is obliged to make a contribution.
• Mike Hatton: Social members do not get informed of social events. We should mail details to them as they do not check the notice board.
• Derek Wardle showed the members a track jacket that would be suitable as team kit, navy blue with white piping. He will put up a list for interested parties. Minimum order is 12 in different sizes, price is £24.99 plus printing club name. Sizes go from small to XXL.
• Margaret Burbidge: she feels junior members should adhere more to acceptable tennis clothing and shoe standards.
• Paul Marshall: For security reasons could we install a light over the car park?

Close of meeting 16:10