LEATHERHEAD
LAWN TENNIS CLUB
Minutes of Annual General
Meeting in the Clubhouse on
Sunday 30 January 2005 at 5
PM
Attendance: 33 members , incl. 6 committee members
Irene Gawne thanked Heather Maurice for providing the meeting with tea and biscuits.
1. Apologies for Absence
Liz Meikle, Liz Farrar, Jane Green, Peter Winter
2. Approval of Minutes of AGM 1.2.04
The
minutes, which had been posted on the Notice Board and on the website, were
unanimously approved.
3.
Matters arising
Irene thanked Mervyn for disposing of the old table tennis table.
We have found a new handyman called Barry who has so far done a good job.
4.
Chairman’s report
Irene has sent a Chairman’s report, plus a Clubhouse report, to all members prior to the meeting. There were no further questions or comments regarding these reports.
Tony Collett praised the reports as both clear and informative.
Irene reported further as follows:
a)we have had three deaths in the past year: Betty Fuller, Paul Jack, and very recently, Ralph Leslie. Betty’s family has offered a donation on her behalf
b)the condition of the approach road to the club is poor ; many holes have appeared. Mole Valley DC which is responsible for the upkeep has done a temporary job which is unsatisfactory and a re-inspection will take place.
c) the external cladding to the club house has shrunk; new cladding will cost around ~£1000. The roof is leaking, and will need to be completely refelted. Estimates so far received range from £3,500 to £5,000.
5.
Treasurer’s report
Gail Collett reported an increase in the club’s income, also income from social events is up. Two large items of expenditure have been posted to the Income & Expenditure account: Court painting and architects fees.
The clubhouse itself belongs to the council. As long as we pay the rent we are allowed to stay put. The council will not however help at all with any rebuilding costs.
We have a loan in the balance sheet which has been guaranteed by 15 members at £2000 each.
a) The accounts
were approved unanimously.
b) Proposed
Subscriptions rates for 2005:
Adults from £145 pa to £160 pa
Juniors from £45 pa to £50 pa
As in the past a 10% discount will be offered for payment before end April. During May, the full amount will be due. After 1 June anyone who has not paid is considered a lapsed member, and the full amount plus the £40 joining fee is due. Staying in any class of membership prevents a joining fee.
Social membership is £15 pa.
Suggestions from the floor:
Frances Jordan: Can we ask for an extra contribution for the new clubhouse?
Sheila Pomfret: We should establish a sinking fund for the new clubhouse.
Tony Collett: Can the clubhouse fund be ring-fenced?
Bernard Burbidge: Should we be a charity for legacies?
Sheila Pomfret: In the increase letter to members can we specify an extra £10 voluntary contribution to go into the specific clubhouse fund?
This last suggestion plus the subscription increases were all approved.
6. Junior
Activities
Peter Grabaskey reported that we need more girls for the club. The girl’s
team is not in the junior league this year. He thanked Paul Marshall for his
success in organising external tournaments.
The age groups have shifted from U14 to U16. Paul will put extra effort
into the grand prix to increase the interest of the juniors.
U16 mixed – relegated to Div.2
U14 mixed – middle of league
U14 boys – league champions
U13 mixes – relegated
U12 boys – won league for 2nd year running
Closed Tournament had a record 66 entrants. In the open one, 140 matches
were played.
Road to Wimbledon: done very well.
Friday nights for U12 group is proving difficult to run.
In summary it has been an excellent year for Juniors.
Bernard suggested that juniors cleared up better after their sessions.
7.
Coach’s Report
Paul Marshall wants to establish a performance squad. That would require lessons perhaps twice per week.
Ross (assistant coach) has left the club to become a school teacher. Two more assistant coaches for Wednesday and Saturday have been found.
Bernard enquired if Surrey can offer some sponsorship for better players.
We hope to get some extra funds with Mini Tennis accreditation.
Paul has drafted a tennis calendar again, for 2005.
He will try to get some more schools links with help from Mole Valley Council. His Motto: “More Tennis Players play more tennis”.
The tennis ladder has offered inspiration for adults.
Paul wants more performance players; he’ll put up some LTA posters for advice.
8. Gradings
Dan Carpenter told the meeting that a gradings proposal was defeated 2 years ago. A subcommittee of 4 (Peter, Paul, Dan, Irene) has discussed this again for the last 3 months, to introduce such a scheme in 2005 for a trial period. They now need the input of members on the proposed document, which will be on the website (www.leatherheadtennisclub.co.uk). The aim is to make play more challenging, and more enjoyable for evenly matched teams. This scheme can be used for other than club sessions, such as American tournaments. Also graded sessions should encourage better team players to come to club sessions.
Paul and the sub-committee will do the grading. Initially this will be introduced at weekends, as follows:
Red player plays in top leagues
Blue plays in other leagues
Yellow ready to play in upper levels
Green new comers; not yet ready to play with better players.
Tuesdays will stay an open session.
Michael Hinchey: There will not be enough players on Wednesday to operate this system.
Richard Jordan: The name pegs could be coloured according to gradings and the board could be used to produce more balanced 4’s at club sessions. This was supported by John Brazier.
Mervyn Rice: Can we extend club sessions at weekends?
Allen Turner: Wants to start Saturday sessions at 1:30 PM year round. Approved
Paul will put more grading based events on his tennis calendar.
The proposal is to be posted on the website and feedback asked from members. A vote was taken to move this proposal forward, accepted by a majority.
9. Elections
a.
Officers &
Committee Members
All committee members will stand for re-election except for Lisa Barnes. New nominations have been received for Diana Ashley, Keith Linford, and Judi Smowton.
Sheila proposed the approval, seconded by Richard. All voted in favour.
b.
Team Captains
Mens 1 James Greenhead
Mens 2 Richard Jordan/Blake Bowden
Mens 3 Peter Grabaskey
Mens 4 Joe Crawley
Ladies 1 Lindsay Iftikhar
Ladies 2 Ros Anwyl
Ladies 3 Lynda Tarling / Beryl Eisenegger
Mixed 1 TBC
Vets Mixed 1 Tony Collett
Ladies Midweek Sheila Pomfret
Friendlies
Surrey
League
Mens 1 Daniel Carpenter
Ladies 1 TBC
Mens 1 Ross Hunt
Volunteers are needed to captain some teams.
c.
Auditors
We do not have a full audit of the club accounts. Roger Jarvis at present does an independent examination.
10. Any other Business
· Judi Smowton: Can the Wimbledon ballot be amended to win a pair of tickets instead of just one?
Irene informed the meeting that
we have about 17 pairs available, based on the number of LTA fees paid.
According to club rules Social Members are entitled to enter the draw. However
since they do not contribute the LTA fee, they should not be eligible, and the
club rules have to be amended accordingly.
Tony proposed that tickets may be issued in pairs if 2 members enter the draw as a couple, on one entry.
This was voted on and accepted.
· Richard Jordan: Wilson tennis balls are too hard and awful to play with.
Tony said that we have bought this brand to try out but 72 doz, to get a better price. The next batch will be Dunlop.
Bert Jones will check out the cost and logistics of importing them from the US, where balls are about 50% cheaper than in the UK, and liaise with Tony. Mervyn Rice likewise claimed it was possible to find balls at a lower price via the internet.
New balls are issued Tuesday evening and Saturday or Sunday morning. The Tueaday evening players always pay £1 each per session, and should be entitled to new balls.
Richard would like a selection of different balls to try out.
· Kate Robinson will give BBQ dates to Paul.
Close of meeting 19:10