Executive Summary of Federation AGM held on Saturday 19 November 2016 at Culcheth.
Chairman Garry Wilson welcomed 31 members, representing 13 of the 18 clubs, to the AGM at Culcheth. CA representatives Peter Wilson and John Dawson, updated members on the national organisational changes and whilst the much vaunted members database will not go live as quickly as initially projected, a usable version will still ensure all club members are moved into CA membership and start to receive the Gazette, early next season. There is a Working Party examining how the Federations can be incorporated into the new management structure. Three clubs have received CA Development Grants – Penrith (Trailer), Pendle (Mower), Craig y Don (Clubhouse Insulation).
League Manager, Tony Thomas, reported another generally successful season, sadly the A League is now defunct due to lack of teams but other leagues remain competitive and Level Play Golf continues to expand. The league efficiency continues to improve with a significant reduction in the number of postponed matches. At a later stage in the meeting there were two debates on changing the League Rules – Don Williamson proposed abandonment of the Bisque Base in Short Croquet (ie all games played to full bisque of 10) and games increased by 15 minutes, whilst Jean Hargreaves proposed the maximum Golf Croquet Handicap to be 12 in Golf League matches. Both motions were carried after wide ranging discussions.
There was a club motion to cease the practice of the home side providing a luncheon in league matches such that all players should provide their own food. This motion was withdrawn by the proposing club but then re-enacted by a member from the floor of the meeting. A long and wide ranging discussion ensued culminating in rejection of the proposal by a small majority. Consequently, there are no changes to catering arrangements for next season.
A continuing theme of the meeting was the problem of individual handicaps, the need for players to present their cards at matches, but more importantly the need for a more consistent approach by Club Handicappers. It was decided to organise a meeting next March especially for Club Handicappers and any other interested members, especially team captains, to discuss strategies and standards. It was also agreed that Federation/CA Handicappers could claim travel expenses from the Federation if they thought it necessary to visit events to assess/discuss handicap procedures.
Chairman Garry Wilson moved the Meeting should adopt a New Constitution as the current edition was no longer fit for purpose in the modern era. This was carried by a large majority.
There were five changes at Officer level – David Walters (Bowdon) to take over the Secretary role from Liz Wilson; John Dawson (Chester) taking over CA Representative from Peter Wilson; Ivan Wheatley (Westmorland) taking over League Manager from Tony Thomas; Paul Rigge (Bury) taking over Coaching Officer from David Crawford; Liz Wilson (Fylde) taking over Pennine Cup Manager from Garry Wilson. All other positions were re-elected.
The meeting concluded with presentation of League trophies to representatives of winning clubs.
The next Federation meeting for clubs will be the Spring Meeting on 4th March 2017.
The above account is a personal view by Tony Thomas, produced before Minutes of the Meeting were distributed.
You can view an unratified version of the 2016 AGM Minutes HERE