NORTHUMBERLANDCOUNTY NETBALL ASSOCIATION

Minutes of the AGM, Monday, 20 July 2015 at 7.00 pm

Blyth Leisure Centre

Joan Campbell, Acting Chair welcomed members officially to the 2015 Northumberland County Netball Annual General Meeting and our grateful thanks for Helen Emmerson for consenting to present the awards and to Victoria Atkinson NDO for attending.

2015/01PRESENT: Joan CampbellActing Chair

Jane Laidlaw Correspondence/Minuting Secretary

VacantPublicity Secretary

Andrew TunnahCoaching Secretary

Jolene ByersWinter League Secretary/AffiliationsSecretary

Laura StreetSchools Secretary

Joan CampbellTreasurer

VacantPerformance Secretary

VacantUmpiring Secretary

VacantWebsite Officer

Kathie KeadySafeguarding Advisor

IN ATTENDANCE:Helen EmmersonRegional Manager

Victoria AtkinsonNDO

2015/02PRESENTATION OF AWARDS

Winners were: Under 13 – Wansbeck

Under 16 – Ponteland A

High 5 – Joint Ponteland and Wansbeck

Adult WinterDiv 2 – Morpeth B

Div 1 – Hexham

Adult Summer:Div 3 – Astley C

Div 2 – Ponteland A

Div 1 – Concordia A

Best Defense:Summer - Allendale

Winter - Astley C

Photographs were taken of the winners and Justine will be publishing these. Most of the trophies were unfortunately not returned before the AGM in order for them to be inscribed, therefore after a unanimous vote, it was decided that in future the winning teams will receive a new match ball instead. Action: J Campbell to purchase the new balls for the winning teams.

2015/03APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

  • Andrew Tunnah (Coaching Secretary)
  • Clubs who did not attend: Hexham. Action: Points will be deducted.

2015/04NORTHUMBERLAND NETBALL ASSOCIATION

a)Members noted and approved the resignations of Genevieve Wilson, Victoria Atkinson and Suzanne Claassen. The Chair thanked them for their contribution to Northumberland County netball

b)Members noted that the Committee’s term of office had come to an end and that the following members were appointed for 2015/16 or re-elected:

POSTNAMENOMINATEDSECONDEDQUORUM

ChairmanMrs H LeathardJane Irisover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

SecretaryMrs J LaidlawJoan Julieover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

TreasurerMrs J CampbellJulieSuzanneover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

League/Affiliations SecretaryMiss J ByersJaneSuzanneover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

TSG in the absence of an appointment: Alison Hare volunteered+committee

Coaching SecretaryMr A TunnahJoanLisa Floodover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

Umpiring SecretaryMrs J PattersonJoanJaneover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

Publicity SecretaryMiss J Rochester/LorraineJulieover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

WebsiteMiss N SandersLorraineJulieover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

Performance SecretaryMrs S ClaassenJaneNicolaover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

Schools SecretaryLaura StreetGenevieveDaniellaover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

(Bede Academy)

Safeguarding AdvisorMrs K KeadyJoanHelenover 7 voted for with the decision carried unanimously

You are reminded that all members may suggest someone to fill the vacancies or volunteer personally. If you would prefer offer your support on a TSG rather than full commitment to a post on the Committee, then please contact Jane as your contribution is valuable.

2015/05MINUTES AND MATTERS ARISING

  • Minutes of last year’s meeting held on Monday, 21 July 2014 and the EGM minutes held on Sunday, 2 April 2015were confirmed to be a true record.
  • There were no matters arising.

2015/06COMMITTEE REPORTS

Secretary – report previously circulated

Treasurer

  • Report of audited accounts previously circulated
  • As at the 1 June 2015 C/A £4,245.62 and D/A £9,367.34.
  • The treasurer proposed that Dawn remain as auditor for the 2015/2016 financial year.
  • Action: Set the affiliation fees for the 2015/2016 season commencing 1 August 2015:
  1. The chair proposed that the fees be set to £33 for adults and £17 for Juniors ie U18. This is the same as last year. U11 - £6.00/U14 £8.00. The All England fees have increased and the Regional levy has remained the same at £3.00. 8 Voted for with the decision carried unanimously.
  2. Approved

Performance Secretary – previously circulated

Key Planning Aspects for 2015/16

  • I took over the administration of the County Performance Pathways in April 2015. It has been a steep learning curve. Association engagement has been problematic on many levels and chasing the required support is onerous and resource intensive. It is hoped that this will settle down across the year as it is at present unsustainable. This report covers April to date.
  • I plan to run 2 Satellite Academies and 1 County Academy out of SCC in 2015/16. Each Academy will have 20 places. Dates are planned and facilities booked. Preparations for trials are well underway.
  • Coaching staff for Satellite Academies in 2015/16 will be Leanne Knott, Nicola Lewis, Victoria Atkinson and Suzanna Claassen. No County Coach has been identified yet (it was Josie Pointon in 2013/14) despite advertising and networking. As things stand, I have approached Leah Kennedy from Team Northumbria and I am awaiting a response, however this will probably only partially solve the problem and a second coach will need to be identified. Jo Burnham is aware.
  • 2015/16 trials are scheduled for the 8th and 9th September 2015. There has been a significant engagement process over the last few weeks to ensure schools and clubs are aware of the trial opportunity. Selectors at trials will be Jolene Byers, Jo Burnham and Joan Campbell (9th September only). A third selector is required for the 8th September. As the 8th September is Satellite trials and may involve over 60 candidates, securing a third selector is essential. Jo Burnham has agreed to ask Tyne and Wear selectors if they can support – awaiting response.
  • Processes to engage schools and clubs in Performance Pathway trials has worked well at Satellite level, with 58 children nominated from over 12 schools and 5 clubs regionally. Successful engagement has been seen in the traditionally strong netball areas where schools are regularly playing and there are high profile junior clubs, such as Bedlington (St Benet Biscop Academy, Meadowdale Academy, Bedlington High School and Wansbeck Club), Morpeth (Chantry Middle and Morpeth Club), Cramlington (Astley Club), Berwick (Berwick Academy, Tweedmouth Middle), Ponteland and Hexham (Queen Elizabeth High School, Hexham Club). 13 girls have progressed without need for retrial from year 1 of Satellites based on high performance and commitment. As such, there will be 27 Satellite places available at trials and selection processes will need to be rigorous, considerate and well managed.
  • Processes to encourage engagement at County level have been less successful with only 4 new attendees proposed by schools and clubs. All County year 1 girls who are continuing, the girls graduating from Satellites and new invites will be asked to trial on the 9th September. This means there are 25 girls chasing 20 places. The reason for the low engagement from schools and clubs regarding 14 – 16 year old athletes is not understood. Satellite trials on the 8th September may identify some older girls (year 2000/2001 birth) who will benefit from County trials on the 9th of September.
  • It is anticipated that funding the Academies will be a problem in 2015/16. The County Association does not provide any financial assistance to the Academies. This year breakeven will be difficult. I have been reluctant to put up athlete fees as I feel the cost may discourage participating from less well-off families (£85 for Satellites (+£5 from 2013/14) and £125 for Academy (= £ 2013/14)). The athlete fees collected and the £1000 contribution from England Netball will leave a short fall of £300 at best without extra curriculum fund raising activity. However, this extra activity to raise funds, such as bag packs or festivals, will take significant resource and commitment and is not a tenable solution. The Association should consider some future allocation of funding to the County Performance Pathway if they wish the Academies to be more sustainable.

Proposed changes to Pathway delivery

  • Satellite Academies will be streamed in 2015/16 on ability.
  • Any athlete who misses 2 training sessions in a row without good reasons or who is not meeting training requirement will have their place reviewed. Absenteeism will be managed and followed up on an individual basis. No refund will be offered for girls dropping out after the second session without extenuating circumstances.
  • This year the girls will be asked to buy their own Academy uniform from an England netball ‘closed’ shop. These are fairly expensive (approx. £18 for basic tee) so I am reluctant to enforce this. However they will all get a ball each as I now have about 3 million in my garage…
  • Some drop out is anticipated. A list of reserves will be kept from trials and places offered as they occur up until Christmas. I will monitor junior league across the winter season and identify missed talent.
  • Some work needs to been done around standardisation of Satellite sessions. It was apparent in 2014/15 that due to differing personnel styles, sessions delivered could be very different even though the same lesson plan is followed. This needs moderating to ensure equity of experience.

League Secretary

Thank you to all teams who have participated in the leagues during this year. On the whole the leagues have been well fought and competitive, throughout with some close matches being played. Sadly quite a few games have been cancelled throughout the summer and the winter this has led to great difficulty when it has come to deciding overall winners of the leagues and when awarding best defence. As a committee we are now going to have to look at repercussions of cancelling matches and the wider impact it has on the league. There were a few complaints regarding courts throughout the summer. Action: If there are any incidents or accidents during matches I can’t stress enough the importance of logging this regardless of how minor. Unless it is documented in the Sporting Clubs accident book we can’t expect anything to change. I am stepping down from the adult league at the end of this year as I will be focusing on the junior league and regional competition for my junior club. It would be great to see more clubs taking part in the junior league and the regional junior competitions.

Winter/Spring League commences Wed 30 September 2015, 7-9.00 pm at Blyth Sports Centre @£80-£95.00 per team depending on how many teams enter. Spring League commences 2nd week of January 2016 (13th) until March 2016.

Action Secretaries: please forward payment and how many teams by 1 August 2015. If paying by BACS, please email Joan. Thank you.

NDO report – previously circulated

Satellite Clubs

Northumberland has three netball satellite clubs which are going to be running from September in conjunction with funding from Northumberland Sport. Berwick Satellite Club will commence in October at Berwick Academy with the view to become a junior club for the current Berwick Ladies. Seaton Sluice Middle School and Ashington High Sports College will also be hosting clubs.

High 5 Netball

A High 5 Festival was delivered on 4th July 2015 with 58 players with North, South East and West Northumberland all be covered by attendees. A big thank you goes to Jolene Byers, Samantha Rutter, Kathie Keady, Fiona Jones, Maxine Fenwick and the young volunteers from Ashington High, Hexham Juniors and Ponteland Juniors.

Juniors.

A junior club is due to start in Prudhoe from September and a junior offering will be happening in Blyth at Morpeth Road Primary with the view to becoming a club depending on securing a coach.

CAPS.

Ponteland Juniors achieved Bronze Caps Awards and Wansbeck, Hexham, Morpeth and Astley are working towards reaccreditation.

Goalden Globes.

Two nominations were received for this year’s Goalden Globes. Jolene Byers won the Grassroots Coach of Year award and Laura Street won the Teacher award. Well done

Upcoming events.

Netball Now – Cramlington Sporting Club – 16th July – end of August. £1.50 for members or £2.

Youth Umpire Course – September in conjunction with the Blyth and Bedlington Partnership.

Coaching Secretary – previously circulated

Whilst coaching is always a challenge for clubs particularly as the majority of the workforce is volunteers, Northumberland as a county is a good position. The recruitment of new coaches/volunteers with the cost and location of UKCC courses is always a barrier to growing the local workforce.

The grant awarded by Northumberland Sport to NCNA as a result of the workforce audit of clubs conducted in 2013-14 enabled the county to attract a UKCC L2 coaching award to the county.

Working closely with the Netball Development Officer the funding was distributed to clubs that highlighted a need for more level 2 coaches. The funding also supported the NCNA county plan by recruiting new level 2 coaches to establish a number of new Back to Netball sessions and support the county academy.

Most recently the NCNA and Netball Development Officer have secured funding to establish a new satellite club linked to Sport England in Berwick. As a result two new level 2 coaches have been needed to establish this. Whilst there are not any local courses planned until January funding has been secured to send two coaches to Manchester to attend a UKCC L2 course.

Moving forward the committee is keen to support clubs develop their workforce through the recruitment and development of coaches alongside supporting those that are currently volunteering within our network of clubs.

Umpiring Secretary report

  • Umpire course – 23rd July 2015. Further details to follow. Although this is not an accredited C Award course this will allow for umpiring practice in the league.

Qualified umpire meeting – 6th September 2015 10am to 11:30am. Venue tbc. This one is for all qualified umpires and C award attendees who intend on umpiring in the winter/spring/summer leagues. Purpose –Umpires to meet prior to league commencing. Attendance at this is mandatory if you are proposing to umpire in the league this year. Thank you. Action: Please contact Julie Patterson @ or telephone 07810640419 or Vicky Atkinson, Northumberland Netball Development Officer on T: 07540 126812 with your confirmation of attendance.

  • Umpire Workshop – 23 September 2015 Blyth Sports Ctr. Come and enjoy an umpire workshop and put them into practice with a mentor next season. C Award resource pack given. Cost: £15 Affiliated £20 non-affiliated. Book a place with Julie Patterson @ or telephone 07810640419 or Vicky Atkinson, Northumberland Netball Development Officer on T: 07540 126812 with your confirmation of attendance.

2017/10AOUB

  • Concordia charity netball tournament – Sunday 2 August 2015 10-3.00 pm Sporting Club, Cramlington @ £35.00 per team. Please contact Gemma White on for further info and to book your team’s place. Deadline for entries Friday 24 July.
  • Extra netball. All are welcome to Concordia Sporting Club on Thursday nights outdoors from 7-8.00 pm @ £1.50

2014/11DATE OF NEXT MEETINGS

  • Date of next year’s AGM – Monday, 18 July 2016Blyth Sports Centre at 7.00 pm

Our thanks to members who attended, Victoria Atkinson and Helen Emmerson. Our grateful thanks andcongratulations to our members appointed and our thanks once again for the tremendous work of the members who have stepped down this year and the members who are continuing to support netball in Northumberland County. Have a great holiday and we look forward to another season of netball.

SECRETARIES TO FORWARD INFORMATION TO THEIR CLUBS ASAP AND NOTE DIARY COMMITMENTS AND ACTION POINTS

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