BMGA
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Date: Saturday 27th February 2010
Time: 1pm to 3pm
Location: Jungle Rumble, Bristol
CONTENTS
Page 3: Notes from the AGM
Featuring:
· Chairman’s Report
· Marketing & Media Officer’s report
· Membership Officer’s report
· Treasurer’s report
· Industry Officer’s report
Page xx: Statutes update – Executive Committee structure
Page xx: Tournament update
Page xx: Development of the BMGA – Open discussion
Page xx: Players Forum feedback
NOTES FROM THE AGM
Present: Alan Norman; Jo Williamson; Emily Gottfried; Richard Gottfried (Media & Marketing Officer); Owen Johnson; Marion Homer (Membership Officer); Chris Jones; Seve Kukielka; Cindy Kukielka; Leo Kukielka; Jas Kukielka; Keith Kellard (Treasurer and Web Master); Brad Shepherd; Sean Homer (Chairman and Tournament Officer); Tony Kelly and Gareth Holmes
Apologies: Chris Richards (Industry and Affiliate Liaison Officer)
Sean welcomed everyone to the AGM. Introductions and apologies followed.
Review of outstanding actions from the previous years AGM.
Equipment sales – 2008 saw us holding significant level of stock however it became clear that it was generally not stock that the members wanted. Highlighted that we have used equipment successfully throughout the year as prizes, notably for juniors & novices, and this has been received well by the membership. For 2009 we are looking at ways of acting in a third party capacity with suppliers to help members secure the equipment they want. By using web presence we are hoping to be able to get set level of discount for members – this is being progressed currently by the EC. Will look at potential bulk orders as an option if discount links cannot be secured.
Accounts – quarterly accounts updates being communicated to the membership did not happen in 2008. This is something that will be addressed for 2009. The updated 2008 accounts will be reviewed later in the meeting (and are attached at the end of this report). Sean to ensure Richard Penfound has full access to the online accounts.
Supplying Kit to tournament venues – we are still keen to progress the idea of all tournament courses having a full set of equipment to offer to the public to enable people to test out balls/clubs, etc. This will link into point
2 and the sourcing of equipment.
Business Card - Sean also showed all present the new look draft of the generic business card. This will be finalised and produced shortly and we will make this available to all members who are keen to use them as a way of getting the message about the BMGA out to courses and other players. These will be supplied to players free of charge and also supplied to affiliate courses as well. The card contains the website address, email and contact phone number details.
Sean discussed the idea of having group or team prizes at tournaments as a sideline to the main competition. In line with the Aces Prizes, the idea would be to encourage the ‘non elite’ players throughout the competition by grouping the scores of the three players in the groups from the first round and carrying them through the whole tournament – lowest combined scores from a threesome wins the prize. This would ensure seeded players give something back to the other players and the non-elite players have something tangible to play for as the competition progresses and groups are redrawn. It would help break down barriers between new players and experienced players.
Please note: The reports from the members of the Executive Committee have been included in full in these notes. All comments, discussion points and feedback raised at the AGM in relation to the reports are detailed at the end of each report.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
REVIEW OF 2009
Despite the global recession and general tough climate for everyone in the UK, 2009 proved to be a year of stability for the BMGA. Our Membership remained constant with the ‘early bird’ reduced membership fee and the debut of our first indoor competition at the turn of the year saw members re-join earlier than previously experienced. We have also seen a steady growth in new players taking part in our competitions across the year and the ongoing development of the prize funds to include a better focus on juniors, novices and players outside of the top places.
We hosted a successful tournament calendar, again driven on by outstanding media and marketing work – we said hello to Star City, Wroxham Barns, Boscombe Chine and Staines along side the well established venues such as Hastings, Margate and Stratford. And came closer than ever to finally seeing a British Player win the British Open – perhaps 2010 will see this finally become a reality!
Smaller supported competitions in Blackpool, Weymouth and Manchester also have a well deserved and valid place in the calendar and give some good opportunities to develop the game to a wider audience. We are hoping to see these lower key events continue in 2010. Internationally we saw players compete at the Junior and European Championships as well as starting the development of a WMF supported coaching initiative.
2009 saw the ongoing improvement in the way we run our tournaments – the new look A5 clipboards and scoresheets were introduced at the English Open in May and have proven to be a great success and we have seen the continued success of the live online draws for the BMC’s, season only rankings, the use of PayPal payments, regular monthly newsletters and BMGA branded flyers at courses as the year progressed. The planned business cards were put on hold for 2009 due to financial restraints (the flyers have proven to be a good interim measure) and we are looking at the development of these for 2010 onwards. The arrival of the free Rules & Etiquette DVD for all members has also been a popular addition to the list of BMGA initiatives for 2009. The Players Forum also was a great success and we will continue to repeat this annually to tie in with the first event of the year.
MOVING FORWARD IN 2010
2010 sees a lot of new venues appearing on the competition calendar in what promises to be an exciting year of events. We make our tour debuts at Bristol, New Malden and we also finally move north of the border for our first Scottish event in Aberdeen – the latter with a confirmed prize fund minimum of £1500 and incentives for players of all abilities to enter. As for our 2 day competitions, Wroxham Barns hosts the British Championships in June and the British Open returns to Clambers in September. As well as these established events I am delighted to announce that the British Matchplay Championship will this year make it’s debut as a dedicated one day tournament in Worthing. Entries are limited again to 32 players and the competition will open up to all members on 1st March on a first come (first paid) basis. In keeping with tradition, the competition will not be seeded and the draw for round 1 will take place live on the internet once the field is complete. I am already working on the 2011 calendar and our first event (at Star City) is already confirmed to open the season on 23rd January.
With the arrival of several new courses in the UK, we are keen to support the ongoing development of clubs and regional leagues as these are key to the growth and success of the spread of minigolf across the country.
There will also be a focus on looking at ways to increase our income and revenue. Development of the sport is reliant on having the available funds to invest and we are already working at driving forward possible revenue streams such as the affiliate courses and additional website income streams.
We are continuing to work on our links with both the EMF & the WMF and ensure that we are able to develop the relationship to our mutual advantage.
Following some changes over the past 6 months I would like to confirm the individuals and roles of the current Executive Committee:
· Sean Homer – Chairman (inc Tournament Officer role)
· Richard Gottfried – Media & Marketing Officer
· Marion Homer – Membership Officer
· Chris Richards – Industry Officer (inc Affiliates)
· Keith Kellard – Treasurer & Development Officer (Keith & I will continue to oversee and maintain the official website)
All five of the Executive Committee are 100% committed to the ongoing improvement of the BMGA for the benefit of the membership. We are always keen for people to get involved, particularly with tournaments and the promotional side of the BMGA and I am confident that with the people we have on board the EC at present, we can continue to move things forward.
During the players forum in January we received a positive response to the structure (and the work of the BMGA EC over the past 12 months) and as a result I am putting a motion forward at the AGM to adopt this new-look structure for the 2010 and beyond to ensure we can maintain continuity and focus on moving the BMGA forward for the benefit of the membership.
And finally on a personal note I would just like to say thank you to all the members, players, organisers, clubs and course owners for their ongoing support, enthusiasm and commitment to the BMGA, and for making the year such a success! I look forward to seeing you all on a course in 2010.
Sean Homer
Chairman
It was agreed that there is a clear need for the BMGA to expand the clubs to encourage more players, utilising the competitive attitude of the Course Owners to drive competitions and course owners involvement in tournaments; the new drive for revenue in the BMGA (to be discussed later) to enable us to drive development both internationally and domestically.
The BMGA is non-profit making, therefore, what is put in, must come out to the benefit of all members. The relationship between the BMGA and EMF/WMF was discussed, as they are visiting the UK and one of our tournaments to get a ‘hands on’ appreciation of our minigolf ‘scene’.
MARKETING & MEDIA OFFICER’S REPORT
I’d like to start by saying what a great year for Minigolf 2009 was, with plenty of great events at excellent courses, and some new venues joining the circuit. It was also great to see a number of new players join the BMGA and take part in the competitions on the Tour.
It has been a very busy year for the BMGA, with 22 tournaments to organise and promote, and a huge amount of great success stories for players and clubs. And there continues to be opportunities to tell people about the great things happening in the BMGA.
After 22 ranking events in 2009 (including the four Club Invitational competitions, the BMGA British Doubles and the BMGA British Club Championships) a total of 16 players lifted BMGA Tour titles. Each of the tournaments had a pre-event and post-event news release written for it (the British Matchplay Championships having a number of update reports written throughout the season), and these were distributed to local and national media, along with minigolf specific websites.
Details of BMGA Media Coverage for the 2009 BMGA Tour
Below are details of the media coverage gained from 5th January 2009 to 16th November 2009 along with information about the number of news releases written and distributed.
· Number of news releases written = 53
o Distributed (where relevant) to local and national media
o News releases are also posted on the BMGA website, and sent to MiniatureGolfer.com and Minigolfnews.com
· BMGA Media Coverage = 60 pieces (see attached spreadsheet for details)
· Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships 2009 Press & Media Coverage = 48 pieces (see attached spreadsheet for details)
Media Highlights of 2009
The writing of news releases both prior to, and after, events has continued to provide coverage in newspapers and online. The BMGA also receives requests for information, advice and guidance. Whether it is with course building, running a tournament, charity events, marketing promotions, or helping with research for TV shows, the Executive Committee ensures the request is dealt with quickly and effectively.
Amongst the media highlights of the 2009 Tour I would like to pick out the following pieces of coverage:
· In July the BMGA was approached by CNN’s Living Golf who were researching the sport of Minigolf. The reporter was put in touch with a number of BMGA Tour players, amongst whom was Tim ‘Ace Man’ Davies, who put out a challenge to Tiger Woods in the story "Should Tiger go 'crazy' to return to form?"
· July also saw the long-awaited appearance of the Crazy Golfing Quiz Team, the ‘Nutters with Putters’, take on the world’s best Quizzers, The Eggheads on BBC2. The team of 5 (plus sub) only narrowly pulled defeat from the jaws of victory for £18,000, with many of the rounds going to ‘sudden death’.
· Some individuals on the Tour have also received media coverage in their local area for their achievements, with John Moore in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and Keith Kellard in the Herts & Essex Observer, and Bishop’s Stortford Observer.
· The Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings also received a wealth of worldwide media coverage, including news reports on Sky Sports News and CNN.
· It was also great to see BMGA Course Affiliate Strokes Adventure Golf featured on TV programmes The Apprentice and The Hotel Inspector in 2009. Well done to the Woods family in Margate.