DIARY
2007
March (TBA)EFSA Germany Species – Dover
19th/20th AprilShore Championship of the British Isles. Co Clare, Eire.
11th/12th MayEFSA European Species Championship – Iceland.
2nd/3rd JuneEnglish Boat Championship – Minehead.
29th/30th JuneLupus Cod Festival – Helsingborg, Sweden.
10th/11th AugustEnglishShore Species Championship - Chesil
24th-26th AugustEuropean Game Festival – Marina De Albufeira, Portugal.
10th/14th SeptemberEuropean Line Class & Boat Championships
Weymouth, England
12th/13th OctoberEnglishShore Championship – Orford Ness, Suffolk.
22nd/24th NovemberEuropeanShore Championships – Pwllheli, North Wales.
DecemberEnglish Cod Festival – TBA.
2008
16th/23rd AugustEuropean Line Class & Boat Championships
Cobh, Ireland
TBAEuropean Species Championship. Belgium
2009
TBAEFSA European Species Championship – Plymouth, England
EFSA European Line Class Championships 2007 – Weymouth
At the time of writing this report, I only have 20 entrants from the English Section. The closing date for entries is March 1st (very close). We have 212 boat places but these are a maximum and, if these seats are not filled, we will have to make a decision regarding the cancellation of some boats. This decision will be made before the end of March.
The net result for those not getting their entries in by the due date will be that no place will be available for them.
Tony Hudson
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
held at
The ArndaleCourtHotel, Wimbourne Road, Poole.
On Saturday 27th January 2007
Present:
Mr N.Bryant-Chairman
Mr P.Peck-President
Mr K.Bowden-Acting Secretary
Mr D.Styles-Vice-Chairman & S.C.Delegate
Mr P.Hart-Treasurer
Mr R.Barron-Competition Co-ordinator
Mr R.Ashby-Fish Recorder
Mr A.Selby-Boat Festival Officer
Mr B.Allum-Shore Festival Officer
Prior to the commencement of the meeting, the Chairman made the following statement.
Firstly, I would like us all to take a few moments to reflect on 2006 and in particular to take time to remember the passing of one of EFSA England’s most gentlemanly members, Mr Les Smith, who passed away in the summer. He was always there at most of the events and never lost the will to compete and just loved his fishing, so if you please let us take a moment in silence to remember Les and all our past members and friends who are no longer with us.
1.Apologies:Apologies for absence were received from the following:
C.W. JacksonP. HoadA WhiteJ. ReeceT. SmithJ. Whippy
N. HearnI.McLeanM. PattenN. RushA. SindreyM. Wuest
S. DaleyC. DaleyA. PyeP. CurticeC. WattsT. O’Dell
S. RileyB. BrookerR. MarschalekM. SmithP. ParsonsM. Toomer
R.QuinnJ.HendersonP.BadgerK.ScaggsI.Wellington
B.ShortD.OliverC.Searles
A total of 32 members were present.
.
2.Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2006:
Acceptance of the Minutes was proposed by A.Hudson, seconded by R.Russell and accepted unanimously. The Minutes were duly signed by the Chairman.
3.Matters Arising:
There were no matters arising.
4.Executive Officer's Reports:
Chairman's Report:The Chairman gave the following report to the meeting.
2006 was as busy as previous years and the Committee have met on three occasions to discuss and organise the Section’s business. These meetings take up to five hours and a great number of items are discussed. As you know, Kim stepped in to take over from Charlotte as our Secretary and I, on behalf of all the Committee and Members would like to express our thanks for diving in and instantly taking control of the position. It is not easy to take on a role of such importance without a great deal of preparation but Charlotte did everything to assist Kim and I would must to thank her once again.
Within the Agenda there are a few Elections of Officers to vote on. These being myself, as Chairman, Ray Ashby as Fish Recorder and Jim Whippy as PR Officer. However, it is with regret, and unfortunate, that Andy White has decided to stand down as our Press Officer so I would thank him on behalf of the Committee and the membership for his work in progressing this role forward. I feel it is an important role and if there is anyone who wishes to offer their services to the Section please do come forward.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank David for all his hard work as the Vice Chairman and Standing Committee member for the Section and to congratulate him on becoming EFSA HQ Boat Festival Officer. This is an important role within EFSA and I know in my mind that David will do a fantastic job for the Federation. Well done David and good luck, oh! and NO, you cannot leave the English Committee, so please do not ask!
The year has seen us venture to other venues for our Boat Championships and Cod Festival and I know how difficult it was for Andy to organise, but it all went well. In particular, the Boat Championships were a revelation with so many fish to be had and I feel we will one day return to Rhyl. The Shore anglers have had a very busy year with all events being well supported and a great thank you must go to Brian who quietly gets on with everything to the pleasure of all who participate in these events.
Overall, the Section has had a great year in Shore and Boat competitions, as you will hear in the reports during the meeting. I would like to congratulate all the members who achieved their goals, be it in winning a pin or being part of a winning team but, more importantly, in taking part and enjoying the last twelve months competitions.
This year we host the European Line and Boat Championship’s and under the Chairmanship of Tony Hudson the Sub Committee are doing a great job and am confident that the event will once again be a great success. All the year’s events are listed in the Newsletter for you.
As always, I would like to thank the membership for attending the AGM and for supporting the events we hosted and attended. Also, I must thank all of the Committee for their hard work in running the Section and, in truth, last year was a tough one for me personally and without their continued support I know some things would have been overlooked.
Finally, I wish you all a great year and hope to be able to catch up with many of you at events but most importantly of all, please remember this is a sport within which to enjoy friendships.
Vice-Chairman’s Report: Mr Styles gave the following report to the meeting.
Well another year gone and many great events attended. I was particularly pleased to see the exceptional results obtained by our Shore anglers in Ireland in the European Championship, truly outstanding successes in both individual and team events. Once more the Section has an individual European Champion and Team Champions, well done Budge Booker and all the Team. We the Section are immensely proud of the feat, as you the individuals must undoubtedly be.
It never ceases to amaze me the range of areas we fish in and how diverse the angling. 2006 saw us in the far North, deep inside the Arctic Circle and just South of the Equator to round off the year. 2007 will hopefully, God willing, see us return to Iceland after a long absence and exploring new grounds in Portugal. As always there are plenty of events, home and abroad, whether your interest is shore, boat or game angling; if you participate in all three you really have a conundrum on your hands; short of winning the lottery which events do you enter?
Kim Bowden your Secretary has now completed his first year and we as a Section are fortunate that he wishes to continue in post, thank you Kim. As people are often wont to say, the first year is always the hardest. What is not shouted quite as loud is all the following years aren’t much easier, only joking, honestly.
Committee meetings have been relatively well attended although we only managed 3 this year. As you will see Andy White has decided to move on and I thank him for how he has tried to progress the website. We really do need to work on this aspect of our communication; I can only look with envy at the website that a small Section such as Iceland has managed to put together. If you have experience at developing and updating a website the Committee really would appreciate your help, with the ever developing facets of angling available within the Federation it seems that only electronic means enable us to communicate in a timely fashion with everyone.
As you will see later in the Agenda under “Special Business” the Committee have looked at how to make the business of the AGM more transparent and have proposed some changes to the Constitution to address this. I trust you understand the reasoning and will support the proposals.
The 3 Chairmen of Selectors have started working to new Protocols and as you will see their contact details are within the Newsletter. The reason for this? We want you to talk to them! All three are experienced in their field and can provide guidance and first hand information on venues being fished and what is sought in a potential Team member. If you have never considered representing the Section they should be your first port of call and can give guidance on what Selectors are looking for, and how best to prepare to address this. Thank you Gentlemen for your diligence and sound counsel.
Without rattling on forever about how good everyone has been, I just wish to say we are always listening, always fine-tuning and always trying to give a better service to everyone. I know the individuals who attempt to do this care deeply for the Section and what the Federation as a whole is about. The reason? Simple, you the members. We like our members, hopefully we are friends more than acquaintances and in the Federation that is EFSA we know what it gives to us, and we want to give something back. Some decide to serve on the Committee, some to help out at events, others simply to attend, that in itself is always appreciated but most of all to build on what has gone before and set new frontiers, new experiences and share in all that we strive to achieve. Let’s try to leave here and ensure 2007 is even better than all the years that have gone before.
Acting Secretary's Report: Mr Bowden gave the following report to the meeting:
Having had a taster of the Secretary’s job for a year, it has not deterred me from standing for the position.
Looking back through past records, I can see that many of the tasks in managing the Section have been shared among other Committee members, thus making this job easier. On the subject of the Committee, I would like to thank them for easing me into the fray and for the assistance given throughout the year. In particular, thanks to Neil and David for their patience and knowledge, which I frequently have need to call on.
I hope any contact I have had with the members has been to their satisfaction but if ever you feel there is anything lacking at any time, then please mention it as I am still trying to get a complete handle on the job.
All that remains is for me to wish you all the best for the fishing in 2007. It is going to be a busy year and I look forward to seeing you at the events. A lot of effort goes into organising them so please give them your support.
Enjoy your fishing.
Treasurers Report: Mr Hart gave the following report to the meeting:
The past year has been very busy for the English Section with not only six events organised during the accounting year but also a great deal of work in connection with the forthcoming European Championships in September this year at Weymouth, particular praise should be given to Tony Hudson who does a magnificent job coordinating this massive event and also all the other members of the organising committee who have put in a great deal of time and effort for the benefit of all members of the Section.
The results for the year show a stable membership supporting the organised events and it is heartening to hear the comments of visiting anglers from other sections that see English events as the blueprint for how it should be done. This cannot be taken for granted and your continued support of events is needed to maintain our excellent standards and this includes sending in application forms as early as possible to stop the competition secretaries getting concerned about support for the events.
Festival profits were up by over £1200 from the previous year partly due to there being six rather than four events and also due to successful raffles and high numbers of participants. Bank interest is lower partly because rates on savings are lower than in former years and also because it has been necessary to pay over £8000 in advance for the Euro 2007 event in the form of boat and headquarters deposits and brochure costs. These will hopefully be recouped soon when competition entries for the event are received and the monies are returned to the Money Manager account.
With regard to the expenditure, EFSA headquarters membership costs have increased since 2005 and the committee meeting expenses have also substantially increased because of the extra meetings necessary for the organising of the Euro 2007 event.
In conclusion, it has been another successful year for the English Section with the promise of an even more successful one in 2007 provided we obtain expected numbers of participants in Weymouth. I must remind you to apply as soon as possible as the foreign hordes are preparing to send in their entries and the places are allocated on a first come first served basis, so book early to avoid disappointment!
Acceptance of the Accounts was proposed by P.Rivers, seconded by N.Cottington and approved unanimously.
Membership Registrar's Report:In the absence of Mr Smith, the Acting Secretary gave the following report to the meeting:
In 2006 we had a total of 222 Members, made up of 97 Life Members, 3 Honorary Life Members and 122 annual members. There were 6 Affiliated Clubs.
Thanks were given to those members who had sent through stamp-addressed envelopes. This was appreciated as it helped to keep costs down. Members renewing their subscriptions should send their cheques made payable to European Federation of Sea Anglers (England) with an S.A.E to Mike Smith at the address shown in the Newsletter. It was noted that some members had not been receiving their Newsletter, especially new members, and the Committee agreed to ensure that the current mailing list was up to date. It was also noted that members paying by Standing Order should ensure that their old bank order was cancelled before initiating a new one. A special note to this effect would be included in the February Newsletter.
Fish Recorder's Report: Mr Ashby gave the following report to the meeting.
The number of entries this year has remained about the same as 2005 with many good fish once again being recorded. We could do with more entries though, as some months the choice is only between two or three fish. Members are reminded that fish weighed and returned at sea are eligible provided that a reliable witness can verify their catch.
The EFSA Boat Championships in Norway provided the winner of our overseas fish of the year in 2006, that being Colin Searles with a fine Cod of 38lb, one of many good fish caught at this event.
On the junior front, we had fewer entries this year, but the quality remained high. The winner was eventually judged as Floyd Wellington with a Wrasse of 6lb 1oz to add yet another fine fish to his ever increasing list.
As mentioned earlier, this year provided some notable catches amongst our fish of the month contenders. Our ladies are also getting in the act, with Liz Cunningham from the West Wight Club beaching a superb Sole of 3lb 2½oz. Dave Lynes from our local Poole area landed a fine Bream of 5lb while Bob Anstey from the Portland Club found two Wrasse around the 7lb mark from Portland rock marks.
Once again it was difficult to find an overall winner this year, but finally it was decided that Dave Roberts’ Cod of 27lb 13oz deserved the honours. Dave’s fish was caught on light uptide gear in the Mersey in difficult tidal conditions, and no doubt caused many heart stopping moments in the course of landing. The fish is also an exceptional size fish for this area. Dave therefore takes this year’s Norman Witt Trophy for the best catch of the year from Boat or Shore.
Public Relations Officer's Report: In the absence of Mr Whippy, the Chairman read his submitted report.
Apologies for not being with you this year at the AGM but Pat and I are avoiding the worst of the weather in Madeira at the moment. Last year was a very successful one for the Section in which the EFSA word was spread far and wide resulting in some new members and a greater awareness of our Federation. We are getting known as a well-organised Section that can run major events, and I’m sure the European Line Class and Boat Championships at Weymouth will enhance this reputation even further in September. Our prowess at angling is also well known with EFSA members competing at the highest level with considerable success. All the best to everyone and look forward to seeing you soon, if we can drag ourselves back.