Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Ramsey Rugby Union Football Club on Friday 2 May 2014 at Ramsey Rugby Union Football Club Clubhouse, Mooragh Park, Ramsey.
Present were; R Jelski, B Kneale, D Christian, S Mason, J Lantry, J Wren, W Wren, F Cummins, T Callister, M Oldfield, K Kenyon, G Vernon, M Caine, M Flynn, J Crowe, N McCudden, G Hinge, G Burns, D Bonwick, B Barlow, L Robertson, G kinrade, C Orr, M Meechan, M Craine, M Clague, C King, J F Watling, J Carine, O Watterson and J Melvin
Apologies were received from D Ideson, W Moffatt and M Melvin
Chairman’s Report
B Kneale (BK) addressed the meeting and said that he would be looking ahead to next season rather than focussing too much on the past season and he urged the meeting to do the same. He said that while the season’s results had been disappointing, perhaps relegation from South Lancs/Cheshire Division 2 was not that bad a thing. The team was still very young and would only get stronger and with some more winning scorelines it should encourage players to commit to travelling.
BK Thanked the captaincy teams of J F Watling, D Bonwick, J Lantry and T Callister for their hard work over the season and the meeting gave a separate round of applause for each.
BK thanked a number of individual players for their cpntributions over the season;
· Ben Barlow who had stepped up to the plate and acquitted himself very well.
· Matty Clague, BK had coached him since he was 7 and he was proud to see him run out for the first fifteen.
· Kyle Kenyon who always put his body on the line for the team
· Michéal Flynn and Myles Ellis who both committed to away travel whenever they were required.
For next season and going forward, recruitment would be important and everyone was encouraged to look out for potential new players. There were some very positive signs coming from the school and it looked like a group of Under 17s would come through in the next few years and they would be a bog boost. All in all BK felt “the future was orange”.
Treasurers Report
J Crowe had circulated copies of his draft financial statement among the meeting. He explained that as the club accounting year had only ended the preceding Wednesday it hadn’t been possible to produce audited financial statements for the AGM. He explained that there were several caveats to his drafts. He highlighted the following points;
· Hire fees were up and there had been much more use of the club for private hires.
· Subs were on a par with the previous year but membership was at an all time high. This was down to the family membership scheme. There were 240 members.
· Donations had come from Lloyds bank (via mark Oldfield), Laurence Hind, Eddie Teare MHK, Mark Brown and Shaun Gilmartin.
· Sponsorship was mainly Ramsey Bakery, Penketh Millar and S Gilmartin.
· Various fund raising events had been held. Bag pack, car wash, quiz night, motocross marshalling, mountain bike race marshalling etc etc.
· Grants had been received for the kitchen refurbishment and the floodlights.
· Cleaning costs had increased but this was commensurate with the greater use of the building.
· The loan balance was down to £29275 which was around 4 years.
· There would be a new second team sponsor next season. Mezeron had agreed a two year deal.
Balances on accounts
£10010 in reserve
£5623 in Subs
£11164 in current
There was a round of applause for J Crowe in recognition of his hard work over the year.
Members Subscriptions 2014/15
J Crowe proposed that all subscriptions remain the same and urged all players to sign up for standing orders of at all possible and to make sure that they completed the relevant membership form.
M Caine seconded this and it was agreed without dissent.
Junior Section report
S Mason reported that there were around 90 players of various ages within the Junior Section. He thanked the time and effort from all the parents involved. More coaches were however needed.
2 Junior tours had been arranged. One had already been and was successful for all involved. The other was due this weekend.
G Hinge noted that there would be some challenges going forward. A centralised Island Development Squad was being set up for all players in the age range 13-16. This was to try and stop the drop off of players as and when they became eligible for football. The dange for Ramsey was that the players would effectively not be part of the club while they were with the squad and the coaches were worried about the loss of control and the possibility of losing players to other clubs. On the positive side, it may help the “drop off” problem by providing more regular fixtures. S Mason indicated that there had only been three fixtures this season which plainly wasn’t enough.
The Development Committee had passed the idea by three votes to two so it is now going ahead and would be in place from next season. Some of the fine detail was however missing from the idea and Ramsey would re-evaluate the concept when a little more was known.
G Hinge also noted the proposed sports hall development and hoped that it would proceed as outlined as it would be a useful asset.
Election of officers
President
R Jelski stood down for this part of the meeting and handed over the Chair to B Kneale. BK thanked R Jelski for his behind the scenes work and counsel over the past years and there was a round of applause.
R Jelski was nominated by G Vernon and seconded by J Crowe. There were no other nominations and R Jelski was duly elected.
Chairman
B Kneale was nominated by G Vernon and seconded by M Flynn. There were no other nominations and B Kneale was duly elected.
Treasurer
J Crowe was nominated by G Vernon and seconded by S Mason. There were no other nominations and J Crowe was duly elected.
Secretary
W Moffatt was nominated by D Christian, who also indicated that while W Moffatt was not present at the meeting he had agreed to stand for election. M Flynn seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations and W Moffatt was duly elected.
Fixtures Secretary
D Christian was nominated by G Vernon and seconded by M Caine. There were no other nominations and D Christian was duly elected.
Club Captain
J F Watling had indicated that he would be unable to continue for the following season and R Jelski thanked him for his work in what were difficult circumstances. There was a round of applause for J F Watling.
D Bonwick was nominated by G Kinrade and seconded by M Flynn.
N McCudden was nominated by J wren and seconded by F Cummins.
The two nominees left the room and there was a vote taken by a show of hands. There was a clear majority in favour of N McCudden.
The nominees re-entered the room and N McCudden was declared as duly elected. R Jelski wished him well in his new role.
Vice Captain
J Carine was nominated by O Watterson and seconded by M Craine.
W Wren was proposed by J Wren and seconded by M Craine. W Wren was not present at the meeting but J Wren confirmed that he had indicated he would be willing to stand.
D Bonwick was proposed by F Cummins and seconded by M Caine
L Robertson was proposed by F Cummins and seconded by M Oldfield
The nominees left the room and a vote was taken on a show of hands. There was a clear majority in favour of D Bonwick.
The nominees re-entered the room and D Bonwick was declared as duly elected. R Jelski wished him well in his role.
Second Team Captain
G Hinge was nominated by G Kinrade and seconded by B Kneale. There were no other nominations and G Hinge was duly elected.
Second Team Vice Captain
G Kinrade was nominated by G Hinge and seconded by O Watterson. There were no other nominations and G Kinrade was duly elected.
There was then a short break and voting papers were distributed for the Club awards.
Any Other Business
M Melvin reminded the meeting that the Annual dinner was on Saturday 17 May at Ramsey Golf Club and members were asked to be there for 6.30pm in time to sit down at 7.00pm. Tickets were on sale from herself at £25 each and asked everyone to pay up front if possible.
N McCudden brought up the subject of travelling attire for the first XV. After much discussion, it was agreed that this was a matter for the players themselves to determine and it should be discussed at a players meeting which would take place in the near future. The subject of post match “number ones” was also discussed and the meeting agreed that this would remain black shirt/red tie however black trousers would be reintroduced for the forthcoming season.
N McCudden asked about coaching for the following season. B Kneale indicated he was willing to continue and G hinge indicated he was willing to assist where required. Additional coaching would come from the same volunteers as the previous season. It was indicated that former player Paul Skillan was willing to come and do some “pre-pre” season fitness training and it was left to N McCudden and D Bonwick to arrange this for those who were interested.
It was noted that K Kelly would be continuing to act as physio next season.
J Carine asked about the possibility of a squad photo at the beginning of the following season. The meeting agreed that he should arrange this for a date probably in mid to late August.
It was agreed that the players meeting would take place on Friday 23 May subject to the club being available.
J Crowe warned members about the use of social media and in particular the uploading of photos. The Club was a Rugby Club and while nudity was not a regular feature after matches it was also not unusual. Uploading photos of visiting sides which could be viewed by the general public may give the wrong impression of the club and may present problems as and when the drinks licence was renewed.
D Christian asked whether the club wanted to continue with the funding arrangements for the Rugby Development Officer (RDO). The RDO provided a valuable co-ordination service for clubs in arranging training etc for coaches and other personnel. The current post holder was feeling torn between the three groups which funded his post and was looking for alternative employment. The Manx Executive Committee was asking member clubs whether they wanted to continue the arrangement should the post come up for review. After discussion, the meeting agreed that this was something which the club would like to continue.
D Christian indicated that he was administering tickets for the 2015 World Cup and some matches were over-subscribed. He said that for 3 matches, the club had been allocated 6 tickets per game however around 20 had been requested for each. He asked the meeting how the tickets should be allocated. The meeting agreed that names would be drawn from the hat and each name would receive two tickets. The following draws were made by B Kneale
Eng v Wales
R Pinhorn
J Mooren
C Cracknell
All would receive 2 tickets.
In the event that one of the above declined, K Corlett was drawn as a reserve.
Eng v Aus
C Cracknell
T Melvin
G Wiltcher
All would receive 2 tickets.
In the event that one of the above declined, J Wren was drawn as a reserve.
World Cup Final
G Vernon
M Brown
A Allinson
All would receive 2 tickets.
In the event that one of the above declined, M Doherty was drawn as a reserve
There being no other business the meeting closed at approximately 10.20pm