MEETING OF BRISTOL & WEST AC’S CLUB COMMITTEE AT 7: 00 PM
ON FRIDAY 6th NOVEMBER 2015 AT THE WHITEHALL ATHLETICS ARENA
MINUTES
Present:
Roger Brocklesby (Chairman), Keith Brackstone (KB), Rich Gwyn (RG), Mike Strange (MS), Carol Strange (CS), Hilary Nash (HN), Beverley Barrett (BB), Paul Taylor-Morris (PTM), Alice Dogrell (AD), Zoe Goodman (ZG), Mike Warren (MW), Simonne Lowrie (SL)
1. Apologies
1. Apologies were received from Mike Down, Chris Elson and Peter Mountain (the last two following the meeting.
2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting and Matters Arising.
2. The following matters arising from the previous meeting were discussed:
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· Communications Officer's Job Description. RB and KB still need to produce this but were waiting to speak to someone with experience in the field of promotions and marketing who could offer meaningful input. Work on the Club House and Computerisation of Club Membership were taking priority.
· Wesport Awards - Keith Brackstone had been awarded the Performance Coach of the Year Award, Dean Garrett the Children's Coach of the Year Award and Helen Newberry . also won an award. Bill Kingston had been short-listed for the Official of the Year Award. It was also noted that Freddie Owsley had won an Evening Post sports award.
· Young Athletes Awards Evening - 163 people had attended the event which had been well received by athletes and parents alike. RT thanked all those who had been involved and identified areas where improvements could be made in 2016. HN produced a list of points that he would like to see addressed in future years. RG asked for his thanks for Nicola Dutton to be recorded in the minutes for all her hard work in organising the event.
· Saturday 14 November 2015 - Inter-Area Primary Schools Race. KB advised that preparations for this event were well advanced. [Secretary's Note: the event was called off due to water-logged playing fields at Ashton Park School and a dire weather forecast.]
· Thursday 19 November 2015 - Bristol Secondary Schools Race. KB reminded the Committee that this event would take place (weather permitting) at Bristol Grammar School playing fields at Failand with the first race at 2.30 p.m. Volunteers to help would be greatly appreciated and should advise KB of their availability.
KB proposed and MS seconded the minutes, which were duly passed by the Committee and signed off by the Minute Secretary and Chairman.
3. Membership including New Members List 169
3. MW had circulated new members list 169 prior to the meeting which included 22 new members; a further two new members had completed membership forms since that list had been circulated. At the last Committee Meeting it had been agreed that the cost of membership will be going up by £5 next year as of 1st January 2016. MW advised that Paysubsonline was now ready to take renewals for 2016 and the Committee agreed that existing members should be invited to renew using the new on-line system with effect from Monday 9th November 2015. Those who renewed prior to 1st January 2016 would be allowed to renew at 2015 rates. MW advised the committee that he was planning to step down as Membership Secretary but that he would continue to help in the transition to the new on-line system. The Chairman introduced Alice Doggrell (AD) to the Committee as the new Membership Secretary. MS advised that 31st December 2015 is the deadline for foreign athletes to be registered with UK Athletics in order for them to be able to compete in 2016 and UKA should send an e-mal to the Club's General Secretary to that effect..
4. KB proposed and MS seconded New Members List 169 for approval and this was passed unanimously by the Committee.
4. End of Month Financial Report
5. The end of month financial report was sent out by e-mail to committee members prior to the meeting; in it he recorded that as at 4th November 2015 expenditure had exceeded income by £3,472.37 and that this was against a forecast £8.500 excess of expenditure over income for the whole year. This would be entirely due to fees associated with the new Club House Project which as at 4th November 2015 stood at £9,761.75. The report included a breakdown of income and expenditure by group heading. He had put £25,000 on fixed term deposit until February 2016 but with £36,323.02 in the club's accounts this still left £11,323.02 readily available if needed.
HN proposed and MS seconded that the Financial Report be approved and it was passed unanimously.
6. The acting Treasurer identified that nearly all the club's payments were now carried out on-line and asked that the number of cheque books and signatories be reviewed and reduced to a minimum - the consensus was that the club should have two cheque books (one in operation and one as a back-up) and that there should be three signatories (The Acting Treasurer and Chris Elson with a third nominated individual as a back-up). KB advised that he could 'sign' for on-line expenditure as a single signatory and ZG asked that he be instructed to investigate whether the account could be amended to require two electronic signatories. KB undertook to find this information out and make the necessary changes if it could be actioned.
Action. KB undertook to speak to Lloyds Bank to see whether it was possible to set up the requirement for a second electronic signatory and also to see whether this was something that was required of the club as a Community Amateur Sports Club.
5. Club House Sub-Committee Update
7. The Chairman advised that planning permission had been submitted but has not been approved yet because the Coal Authority was not advised of the application by Bristol City Council and this was a statutory requirement which was overlooked. Approval had been due on 3rd November 2015 but was now expected to be notified in the week commencing Monday 16th November 2015. KB advised that he and the Chairman had met twice with the new Director of Finance and Operations at City Academy Bristol with a view to getting a new Service Level Agreement drawn up which would :
· be more specific about what the Track Hire Fee would be, what these fees would cover and the mechanism for reviewing such fees,
· contain a schedule of maintenance that would be carried out by City Academy, and the timescales within which repairs would be carried out for notified defects,
· contain a list of future maintenance tasks, a likely cost of such work and an agreement as to how it will be funded (England Athletics had been approached to provide guidance on these matters).
8. A meeting was scheduled between the Club House Sub-Committee and the Architect on Tuesday 10th November 2015 to discuss the final design so that Michael Drake has a detailed specification upon which to base the tender documents. In addition RB and KB would speak to the Quartet Charitable Foundation and ask the Vice-Chairman to speak to the Club President to clarify the financial situation and payment mechanisms before the club goes out to tender. In parallel KB will pursue City Academy, Bristol and Bristol City Council to ensure the letter of comfort is converted to a sub-lease before the club goes out to tender.
6. Development Adviser's Report
9. KB had previously circulated a written Development Advisers Report and advised that since writing the report he had been unable to secure electronic timing for the three planned mid-week Open Meetings as the team from Birmingham who had provided the service for 2015 had found it too difficult to do on a mid-week. He was advised to contact David Watson at Cheltenham.
Action. KB to contact David Watson to see about using electronic timing and photo-finish that is held by UKA but is used by Cheltenham Harriers. [Secretary's note: Mike Strange will talk to Dave Watson at the Indoor Meeting at NIAC Cardiff on Saturday 12th December 2015.]
7. Young Athlete Development Adviser's Report
10. RG had circulated a written report. BB provided feedback on the Young Athletes' Presentation Evening and said it was good having an athlete presenting and that the event was very positive and enthusiastic. MS commented that a lot of people didn't go because they didn't think it was for them and HN commented that the presentation could have said a bit more about the young athletes who were winning the awards. These comments were noted and would be taken into account when planning the 2016 event.
11. RG is involved in a dialogue about how we can further develop the relationship with the Athletics Academy at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College and would report back. The Young Athlete Development Sub-Committee meeting planned for Friday 30th October 2015 was postponed until Friday 13th November 2015 due to a lack of availability of committee members for the earlier date.HN pointed out that the flyer for the Orchard indoor session doesn't have the club logo on it and RG undertook to have it added. Once the sessions finished in March 2016 the athletes would be pointed to Whitehall or WISE based on their geographical location. Numbers remained disappointing.
12. There was a general discussion about young athletes paying termly and on-line and this would be discussed further in a Young Athletes Development Sub-Committee meeting.BB said this applied in other sports such as hockey where it was considered the norm.
8. Officials Secretary's Report
13. Will Jones was the only person who undertook the recent officials course despite a hard sell from CS. Will is already keen to put his training into practice. [Secretary's note: Eugene Hechavarria has since attended a field officials course and is also keen to get officiating.].
Pat and Kay Hall and MS are going to attend the risk awareness course for endurance officials.
9. Peter Hargreaves Scholarship Grants
14. The deadline for applications was deferred until 9th November 2015 so this item was carried over to the next Committee Meeting. MD advised that over 25s had also been invited to apply.
RB stated that in his opinion once invitations had been invited on a particular set of criteria against a given deadline date the club should stick with those criteria and the date and this would be addressed before applications were invited if the awards continued to be sponsored in 2016.
10. Applications for Grants
15. As a local coaches course had been cancelled and two Assistant Coaches would now need to go to Birmingham for a weekend for the first part of their coach's course the club had received the following requests for grants:
a. Paul Owen - £100 towards cost of travel and accommodation for coach’s course.
b. Debo Ademuyewo - £100 towards cost of travel and accommodation for coach’s course.
MS proposed and CS seconded the grants which were passed unanimously.
11. Any Other Business.
There was no other business
The meeting finished at 9pm.
12. Date of Next Meeting - Friday 11th December 2015
Future Meetings which will start at 7.00pm. The aim is to be finished by 9.00pm. A schedule of meetings for 2016 is as follows:
a) Friday 22 January 2016.
b) Friday 19 February 2016.
c) Friday 18 March 2016.
d) Friday 22 April 2016 (AGM)
e) Friday 20 May 2016.
f) Friday 24 June 2016
g) Friday 22 July 2016.
h) Friday 23 September 2016.
i) Friday 21 October 2016.
j) Friday 25 November 2016.
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