MOORE PARK AND SOUTH EAST CRICKET ASSOCIATION 8TH ANNUAL REPORT SEASON 2002 - 2003 AFFILIATED WITH THE N.S.W. DISTRICTS CRICKET ASSOCIATION MOORE PARK AND SOUTH EAST CRICKET ASSOCIATION Dear Member The 7th Annual General Meeting of the above Association will be held on 15 July 2003 at 7.30 pm at Kensington War Memorial Club, 2 Goodwood Avenue, Kensington. ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Meeting opened by the President, Mr P.L. Brien; 2. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting presented by Mr J. Walden; 3. Presentation of the 8th Annual Report by Mr J. Walden; 4. Financial Report presented by the Treasurer, Mr T Booth; 5. Election of the Office Bearers for the season 2003 / 2004; 6. General business; and 7. Meeting closed by the President. J. Walden Secretary PO Box 172 BOTANY NSW 1455 2 CLUB SECRETARY'S DIARY NOTES Meetings to be held at Kensington War Memorial Club: 15 July 2003 Annual General Meeting 22 July 2003 Adjourned Annual General Meeting Revision of Rules for 2003 / 2004 and Constitution Amendments Receiving of Entries 26 August 2003 General Business Permits / Registrations 29 August 2003 Closing date for team nominations and application fee(s) for 2003 / 2004 13 September 2003 Proposed commencement of 2003 / 2004 season Club Secretaries Note: All clubs must be represented at the above meetings. All meetings are on Tuesday evenings and commence at 7.30pm. The venue will be the Kensington War Memorial Club. J. Walden Secretary PO Box 172 BOTANY NSW 1455 3 OFFICE BEARERS SEASON 2002 - 2003 PATRON HON. R.J. CARR M.P. PRESIDENT P.L. BRIEN VICE-PRESIDENT D. POWER HON. TREASURER HON. SECRETARY T. BOOTH J. WALDEN ASSISTANT SECRETARY / REGISTRAR OF PLAYERS J.W. CHALMERS BOARD OF MANAGEMENT P.L. BRIEN D. POWER D. CHOY T. BOOTH C. BEGHIN M. FULFORD J. CHALMERS G. FULFORD W. GLACKEN J. WALDEN RECORDS OFFICER HON. SOLICITOR M. FULFORD NOT APPOINTED AUDITORS UMPIRES BOARD ROSENFELD KANT & CO J. CHALMERS REPRESENTATIVE TO N.S.W. D.C.A. D. POWER LIFE MEMBERS J. B. McINERNEY O.B.E. B. CASEY D. L. TRAYNOR R. HIGMAN P.L. BRIEN K. W. PRICE G. WYER G. FULFORD J. W. CHALMERS P. D. DAFFEN J. JAMIESON K. WELLS D. TINYOW N. O. WILSON L. J. WYCHE 4 SECRETARY'S REPORT Dear Members, The 2002/03 season brought about on-going changes and developments for the Association. I will review the main points. Representative Season The Association’s team was victorious in all three games in which it participated. This was a great effort considering that selection is only available to lower grade players. There were two captains for the three games, who both did sterling jobs. There is a greater commentary in the section of this report dedicated to the representative season. Teams This season saw a reduction in the number of teams from previous seasons, down to 45. As a result there were only 6 grades. There were some club and team mergers, without which there would have been an even greater reduction in the number of teams. A meeting of the first and second grade teams prior to the season decided that the experiment to participate in a combined competition with Canterbury – Wests adopted in the previous season would not continue. To their credit, the teams felt that the Association should stand on its own. Unfortunately, not all teams ultimately called to play in the top grades believed that they should have been there, nonetheless it was a good competition, even if there were only 6 teams in 1st grade. The Board believes that the premier grade should have a full compliment of 8 teams and it is expected that this will be the case next season. The dominance of first grade by Souths Juniors ended with a new premier in that grade. This may encourage teams to aspire to the grade without the fear of dominance, as has been the case, by this strong team since the inception of this Association. New Points System A new system of awarding bonus points for lodgement of result sheets and attendance at Delegates’ meetings has proven to be successful. No longer are fines being imposed, which was an additional task for the treasurer. There has been a significant increase in compliance as a result, making it much easier to administer and run the competition. 5 Premiers True to form only 2 grades saw the minor premiers take out the premiership. The mantle of being minor premiers, even by a considerable margin is no guarantee of the premiership. Website The Association has now used the website provided by Cricket NSW to great effect. It is managed mainly by Dave Power. We are aware the number of visits to the site can be above 2000 at peak times. The site contains much of the information clubs will need. It contains draws, results, points tables, playing rules, the constitution, various forms etc. The day may not be too far away when result sheets will be lodged electronically. The website is a convenient and major source of information for clubs, teams, players and new teams etc. We will look to expand the services we provide to members using this medium. Judiciary Unfortunately, I have to report that this season saw an unprecedented number of matters that had to be heard. Reports were double the number of previous seasons, even though there were some 100 less players. The independent judiciary is working well in providing the Association with truly independent arbiters. A vote of thanks to them from the Board. Wickets The Association intends participating (financially) in the total upgrade of all 4 Rowland Park wickets in readiness for the 2003/04 season. The cost is around $30,000 with contributions from Botany Council, the ACB, our Association and hopefully the Junior Cricket Association. This should provide better conditions, although the placement of the wickets cannot change due to drainage channels and the positioning of winter sport grounds. The Sydney Boys High School wickets proved to be of the best quality, although parking presents problems. We are working on this in the off-season. Finance The Associations finances are in a good position, although we will need to find considerable funds for the Rowland upgrade. Most teams honoured their financial commitments in a timely manner during the season, which is appreciated, given that the Association pays most of its major expenses in advance of fees being received. These expenses include insurance and wicket fees with some councils. 6 Insurance The Delegates voted to have personal injury insurance for players. The main thrust for this initiative came about as a result of some terrible head and face injuries from the previous season. There were quite a few claims in 2002/03, ranging from facial injuries to dislocations and strains. The costs of the insurance were passed on to clubs at cost. There was still the usual number of property damage claims. There could be significant premium increases next season if the number of claims under both policies continues to rise. The Board also received correspondence from the ACB regarding the liability of Association office bearers. This relates to personal claims arising against Board members in the event of negligence. This is a matter of concern to all voluntary officials. It is no longer sufficient to claim immunity from liability under incorporation laws. Our Association has professional indemnity insurance, and it is hoped that it is never called upon, or else there will be very few people prepared to volunteer their time and services to run such a competition. The Board The constitution of the Board saw once again new members join and the departure of others. It is still made up of a core of people who have offered their services for considerable lengths of time. It is these people who make the Association work, perhaps not always to the liking of all clubs, but nonetheless efficiently for the overall good of the game. Farewell I have announced to the Board that I will not be seeking re-election to the Board next season. I have been secretary for 6 seasons and it is time to move on. I hope that a capable person will step forward and take on the responsibility of the position. It is a challenging and rewarding position. It is with a degree of sadness that I bid farewell to the Board. I must give special mention to John Chalmers, whom everyone involved with cricket in the Association would know. John has been a close friend and we have enjoyed a mutual love of the game and the Association. There is a band of willing core workers on the Board that I have now known for many years, including Paul Brien, David Power and the Fulfords that I also say farewell to. I leave the Association in hopefully a better condition than when I first joined. It is through the initiatives of the Board that we aim to provide cricket to the best standard. I am sure that most involved with our Association will appreciate this fact. John Walden Secretary 7 PRESIDENT'S REPORT Ladies and Gentlemen, It has now been eight seasons since three great Associations (Moore Park Cricket Association, Catholic Cricket Association and South Sydney Cricket Association) combined to form the Moore Park and South East Cricket Association. This amalgamation was necessary if there was to be a strong, viable park cricket competition in Sydney’s Eastern and South Eastern suburbs. Season 2002-2003 is evidence of the successful amalgamation. The season saw three new teams being St Pauls College, Ryans Hotel and St George Dragons.