Annual General Meeting s3

AIREBOROUGH R.U.F.C.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Wednesday 10th May, 2017

Attendees: James Kinghorn, Graeme Forster, Nick Jackson, John Lockwood, Ken Hanson, Ian Claughton, Steve Harris, James Underdown, Richard Holmes, Steve Jones, Martyn Booth, Richard Holdsworth, Patrick Smith, Nick Jackson, Andrew Wood, Kris Brook, Rich Lister, Tony Exley, Michael Stephenson, Matt Smith, Lewis Eastwood, Jim Dolan, Dave Mackey, Oli Catherall & Rob Anslow

Apologies: Chris Clarke, Jim Chapman, Richard Sweetman, Si Davies, Tim Baxter

Minutes of the previous AGM:

These were proposed and seconded as been a true and fair reflection of last year's AGM

President's Report (Chris Clarke): Graeme Forster read out Chris’ report in his absence:

First, I would like to apologise for not being at the annual general meeting tonight. I am indulging in my second sporting pastime, competitive sailing in the Solent.

Although this has been my first year as president, most of you will know that I have spent many years being involved in the running of this club, on the committee, as chairman and just like many others, as a general volunteer. The success of any sporting club, be it professional or amateur, is the quality of its management. Whether that is financial management, personnel management or just the day-to-day running of the club. For as long as I can remember this club has had a good management team which has contributed to its success and got us where we are today. I know Large will be more than likely reading this report and at the risk of embarrassing him I would say the last 12 months has been no exception in terms of the quality of the management committee chaired by Large. That said any chairman is only as good as the people around him and I know that the outgoing committee, some of which are re-standing, have worked tirelessly and done a great job on your behalf.

Over this last season I have tried wherever possible to speak to the presidents, chairman or senior committee members of other clubs, especially those in our league. Amongst those clubs there are a wide range of different challenges, opportunities and history. I had the chance to have a few beers with the president and two ex-presidents of Halifax Rugby club when we played them here in December last year, a 17 – 3 victory. That club was established in 1919, we are new kids on the block compared to them. They reached the dizzy heights of North 1 back in the 80s, they won the Yorkshire Cup on 13 occasions and got to the final of the PowerGen Intermediate Cup at Twickenham. They found great success and with great success can come fickle supporters who inject large amounts of money and use sports clubs as a plaything or a badge of honour. In Halifax's case that money led to a change in management at the highest level with outside influences having a major stranglehold on the club and its direction. Sadly, as in many cases that we have seen over the years, they lost that substantial funding, pulled out of the National League set up and started again in Yorkshire six. The old guard rallied round and came back to form a new committee and although we have seen them relegated out of Yorkshire 3 back down to Yorkshire 4 this year, I think that is just a blip in their steady progress back up the leagues. Other clubs benefit from owning their own ground, direct access to colleges and universities and/or a long history with a well-established infrastructure. Having said that Old Crossleyans have all of those things and appear to be in freefall down the leagues. So what I got from talking to other clubs was confirmation that we appear to be doing things right and heading in the right direction given some of the constraints and obstacles in our way, not owning our own ground etc.

I'm sure others will comment on the playing side of the club tonight and that to me means all players and teams not just the success or otherwise of the first team. We are where we are in terms of our league position but at Christmas we found ourselves in a position where with, the rub of the green, the continued lack of major injuries and the foresight of the coaching staff we were seriously looking at and considering the implications of promotion to Yorkshire 2. That promotion, to some, was considered too great a leap. Let me tell you that having been privy to many conversations about how we, as a club and players, would deal with that, this committee was fully supportive of taking on that challenge and was starting to consider what they would need to do to make us competitive in that league. So I think in terms of the management committee you can be confident that they have got the clubs, and you as members, best interests at heart. They've introduced and engaged with virtually every social media platform in an effort to communicate internally and promote us externally. For the first time, that I can recall, they surveyed the membership to ask what you as members wanted of them and how they could move this club forward.

Enough about the committee, I want you to consider some of the other volunteers and people working in the background. There will not be many people in this room who know Dave Kirk, Dave is a long-standing, but very short, member of the club who played his rugby here in the very early days. He's the man that nobody sees and only Woody speaks to when he arranges all the referees and I have lost count of how many years he has carried out that role. Whilst I am naming individuals, and that is not to leave out other significant people, I want to give a special mention to Richard Holdsworth (Hungry). If it wasn't for Richards’s hard work, sleepless nights and sheer frustration you more than likely wouldn't be sitting in this clubhouse today. When he finished the mammoth task of leading the team that secured the lottery funding for this building he vowed never to take on any other project again. He is now working hard, having sleepless nights and even more frustration coordinating the grant and work to be carried out to drain and flatten the training area.

There have been some great highs and some lows this season and the weather has not helped both on and off the pitch. We must not forget that bar takings are critical to the financial strength of the club. I could not believe the news the other day when it was reported that it had been the driest autumn and winter for years, not judging by the state of our pitch at times. One game stands out for me in terms of team spirit, comradeship, dedication, the weather and really what the game and this club is about. Fifteen guys who gave their all for their team mates. That was the narrow defeat away at Wensleydale. Those who played in that game will one day remember it with some fondness over a pint, when you are as old as me. Just like some of us recall a similar defeat against a Headingley development side about twenty years ago.

In closing please remember this is a club run and managed by volunteers and the work does not start and finish on a Saturday afternoon. There will be some positions yet to be filled on the committee and other adhoc positions as we move towards the new season. Please help out if you can, if you are thinking of retiring from playing consider a backroom job. I look forward to next season.

Chairman's Report (Graeme Forster):

I Echo the President’s thanks to: The Senior & Junior committee members who have served the club this year and other volunteers who have given up their time to help the club operate and move forward, including the Senior & Junior coaches, the aforementioned Richard Holdsworth and Dave Kirk and many others too numerous to mention.

But, in particular, I would like to recognise the invaluable contributions of the following people who are standing down from their official positions this year, but I know will continue to support the club in an unofficial capacity:

Firstly, Jim Dolan who has been the Chairman and driving force of the Junior section for many years now. We are close to the point when Junior players will be transitioning into the Senior sides and Jim has contributed a massive amount to getting the club to that position and the continuing success of a thriving Junior section. The club will benefit for years to come due to his dedication, passion and hard work.

And secondly, a big thanks to Rich Lister and Matt Trevithick. The quality, fitness, attitude, team spirit and all round strength of senior rugby at the club has improved significantly under their leadership over the last couple of years and they leave us with a solid base on which others can build for success and growth. Despite finishing lower in Yorkshire Division 3 than we aspired to midway through the season, I still reckon the season has been pretty successful. You may or may not be aware that the committee set 6 challenging priorities for the senior club at the start of the season. These were:

1. TO continue the great progress of the 1st XV and aim for a top 5 finish – we finished in joint 7th place and only 6 points behind 5th place 2. BUILDING and supporting the 2nd XV so that they play every week and have a winning season – the Crusaders played nearly every week when pitch conditions allowed and won half of their fixtures 3. TO facilitate the above we are looking at recruiting more players – not sure how many, but there were certainly a good number of new faces on the field this year 4. GETTING the training area levelled and drained – this is now imminent. Funding, the necessary planning permissions and the contractor are all in place and we are just waiting for the council to confirm that the work can be started. In addition, the main pitch was spiked last week to help with the drainage and will be spiked again in August. I am also arranging for a camera to be fed up the drain pipes to see if there are any blockages or collapsed pipes that may need repairing. 5. INCREASING our sponsorship income – we have attracted £2,500 more in sponsorship income than last season 6. PROVIDE a calendar of social events – whilst we have enjoyed a number of very enjoyable and successful social events this year, I think this is definitely an area for improvement next year and I look forward to the return of the club panto and a club tour next year

So, whilst we may have fallen just short of those ambitious targets, personally I would still give the season a B+ overall.

I see no reason, with the current group of players, coaches and volunteers, and hopefully a few fresh faces next year, that we can’t have an A+ season next year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the players of the 1st XV and the Crusaders and one or two who played much of the season for the Crusaders opposition. You demonstrated great commitment, effort and team spirit throughout the season, playing some excellent entertaining rugby and you are the guys that give me, the committee and every volunteer a purpose for doing what we do.

To close, I would just like to say a huge thanks to Heidi and Si for their invaluable contributions to the club this season and I know we all wish them the very best for their upcoming birth.

Treasurer's Report (Nick Jackson):

The club made a small loss in the year but this was down to reallocating more income to the Junior section and putting money towards the Development Fund (training area). Subs were agreed to be increased (full player - £60, occasional player - £30, social - £20, family - £30, student - £15. Match fees were conformed as £5, with students £2 and less than half a game £2. Increased funds would be put towards the development fund as it will need to be built up again for the next project Committee Positions:

Position New Holder President Chris Clarke (not voted on) Chairman Graeme Forster Secretary James Kinghorn Treasurer Nick Jackson Commercial Manager TBC Social Chairman Martyn Booth Fixture Secretary Andy Wood Referees Secretary David Kirk Club Captain Martyn Booth Club Coaching Coordinator Kris Brook Press Rich Holmes A.N.S.A. Rep Kris Brook A.N.S.A. Rep Vacant (not currently required)

Any Other Business: Life membership was awarded to Tony Exley for his contribution to Aireborough over many years