BMGA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NOTES
Date: Saturday 27th February 2016
Time: 2pm – 5pm
Location: Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service Date: 27th February 2016
Location: Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service
Present: Sean Homer (Chairman), Tony Kelly (Executive Committee), Scott Lancley (Executive Committee), Chris Smith (Executive Committee), Keith Kellard (Executive Committee), Marion Homer, Adam Kelly, Dave Gomm, Brenda Smith, Michael Smith, Will Donnellly, Dave Donnelly.
1) Welcome, introductions & apologies
Sean welcomed all to the meeting and highlighted the agenda giving the running order of the AGM (see below).
1) Welcome, introductions & apologies 2) Minutes of last AGM and action points 3) Reports from the Executive Committee 4) Announcement of the Great Britain teams for 2016 5) Motions for debate and voting 6) AOB
Apologies were given from the following members (all of which voted via proxy):
Mark Wood (Executive Committee), Martin Greenhead (Executive Committee), Marc Chapman, Steve Lovell, John McIver, John Moore, Paul Preston, Harry Preston, Quinn Preston, Ollie Greenhead, Derek Bentall, Ruth Burke, Adrian Amey, Brian Smith, Ed Haynes, Kate Haynes, Matt Dodd, Helen Dodd.
2) Minutes of last AGM and action points
The minutes from 2015 AGM were approved.
Sean ran through the motions from last year, highlighting the work that the Executive Committee (EC) have achieved to date.
Motions fully complied with by the EC: (14/20 - 70%)
Motion 1 Motion 2 Motion 4 Motion 5 Motion 11 Motion 14 Motion 19 Motion 20 Motion 21 Motion 23 Motion 25 Motion 27 Motion 29 Motion 30
Motions not fully complied with or complied with in part by the EC: (3/20 -15%)
Motion 7 Motion 10 Motion 12
Works in progress, but being actively worked on by the EC: (3/20 -15%)
Motion 8 Motion 9 Motion 18
Sean thanked the EC for everything achieved in 2015.
3) Reports from the Executive Committee
Sean explained that the EC had all taken one area of responsibility for the reports for the AGM pack. He explained that these areas will not necessarily relate to each EC member going forward but that each EC member will have specific areas of responsibility allocated in 2016 to ensure greater accountability and also to continue the great work achieved to date.
The reports are included in full in this pack. Additional comments are highlighted in blue at the end of each section.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
REVIEW OF 2015
2015 has been another good year for the BMGA. We have again hosted a successful tournament calendar which saw a return of the Scottish Open along with debuts on the tour for Cardiff (the Welsh Open) and Dunton Hills (for the first ever Cambridgeshire & Essex Open). The British Matchplay Championship also proved to be a popular event on the tour with a return to its original season long format, the format that continues for 2016.
The Hole In One Challenges across the year also proved to be highly entertaining as well as helping us raise over £250 for the Teenage Cancer Trust in the process. These challenges will continue again in 2016.
On the International scene we saw Great Britain take on the World with a full men’s team at the World Championships’ in Finland, along with the BMGA hosting the World Adventuregolf Masters at Hastings for the fourth time with both of these events seeing the Great Britain team kit sponsored once again by our friends at Urban Crazy. 2015 also saw some positive changes to the running of the BMGA with the new Executive Committee coming on board from March and you can read about all the exciting and productive work achieved (and things to come) in the reports later in this document.
All agreed that the hole in one challenges have been a great success in 2015.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2016
The tour looks very strong for 2016 teeing off in February with a return to Nottingham for the English Open, Splash Point making it 5 years in a row hosting the Masters (in the same weekend as the Augusta Masters), Strokes hosting the Club Championships for the first time, Wroxham Barns back on the tour for the British Championships and an all new slot in the calendar for the World Crazy Golf Championship. With the British Open at Hastings and the welcome return of the British Doubles Championship along with our regular Club Open events it promises to be a fantastic season ahead.
Great Britain will be taking a strong line-up to the WAGM in Kosovo in June and we will also see the Great Britain teams at the Nations Cup and European Championships in Portugal along with a full strength team taking part in the Senior European Championships in Finland, a first for Great Britain.
The EC are working tirelessly to update the Rules of the game (ensuring we sit within the WMF’s framework) but above all we want people to enjoy the experience and have a great time doing so!
And let’s not forget that minigolf should be fun.
This is what we have always aimed for and I am confident that we can achieve this with players demonstrating great sportsmanship, competitiveness, camaraderie and fair play at all of our events and at the same time having a brilliant time on and off the greens. And as one wise man said at the World Crazy Golf Championship last season as players prepared to take to the course for a weekend of exciting, action packed minigolf “Remember to enjoy yourself and have fun out there… after all this isn’t the World Sensible Golf Championship!”. Wise words indeed.
Finally, I would like to say a massive thank you to all the members, players, organisers, clubs and course owners for their ongoing support, enthusiasm and commitment to the BMGA, over the past few years – it really has been appreciated – and I wish everyone a successful and enjoyable minigolf season in 2016 and beyond.
Sean Homer BMGA Chairman Email: [email protected]
Brenda commented that it looks like an amazing calendar for 2016, a comment echoed by all present. Tony clarified that the Splash Point Open date is 30th July (this has been corrected in the tour listing at the end of this document).
Scott highlighted that all the BMGA run events are also on Facebook as events as well as on the BMGA website.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT 2015
2015 saw us continue with the two-tier membership – the Tour Pro membership (Early bird costing £20) and the option of the free online membership registration offer.
Tour Card Membership cost £30 and entitled players to discounted pre-event practice rates at tournament venues on the calendar along with:
BMGA Tour (membership) card entitles you to selected discounts when playing at BMGA 2015 tournament courses around the country. Additional ring-fenced prizes for new players at tournaments. Receive information on forthcoming BMGA Tour events. BMGA Tour (membership) gives Priority entry to selected events (subject to availability) prior to entrants being opened up to non tour members and the general public.
In 2015, new Tour Pro members again received a free DVD explaining the rules and etiquette of minigolf. There are plans to film a new updated version this season to include some of the changes to the overall rules since this was originally filmed.
2015 has certainly seen a lot more use of Facebook, not just from the BMGA, but also from all the Club pages. This increased traffic is a positive step in bringing the game of minigolf to a wider audience, we have already received number of enquiries from both potential players and courses who have wanted more information or to get involved in this great sport.
PayPal has continued to be a popular choice with the members and from 2016, we do not propose to accept any cheque payments for both membership and Tournament fees. Welcome to the 21st century.
Membership numbers (Tour Pros) for 2015 remained static at 56 members for the season, although as you can see below, we are already set to surpass that number as the season gets underway this year. Bodes well for a resurgent membership In 2016.
2016 information
For 2016 we are continuing to offer the two tiers of membership. The Tour Pro membership was frozen at £20 for an early bird offer to grab members as early as possible and from 27th February the cost will increase to £30. Tour Pro Membership numbers for the season to date stand at 49, including 6 new Tour Pros. We are also looking at reintroducing the email newsletter to the wider (non tour pro) members to boost the PR and awareness of the tour.
Mark Wood BMGA Executive Committee
Sean commented that membership has been boosted again by the early bird which has proved popular with the members.
Chris asked how do the membership numbers look in relation to 5-10 years ago.
Sean highlighted that the numbers for last year were static but still in line with active players from the past few years but encouragingly the number of members already in 2016 has surpassed the 2015 figure.
He also stated that there are a number of players yet to re-join and expects a spike again in May/June as we approach the British Championships and the World Crazy Golf Championships.
PayPal continues to be a great success and will continue to be looked at for PayPal only entries for tournaments going forward.
TOURNAMENT REPORT 2015
An exciting calendar awaited players at the start of the year with no less than eleven strokeplay tournaments on offer together with the Club Championships and Matchplay events, and the UK again hosting the World Adventure Golf Masters.
The season kicked off in early March with the British Club Championships on the Pirate Course Hastings, with eight teams representing the five minigolf clubs. The final produced a win for the Midlands Minigolf Club over the Sussex Wasps. The British Masters in April at Splash Point Worthing saw a popular winner in Nuno Cunha of Portugal. The first major of the year in May was the British Championships which returned to the Pirate Course Hastings and a win for Michael Smith with a 71 under par score of 253 over 9 rounds, with Ruth Burke winning the British Womens Championship and Chris Harding the British Senior Champion. In June the same course played host to the World Adventure Golf Masters with eight teams including four from Britain representing four countries. Despite their best efforts our top team of Michael Smith, Adam Kelly, Chris Harding and Will Donnelly were beaten into third place by Germany and Sweden, but only by the small margin of 12 shots over 7 rounds, and we also achieved four top ten positions in the singles event, won again by a German player.
The Scottish Open returned to the tournament rota in June after an absence of three years in Dunfermline, albeit with a very small entry. The first tournament after the summer break saw the inaugural Welsh Open take place at the Treetops Course in Cardiff, and later that same month the second major of the year the British Open returned to the challenging Strokes course at Margate. Adam Kelly produced a stunning performance to win with a 46 under par score of 278 over 9 rounds, thereby maintaining a run of five years of success for British players in this international event.
One of the highlights of the year was the first Cambridgeshire and Essex Open which took place in October at a new venue the Dunton Hills Golf Club, Brentwood. Played on what could only be described as a uniquely long and challenging course where an ace was an event rather than the norm. A five over par total for the three rounds played was good enough to win. Later the same month the third and final major of the year the World Crazy Golf Championships was staged at the popular crazy course in Hastings. After 7 rounds including the final crazy crazy rules round Michael Smith prevailed with a 31 under par score of 221. The final two tournaments of the season were the Kent Open at Chislehurst won for the third time by our Chairman Sean Homer, with the popular Star City Open in Birmingham winding up the year and won by Michael Smith. The other tournaments that took place during the year were the Midlands Open at Dorridge and the Splash Point Open at Worthing.
In addition to the above events 2015 saw a changed format for the British Matchplay with 32 competitors playing their rounds off over a period of months rather than on one day. The final was completed in Hastings after the World Crazy Golf Championships and saw Chris Harding winning over Nuno Cunha. Mention must also be made of our British team of Sean Homer, Adam Kelly, Tony Kelly, James Rutherford, Scott Lancley, Will Donnelly and Chris Wood together with coach Chris Harding that competed in the World Championships in Lahti, Finland in August. Although we finished in 9th place out of the 10 international teams competing, all the players felt it had been a great and enjoyable learning experience.
In short, 2015 has been a successful tournament season with attendances on a par with previous years and the weather generally benign. Finally, congratulations must go to Andy Wilde for winning the Season Only Rankings title in his first full year as a minigolfer, and also to Michael Smith for retaining his Order of Merit Rankings title closely followed by Adam Kelly.
A report on from the 2015 Rankings Sub Committee (RSC) comprising of Mark Wood, Michael Smith and Will Donnelly can be found in the attachments on the BMGA website AGM article.
The 2016 tournament calendar is looking as good if not better than last year’s with plenty of tournaments and venues to test our skill, so enjoy your minigolf and see you on the course!
Chris Smith BMGA Executive Committee
No additional comments.
MARKETING & MEDIA REPORT 2015
Social media continues to be our most powerful marketing tool as well as a means of communication with our members. The BMGA Twitter page has over 980 followers and the Facebook page has 347 ‘likes’, an increase of 28% year on year. The Facebook page saw approximately 8,600 reaches (unique visitors) per month across the main season from March to October, with around 1,000 people liking, commenting on or sharing our posts each month. There were particular spikes around the weekends of the WAGM, British Open, World Crazy Golf Championships, British Masters and Star City Open, with the single busiest day being the Monday after the WAGM, when almost 2,000 people visited our page.
The Facebook page was used to generate interest in the run-up to the World Crazy Golf Championship with a series of ‘WCGC memories’, statistics and photos of previous winners. Event pages have already been set up on Facebook for all 2016 events.
We would encourage all players who use Facebook to like the BMGA page. As players like and comment, the audience continues to grow as friends and followers are drawn to the page and this attracts the attention of traditional media as well.
The BMGA website and Facebook page are regularly updated with pre and post event press releases. These are written by different members of the EC in order to keep them fresh and varied in style. They attract interest from members and also from other media outlets.
The World Crazy Golf Championships were covered by journalists from The Big Issue and The Telegraph, whose reporter took part in the event and wrote an entertaining and positive piece about coming last! Our events at Hastings were helped by Hastings Adventure Golf’s own social media publicity and the presence of a large tournament ‘hut’ beside the course which attracted spectators and media alike.
We would encourage members to contact their local newspapers and broadcasters with minigolf related stories, as individuals will often have better contacts and chances of success than the BMGA nationally. Richard Gottfried continues to generate publicity in his local media outlets; in 2015 he gained coverage in mirror.co.uk, BBC Sport Online, ITV regional news, Luton on Sunday and a feature in Today’s Golfer magazine about ‘Britain’s craziest golfer’ after visiting more than 600 courses across the UK. Adam Kelly appeared on community radio station Siren FM and in the Haverhill Echo after winning the British Open.
We hope to generate publicity in both traditional and new media outlets for the GB teams taking part in international tournaments this summer. Any player who would like to write a press release for their local publications is welcome to contact the EC for advice and support.
Tony Kelly BMGA Executive Committee
Comments on marketing and Media are collated after the IT/Social Media report.
IT / SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT 2015 We have continued to use social media extensively, to inform our members, to publicise British minigolf at home and overseas and to gather feedback regarding BMGA and club tournaments.
Facebook postings were made continuously during the season, ramping up during the tournament weekends, with several members of the EC able to contribute. The video of the WAGM had a reach of 1,998 due to sharing, tournaments and news generally reached in excess of 1,000. This shows that the more the members share the more views the pages get and the more interest that is generated in the activities of the BMGA. This is free publicity and so we encourage sharing of posts to generate a buzz around tournaments.
Twitter was also used extensively to get information to the members and beyond. The number of followers of the BMGA twitter account is at 1,160 which is a sizeable number considering the size of our membership. This could be increased significantly if the number of retweets increased. Again, this is free publicity which can generate interest in the BMGA.
The BMGA website remains a key part of the BMGA’s social media portfolio and is the place to look out for details of tournaments and the Order of Merit. Information on the website is generally updated less frequently than Facebook but it plays a key part in publicising the BMGA activities.
Following on from last year’s AGM, surveys were taken via Survey Monkey after 6 of the 2015 tournaments. The surveys gave the EC insight in to how the tournament were run, how they could be improved and also to understand what the members want and expect from playing minigolf. The most responses (44) came from the World Crazy Golf Championships survey, with 20+ replies from other events. The overwhelming majority of feedback has been positive, both in terms of the tournaments and courses. The EC receive a full report after each survey and have used them to consider how to serve the membership. Surveys will be created for key tournaments during the 2016 season.
Survey Monkey has also been used to gauge interest in being part of the various international tournaments. This worked very well, simplifying the collation of responses.
Martin Greenhead BMGA Executive Committee
Tony stated that he would encourage all individual players to actively share and comment on Social media posts. This helps spread the word and maximise the reach each article/news report gets.
Dave Donnelly asked if it would be possible to get BMGA business cards for players to use to hand out at courses & events. Sean highlighted that the current batch of cards have been a great help in getting awareness at courses and that the 1000 cards have nearly run out. A new batch will be produced in time for the British Championships in May.
Brenda asked if it would be possible to have BMGA pin badges (similar to the KMGC ones) for players.
Sean will look at the costs and the EC can take this forward (it would also be useful for players on the international stage to have badges to hand out to fellow players).
Chris asked about getting more promotional materials at courses for the big events and the possibility of having the relevant mayor at the event for the prize presentations.
Sean explained that this is something that the EC will need to run with in 2016. It is a case of contacting the right people and this will be possible when allocated roles are agreed. Promotional material requires funding but the EC will look at generating some materials for tournament courses for 2016 stating that the course is affiliated to the WMF and host BMGA events.
On the subject of player surveys, Sean ran through some analysis done by the EC regarding the player surveys in 2015 as follows:
99% happy with information provided before a tournament 98% happy with information provided during a tournament 99% would play in the tournament again
84% believe tournament fees are correct 15% believe tournament fees are too expensive 1% believe tournament fees are too cheap
(Hence the EC are looking into the Tournament fee price structure)
Tournament enjoyment
96% satisfaction with competition format 95% satisfaction with Course facilities 95% satisfaction with tournament location 89% satisfaction with tournament accommodation 84% satisfaction with number of tournament rds.
Prize breakdown
51% were satisfied with prize distribution 31% were moderately satisfied with prize distribution 18% were dissatisfied with prize satisfaction
(Hence the EC are looking into the prize distribution per tournament) Brenda stated that she was disappointed with the end of year survey and it was a missed opportunity to ask the players questions.
Sean asked what sort of things would she like to have seen included.
Brenda replied that things that bothered players – aspects such as noise and slow play.
Tony and Scott explained that the surveys this season will be used to target specific areas that the EC need to gather feedback on. Sean highlighted that the EC want to make sure the surveys are used as effectively as possible and not to send out generic surveys.
Chris said that perhaps the surveys could ask players if they know of any courses that would be suitable for BMGA events.
Michael stated that he thought the surveys would have been different from what they were In 2015. He would like to see courses rated out of 10 to help shape the calendar and follow the needs of the members.
Sean highlighted that responses from players in the surveys demonstrated that players were happy to play in the events and would play at the courses again in future, which is a good indicator of the members views.
Tony highlighted that we need to receive feedback from players that we can actually do something about. Ensuring the feedback gives us valid information the EC can act on.
Michael commented that perhaps as a compromise the players could be asked to rate the courses at the end of the year when they would be less emotional about the courses.
Tony highlighted that popularity data would still be personal opinion and we need to avoid subjective feedback where possible.
Adam commented that a player who was not happy or upset at events at a course would still likely feel the same at the end of the year.
CLUBS / DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2015
In terms of Clubs I’m sure you’ll agree it’s great to still have five active mini golf clubs. Cambridge & Essex where able to hold their 1st Club Open which was a success and highlight of last season, and the EC hopes it will now continue to be a regular event of the BMGA calendar. Thanks to Kent, Midland and Slash Point for continuing there events and look forward to the return of the Planet Hastings Open in March.
It is of course, still in the interest of the all clubs and the BMGA membership, for these clubs to continue encouraging new participants to attend your Club Open, or other friendly events which you may run during the year. Please don’t be afraid to promote these events to the public through use of your Facebook pages or your own club website.
Since the 2015 AGM the EC has worked on developing the motions passed from that meeting.
Motion 19 of nominated Ref’s at events, has been a welcomed addition to events. Again, thanks to those that have helped during the course of last season, especially to Marc Chapman who was a non-playing ref during the WAGM. If you know of anyone who would like to be a non-playing ref (especially at the BMGA run events) please ask them contact the EC of their interest.
Chris S, Scott L with assistance from Adrian A, have been working on the update of the BMGA Constitution and Competition rules. As of this time we have been able to update the BMGA Constitution and have included this part of the task with the AGM pack with the intention that you read before and then ratify it at the meeting.
Prior to this final version of the constitution there has been regular communications with the rest of the EC and development of it through their assistance. We would also like to thank Richard Gottfried and Keith Kellard in helping us source the 2008 constitution and earlier versions. With this updated constitution we hope that it will stand now for at least the next 8-10yrs.’ with members being able to see this in the members section of the official website and creating motions for the AGM where they are able to state the constitution point they wish to change.
In regards to Competition rules section and Discipline, especially in dealing with motion 8 (zero tolerance) of last year, we regret to inform the membership that this is still a work in progress. There has been positive and continued discussion in the EC meetings, but we all feel we need more time to work on these rules and would be foolish to rush them through in its current reviewed version.
With this in mind we would like to set out the following schedule:
i) That the competition rules regarding Strokeplay, Matchplay, Club Championship and the WCGC are agreed upon by the EC, after the EC meeting (March / April)
ii) That the discipline section is agreed upon by the EC before the British Championship (May.)
Something that we would like you the membership to read is Section 18 of the WMF Worldwide international sport rules (Folder 2.3) from the WMF international rules section of the website http://www.minigolfsport.com/ which governs the rules of discipline. The EC (and especially Chris and Scott) would like feedback through your club captains on it, and any points which you think need clarifying, or what needs to discussed within an EC meeting.
Scott Lancley BMGA Executive Committee
Regarding the rules of minigolf Scott re-iterated that as we are part of the WMF we need to follow their guidelines. He also encouraged players to read the section highlighted about and to feed any comments or points back via their club captains to the EC.
Chris stated that he felt that we shouldn’t be restricted by the WMF rules and should be able to develop our own rules as we see fit for an immediate impact. He highlighted that he had developed a red/yellow card discipline system but couldn’t progress this in the rules document due to eleventh hour feedback from the other EC members. This saddened him.
Sean highlighted that as the EC had discussed, we couldn’t put anything out to the members that we as an EC we not all happy with. He stated that it was key to the process that we get it right and not rush it through. The WMF guidelines need rewording to reflect better English and make more understandable but in essence these are what we need to follow. We cannot avoid them. The terminology needs to be simplified but we need to abide by the WMF rulings.
Sean stated that Keith and he had put together the MOS rules for the WMF as there will be different rules for the different formats of the game. But the rules that govern the way players behave must be the same – all the nations agree to follow the WMF rules. We (the BMGA) are no different. Sean also commented that there appears to be a feeling with some players that the EC are trying to stop people enjoying or expressing themselves and Sean stressed that this is not the case.
Chris stated that he felt there were issues with slow play and ace calls and these need to be addressed and that he was not going to change his mind over this.
Dave Gomm stated that we have to follow the WMF as they are the governing body for minigolf.
Tony highlighted that in terms of the rules, we can differ due to the MOS course specific rules but overall we must support and follow the WMF.
Adam commented that he felt there is an issue around the interpretation and understanding of what the zero tolerance policy (motion from 2015) means. The lack of clarity amongst players can cause confusion.
Sean stated that we will deal with any breaches of discipline and the rules but we need to be consistent and fair in our approach. The WMF penalty system is workable within our game but needs rewording to make it clear. Any punishments for players must be in line with the WMF’s penalty structure.
Chris highlighted that many members have asked him why do you (the EC) let these issues happen. He stated that he would hate to see standards go down in the sport. Although without non-playing refs this would be difficult. The rules should be there as a deterrent to players. Sean stated that he felt the rules should not be seen as a deterrent as this would send out the wrong message to the players, but are there to fall back on should we need to deal with any issues. He felt that the majority of players, given feedback from the surveys, don’t have issues with the way the game is played.
Scott commented that we are always looking for players keen to ref and if anyone wants to be a non-playing ref at our bigger events then they need to contact the EC.
FINANCE REPORT 2015
Summary of Accounts
The financial year to 31 December 2015 once again saw the BMGA continue its push to build up its reserves again after the financial loss of 2012.
With the increase in membership fees received, along with the net increase in tournament receipts, due in part to the WAGM once again being held in Hastings, this allowed us to show a net operating profit for the year of £375. There are, of course, some expenses that we cannot avoid, with the most important, and individually most costly, being the public liability insurance. Along with the fees we pay to both European and World Minigolfsport Federation for membership and course registration, these total around the £1000 mark, which we usually cover with our association membership fees. As in previous year, we have been able to part fund our involvement in international tournaments, this year to the total sum of £375. In the past, players have either fully funded their participation, or we have received some team sponsorship from Urban Crazy.
Along with the retained profit that we carried forward from 2014, we now have reserves of just over £600.
It is important that an organisation of our relatively small size is able to hold a sum of money in reserve to allow us to not only cater for any unforeseen events, but to allow the development of our sport in a number of different ways.
It is important we continue to participate on an international level, and that the BMGA do fund (in part or fully) our players. Whether that be debutants at Nations Cup, right through to the major European and World Championships. But, we must also seek to support all players at all levels, both inside and outside the tournament arena.
Now we have been able to reach this level, we can turn or focus to the future, rather than having to be concerned with clearing past debt.
Looking ahead to the next playing year, we need to ensure that we manage our resources in a prudent manor, to ensure continued stability. We are not able to rely upon additional income from the WAGM until 2018 at the earliest - that’s if we bid and are awarded the event for that year - as the WMF have already awarded the event to Kosovo in 2016, and have Croatia lined up for 2017. So we need to look at ways to increase membership and tournament participation, without the need to increase entry fees to prohibitively high values, or to reduce prize funds that will ultimately deter entry.
The association can now look at a medium term financial strategy for sustainability and growth, and ensure we can all enjoy our sport for many years to come.
Keith Kellard BMGA Finance Officer
Keith presented 2 years of accounts (see below) for approval., highlighting that it is important to have some funds in reserve.
Sean commented that for 2016 we can ensure we have a better breakdown of revenue (income and outgoings) for tournaments to help manage the accounts.
Chris highlighted that it would be useful to have more information on attendance at events and the membership to see a clearer breakdown of accounts.
Sean confirmed that the Public Liability Insurance which is the biggest individual annual cost to the BMGA has been specifically tailored for the organisation by experts in the field and although it is a sizable cost, it is vital that we are covered appropriately.
Accounts approved by all present.
4) Announcement of the Great Britain teams for 2016
Sean ran through the 2016 Great Britain teams.
NB: Full details of the teams and individuals can be found on the official BMGA website article at http://www.minigolf.org.uk/joomla/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=693:gbr-2016&catid=1:latest- news&Itemid=105&Itemid=60
Nations Cup – All three players fired up and ready to represent GBR. They will have limited support in Portugal but they are all ready to go anyway. A great attitude for our players.
WAGM Squad – Mark and Martin will be heading up the team
Seniors – A full team with coach (Adam), the first time GBR will be represented in the Senior competition
Euros – Nuno confirmed as team coach.
Sean commented that we have a nice mix within the teams and that the Surveys and feedback process worked well. The details would be announced on the website the following week (see link above).
MOTIONS FOR AGM
The EC received 40 motions for the AGM. It is clearly not practical to debate all of these motions within the time available for the meeting, as even without any other business this would allow less than 5 minutes for each motion. The EC has therefore selected a small number of motions for debate and voting, in order to allow a full debate on those motions selected. In making our selection, we have attempted to reflect the range of topics and concerns addressed by members, and have also considered what is a matter for the AGM and what is a matter for the EC.
Some of the 'motions' were in fact suggestions or admin points which we have taken on board for consideration. Others proposed changes to the rules of minigolf, which is not a matter which members should vote on as the rules are set by the WMF. The EC is in the process of drawing up a comprehensive rules document, based on WMF guidelines, which will be formally approved by members at the 2017 AGM. Other motions dealt with tournament formats, which are the responsibility of the EC, taking into account factors such as the venue, course, time available and number of players/teams.
We are always happy to receive feedback and suggestions, and have taken on board feedback received in post-tournament surveys, but ultimately the EC as tournament organisers must be free to set the format. There were also two motions on the international selection criteria, which again is the responsibility of the EC, taking into account a range of factors including rankings, attendance and international experience. We are therefore planning to table the following motions for debate and voting. Those motions not selected are published at the end of this section of the AGM pack, and can be discussed under Any Other Business if time allows.
The EC is always happy to receive feedback and suggestions from members but for reasons of efficiency and time management, it is not possible to debate every suggestion at the AGM.
The Motions to vote on have been split into the following subjects:
1) PLAYER CATEGORIES 2) RANKINGS 3) GENERAL POINTS
The Motions not selected to vote on have been split into the following subjects:
1) TOURNAMENT FORMATS 2) RULES 3) MINIGOLF BALLS 4) GREAT BRITAIN SELECTION PROCESS
MOTIONS FOR VOTING AT THE AGM / VIA PROXY
1) PLAYER CATEGORIES
Motion 1- Change the criteria for players classified as Category 1 and Category 2 as detailed below
Category 1: Top 10 players in rankings, plus any BMGA tournament winner over the last 5 seasons (i.e. the current season and previous 4 years)
Category 2: players ranked 11 to 32 (except those who are classed as Cat 1 above)
Category 3/4 remain unchanged
Rationale: The above would make it harder to achieve category 1 status, which represents the elite end of the game. So to achieve category 1 you would have to earn more ranking points than with current system or win a tournament. Category 2 is opened up and gives those ranked 11-16 some added incentive. The new category splits would ensure good levels of players from each of the categories at each event as the numbers are more balanced within each category, and give players within these categories prize fund incentives to encourage participation. (Will Donnelly)
Yes - 9 No - 19 Abstain - 2 Total votes cast - 30 MOTION DECLINED
Motion 2 - Modify Category 1 status to all players in the Top 16 in the latest Order of Merit, Tournament winners in the current and previous 2 seasons, GBR International players in the previous 2 seasons. (Marc Chapman)
Yes - 2 No - 27 Abstain - 1 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION DECLINED
2) RANKINGS
Motion 3 - Publishing of a separate Junior Order of Merit to promote junior boys' and girls' participation in the sport. (Marc Chapman)
Yes - 26 No - 4 Abstain - 0 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED – it was confirmed that the junior players will also appear in the overall OOM as well as the dedicated junior class one.
Motion 4 - Increase the number of tournaments which count towards a players ranking in the Order of Merit from 8 to 10 (from 4 and 4 to 5 and 5).
Rationale: In the current Order of Merit, each player’s 2 year total score is calculated by adding 50% of the points from their four best results in year 1 to the total number of points from their four best results in year 2. The RSC believes this should be changed to 50% of the points from their 5 best results in year 1 added to the total number of points from their 5 best results in year 2.
The reasons the RSC recommends this change are as followed:
A) It’s fairer, and would be considerably more rewarding of consistent performances over the two years. It is harder to be more consistent over 10 tournaments than it is to be consistent over 8 tournaments, and this should be reflected in the Order of Merit.
B) By increasing the number of events which count towards the Order of Merit from 8 events over two years to 10 over two years, it would give players a greater incentive to enter more tournaments. Anything that will increase the number of players who enter tournaments should be supported. (Michael Smith / Will Donnelly / Mark Wood)
Yes - 16 No - 10 Abstain - 4 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 5 - The Order of Merit must be updated after every strokeplay tournament, so that these changes come into effect for the following strokeplay tournament.
Rationale: In recent years, early in the season the BMGA has alternated between updating the Order of Merit after one tournament and updating it after two tournaments. The RSC believes that as the BMGA is a national sports association, there should be a consistent policy. As the Order of Merit is updated after every event later in the season, this policy should be consistent throughout the season, including after the first event. This is particularly important bearing in mind that one of the aims of this Order of Merit was that there would be more movement early in the season between the different categories, which enables the category prize money to be won by a greater number of players.*
*The reason the wording of the motion is ‘updated’ rather than ‘published’ is that while the updated rankings will usually be quickly published on the BMGA website, the RSC accepts that the Executive Committee may not always be able to publish the rankings before the next tournament. However, if this motion is approved by the BMGA membership, it will be the responsibility of the RSC to ensure that the updated rankings are sent to the relevant tournament organisers, be it the Executive Committee or the club captain (if the next event is a club open). (Michael Smith / Will Donnelly / Mark Wood)
Yes - 25 No - 3 Abstain - 2 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 6 - Abolish the ‘handicap’ or ‘category’ points that are multiplied based on Category Status in the Season Only Rankings. E. g. Category 1 players have their points X 1, Category 2 X 2, Category 3 X 3, and Category 4 X 4. A player who scored 700 points at the British Open would currently score 700 points if he/she was a Category 1 player, 1400 if he/she was Category 2, 100 if he/she was Category 3, and 2,800 if he/she was Category 4.
Rationale: The RSC believes that the original intention of the SOR, defined on the BMGA’s website as ‘giving all players a more immediate and season specific breakdown of where they stand in relation to all players that participate in tournaments each year’, is honourable. We also believe that the multiplied points specified above were voted in by the membership at the 2014 AGM have made these rankings unfair, and go against this original intention. Any rankings system has one primary job: to rank the players fairly in order of ability. Thanks to these ‘category’ or ‘handicap’ points, this no longer happens. These multiplied points punish players for being good. Just as importantly, they punish players who improve through the season because players score fewer points when they get ‘promoted’ to the category above. If the BMGA membership votes in favour of this amendment then the Season Only Rankings will again become much fairer, and will again reflect the original intention of these rankings. (Michael Smith / Will Donnelly / Mark Wood)
Yes - 10 No - 17 Abstain - 3 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION DECLINED
Motion 7 - Revise the SOR to only multiply the Aces, Hattrick of aces and Round By Round improvements stats for players by their category (x2 for Cat 2, x 3 for Cat 3, etc). The remainder (relative position in the event, personal bests) remain un- multiplied.
Rationale: The SOR has always been more focused on personal improvement and to ensure that it does not favour the elite players, but gives all players a chance to get recognition in this way. Max Plaice won the overall title in 2014 and Andy Wilde in 2015 and it is great to see new names on the roll of honour. The removal of multiplied PB’s will make a difference in balancing the achievement of players and ensure the SOR is still a realistic goal for any player to achieve. Removing all the multipliers will favour the Category 1 players and this was never the intention of the initiative (and cat 1 players still have the honour of topping their own category at the end of the season and the award of the SOR cut glass trophy to keep). (Sean Homer)
Yes -19 No - 8 Abstain - 3 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 8 - Amend the Season Only Rankings (SOR) so that players remain in the category they start the season in throughout the year.
Rationale: At the moment, a player might start the season in Category 4 and have their points X by 4, move up to Category 3 and have their points only X 3, then move up to Category 2 and have their points only X 2 all in one year. This is wrong because it penalises a player for playing well and moving up the rankings, and acts as a disincentive to climb the rankings, because players will score fewer SOR points in future tournaments. The BMGA should do everything possible to support players who invest the time and effort to improve their performances and climb the rankings (because the Category 4 players of today might well become future Great Britain Internationals), and supporting this motion would do that. (Michael Smith / Will Donnelly / Mark Wood)
Yes - 13 No - 16 Abstain - 1 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION DECLINED
Motion 9 - Change the name of the Season Only Rankings (SOR) to the Season Only Shield (SOS).
Rationale: The SOR, due mainly to the ‘unique’ original scoring system (e.g. 10 points per ace, points for round by round improvement etc) and the ‘handicap’ points system, is a controversial system which divides opinion and is debated annually at the AGM. Whatever personal views people have, the majority of the players accept the fact that the SOR do not accurately reflect performances across the year. As Tony Kelly pointed out at the 2015 AGM, this would be considerably less of a problem if the name of the system did not imply that these rankings were a totally fair reflection. By voting to change the last word of the name from Rankings to Shield, the BMGA membership would potentially avoid future controversy over these rankings. In addition, it could be argued that the trophies for the SOR resemble shields, and/or could be changed to shields in the future. This would make the name change even more appropriate and simultaneously enhance the prestige of these rankings. (Michael Smith / Will Donnelly / Mark Wood)
Yes - 24 No - 3 Abstain - 3 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
NB it was agreed that the shield will be renamed the BMGA shield as it was felt this is a more positive title – all mentions of the word rankings in the process will be changed for the 2016 season.
Motion 10 - Abolish the Matchplay Order of Merit rankings.
Rationale:
A) These rankings have not been updated since the end of 2013, which shows that either the BMGA does not care enough about these rankings or does not have the time to update them;
B) The BMGA, which is reliant on volunteers to run the sport and only has approximately 25-30 regular players, does not need 3 ranking systems. This is especially true when considering the fact that these rankings only cover 3 tournaments, and over recent seasons, it has been rare that all 3 tournaments have taken place). (Dave Donnelly)
Yes - 26 No - 4 Abstain - 0 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 11 – Modify the Season Only Rankings option 1
Instead of the current C1 = 1x points, C2 = 2x points, C3 = 3x points, C4 = 4x points - to make things tighter change to either of the following proposals:
Order of Merit Placings at the beginning of the tournament
Position 1-8 - 1x points
Position 9-16 - 1.5x points
Position 17-24 - 2x points
Position 25-32 - 2.5x points
Position 33-40 - 3x points
Everyone else - 4x points (Paul Preston)
Yes - 5 No – 21 Abstain - 4 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION DECLINED
Motion 12 – Modify the Season Only Rankings option 2
Instead of the current C1 = 1x points, C2 = 2x points, C3 = 3x points, C4 = 4x points - to make things tighter change to either of the following proposals:
Category 1 = 1x points
Category 2 = 2x points
Category 3 = 2.5 points
Everyone else = 4x points (Paul Preston)
Yes - 5 No – 21 Abstain - 4 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION DECLINED
3) GENERAL POINTS
Motion 13 - Withdraw Motion 29 that was voted through by the BMGA membership at the 2015 AGM: “Defeated Motions at the AGM cannot be proposed again in the following year”.
(Rationale: This motion is simply undemocratic. While it could be argued that there is some validity to the original motion – that it is frustrating to vote each year on the same topics – any motion that makes the BMGA less democratic, including Motion 29, should be overturned). (Dave Donnelly)
Yes - 10 No - 15 Abstain - 5 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION DECLINED
Motion 14 - The link to the Tournament Feedback Surveys should be sent out by email rather than only being put on the BMGA website.
(Rationale: The link to the first tournament feedback survey was sent to the tournament entrants by email. The link to subsequent tournament feedback surveys was only put on the BMGA website. As many players will check their emails more often and more carefully than they will navigate different pages on the BMGA website, by sending out the links by emails, more players will fill out the feedback surveys. This will give the BMGA additional feedback as to what went well and what didn’t go so well at tournaments, which will allow the BMGA to make the tournaments even better in future). (Dave Donnelly)
Yes - 25 No - 4 Abstain - 1 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 15 - Results of the Players Survey after each event to be emailed to BMGA members
Purely to understand if an event doesn't work or is not popular. (Paul Preston)
Yes - 12 No - 16 Abstain - 2 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION DECLINED
Motion 16 - A records page on the BMGA website to include stats along the lines of:
•Tour Events Won
•Most Runners-Up
•Best Scores on each BMGA course (Paul Preston)
Yes - 26 No - 3 Abstain - 1 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 17 - BMGA Minigolf Clubs to nominate and register their Club Captain for the current season with the BMGA by the close of each AGM.
Rational: By having a registered club captain the EC have a clear point of contact with which they can pass on information, continue with rule change dialog and feedback, make arrangements for the Club Championship and also a way of making sure info regarding their club Opens and Invitationals get promoted from a BMGA aspect. (Scott Lancley)
Yes - 23 No - 4 Abstain - 3 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 18 - Create a Players rep so that participants who are not part of a club can have a representative as well as having a point of contact for novices during tournament days that's not a member of the EC.
Rational: We are very lucky in the BMGA that we have many friendly people that are enthusiastic about our hobby/sport, why not create a Players rep who could be a point of reference for those new to the experience of playing BMGA tournament's. This could be set at a minimum term of 1 year and a max of 2 yrs to keep the position fresh (Scott Lancley)
Yes - 22 No - 4 Abstain - 24 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 19 - The BMGA should hold a Players Forum every year.
Rationale: Feedback and shorter AGM’s. In the past 5 years, the BMGA has held two Players Forums: at the 2011 English Open and the 2014 Star City Open. Both were well run. Both allowed members to give feedback on tournaments and all aspects of the BMGA Tour. Both allowed members to ask questions and for the BMGA to float ideas as to how the association could be improved. In short, both events were a big success. Because of that, the BMGA should hold a Players Forum every year. Any event that increases opportunity for feedback between members and the Executive Committee should be encouraged, and it is likely that having an annual Players Forum will reduce the length of the AGM. (Michael Smith)
Yes - 14 No - 12 Abstain - 4 Total votes cast - 30
MOTION CARRIED
MOTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND FEEDBACK
Comments and feedback relating to these points can be found after the final point (on page 37 of this document).
1) TOURNAMENT FORMAT Motion 20 - The higher ranked 'experienced Tour Pro' players in the Order of Merit should play last in their group in the opening round of a competition instead of first. (Marc Chapman)
Motion 21 - The British Championship and British Open to be reduced from 9 rounds to 7 rounds, as it was before 2013.
Rationale: There are 5 individual reasons why this motion should be voted through:
A) Fun. A lot of players think that the Majors are the most enjoyable tournaments. One reason for this is that the Majors are ‘rolling’ tournaments from start to finish, allowing players extra time to socialise with other players in-between rounds and/or spend time with their friends and family. Since these two tournaments were extended from 7 rounds to 9 rounds, however, there has been far less time between rounds, and this has made these tournaments less enjoyable as a result.
B) Endurance. There are many reasons why we love this sport, but I suggest that one of the things we love most about the sport, especially compared with more ‘athletic’ sports, is that older players can compete on an almost equal playing field with the younger players, and that those players not in ‘perfect athletic condition’ can compete with those who are in better shape. Since these two tournaments were extended from 7 rounds to 9 rounds, however, it has become much harder for the older players to compete. This was particularly evidenced by some of the scores from round 5 at the 2015 British Open. We do not want the Majors to become a ‘mental endurance test’ or for players to ‘mentally burnout’. One reason why people enjoy the World Crazy Golf Championship so much is that there is only 7 rounds and there is a longer gap between rounds, so there is more time to have a break, eat, drink, relax, and prepare for the next round.
C) Finishing time. This is not a major issue on the Saturday. This is, however, a slight issue on the Sunday, because the extra round in these two tournaments has led to earlier starts on Sunday mornings and/or slightly later finishes on Sunday evenings. In some cases, players face long journeys back on Sunday evenings before having to get up for work early on Monday mornings. Reducing these tournaments from 9 rounds to 7 rounds would help these players.
D) Vote. The decision to increase the length of these two tournaments from 7 rounds to 9 rounds was taken without consulting the membership. This motion now gives the members the chance to decide whether they prefer the Majors to be played over 7 rounds or 9 rounds.
E) Consistency. If the members vote this motion through, it will mean all 3 Major Championships have the same number of rounds. (Michael Smith, Marc Chapman)
Motion 22 - The tee-off order for all 3 Major Championships should be identical for all 3 Major Championships, with the defending champion teeing-off first, and the rest of the order being determined by last year’s leaderboard. E.g. the player who finished 2nd is player 1 in group 2, and the player who finished 3rd is player 1 in group 3, and so on.
Rationale: Over recent years, the BMGA has been inconsistent when deciding the tee-off order on day 1 of its 3 Major Championships. At the British Open, the reigning champion has always teed off first. At the World Crazy Golf Championship, the reigning champion has usually teed off first, though the reigning championship teed off last at the 2015 tournament. At the British Championship, there has been a mixture of the above two approaches over recent seasons.
As the BMGA is a national sports association, we should have a consistent policy where the same approach is used at all 3 Major Championships every year. This would also give the reigning champion the honour of hitting the first putt of the tournament and leading the field away, and gives a small reward for players finishing higher on the leaderboard last year (the reward is they have less time to hang around at the start of the tournament after the warm-up). (Michael Smith)
Motion 23 - A cut should be introduced at the British Championship so that the top 18 players contest the final round, accompanied by an official scorer for those 6 groups.
Rationale: At the moment, many players would consider the British Championship to be the ‘weakest’ or ‘least important’ of our 3 Major Championships. There are several reasons for this, but one of those reasons is that there is no ‘special’ final round, as there is for the British Open and World Crazy Golf Championship (and the World Adventure Golf Masters). By voting yes to introducing this ‘play-off’ final round to the British Championship, you would help raise the prestige of our joint- oldest Major Championship. (Michael Smith)
Motion 24 - The British Junior Championship, British Women’s Championship and the British Senior Championship to be decided at the British Championship, rather than have these championships ‘rolling on’ to the British Open and/or World Crazy Golf Championship. If there is only one entrant in a particular championship, then that person wins the title. If there are zero entrants at a particular championship, then that championship is not contested for that year.
Rationale: There are four different reasons why this motion should be voted through.
A) Prestige and certainty. If the junior, women’s and senior titles can only be won at the British Championship, it raises the prestige of this tournament, rather than the current situation where these titles might be won at the British Championship but they might not be.
B) Number of entrants. If everybody knows that these titles have to be decided at the British Championship, it is likely that more players will enter the British Championship. The more people that enter the British Championship, the better it is for the BMGA financially, as well as raising the prestige of the tournament.
C) Logic. In 2015, the Junior Championship was not settled until the World Crazy Golf Championship. This was not ideal, because as fantastic and enjoyable a tournament as the World Crazy Golf Championship is, a National Minigolf Championship should not be settled by a Crazy Golf tournament.
D) Fairness and consistency. Supporting this motion would also end the inconsistent awarding of these championships, and prevent possible future accusations of bias and/or favouritism. For example, it has been common practice for the BMGA to only award the British Junior Championship where there has been a minimum of 3 competitors. So when Adam Kelly was the best junior at the 2010 British Championship, he did not win the British Junior Championship because there were only 2 juniors in the tournament. The junior championship rolled over to the British Open. However when Adam was the best junior at the 2014 British Championship, there was again only two juniors in the tournament. This time, however, he was awarded the British Junior Championship. (Michael Smith)
Motion 25: The British Matchplay Championship should return to being held on one day, rather than over the whole season, from 2017 onwards. Rationale: Most players enjoyed the British Matchplay Championship in 2008, 2009 and 2015 when the tournament was played across the season. Similarly, most players enjoyed the tournament between 2010-2014 when the tournament was played on one day at Splash Point, Bluewater, Sidcup, Boscombe and Bluewater respectively. There are advantages of both systems. The advantage of playing the tournament across the season is that it maintains interest across the year, and allows players to watch many of the other matches. The advantage of playing the tournament on one day is that it allows the players to have one full day of individual matchplay competition.
The purpose of this motion is to allow the people who play in this tournament the opportunity to decide the format used from 2017 onwards. (Michael Smith)
Motion 26 - All One Day Matchplay Tournaments (including the British Doubles Championship and British Club Championship) should be played on the same weekend as a Club Open, with these events rotating between the clubs each year.*
*This is assuming that the clubs in question can find a suitable course to host the event. If they cannot, then the club who is due to host it the following year can swap with that club.
Rationale: A) Enjoyment. Many players have really enjoyed playing in the British Doubles Championship in recent years, both for the quality of the tournament itself, and the fact it has been combined with a club open on the same weekend. This has created a weekend of minigolf (something players appreciate about the Majors) which has contained 1 strokeplay tournament and 1 matchplay tournament.
B) Travel and Money. BMGA members are very lucky that the BMGA provides such a great calendar of many fantastic events across the entire year. Nevertheless, it would be better to combine the Doubles and the Club Championship with a club open each year in order to make it easier and cheaper for players to attend as many tournaments as possible. This could ensure that the tour calendar is limited to one weekend of minigolf per calendar month, hopefully leading to bigger fields in all events. (Michael Smith)
Motion 27 - A veterans Category should be introduced at the British Championship for players aged 58 and over, starting in 2016.
Rationale: A) Bringing the BMGA in line with the WMF. According to rule 14.2 of the WMF Worldwide International Sport Rules, the World Minigolf Federation has a Veterans category which comprises ‘All people who have had their 58th birthday in previous years’. As the BMGA wishes to follow the World Minigolf Federation as much as possible (this included increasing the junior age from 18 to 19), it is only logical to also follow the WMF on this issue.
B) Consistency. It is unfair for those players in this age group that they are not represented in a category at the British Championship. It could be argued that as we have relatively few veteran players amongst our Tour Pros, we should not introduce a Veterans category. This argument, however, is flawed, because we currently have very few junior members and often get few women entrants at the British Championship, yet we still have those categories. If you are in the junior age range, you can compete for the British Junior Championship. If you are in the senior age range, you can compete for the British Senior Championship. Yet if you are in the veterans age range, you cannot compete for an age-related championship made up of solely your age group (this is arguably age discrimination). I am not suggesting a significant cash price, merely recognition with medals. (Michael Smith)
Motion 28 - The WMF golf ball should be the official ball that is used for the World Crazy Golf Championship.
Rationale: There are 5 different reasons why this motion should be voted through.
A) Expense. A lot of players already have a WMF Golf Ball. While there would be an initial outlay of purchasing stock from the WMF, long term this is cheaper solution than producing a brand new ball for each year’s World Crazy Golf Championship.
B) Consistency The WMF Golf Ball is more consistent than the balls used at the World Crazy Golf Championship over the past 3 years, especially in terms of the consistency of rebounds.
C) Waste. What is the point of producing a new ball for each year’s tournament which players can no longer legally use in any other BMGA tournament? This was not an issue for the 2013 and 2014 balls, but since May 2015 when the BMGA decided to make all golf balls illegal, except the WMF Golf Ball, there seems little point in continuing with a new ball each year.
D) Supply. Midway through last season, the BMGA ran out of their stock of WMF Golf Balls. This wasn’t a problem if you already had one of these balls. However, this would get rid of the problem that regular players were unable to purchase the only legal golf ball.
E) Entry Fees. If this motion is supported, entry fees to this tournament could be reduced for the many players who possess the WMF Golf Ball. The BMGA could follow the excellent example from the Kent Minigolf Club, which offers reduced entry fees into the Kent Open for those players who already have the Kent Open Ball. Reduced entry fees should lead to an even bigger field at the biggest event of the year. (Michael Smith)
Motion 29 - Change of format to the Club Championships
I felt that a player in position 4 was sometimes not playing the hole so to combat this I would suggest the following format for each game:
•Matches over 9 holes only if there is a large number of entries.
•The four players from each team to be drawn out of a hat to determine the playing order. •All four players from each team to play every hole. •Players from both teams drawn in position 1 to play against each other in strokeplay over 9 holes (1 point for whoever has lowest score over 9 holes, 1/2 pt for a tied score). Repeat for Players 2, Players 3 and Players 4 (total of 4 points on offer). •Best two scores from the four players for each hole to count for matchplay element (instead of three players best scores in 2015) - The team who wins the matchplay receives two points, a tie for one point.
•Each match has the potential of six points on offer and players will have to play every hole as a 7 can change the strokeplay element of the match. •Depending on entries determines whether there is a Champions League style first round before semi and finals or a straight knock-out with losers going into a "Plate/Trophy" competition. (Paul Preston)
2) RULES Motion 30 - The introduction of a domestic player club transfer window, which begins the day after the final event of the current season and ends the day before the first event of the next season. All club changes must be confirmed in writing to BMGA HQ within this window only and all transfers published together on the website. (Marc Chapman)
Motion 31 - WMF shot time-limit rules to be adhered to in BMGA events (First player of the group has 70 seconds for their first shot, followed by 60 seconds for each subsequent shot on the lane). (Marc Chapman)
Motion 32 - If the ball leaves the playing surface and comes to rest outside the border, it should be replayed from the point it was taken from.
This is particularly relevant to hole number nine on the Pirate Course, Hastings, and hole number ten at Star City, Birmingham. Occasionally, the ball will take off and land outside the playing area. It is then played from the point it left the course and on these holes in particular, leaves around a putt of six inches for a simple two. An element of luck should come into play, whether it be good or bad, and if there is a misfortune where it comes to rest outside the playing area, it should be punished with the replaying of the shot from where it was taken with no penalty. (Steve Lovell)
Motion 33 - A 'bump', 'raised area' or 'natural undulation' in the course should be treated as such and should not be given eight inches relief, as it currently is.
There is a big difference between an obstacle and an undulation. An obstacle is something that causes an obstruction and should be granted relief status, as per the current rules. An undulation or bump, such as the small raised areas on the Crazy Course, Hastings, at holes six and seventeen, and on Splash Point at hole two, are an inconvenience and should not receive the relief. The current rules give these undulations the same status as a side wall or rock. There is a difference between an inconvenience and an impediment. (Steve Lovell) Motion 34 - The rules about slow play and excessive ace celebrations must be stated in the introductory speech before every BMGA ranking tournament.
(Rationale: While the current introductory speeches which take place before tournaments are generally very thorough, and they mention slow play and excessive ace celebrations in a general sense, they consistently fail to mention that there is a precise time limit for every shot (45 seconds). By mentioning this time limit and the fact that slow play will be closely monitored in the introductory speech, players will have no excuses that they are not aware of the rules and this will hopefully act as an extra incentive to speed up and obey the rules. As for excessive ace celebrations, players need to be aware that their actions are quite likely be a distraction and put off other competitors – there is a huge difference between an expression of joy / relief and a “choreographed” celebration when getting an ace! Likewise, by mentioning this as well, players know they must conduct themselves appropriately or face possible sanctions). (Dave Donnelly)
Motion 35 - Rules of the BMGA to be placed on the website (Paul Preston)
3) MINIGOLF BALLS MOTION 36 - MOTION TO DISCUSS AND PROVIDE CLARITY & CONSISTENCY WITH THE USAGE OF BALLS - LEGAL OR ILLEGAL
For the benefit of all players on the BMGA tour, whether experienced or rookies, could we have clarity as to which mini-golf balls are allowed/not allowed at specific events. I am mainly concerned about the lack of consistency during some 2015 events, where it was unclear which types of 'golf ball' we could use and which we couldn't. Are WCGC crazy golf balls allowed to be used in other events ? Also, with reference to klicker balls, are small or large pool balls allowed as alternatives ? Are they allowed at some events and not others ? Is there is a minimum or maximum diameter of mini-golf ball permissible in events ?
MOTION :- I would seek a clear directive on which balls are allowed and not allowed, for the benefit of all tour players (Derek Bentall)
Motion 37 - All Category 3 and 4 players can use a course ball
This is to ensure that we are open to entries from all novice players who are happier using a course ball as opposed to a mini golf ball which is assumed they are not used to playing with. (Paul Preston)
Motion 38 - During sunny conditions, a clear glass ball should either only be played in shade or not at all.
During the 2015 World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings, an issue arose where small dots started to appear in the felt, which was eventually attributed to the glass ball or clear clicker. People were warned about this before the tournament started but this was largely ignored by almost everyone. We have to be responsible for our own actions and although Hastings Adventure Golf very kindly allow us unparalleled support for our competitions, they could easily turn around and bill the organisers for damage to the felt. Potentially thousands of pounds. When the suns rays are magnified through glass, the temperature at the point of impact can get as high as 450 degrees fahreneit, or around gas mark seven. (Steve Lovell)
Motion39 - To clearly state that from this season on, the BMGA state the rule that the only golf ball to be used by ALL participants in BMGA tournaments is the WMF logo golf ball.
Rational: It would mean new participants will need to be loaned the balls by the BMGA during the tournament but by doing so it stops the grey area. No course balls, no worry over other logo golf balls and more importantly in line with WMF ruling (with the current exception of the WCGC tournament.) (Scott Lancley)
4) GREAT BRITAIN SELECTION PROCESS Motion 40 - The BMGA should introduce an official International Team Selection Criteria.
Rationale: At the moment, BMGA members currently have no idea how the Executive Committee selects the international teams. How much weight is given to rankings? To players who support the tour? To previous international experience? To recent form? To picking as many different players as possible or to selecting the strongest line-ups? Or is it for each individual EC member to follow their own conscience and decide the factors which are most important to them? In the interests of transparency and clarification, this criteria, whatever it is, needs to be put in writing on the BMGA website so that all members know what the situation is. (Will Donnelly)
Motion 41 - Add a criteria for selecting Great Britain teams that any player selected to play in a ‘full’ Great Britain team in an International Tournament must have competed in a minimum of 4 strokeplay ranking tournaments in the previous year. This rule would not apply when there are places in the team that cannot be filled by ‘qualifying’ players. *
* A full team is defined in this case by a 7 player Men’s team at a World Minigolf Championship or European Minigolf Championship (of any class/age range), a 4 player Women’s team at a World Minigolf Championship or European Minigolf Championship (of any class/age range), and the strongest two Great Britain teams at the World Adventure Golf masters.
Rationale: Fairness. While we want to send Great Britain teams that are as strong as possible to every tournament, it is simply not appropriate that players who only play in 0-3 strokeplay ranking tournaments a year get selected for these teams in preference to those players who support the tour. No player, no matter how naturally talented they are, and no matter how successful they have been in the past, be it in Britain or abroad, deserves a place in a full Great Britain team if they have not been competing regularly on the BMGA Tour. (Michael Smith) Sean set out the rationale behind the discussion on the points raised but not included in the proxy voting process and stated that the EC is always happy to receive feedback and suggestions from members but for reasons of efficiency and time management, it is not possible to debate every suggestion at the AGM.
Brenda commented that there seemed to be a disproportionate amount of time at the AGM spent on the rankings.
Chris stated that the EC asked for motions and therefore the members should have to vote on all of them.
Dave Gomm stated that people shouldn’t have to listen to what should or shouldn’t be done at the AGM. He commented that he had come to go through the AGM pack and vote on the 19 motions that we presented in the document.
Adam stated that he felt the EC had nailed it and got it spot on. You can’t vote on changing the rules as discussed earlier we have to abide by the WMF guidelines on this.
Michael stated that the constitution should say what the EC can withdraw regarding the motions.
Sean and Tony agreed and stated that this is being included in the constitution.
Sean stated that the matters regarding tournaments are the remit of the EC who are responsible and tasked with the organisation and running of all the BMGA events on the tour. He highlighted that none of the respondents to the AGM pack had any issues with what has and hasn’t been included in the voting motions. Sean also stated that the EC will never fly in the face of what the membership are asking for and we will react and adapt and make changes on the back of feedback received from the membership.
Tony confirmed that as a result of some of the survey feedback the EC are looking at a reduction in the rounds of the British Open in September.
Sean highlighted that with an idea regarding the number of rounds this will cause a variety of responses, often dependant on the location and course we are playing at. For example most players are fine with 9 rounds on the Hastings Pirate course but find the same number of rounds at a more challenging course such as Strokes in Margate too many. When looking at any event, the EC take into account all these factors such as when and where the event takes place.
Michael asked why can’t the members vote on it.
Sean re-iterated that it is the responsibility of the EC to run the tournaments and make these decisions accordingly.
Keith highlighted that the EC need to have the ability and flexibility to set the structure and format for any event. Sean also highlighted that the EC will be looking to do focussed online surveys this season based on some of the motions put forward (but not voted on). Ultimately we will be looking to ensure we aim to satisfy the majority. The EC run tournaments for the benefit of our members, not for our own benefit.
Scott leaves the meeting (16.35).
Will asked about the criteria for the National Team selection.
Tony responded highlighting that all the points Will put in his rationale (see Motion 40) goes into the decision when selecting the teams and players for the great Britain squads.
Will commented that he thought the process was really good this year.
Sean stated that the EC were very pleased with the response from the players and that Great Britain have strong teams for the events this year with a great mix of experience and new players making their debuts.
Michael asked if the teams were voted on by the EC.
Tony replied that it was not voted on but the EC discussed all the players and events and came to an agreed consensus on the selections.
Sean highlighted that due to the success of the process, the EC will follow the same process for 2017 selections as well.
Regarding the points in general Sean re-iterated that the EC will not ignore comments from the members and will continue to gather feedback throughout the season.
Dave Donnelly highlighted that when the EC roles are confirmed it would be useful to have the relevant contact details on the website to help members contact the right person for the right areas.
Sean agreed that this was a good idea and will ensure that the website contact details are updated accordingly once the EC roles are confirmed.
AOB
Chris stated that he was gutted the constitution didn’t get onto the AGM pack. Worked on it for 11/12 full days. So nearly there on the Saturday deadline for the pack. Me and Scott had to work quickly. But omitted from the AGM pack by our Chairman, abandoning the democratic process with no explanation, apology or thanks. The document has been sabotaged. I thought we had moved away from a one man band. Felt with Scott we were changing things effectively. Seems my views are not compatible and with a heavy heart I can’t serve any more, and resign effective immediately. Best wishes to Scott. Sean replied: I am disappointed that you have stepped down
Chris: Maybe I am out of touch. Bedrock of any organization is the constitution. We are National Sports Association The very basis of our structure isn’t on the website. Missed a great opportunity. We want Sport England to recognise us as a separate entity, need strategies.
Sean: The document wasn’t ready to present to the membership at the time the pack was due to be published. We needed it finalised and everyone on the EC agreed that we must have it ready before publishing.
Tony: We needed to compromise on the wording regarding EC and AGM motion selection, Chris only one who didn’t agree.
Chris: We could have discussed this
Sean: We were discussing this on the EC forum. The constitution could be added as an amendment to the AGM pack but it was essential that we all agreed on the content before circulating to a wider audience.
Tony: We will not always agree as an EC but we needed to agree collectively regarding the constitution before publishing.
Chris: I have made the right decision and happier for it.
Sean: Thank you for your input.
Dave Gomm: Mr Chairman, can I put on record thanks for all the work you and EC put it. The members all appreciate the work you do.
Sean thanked everyone for their input and attendance and the AGM closed at 5pm.
NB: Due to the vacancy on the Executive Committee, a communication will be published on the BMGA website in the coming weeks explaining the process for electing a 7th member onto the EC. The EC will continue to work in the best interests of the members and look forward to a strong and productive season ahead. 2016 BMGA TOUR CALENDAR
Full details can be found on our website (www.minigolf.org.uk):
28/02/16 - English Open – Nottingham
06/03/16 – Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Open – Hastings
20/03/16 – Midlands Open - Dorridge
10/04/16 - British Masters - Worthing
24/04/16 - British Club Championship – Margate
07/05/16 - British Championships – Wroxham Barns (2 day event)
14/05/16 – Nations Cup – Portugal (2 day event)
11/06/15 - World Crazy Golf Championship – Hastings (2 day event)
25/06/16 - World Adventure Golf Masters – Kosovo (2 day event)
16/07/16 – Cambridgeshire & Essex Open – Dunton Hills
17/07/16 – British Doubles Championship – Dunton HIlls
30/07/16 – Splash Point Open – Worthing (Saturday evening event)
10/08/16 - World Youth Championships – Austria (4 day event)
10/08/16 – Senior European Championships – Finland (4 day event)
24/08/16 - European Championships – Portugal (4 day event)
16/09/14 – Players & International Players Championships - Hastings
17/09/14 - British Open – Hastings (2 day event)
16/10/16 – Welsh Open - Cardiff
13/11/16 - Kent Open – Sidcup
04/12/16 – Star City Open - Birmingham
Season long - British Matchplay Championship