ENGLISH ICE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RECREATIONAL SECTION 2010 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Sunday 12th September 2010 – 1pm At Jurys Inn Hotel Milton Keynes MINUTES Executive Committee: Tony Boynton [Chairman] Tony Wood, Linda Matthews, John Freeman. EIHA Representative: Alan Batcheldor. Team Representatives: Basingstoke Cougars, Black Bears, Bracknell B52’s, Bracknell Blizzard, Bradford Cannibals, British Army Blades, Chelmsford Chargers, Cleveland Comets, Coventry Chaos, Coventry Chargers, Flintshire Phantoms, Grimsby Lightning, Guildford Smoke, Medway Madness, Milton Keynes Hurricanes, Milton Keynes Jesters, Milton Keynes Rumble, Oxford Shooting Stars, Peterborough Eagles, Peterborough Phoenix, Peterborough Predators, RAF Bluewings, Royal Navy, Slough Scorpions, Slough Tornadoes, Solihull Vikings, Solihull Vipers, Streatham Nightwolves. Apologies received: Irene Jones, Ron Christison, Ritchie Clark, Altrincham Mustangs, Bristol Mad Dogs, Cardiff Ice Hounds, Whitley Wildcats, Cardiff Titans, Sheffield Blazers, Kingston Cobras, Blackburn Buccaneers, Durham Dragons, Nottingham Phantoms, Swindon Panthers, Newcastle Coyotes. Acceptance of last years Minutes Proposed by Chelmsford Chargers, seconded by MK Rumble. Passed unanimously. Chairman’s Report This section is running itself without many issues and we are getting people playing hockey. I have been involved with Rec. hockey for over 25 years; when we started with 4 teams, now we have 84 teams and that does not include the university teams! The good thing is, as far as I am concerned, is that we have liaised with Scotland. This has made it so much easier for teams to play in competitions across the Border; which has a lot to do with Tony Wood’s efforts in traveling to Scotland to discuss rules etc. This has made it easier for me; as in the past, I had to get clearance from the EIHA and Ice Hockey UK for you to play Scottish teams. I would like to give Tony Wood a big vote of thanks for all the work he has done. Both English and Scottish teams are now on our website but are still separate entities; we have not combined with them other than for the logistical advantage of sharing the website functions, for Games and Registrations. Administrators Report The Rec. Section currently has a membership of 84 clubs with 2840 players. The Section has operated throughout the current year without any major difficulties. Whilst I have made several attempts to obtain details of claims made during the year from our insurance providers, together with insurance costs for the forthcoming year; these have yet to be provided by Intosport. Alliance, the insurance Company provides this information and I know from previous dealings with them they are slow to respond. The majority of claims however, are for dental repair; a number of injured members submit claims for lavish repairs and cosmetic procedures, some totaling between £4,000 to £6,000. The policy only covers basic emergency treatment to cover the damage resulting from the incident. The completed claims form, complete with a medical certificate or a dental account, need to be sent to myself. I will then pass these onto the insurance provider. The change is necessary, as some past claims submitted by members had gone astray. In recent weeks, the subject of the cost of short period insurance cover has arisen. Some clubs appear to believe they should be paying reduced amounts during this time. Unfortunately, this is not correct. The total fee is payable throughout the life of the policy; so regardless of whether the policy starts 1 October or 1 September, it runs on a one year policy ending 30 September. It is up to teams to make their own decisions on this and closing team membership after, say June of each year, to avoid the cost. I apologise for my absence this weekend, due to personal injury. I appreciate that I am up for re-election this year and with your support, would like to continue. Flintshire Phantoms – asked about reduced rates for members joining throughout the year. The Chairman explained that the EIHA decide how much the registration is for a year. There is a fixed cost for, say, 1000 players. For example, a cost for the first 1000, as the 1000 is past another fee kicks then, then the next 500 and so on. The fee is scaled which allows us to keep the cost down overall. Accepted by Basingstoke Cougars and seconded by Solihull Vipers that the report was accepted. Carried unanimously. Treasurers Report We are largely funded by the EIHA, but we keep an account for administration purposes. Starting with £1072.50, plus money coming in from fines, new teams and Rec. Tournament. With monies going out, the balance is just over £2000. If we do need any extra funding, we go to the EIHA. Accepted by Peterborough Preditors, seconded by Grimsby Lightning, passed unanimously. Election of Officials The Chairman stated that we are the only Section who elects officials. The EIHA appoint Committee members for all other sections. Tony Wood - proposed by Peterborough Eagles, seconded by Chelmsford Chargers. Ron Christison – proposed by Peterborough Eagles, seconded by Solihull Vipers. Both passed unanimously. Handbook Update Tony Wood presented the new Version 2 of the Rec. Section Handbook. He outlined that all the new content was nothing ‘new’, only re-structuring; adding extra detail and including current practice. He then went on to highlight the major changes and reminded people of the Registration and Discipline procedures etc, with some questions being answered as below. Teams were asked to read through the new version at their earliest convenience and re-submit the REC1 form. The new version would be on the Website shortly and will become ‘Live’ on the 1st Oct 2010. Payments The Chairman announced that from 1st October 2010 ALL payments for registrations will be by BACS transfer. This is to speed up the process, aid accounting and also to stop cheques going missing. This was alluded to in last year’s AGM. Clubs are to tick the players that they are registering on the website, in the normal way. Paying attention to ONLY ticking players they are sending payment for, not one that will be returning in the near future. The Sections preferred method of Payment is Bank to Bank Transfer from a Club Account to; Lloyds TSB – EIHA Rec. Section Sort code 309612 Account No. 00163602 REFERENCE – TEAM NAME (Not players or Manager etc) NOTE. Post AGM discussions have highlighted some situations where bank transfers are not always possible. With these circumstances in mind, we will continue to accept cheques, from Club Accounts only; until the Banks allow joint signatories on internet banking. This also allows for Associations etc that have central funds e.g. Services, HMPS etc Suspended Players If a player or players are suspended and wish to re-register, please email Tony Wood. Coaches Send coaches License Numbers and tick player as normal, email the Registration Administrator. A question was asked about players who are pending on the website. These players cannot take part in any game but can train if they were Registered the Season before (as their registration is valid until 30th Sept). If they are still pending after 1st Oct then they are not allowed to Train, as they will not be covered by insurance. It was confirmed that players in Green can train for any Rec. team or league team with permission from the Team running the training. Teams can borrow a Netminder, with permission from Tony Wood (or Linda Matthews or Tony Boynton, if late notice or unavailable). The team then receives an email granting permission which must be taken to the game and used as part of their Roster. Loan Netminders are only to be used when there are no other Netminders registered to the team available, thus allowing a Game to go ahead. Should a team bring a Loan Netminder to a game when they also have their own Netminder present, Tony Boynton should be informed. Fines A fine is £50 per offence, i.e., illegal player. If paid within 7 days is dropped to £25. If same team gets another fine it is £50 (without discount option) then £100 etc. At the start of each Season, occurrences are reset to zero Website access There is only the facility for 2 log in accounts each team, i.e., Manager, Games Co-coordinator. These can be Chairman or other designation within the club but these are the default Titles as defined by the Section. ID and Passwords are given out to individuals and for site security and Data Protection reasons; they MUST NOT be shared or passed on. Due to Data Protection we hold the names of players for no longer than five years, if registration lapses. Player Rosters The players Roster should be printed no earlier than 48 hours before a game. This allows for an up to date list of players registered and the application of Suspensions. Teams have three days after the game to send Tony Wood a copy of the game sheet and the corresponding rosters. Fines are levied for Late GAME SHEETS Chelmsford Chargers - asked if shirt numbers could be put on the rosters. This is on the list of nice to have’s, as the site is not set up for it. Cancelling Games Teams should cancel games via email to Linda Matthews. This enables us to confirm the date of cancellation and update the site accordingly. A question was asked about the cost of cancelling games. Costs can be recouped and full details are in the Handbook. The Chairman stated that the team’s manager is responsible for finances. If the Away Team cancel and you do not use but have to pay for the ice, you should get a receipt from the ice rink.