Minutes from the 94th Caldy RFC AGM held on Thursday 9th August 2018
Venue: Memorial Hall, Caldy RFC
In Attendance: Jed Bartley Rob Rainer Margaret Walker Pete Owen Tom McMahon Rod Walker Colin Free John Mallon John Butler Doug Thomas Lynn Ridgway Gary Devaney Nev Tilley Roger Flashman Eddie Wilson Terry Birchall Paul Harrison Gary Sanders Bev Sanders Graeme Birch Phil Wylie Elaine Wylie Ant Fletcher Mike Fletcher Tim Kilpatrick Simon Mountney Lisa Cockburn
Apologies: Bob Baty Gareth Davies Dickie Smith Andy Blackstock Al Roberts Mark Wilson Tom Lowndes Frank Price Phil Oliver Graham Armitage
1. Jed Bartley read the Notice to convene the 94th Caldy RFC AGM.
2. Phil Wylie proposed acceptance of the minutes of the 2016 Caldy RFC AGM which Roger Flashman seconded.
3. Jed Bartley presented the Chairman’s report:-
At the end of my second year as Chair, I’m delighted to report on another fantastic year of rugby here at Caldy and also in some of the far-flung places the 1st XV now find themselves visiting.
A key goal for the first season with a team playing in National One was to enjoy our rugby and ideally stay there – I think its fair to say we’ve achieved both with the 1st XV in particular delivering.
Elsewhere across the club our 2nd XV had a great season securing 2nd place in the Halbro North West Leagues Premier League and our 3rds had a few run outs enjoying the rugby and the social side!
Mini and Junior sections have also gone well and Sunday morning is still probably one of the nicest sights for me at Caldy when we’ve got the next generations finding out what rugby is all about. I might not have said that on the morning of the Junior Festival when it was snowing but it all went ahead and we actually got some great feedback from the teams who took part.
One thing I am delighted to see growing at Caldy is the Touch rugby and notably our Ladies Touch Team (The Caldy Cougars) who only came together after last year’s 7s but went on to win their first tournament in their first year. Look forward to seeing them continue to grow as an integral part of the wider rugby club and developing this remains one of my aims for the coming year.
Away from the pitch, the social side of things has been as enjoyable as ever - we’ve welcomed a host of new clubs to Caldy and reminded them what grass roots rugby is really like, what a changing room should look like and taught a few of them a lesson in good hospitality and Northern Roast Dinners!
Credit to Sue and her team for the hospitality and catering and I’m sure you’ll agree the bar and kitchen improvements undertaken last summer have worked well – I’m not sure I ever publicly thanked all who supported that and made it possible but hopefully you know who you are.
We also had our biggest Past Players Lunch this season and one of our best Sevens events for many years – a huge thank you to everyone involved in making those events happen as they’re not easy, require a huge amount of hard work but both events were a real success for the rugby club.
On the Commercial side, we’ve seen a change and now have Catherine Sandow on board leading our Partnerships activity. Catherine brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to raise our profile and generate some much needed commercial revenue.
The Caldy Business Club has come ‘in-house’ under Catherine’s management and is now in its second year with membership having been increased and a great schedule of events lined up. One partnership which won’t unfortunately continue is Crabbies. Crabbies have changed their marketing strategy and withdrawn from local clubs to focus their sponsorship efforts on clubs in Championship and above so in April they exercised the break clause they had in our two year deal.
With change comes opportunity though, and I’m delighted to announce that we have secured a new sponsor for the front of the 1st XV Shirt in Proteinium who have signed up for a one year deal.
Some of you may be familiar with Proteinium as the high protein, pork based snack which also doubled up in place of the carpet in the marquee after the 1st XV food fight at the Past Players.
Great to have Chris and Proteinium on board and after a year with booze on the front of our shirts good to see we’ve moved onto pork scratchings! A picture of the new shirt is around to look at.
Continuing to open new income streams and become more commercial remains something we must do, as whilst we enjoy some extremely supportive and generous sponsors, the club doesn’t run without significant cost across the board.
Doing more to stand on our own two feet is fundamental to our long term success and something I remain committed to, although, as ever, a massive thank you to all of our sponsors who contribute, support and fund what we do at Caldy.
As always, the year has seen some challenges and whilst we always work through things as we go I think it’s fair to say there is still work to do on certain aspects and so we should always challenge ourselves to be better at what we do.
This probably aligns to my goal to get more of our members involved on a regular basis, whether this is taking on a formal role or simply volunteering at whatever level and in whatever capacity.
The Vision, Values and roles we pulled together as a committee last year remain pertinent and raising awareness of these is something I’m keen to do with all members this coming year.
We will be using the website more and more as a communication method and things such as the International Ticket ballot is now fulfilled through via the website. We are also about to launch booking of pre-match meals through the website to bring better structure to this and free up Phil and Elaine from collecting money on the day!
So, another year passed and quite a bit covered, quite a bit still to do but I hope you’ll agree we’re continuing to go well and heading in the right direction.
It is quite easy sometimes to get caught up in things which are happening, politics and egos but as a membership and a group of people, after all that’s what a club is, we should take a bit more time to reflect on the good and enjoy what we have here – I’m not sure we do that frequently enough.
I’d just like to take a moment now to recognise some of the people who make things tick.
Thank You as ever to the Last of the Summer Wine for the endless hours of maintenance they do, for giving us the pitches to play on and for all the other commitment which often goes unseen.
Massive Thank you to the committee for all the support they give me and for their commitment and dedication to the club – often a difficult and thankless task but they do a fantastic job so thank you.
To our president Rod Walker for his wise counsel and unerring commitment and support.
To Mike Ruddock who after many years of tireless commitment has stepped down from pitch allocations - in recognition of this commitment I’d like to propose that Mike be made a Life Member, this was supported by all meeting attendees.
Finally then, a personal thank you to each and every one of our members, players – of every age-, parents, partners, volunteers (willing and unwilling) who all come together to make Caldy what it is.
Thank you and here’s to another successful season.
4. On behalf of Gareth Davies, Jed Bartley also presented the Director of Rugby’s report:-
We came we saw we didn’t quite conquer but everyone in National One now knows who Caldy RFC are.
I have to say that I have never felt pressure like this season and the squad were the same. In any other year in National One, we would have been safe by March but a very competitive league and a number of sides packed with dual registered players meant we had to fight until the second to last game to ensure we stayed in the league. In many ways, this was more stressful than the previous season when Sale FC chased us right to the end but we got there in the end. We were rightly everyone’s favourites to be relegated but we continued to play our brand of rugby and eventually earned the chance to play in National One again next season.
The first game of the season against Bishop Stortford was an eye opener as the hosts played like the Harlem Globetrotters but in some ways that showed me there was a hope. We managed to secure a try bonus point which we became very good at over the season and really should have secured another 3-4 more wins than we did in games that we contrived to lose from a position of strength.
The pack stood up to every side in the league and were very rarely out played or outmuscled and the backs at times played some fantastic rugby. Highlights of the season include the great comeback against Loughborough Students away, the win again Birmingham Moseley in the last minute and the Fylde game was sensational with a strong and passionate crowd behind us.
The 1st XV showed again their willingness to work and fight for each other and we had much success in the latter part of games when our superior fitness shone through. The 1st XV finished the league in 11th place with 12 wins and 18 losses. We are aware that this season will be harder again as teams work out what we do but the lads have been working hard all pre season on new patterns and drills and we will be doing our best to stay in this league.
A great deal of credit has to be given to Simon Verbickas and Andi Kyriacou who prepared the players for every game as well as Stu Vance and Mark Birkill who ensured we were one of the fittest teams in the league. Many thanks to Trudi and Leigh and the rest of the medical team as well as the doctors who volunteered their time this season to meet the requirements of the league.
A special thanks to clubman of the year Gary Sanders who has been incredible for not only me but for the whole squad during the season. Gary looks after everyone every Saturday and contributes a huge amount to getting the players ready for a Saturday and organising the kit etc for the lads. Not only that but he has produced three fine lads who are all playing senior rugby at Caldy and the boys are a huge credit to Gary and Bev and will develop into excellent players.
At the end of the season, Caldy had almost all of the 1st XV squad selected for Cheshire, more recognition for the work we have done over the season.
This season has been a massive success for the 2XV but what do people see as success? I sat down with Andrew Soutar in preseason and came up with the targets he would judge himself on in terms of success for last season and they were:
* How many lads would step up from 2XV rugby to 1XV rugby?
* Would training numbers throughout the season be at a good standard?
* How many colts could we transfer from colt’s rugby into senior rugby?
Looking at the above I am really happy with what has been achieved. The following players have taken the step up from 2XV team to 1XV – Liam Isaacs, Alex White, Luke Harris, Carl Southan, Dom Gosling, Jake Smethurst, Jordan Tisdale, Richard Vasey, Tom Cornall.
Training throughout the season has been well attended. I do not think that there are many clubs around that have over 40 players training week by week. It has been a great season for the club transferring players from the junior / senior colts to the senior club. A lot of this credit needs to go to Simon Verbickas due to him wanting to include them during preseason in integrate them into senior squads.
I very much doubt there are other clubs in National 1 who allow the junior / colts to train with them and also train as a 1XV / 2VXV team throughout the year. Thank you to the following players who have made the transition from colt’s rugby to senior rugby. Greg Jones - Matt Underwood - Rob Lowndes - Charlie Benjamin, Tom Fletcher, Oli Pearson, Aaron So.
Not only that but in achieving all of the above Andrew and his excellent coaching team have also managed to play some pretty special rugby at times and but for losing some crucial players mid to late January I am sure we would have pushed for the coveted league title. This season may well be different again. As you are all aware a number of our 2nd XV players have made the short journeys to Anselmians and Birkenhead Park, so I foresee this year as one to rebuilding. We will be a very young squad with several of last years colts sticking around to play senior rugby and whilst the results may not happen straight away the experiences will prepare them for the coming seasons and potentially 1st XV rugby.
The 3rd XV improved yet again last year as we managed to fulfil seven friendly fixtures and the goal again this year is to move it on. Whilst I do not think that we are in a position to join a league as availability of players is not consistent enough
The Senior Squad has had a very short summer having been called back to training in mid June and since then the players have worked tirelessly on their preparation and fitness ahead what is bound to be another tough season for all of our players. We have recruited very well in my opinion over the past few months and hopefully have another squad capable of coping at National One level.
There has been some major changes behind the scenes of the senior squad with Andi Kyriacou moving on taking up the forwards coaching role at Nottingham RFC but we have moved quickly to secure the services of Matt Cairns as forwards / defence coach who most recently has been at Wirral as Head Coach but during his playing days played for Sale Sharks. Northampton Saints, Saracens and Harlequins as well as England. Matt has made a big impact already and will be a great addition to the squad.
Over the summer months we have lost a few players with Louis McGowan, Liam Isaacs and Danny Salisbury moving to Anselmians to try out 1st XV rugby and Carl Southan who is doing the same but at Birkenhead Park. I wish all of them well but have a feeling we may see one or more again in the future. Tom Concu has decided to try his luck in the Championship with Cornish Pirates and Nick Gray is off to Italy to try a season of rugby out there, we wish them well.
Tom Sanders and Rhys Hayes will continue in their roles after fantastic first seasons in National One.
Simon Verbickas has made a number of signings over the past few months to strengthen the whole senior squad. The following players have signed / rejoined the squad over the summer:- § Rob O’Donnell (France) Rob is a huge prop from Widnes and has most recently played in France after playing for several season in the premiership for Sale Sharks and Worcester § Jaco Oosthuysen (Mold) Jaco is a monster of a prop from South Africa who moved to UK a few years ago and has been playing for Mold and is keen to try National One § Lewis Barker (Macclesfield) Lewis has been a permanent fixture in the Cheshire squad for several seasons and can play in a number of positions across the back line. Lewis is an exciting runner with the ball and will prove an excellent foil for Rhys Hayes and is equally capable at 15 § Mike Barlow (Sandbach) Mike is a 29 year old centre and has been around Cheshire rugby for some time. Mike played previously in National One with Macclesfield before suffering a serious leg injury but is keen to prove he can do it and has been superb through the training sessions so far this season § Lucas Titherington (Birkenhead Park) Lucas is another centre and represented Cheshire 1st XV this summer at the age of 18 years old. Lucas is going to University but will dual register with us so that he can play on his returns from university and as we need him § Luke Hibberd (Chinnor) Luke signed on loan last season from Chinnor and played almost every game in the second half of last season and has not signed for Caldy despite the travelling distance from Rugby where he lives § Max Himbury (Exeter Uni) Max is an exciting winger from Chester unfortunately injured himself during the 7s season but should be back in September / October § Rory Hardman (Durham Uni) Rory is another winger / full back who played for Sale Sharks as a youth and is keen to try National One § Max Evans (Loughborough Uni) Max has been away for three years but is keen to get back involved and is a strong back rower who will push for a place in the squad § Ewan Ashman and Ciaran Booth (Sale Sharks) Ewan and Ciaran are dual registered from Sale Sharks Ewan is a hooker and Ciaran is a back rower and will be available for most of the season
There are several other new recruits due to arrive over the next month when universities re-start and we are still looking to strengthen in a few key areas.
This year’s Colts set up has yet again produced a number of good prospects for the senior squad who are going to university locally and are keen to develop their rugby with the likes of Joe Sanders, Jack Pritchard, Ross Atkinson, Greg Jones, Charlie Benjamin and Aaron So.
As a squad the senior colts squad did not bring home any silverware but we have yet again produced quality players for our senior sides. The Junior Colts had a decent season and still maintain good squad numbers
This was another very successful year for the Minis and Juniors at Caldy. The numbers have been maintained and the most important thing of all is that the kids are enjoying themselves whilst becoming better rugby players. Our coaching standards are improving all the time with the continued support of the Coaching the Coaches programme as well as the club encouraging the coaches to follow the RFU pathway.
Our Minis section is the pride of the club. The Minis are a credit to the hard work and dedication of everyone who gives up their time and puts in all of the effort that our coaches, managers and parents do over the course of the season. Many thanks to Lisa Cockburn for all of her efforts as Minis Chair.
The touch rugby section has grown greatly over the past year with up to 30 people attending the Wednesday and Sunday sessions of all ages and the touch rugby at the sevens was great to see. Many thanks to Kim and Lee Matthews for all of their efforts this season. This season we have gone even further as the women’s touch rugby side the Caldy Cougars have won the league in their first season. Many thanks to the women for all of their efforts as well as their coaches and I am sure they will go from strength to strength next season. The Cougars have added an extra dimension to the club socially and are always trying to recruit players and coaches and will no doubt develop over the next few years.
The 7s was a superb event thanks for everyone involved and those who arranged it and we hope this continues to improve for next season.
Discipline has had a dramatic turnaround this season with only three red cards in all of our teams over the season and we will be reiterating our standards again during pre season in the hope that it continues for this season too
Just some thanks I have to give to Rod, Jed, Margaret, Lynn, Tom, Tom, Lisa, Andy and Tim you do incredible jobs all season long that most do not see or recognise. For the most part, we have a smooth running rugby section and this is down to their hard work and tireless emailing, phone calling and pestering of the members to ensure that everything happens when it is meant to.
To Dicky and his ground staff, our pitches are the envy of the north west your knowledge is invaluable as well as the man hours you all put in behind the scenes not just on the fields but the club house and its surrounding areas.
A huge thanks to all of our supporters on and off the field. The crowds at home this season were incredible and made a big difference to the players as well as seeing big Caldy contingents at Rosslyn Park, Fylde and Hull Ionians.
And finally, my hopes for the season. This has been a really tough year on and off the field and I am sure this season will be just the same as we strive to maintain our position in North West rugby at all levels. The main goal for us all is that our members enjoy their rugby be it as a player or supporter and we will do our best to achieve this goal again this season. I do say this every season but volunteers are still required even if you can only spare a few hours a week we would be more than grateful for your time. Hope you all enjoy 2018/19 season!!!
Eddie Wilson asked what dual registration actually means – Roger Flashman stated that those players on the fringe of Premiership squads are available for National 1 sides such as Caldy. John Mallon asked whether we could seek additional dual registrations if required – Gareth Davies stated this is the case.
5. Margaret Walker presented the provisional Treasurer’s report:-
Caldy Rugby Football Club
Provisional Income & Expenditure Financial Period ended 30th June 2018
2018 2017 Income (13 months) 12 months to 31st May)
Subscriptions 63,535 53,538 Donations 81,395 39,142 Marketing & Commercial 112,050 64,071 Match Receipts 9,751 11,701 Rugby & Social Events 7,157 1,374 RFU & Cup Funding 15,314 6,454 Coaching Funding 11,600 11,600 Merchandising Income 462 649
Total Income 301,264 188,529
Expenditure
Playing / Match Expenses 223,652 171,351 Coaching Expenses 11,600 11,600 Maintenance Expenses 627 320 Administrative Expenses 508 508 Bank Charges 675 454 Management Levy 10,146 14,840
Total Expenditure 247,208 199,073
Depreciation 2,053 2,053
Surplus/ (Deficit) 52391 (12,597)
Exceptional Expenditure
PAYE Previous Years 49,233 0 49,233 0
Surplus/ (Deficit) after Exceptional Items 3158 (12,597) Caldy Rugby Football Club
Balance Sheet as at 30th June 2018
2018 2017 (31st May)
Fixed Assets
Floodlights Cost 21709 21709 Scrum Machine Additions 0 0 Epos System Depreciation -16,484 -14,431 5225 7278
Current Assets
Bank 920 801 Stock 7891 14070 Prepayments 0 0 Debtors 12982 15567
21793 30438
Total Assets 27018 37716
Current Liabilities
Trade Creditors (VAT) 17663 25783 Loan from Members 5000 15000
Total Current Liabilities 22663 40783
Net Current Assets 4355 -3067
Treasurer’s Report for the Financial year ended 30th June 2018
One of the requirements of our promotion to National 1 was that our financial year end must be the th same as the RFU’s so to that end this year’s Accounts have been prepared to the 30 June 2018 – a 13-month period.
INCOME
Subscriptions Whilst still receiving a substantial amount of income from Members Subscriptions, and the majority now on Direct Debit we are still not collecting all that we should, and this is going to be a priority for the coming Season. The Mini’s and Junior Sections have been closely monitored thanks to Lisa and Tim, together with the Age Group Managers – it is still the Senior and Non- Playing Membership that needs to be more closely monitored as some people seem to think it is almost a ‘game; not to contribute.
The new system on the RFU website makes it easier for Members to pay directly On-Line and also for us to monitor who has paid and who hasn’t but it isn’t without it’s ‘hiccups’ – one of which is that the Direct Debit’s do not automatically renew each Season, so we have not yet transferred over those on the First Capital System. I understand that this is something that GMS/RFU are working on, so it should (hopefully) be available soon.
Donations Donations have increased this year, partly to cover the additional travelling cost, but mainly to cover the additional PAYE Liability. These are, as always, a very valuable and welcome contribution to our funds so Thank you to all those who have contributed.
Marketing & Commercial Our core sponsorship remained the same as last year and will be the same for 2018/19.
We had additional income from Crabbies (£5k) and Player Sponsorship (£6k) – although some of this was offset against the players Subscriptions and Kit.
With the change to the dining arrangements last Season we were restricted with the number of Matches for which we could offer Match Sponsorship however this has been addressed for the coming Season and a Sponsors Table is available for every Home Match. We have all seen the success of the lunches and we could easily offer Lunch to twice as many but, sadly at the moment, space restricts and the option of a Marquee is only financially viable if it is used for other events and not just Saturday Lunch. We reviewed our Commercial policy/Club promotion again at the end of 2017 and Appointed Catherine Sandow as our Commercial/Partnership Manager as we were not receiving sufficient Commercial Revenue to achieve our aim of reducing our reliance on our generous Sponsors. Catherine came very highly recommended and has worked on many major fundraising schemes – although I think she has come to realise that, here at Caldy RFC, we are a little different! That said Catherine has done a great job taking over the Business Club mantle from Peter Scrivener and turning it from a Sports Personality based breakfast event to a Business/Networking group and Catherine has plans to add more to what is on offer to the Members. A big Thank – you to Peter and Jack Porter for setting us on the right track and for the £5k contribution to the Pot!
Catherine, and her assistant Anna, are presently working to fill all the remaining sponsored Match places as well as increase the Profile of the Club and bring in much needed additional Revenue.
Match Receipts Attendance was much increased, partly due to the introduction of a Season Ticket to each Family Member. Many have taken them up and, whilst not increasing our Gate Revenue it has helped with the Bar and Catering Sales on a Saturday. Match Gate Receipts were nearly 50%, with an average of £8/900 per Match as opposed to £5/600 last Season, and hopefully that growth will continue in the coming Season. Unfortunately, the costs have also increased considerably as we have had to produce more Programme’s for each Game. Our Season Tickets remain excellent value for money and there is no proposal to increase the cost this year.
Rugby and Social Events We held several successful Events this season with the Past Players and Sevens generating much needed additional Revenue. The Kenny Logan Sportsman’s was also a great success with the proceeds going to Billy Woof.
We are hoping to replicate the turnout at next Season’s Past Players – but the ticket price will be considerably increased as anyone who attended this year got an absolute bargain!
RFU Funding RFU funding still does not cover all our travelling cost, and last year it was only about 60%. We had a very steep learning curve this year with our travel, a bit of trial and error with the Trains and Coaches, but overall it worked, and we now know what is required for the coming Season. Cashflow issues meant that we were unable to pre-book some of the Trains as early as possible, so this increased the cost, but this will not be the case this Season as they will all be pre-booked as soon as the RFU Funding is received.
Merchandising (Shop) Income The members ‘shopping’ habits continue to change and, despite the much-improved catering there is still a noticeable reduction in Clubhouse attendance. The continuation of the Shop as it is presently under review and we are looking at other ways to provide the kit.
Expenditure The significant increase in normal expenditure has been the Playing Costs, and Travel costs. These additional costs have been covered by our main sponsors and they have committed to supporting the Squad for this coming Season as well.
There was a One-Off additional expense of a historic underpaid PAYE that arose in August 2017. This again was covered by our main sponsors but dis add to the cashflow challenges last season. This has now all been resolved, and we are fully up to date with all HMRC Liabilities.
Going Forward – 2018/19 Season Remaining in National League 1 for a second season brings new challenges and excitement with 3 new Clubs to visit and visit us. We will continue to increase the Club profile and generate new members and Supporters and to ensure that everyone ‘pays their way’. With Catherine, and our new Sponsors on board we will endeavour to start moving towards a more Commercial/Business type entity whilst still maintaining our ‘warm, friendly, welcoming Club philosophy.
Rod Walker asked about lunch table provision for the Hockey section and Margaret Walker will follow up with Catherine Sandow and Sue Tamburrini.
Roger Flashman asked about the number of lunch seats available for club members – Jed Bartley stated that there are 68 seats available, but probably only 36 seats available for members. Jed did add that more work is required on this point to ensure we are not penalising members who do want to dine as well as the price that will be charged for the meal.
Margaret Walker will look into the possibility of laying on a supporter’s coach for the away game at Sale FC on Sat 8th Sept.
Jed Bartley highlighted that the shop maybe replaced by an online shop and will provide feedback on this initiative in due course. He also stated that a small amount of stock will be held on site to cater for the occasional player kit ‘malfunctions’. Nev Tilley asked whether kit be available in display cases – this will be looked into. Ant Fletcher asked whether standard kit (e.g. gum shields) will be available behind the bar - this will also be looked into further.
Rod Walker asked about the £30k donation for the development of the kitchen – Margaret Walker stated this donation has been handed over to CSCL.
John Mallon asked about whether members should pay a deposit or pay up front for the full cost of a train ticker for away games – Margaret Walker stated that members should pay up front for all tickets.
Roger Flashman asked about whether the accounts could show the true income and expenditure from each sports section which is then handed over to CSCL. Margaret Walker stated that this will be raised with CSCL accordingly. PUBLIC
Paul Harrison raised concerns regarding CSCL accounts as they are not available on the CSCL website, nor available, when requested from the CSCL Secretary. Paul also stated he will be raising these concerns at the CSCL AGM which is being held on Thurs 23rd August.
Roger Flashman raised concerns about the Friends of Caldy monthly draw – Margaret Walker stated this has been raised and is under investigation with CSCL.
Doug Thomas asked about the PAYE investigation for the 1st team players – Margaret Walker stated that this was an oversight on her behalf, but this has now been paid following support from sponsors. Jed Bartley also stated that PAYE is now paid monthly.
Doug Thomas also asked about the commercial manager’s salary - Margaret Walker stated that this is netted off against the commercial income stream accordingly. Pete Owen asked what return we see against the £1,500 cost – Jed Bartley stated that management of the Business Club and the tidying up of pitch board’s etc. means that the commercial stream is running at a profit. Jed did agree we should however account separately for this going forward.
John Mallon asked whether membership fees will be altered, depending upon which league the 1st XV play in. Margaret Walker stated that we will look into putting a members list on display
John Butler proposed the acceptance of the provisional Treasurer’s report, seconded by Roger Flashman.
6. AOB 6.1 The election of Al Roberts as the new rugby President to replace Rod Walker was proposed by John Butler and seconded by Gary Devaney. Jed Bartley reiterated his thanks for Rod’s tireless work. Paul Harrison objected to this proposal as he feels that as CSCL accounts still require investigation. However, as this election is the Committee’s decision, the election of Al Roberts as Rugby Club President was agreed.
6.2 The Audit of Accounts proposed by Bob Baty (for both CSCL and Rugby) will be taken forward as a formal process which Jed Bartley will raise with his counterpart at CSCL accordingly.
6.3 Provision of disabled toilets was raised by John Mallon – Jed Bartley stated that this has been discussed and with the potential removal of the shop will, together with improved ladies toilets, be investigated as a priority.
The Rules for Caldy RFC have been updated accordingly following the recommendations from Roger Flashman. Tom McMahon will ensure these are published on the Caldy RFC website accordingly.
PUBLIC
6.4 The management of the website is being investigated by Gareth Davies to see if any graduates from JMU are willing to take the site content on as a project and this is also being supported by Catherine Sandow. Gary Devaney stated his displeasure about the lack of advertisement of pre-season fixtures together with news of new signings – Jed Bartley said he will pick this up with Gareth Davies accordingly.
6.5 Colin Free stated that GMS training sessions has been arranged by Cheshire RFU at Chester RUFC on 20th Aug – Jed Bartley stated that this will be flagged on the club website and also that appropriate GMS training will be arranged for age groups accordingly.
6.6 Phil Wylie and Roger Flashman raised the finance issue with regard to pitch maintenance over the next couple of seasons. Jed Bartley stated this would be taken on board as a committee discussion point once a report has been provided by Last of the Summer Wine.
7. Rod Walker presided over the re-election of Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary with Jed Bartley proposed by Lynn Ridgway and seconded by John Mallon as Chairman, Margaret Walker proposed as Treasurer proposed by Elaine Wylie and seconded by Doug Thomas and Tom McMahon proposed as Secretary by Lisa Cockburn and seconded by Phil Wylie.
Jed Bartley declared the meeting closed at 20.45 and thanked all members for their attendance.
PUBLIC