SYDENHAM CRICKET CLUB INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2013-2014 PRESENTED AT THE 119TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SYDENHAM BOWLING CLUB TUESDAY 26 AUGUST 2014 CLUB WEBSITE - WWW.SYDENHAMCRICKET.COM/JOOMLA/ FACEBOOK –SYDENHAM CRICKET CLUB SYDENHAM CRICKET CLUB OFFICE BEARERS 2013 /2014 SEASON PATRON Mr J Harliwich PRESIDENT Mr G Harris PAST PRESIDENT Mr I Thomson VICE PRESIDENT Mr G Dann, Mr T Agnew MENS CLUB CAPTAIN Mr A Chisnall WOMENS CLUB CAPTAIN Mr A Chisnall, Miss E Scarf HONORARY SECRETARYMr Mr B B Carpenter Carpenter HONORARY TREASURER Mr K Congdon HONORARY AUDITOR Mr J Smith JUNIOR CLUB Mr R McCracken HONORARY SOLICITOR COMMITTEE Mr M Loose, Mr N Smithson, Mr J Auty, Mr F Smith DELEGATES TO THE CCA Mr G Harris, Mr A McKenzie LIFE MEMBERS (Men) Messrs S Burns, D Gallop, J Harliwich, G Harris, T Kerr, J O’Sullivan, K Prusas, F Rice, B Salt, R Thomas, W Thomson, B Walker, D Heard, P McKenzie, I Thomson, R Dann, T White, A Chisnall, M Pearcy, T Danenberg. LIFE MEMBERS (Women) Mesdames R Martin, T McDonald, P Quickenden, P Carrick PRESIDENTS REPORT It is my pleasure to present the 119th Annual Report to the members of the Sydenham Cricket Club. From a competitive playing perspective this was a much improved season. Our premier Mens team took out the T20 Trophy- finished mid table in the 50 over Comp and finished 2nd in the 2 day format. We know we will lose a couple of players from our Prem team at least with Phil Robinson moving to Queensland and Arnie Yugaraja moving north. However on the upside at the time of this going to Press, Chris Harris has been appointed Captain/ Coach for the Prem team and we have signed George Harding a very talented young amateur from the UK for the season. He is a very handy left arm spinner and more than useful bat, and we are looking forward to him making a big impact this season. Glen Hooper has made himself available again this season as Prem Manager and I cannot understate the huge value Glen provides in this demanding role. Our 2A and 2B sides had mixed success-Geordie Dann continued with his side in the 2B comp and performed creditably. Our 2A side performed strongly at times but was hampered by lack of players at times, and even defaulted a game. This is a concern and is being addressed in the off season. Our afternoon grades enjoyed mixed success, but I know they enjoyed their cricket. You guys are so much a part of the backbone of our club, always supporting our social functions and turning up to after match festivities, and the committee are very motivated to ensure this continues to be the case. I really hope we can continue maintain our number of afternoon teams going forward, as this is the strength of our club.Your committee also acknowledges the work you do around our Social activities also, and whilst the evenings are great fun , the income is also very much appreciated. This season coming we are also taking over from our Junior committee, the administration of our three top womens sides; the premier Womens and Div one and two teams. This is part of our concentrated efforts to rebuild our Premier Womens team and supporting sides. At the time of writing this your committee is working hard to secure a couple of Scottish International players to bolster our playing ranks and we are confident we can secure more Senior players as we strengthen our Premier team. We will also concentrate coaching efforts on our Div one and Two players as they will be the future strength of our Womens teams. This season we are hopeful of providing much improved playing surfaces on our 3 blocks and practice wicket. It is a huge frustration to take back the park after it has been churned up with a wet season of rugby, and with no indication from Council on when the park will be levelled and re-turfed , our challenges remain. However on a positive note we have secured the services of a very experienced groundsman Tom O Carroll, and with our equipment in good condition and a kind spring I am hopeful that we can present much improved pitches this season. You will see from our annual accounts that financially we continue to hold our head above water— well sort of!!\ Our financial support from the various gaming trusts continues to be difficult. We know that every one of these funders is under pressure from all areas of community activities (including our schools) and the available funds are therefore being spread to an increasingly wider group of organisations within the community. This trend is of great concern to your committee, as income from our subs is such a small part of our total requirement and requesting a sub from you of $400 or more would cause massive player departures from our club. Currently all areas of expense are under review, and clearly your committee must engage the businesses in our community to seek Corporate sponsorship. In addition it is a priority to investigate any other areas of revenue raising which can provide much needed revenue to keep our club viable. In saying all of this I do want to give heartfelt thanks to the funders who do support us Air Rescue Services Ltd The Lion Foundation NZ Community Trust Pub Charity The Southern Trust. Cricket Express. Global Homes. Without the support of the above trusts, and Organisations we simply would not have a cricket Club. Finally I do want to say a huge thank you to our committee who all work tirelessly to ensure continue to be the Club of Choice. I am pleased to report that all have expressed their intention to continue in their roles within the committee this year, as have I, as we have much to do to ensure we continue to grow and prosper as a club. Graham Harris President MEN’SCLUB CAPTAINS REPORT The season has ended on a high with the club picking up three Christchurch Metro major trophies for the season. Earlier this season the Premier Men won the 20/20 competition. The 3C Cardinals finished of the season winning the final of their grade (defending only 72!!) and the Presidents Cardinals held onto the Doug Frampton trophy played for by the teams in this grade on a week by week basis. One of the biggest achievements by the club this season was the addition of a Premier Women’steam to the club. Led by Emma Scarf and coached by Ivan Thomson and Kevin McGowan, this side struggled for the season result wise but made up for it with the commitment of the girls to get out there and give it 100 percent. This team has much potential which will see them continue to develop into next season. Again this season I had the opportunity to play in many of the sides and it was pleasing to see everyone getting out there and giving it a go and enjoying cricket. We have again this season have seen many youth players start to come thru the South West Youth grades and into the club teams. I must thank all the captains for their support over the season and thank them for their patience and hard work when trying to get there teams on the field. This year’sprize giving saw one of our biggest turnouts with over 100 members, WAGs, family and friends there on the final night of the season in the Bowling Club. And a big welcome to the Premier Women and Div 1/2 girls who also came along on the night. There was certainly a big list of trophies presented on the night. Thanks to Hoops for being MC on the night, Bert for the raffles and to everyone who helped to make it a great night. This was followed up by an absorbing beer pong competition where many showed there skill (or lack of) in getting ping pong balls into cups of beer. Thanks to Geordie Dann for his organisation of this event. We must also thank the bowling club for their support and use of the clubrooms and bowling greens over the season. It certainly is a pleasant place to come back at the end of the playing day whether for a quiet drink or a round of bowls. Hopefully members will support the clubrooms more regularly next season. At times it was disappointing to see so few back at the end of day. We probably have one of the best clubrooms around in Christchurch so let’suse them. Remember to stay up to date with the club scene on Facebook and on the club website. Andrew Chisnall Club Captain OBITUARIES In January this year Sydenham lost one of its best when Paul Shanks tragically passed away at just 56 years of age. Paul joined the club around 1976 and he played a lot of his early cricket in Third grade. I got to know Paul well in the 1980’sand we became good friends thereafter. He and I were instrumental in getting a one day team off the ground in the mid to late 80’sin a grade which later “morphed”into the Cavaliers grade .The strength of this side grew and we became one of the best teams in the grade culminating in winning the competition in the 1997-98 season under the astute leadership of Paul Shanks. Paul was a talented wicketkeeper and handy middle order batsman playing many valuable innings to either dig us out of trouble or to take us to victory.