MINUTES of AGM held on Wednesday 29^th May 2013

at the Allenburys Club, Harris Lane, Ware at 8pm.

PRESENT: Jo Swain (Chair), Colin Bullworthy (Match & Cup Secretary), Nigel Gray (Committee member), Colin Fell (Website & Printer), Ken Grethe, Bryon Gates, Ray Blakes, (Hoddesdon), Tony Maniam , Roger Slater (Allenbury’s), Derek Miles, Tony Cutbush , Dave Beggs, Wayne Boddy (Cheshunt), Mike Collins, Malcolm Norris (Grundy Park), Faith Frankel (Hertford Regional College).

Apologies: Apologies for absence were recorded from Sue Gillett (Hoddesdon) and Joe Torres (Cheshunt).

The Minutes of last year’s AGM (2012) were read and approved by Roger Slater and seconded by Mike Collins.

Matters Arising: Roger Slater raised a point about Premier Division standard players playing in lower divisions, possibly intimidating and discouraging junior opposition. He suggested a limit on how far down a player could play, based on their handicap. This was discussed, but it was pointed out that this particular situation had arisen for good reason in the past and the Match Secretary had been aware of (and had sanctioned) the situation, which was unlikely to be repeated.

Malcolm Norris mentioned the adverse effect of late starting times, particularly when younger players are involved. The flexibility of home nights was also discussed, issues arising around the number of teams with Monday as a home night. The prompt start of 7.30 would be emphasised. If at least two from one team and one from the opposition were there, the match should start. The possibility of 7pm start was rejected as impractical.

Matters to Discuss: Divisional Cups Tournament Rules

• Rule 2. Add “or divided into two pools with winners of each pool progressing to the final”.
• Rule 6. Amend last sentence to “Having once played for a team in a cup match, that player is cup-tied to that team and may not be used for any other team”.

These changes had been mentioned at last year’s AGM so were familiar to most people present. The first change is being made to give the committee flexibility to adjust the format of the tournament according to the number of teams in the league. It was acknowledged that the second change could be abused by less scrupulous teams, but the Match Secretary will be monitoring the situation. These changes were proposed as accepted by Ray Blakes, seconded by Malcolm Norris.

Chair Report: Jo thanked everyone for attending the meeting, all the committee members for their hard work throughout the year, Colin Fell for maintaining the website and for printing the handbooks and Faith for her help with refreshments at the tournaments. Obviously Rita Rowe relocating and Joe Torres recent illness had left the committee even shorter than normal, any volunteers gratefully accepted.

Pine Trophy – Before Joe’s recent illness, the rest of the committee had already decided that Joe Torres would be a worthy recipient of the trophy. This was well received by those present.

Treasurer’s report: As Joe Torres is still in hospital, there were no Treasurer’s report or statement of Accounts available. Joe is still improving and the prognosis is good, with 90%+ recovery likely. It was felt that visitors from the Table Tennis circle would soon be welcome but anyone wishing to do so should contact Tony Cutbush or Derek Miles (rather than Joe’s wife) beforehand.

Match Secretary Report: The Match Secretary thanked Allenbury’s Table Tennis Club for allowing us to hold the AGM in their premises and Hoddesdon for holding the AGM in past years. He also thanked team captains for their timely submission of result cards, but requested more care in checking the results as he had received some in which the game results were at odds with the game score line.

Colin then gave a rapid précis of the Roll of Honour for the season, promising full details in the forthcoming Newsletter. There had been 21 teams in the League last year and he hoped for the same for the 2013/14 season, however Tony Cutbush reported that the Cheshunt club could be losing their 1st team as Dave Charles is moving out of the area, Joe Torres is still in hospital, Fred Burdett is retiring and Stan Smith was a non-player last season. Colin and Tony to discuss.

The Handicap and closed tournaments were again run on three Thursdays during the season and were overall a success.

Finally, Colin reminded those present that ETTA registration was required as usual and that League fees were remaining unchanged at £35.

Election of Secretary: Colin Bullworthy has been temporarily filling this role since Rita’s departure earlier in the season, but given his other duties, offers were invited for a replacement. Roger Slater requested more details of the duties performed by the secretary and the committee provided these: 3 or 4 (max 6) committee meetings per year and dealing with voluminous communications from ETTA. The Committee would discuss this with Roger.

Election of Officers: the Chair, Match Secretary and Nigel Gray were re-elected en-bloc, proposed by Tony Maniam and seconded by Mike Collins. With Joe Torres in hospital, Nigel Gray suggested that an Assistant Treasurer be appointed to cover the Treasurer’s duties until Joe’s return. Tony Cutbush volunteered for this temporary role and was thanked for offering his services. Jo Swain felt that any bank signature issues could be easily overcome.

A.O.B.: Ken Grethe suggested the proposal for amending the minimum ages for Vets and Super-Vets (to 50 and 55 respectively) be shelved for another year as it might deter younger players generally. After discussion, it was agreed to formally propose it at next year’s AGM.

Mike Collins suggested certificates for younger players in winning divisional teams. The cost would be minimal and would encourage younger players. The certificate could probably be downloaded from the Internet and signed by the Match Secretary or Ken Grethe and then laminated. Colin B thought that this was an excellent idea and would investigate the possibility of bringing this in.

Malcolm Norris asked when the 2013/14 season team registration was required. The forms should be completed and returned to the Match Secretary by 15^th July. Malcolm also floated the idea of replacing the current home/away/home league match format with a simpler home/away format. This was discussed but rejected as it significantly reduced the number of league games being played, giving a much shorter season, which was generally felt to be undesirable.

Cheshunt and Grundy Park Table Tennis facilities are available throughout the summer on Thursday and Monday evenings respectively. Entrance fee is £3 per adult. Allenbury’s venue is also open on a Monday night for practice with no entrance fee, but prospective players should contact Tony Maniam or Roger Slater beforehand to check availability.

Faith Frankel informed us that there was a proposal to increase the ETTA fees this coming year from £6 to £8, an increase of 33%!.

The meeting closed at 9.31 pm