29th October 2013
1) Get the beers in - beers were got in
2) Minute taker - Mr Clarke volunteered to take the minutes.
3) Apologies for absence were received from: Alex Woodcraft, Andy Rose (who arrived later), Martin Pirongs, John Kern, Tony Alveranga, Anthony Jagan, Dave Terry and Aymon Spee, but not , apparently, from Andy James.
4) Approval of 2012 AGM minutes - Last year's minutes were approved without comment.
5) Chairman’s remarks – Mr Clarke addressed the intimate gathering of Taverners, wryly thanking so many members for finding their way to North Middlesex CC on a Tuesday evening.
6) New Members - The following new members were proposed and elected unanimously: John Kern, Alan Duckworth, Mohan, Dave Seymour.
7) Captain's Report – Mr Parr reviewed the season, starting with spring nets which had been a success. The introduction of coaching and emphasis on rotation of the strike had been worthwhile. In the early season we had been seemingly winning and losing alternately, but this included some classic games, notably the win over Pimlico Strollers at Ferme Park, where their last two wickets fell in sight of victory and their captain was not amused.
The results slipped away at the end of the season, finishing with 12 wins, 2 draws and 16 losses. On a positive note, this was the most wins in a season since 2002.
Overall, we enjoy good relationships with opposing teams, such as Beamers, Pimlico and Judd Street. However, our batting needs to become more consistent, if we are to win more matches. The captain also thanked senior players for setting a good tone before, during and after matches.
In stepping down as captain, Steve said he had had fun and had many good memories. He recalled Aymon getting out for a duck after his parents had travelled halfway round the world to see him. Also, Andy Rose mistakenly raising his bat on 49, then getting out without completing his 50. Steve thanked the committee and proposed a toast to RTCC. The meeting amended the toast to include our outgoing captain, and beer was drunk.
8) Secretaries' Reports -
In the unfortunate absence of all the match and fixture secretaries, Mr Clarke read out a prepared statement from the Fixture Secretary Mr Pirongs as follows:
Hello Tavs
Thanks for everyone's support this last year.
Lots of fixtures and lots of close calls has meant a busy year.
All the games we played seemed to be against friendly oppo.
Fees - Where appropriate we should be upfront about asking for 50/50 split for match fees and teas.
I would be happy to help the club for another year and if re-elected would like to keep the fixtures to around 33 a season including midweek games. This means about 6 midweek games a year. I don't know if we have the resources to play any more than this - not least of all from the fixture secretaries perspective which is an all year round job. Thanks to Ken for putting in his half of the year's work so diligently and without the use of a mobile phone or computer at home! With each fixture requiring a minimum of 4 or 5 emails just to set up then that is no mean feat!
A very important part of the fix secs duties is to notify the opposition of the likelihood of us not being able to raise a team- to give them sufficient time to find a replacement. I would ask for more clarity in the decision making as to whether we can raise a team or not. As Steve and Hugh and the other committee members will testify there has been an awful lot of 'behind the scenes' midweek activity this year trying to sort matches out due to player shortages - this in itself can soon chip away at the glamour of being in the committee !
The season is likely to commence from Sun 20th April 2014. I will strive to keep as many fixtures at our home grounds as possible and once again attempt to readdress the weighting of home games to spread them more evenly across the season.
There has been excellent communication from all committee members. Centralising all fixture emails through a club email address has helped enormously - it makes any handover much more simple and we have a record of all the clubs fixture communications and contacts for ever and ever.
Amen.
There followed a general discussion of Martin's proposals and the issues around fixtures and match arrangements. There was considerable agreement that pitch fees etc should be split on a 50/50 basis between clubs where viable. Mr Parr advocated proposing this to all opponents while Mr Clarke was keen to point out those occasions where it wouldn't be appropriate. Rajat Lal thought it an advantage that the system would reduce our financial exposure on any individual fixture.
Mr Pirongs' suggestion of dropping some of the midweek fixtures met with a mixed response. Mr Parr and Mr Brooks felt it would not help Sunday availability. Chris Brooks thought dropping August Bank Holiday fixtures would be sensible. It was proposed to general agreement that having an intra-taverner game as the opening fixture would be a good idea. Overall, no specific proposals were voted in at the meeting, but future Fixture and Match Secretaries would be trusted to take account of the various views and adapt the processes accordingly.
9) Kit -
Chris Brooks volunteered to review the kit situation for the meeting. Last year we acquired a kitbag, balls, a £10 bat and two pairs of batting gloves. Also a helmet found at Highgate Woods. This year we will need one maybe two bats, and more cricket balls. A trip to Morantz shop was proposed, while Mr Clarke offered to try and obtain some cheap balls via Duncan Fearnley.
10) Beers were got in/out
11) Treasurer's Report – As nobody had heard from Mr Bailey, all the meeting had to go on was the information from
Mr Parr that the club account contained £777 on 12th November [subsequent to the meeting, cheques were cashed by both
Highate Irregulars and the Walker Ground, and petty cash paid in by Ed Bailey, leaving the year end total of £792]. Nets had broken even, and the block booking discount was deemed a success. Mr Birchall carried the meeting with him when he asked that Mr Bailey provide some more detailed financial figures as soon as was practical.
In the absence of any other information the meeting provisionally approved the Subs and Match fees remaining at £20(subs), £12(sunday) and £6(midweek), subject to adjustment at an EGM in the Spring.
12) Election of Officers
Chair: Simon Clarke re-elected unopposed.
Treasurer: Andy Pacey and Rajat Lal both volunteered. After brief discussion between the two, Mr Pacey stepped down and Rajat Lal was elected unopposed.
Fixture Secretary: Martin Pirongs was elected unopposed.
Match Secretary: No Volunteers. Mr Clarke suggested breaking the job into smaller bite-size chunks, but still no volunteers. It not being clear if Hugh Evans might be persuadable to continue in the post, it was agreed to leave the post vacant for now and to make further arrangements at a later date.
Captain: Chris Brooks stepped forward and was elected unopposed.
Vice Captain: Hugh Evans was nominated and elected unopposed.
13) Any Other Business
Tour Organiser – Rajat Lal volunteered to take this on. Andy Pacey to pass on advice and info re accommodation..
Recruitment – Andy Rose volunteered to design a poster we can put up in various local pubs (Railway, Compasses, Vic Stakes). Chris Brooks was prepared to visit these and other pubs if absolutely necessary. Gumtree was suggested, as we had found a couple of players from that source in recent years.
Xmas Do - Simon Clarke was making arrangements and hoped to announce a date and venue soon. It was suggested that Bass Moment nominations be sought in advance.
AGM Notice – It was thought that notice for the meeting had been too short, and was suggested that the date could in future be fixed before the season ended.
Addendum: Subsequent to the meeting, adjustments were made to the club account balance to reflect cheques drawn by both
Highgate Irregulars and the Walker Ground, amd petty cash paid in by Ed Bailey. This left the club with a final end of year balance of £792.
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Minutes taken by Simon Clarke