11 October 2016
Present
Those present: S Clarke, C Brooks, M Winter, A James, B Whatley, A Birchall, A Jagan, T Alveranga, G Gibbs, T Staw, G Powles, E Reilly, A Spee
1) Welcome
We arrived to find N Mid setting up for a wedding rehearsal, with much chair scraping etc. Happily, though, the bar was open..
2) Get the beers in
This did happen, and there was much rejoicing
3) Meeting admin
Guy arrived just in time to be informed he'd been nominated to take minutes (how wonderful). Last year's minutes were approved, and apologies for absence from 2016 AGM were acknowledged from Martin P, Dave T and Raj L.
4) New members
New members Tom Staw, Jim Hunt, Steve Bignell, Paul Wade, Richard Clarke, Darren Clough, Jack Latimer and Dan "Jockey" Vale were unanimously voted in.
5) Captain's Report
Chris started by thanking Tavs for the presentation at the last match of the season (at which he was presented with a Captain's Tankard as a memento of 3 year's sterling work captaining), and also for turn out by large number of Tavs at that game. Reflecting on the season, Chris noted that there have been some unfortunate injuries and incidents, in particular the early season injury to Hugh, who has been much missed since. Chris also highlighted that, despite setbacks, team spirit has been fantastic, and the tour was a great success again. The team thanked Chris again for his 3 years of leadership...
..at which point a short break was taken to help move some chairs for the wedding thingy, and the decision was taken to retire to somewhat quieter surrounds of a dressing room...
6) Fixture secretary's report
Barrie noted that while all fixtures were booked in at the start of the season, there were a couple of letdowns once we got going and it might be worth reviewing the fixture list in light of that. Chris suggested this should be looked at on a team-by-team basis. 20-20 fixtures were also discussed, Chris suggested moving these to Fridays, although it was also suggested that may be possible at N Mid, when pitches are being prepared for Saturday league matches. Guy/Greg suggested there are too many 20-20 fixtures and we'd be able do better if there were fewer. Greg also suggested that arranging a new Friendly 4 style league would be a good idea, which was agreed upon. Simon suggested a couple of new fixtures for next season, against Tetherdown Trundlers and Piccadilly Pitchers.
7) Match secretary's report
Matthias covered our issues with getting teams out this season, noting that there were a wide range of reasons for there being issues and its difficult to put a finger on one common cause. It was agreed that a 2-person fixture secretary arrangement works best. Discussed whether stricter deadlines for confirming availability would be helpful (yes in general - but may depend on circumstances), and agreed that it would be really helpful if availability can be confirmed (either way) by players further in advance. The ArrangeMyGame tool also needs to be replaced, as technical support is not provided and the system crashed at one point this season, Matthias and Guy will look into this. Also agreed with Barrie that match secretaries are to be responsible for setting up new fixtures after the season has started, if needed.
8) Treasurer's report
Raj sent his apologies for not attending AGM, but provided a report which Simon read out. Tavs made £5 overall from winter nets, and account is now at £1730, about £100 less than last year, although we bought a lot of new kit and subsidized the mini bus on tour. This season we had 19 paid-up members. Subs and match fees for next season will remain the same. In terms of spending for next year, it was agreed that a new helmet would be bought for team use, and new match balls purchased in sets so we have a spread of quality/brands (rather by buying one batch and discovering they're all naff). AJ suggested that helmets should be mandatory for batting, but having discussed it was agreed that we'd continue with the MCC Regs - which can be found on the team website. Simon also flagged that any team members can become Middlesex members for an extra £25.
9) Get more beers in
And more beers were, indeed, got in and enjoyed in the customary fashion. The wedding rehearsal seemed to be going OK.
10) Election of officers
Chairman, Match and Fixture Secretaries retained. Adrian put himself up as Treasurer and was appointed, with Chris agreeing to act as money collector/enforcer at matches. Eiran was nominated as new captain an unanimously voted in, as was Greg in the role of vice captain. Chris also proposed that High Evans be made an honorary life member of the team, which was agreed by all.
11) Recruitment
We discussed ways to recruit new players for next season. A poster is being put together to go in the Tavern and other local spots to try and encourage some newbies to contact us before the start of the next season. Guy said he'd be happy to run the team's twitter account and make it available to others on the team to use, and also to set up a public-facing facebook page so people can find us more easily. Also suggested that "networking" with club/colt sides would be a good way of recruiting new members.
12) Tour
It was agreed that this season's tour was excellent, and we'd like to do the same again. Martin wasn't present so detailed info on plans for Bath 2017 were not discussed, but it was suggested that we'd have a better chance of beating Bathampton if we were able to play them on a Saturday instead of Sunday, by which time we're collectively buggered.
13) Nets
Nets were discussed at some length (and Dom was seen trying to escape from the room before the debate was concluded). Winter nets at Finchley have been booked in by Matthias, on Monday nights from 9 January, firstly from 8-9pm and later from 9-10pm. Summer nets were discussed too and Matthias suggested indoor nets at a school or similar if possible, and it was agreed to look into this further. Eiran also highlighted Highgate Woods as a good place to net on an informal basis in Summer. Guy is going to assist Matthias with net arrangement generally.
14) AOB
- Christmas Dinner: this will be booked in for 9th Friday of December, if possible, Simon will go into the tav and book/let us know if it will need to be on a different date.
- Teas: it was suggested that teas at N Mid could be a lot better, particularly as they are expensive (this gave rise to a prolonged discussion about the nature/definition of a "good tea", during which Dom was again spotted trying to escape). It was agreed to email Barrie with notes and comments on teas, and we'd take it from there - possibly by contacting other teams to see if they agree and whether a collective request can be put together on that basis.
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Minutes by Guy Gibbs (thanks Guy)