15th May 2023, 7pm
- Present
- Apologies
- Minutes of last AGM (2022)
- Chairpersons report – Graeme
- Treasurers report – David
- Election of officers
- AOB
- League entries for 2023/24 – Jason to give update if we have one
- Kit change proposal – Kate
- Long term vision for the club (next 5 years) – who would like to be involved in this – ask to all present
Present
| Graeme Matthews | Jason Naylor | David Dorey | Deane Baker | Sam Howitt |
| Michael Morris | Matt Pilgrim | Tom Pilgrim | Sally Pilgrim | Sam Maltby |
| Elle Holland | Kate Naylor | Fred Morris | Karen Timby | Steph Wilson |
| Jennie Bradley | Louise Pang | Charlotte Maplethorpe | Harry Maplethorpe | Arron Borst |
| Willem Borst | Mark Fravigar | Kate Amess | Tim Amess | Brian Read |
| Charlotte Morris |
Apologies
Jacob Baker, Julian Higgins, Matt Pottle, Paul Pearson, Will Baker, Tim Maltby, Zoe Moore, Barney Harris, Martin Perkins
Minutes of the last AGM
Loaded on members area for last year, no comments made and therefore all happy.
Chair Persons Report
CHAIRMANS REPORT – SPALDING HOCKEY CLUB 2022-2023
The cost-of-living crisis and inflation are affecting our daily lives as they are our club activities. We are currently shielded from most of the impact at club level as our labour force are volunteers. I sincerely thanks all those who freely give up their time to carry out all manner of activities throughout the club. I understand that some of these roles are more visible than others but all as equally important.
Like many other clubs we are finding it increasingly more difficult to recruit volunteers to cover some of the tasks and although I fully understand the increasing demands of modern life, I do hope we can begin to reverse this trend. I do fear that without the support of volunteers many of these tasks may have to be carried out by some form of paid contract. Put simply we either find more volunteers or we would have to find ways to cover the inevitable costs.
Our club ethos is that we are a family club that is run for the good and benefit of our members and our membership structure reflects this. Timely responses to captains and managers are vital to ensure the smooth running of the club. I would like to thank our younger members families and players alike in supporting the club in this. Updating the online content of the membership platform Club Buzz turned out to be more of a challenge than expected and I must apologise for the delay in solving the problems, but hopefully we are there now and if not fully functioning, pretty close to it. Many thanks to David for his hard work on this.
Each of the teams and our excellent umpiring section reported back to us at the awards ceremony in their own way, but I want to take the opportunity of thanking everyone who volunteers their time to keep these teams going. As I noted above, this is no easy task with ever an increasing amount of administration associated with getting teams out on to the field of play. I fear that it would only be in the absence of such volunteers and the consequent
lack of matches, that some people would become aware of just what goes into achieving what we manage to achieve. The same goes for fund-raising and social events of course. The social committee have again hosted some great events and a line-up of other events is being put together. We are
all looking forward to the Club Ball in June.
The economic challenges ahead will be testing for us as a club, but as we’ve already seen during the recent ‘threats’ thrown at us by Covid we are well-equipped to deal with those challenges, both through good housekeeping and the great services of our volunteers. I hope that you, like me, remain confident about our future.
Graeme Matthews
Chairman, 15th May 2023
Treasurers Report
Another great season for Spalding Hockey Club, and as I did last year, I would like to congratulate each and every team, from the 4 men and 3 ladies senior teams, to all junior and age category teams, all who represented the club this season.
A transition to ClubBuzz2 was made just before the season started, and with some minor hiccups, this has been a successful move. The iOS app has proved a hit amongst members, and has been very helpful for captains and administrators. The move would have been required, as ClubBuzz is due to retire its original system this summer. The Android app is still in development, and ClubBuzz has ensured they will advise us once this goes live. A huge thanks to Will Baker for assisting me with the transition to ClubBuzz2. As outlined in the “Annual subscription and match fees” page, under the Member’s Area, Direct Debit is the clubs only method of payment. Balances are calculated automatically on the 28th, and then credited from members accounts once GoCardless confirms that the direct debit payment has been processed successfully (we normally see this occur towards the end of the first week of the month). If any members are having issues with viewing their balance, or setting up the direct debit, please let me know.
Unfortunately, GoCardless dropped the direct debit monthly limit (which the club had set to £50), and therefore the full balance is always charged each month. Please ensure all direct debits are set up, so that a large balance is not accumulated and therefore charged all in one go once direct debit is set up. Due to this cap no longer existing, adult annual subscription charges will be spread across two months (with half being charged to members balances on 1st June, and the second half on 1st July). To avoid having to pay adult annual fees all in one go, ensure direct debits are set up before the 28th June direct debit calculation. Junior annual fees will remain to be charged on the 1st June.
The club is once again in a strong financial position, with a surplus of approximately £13,300. It should once again be noted that the club continues to make a surplus, as there is currently no contingency for a new carpet at Glen Park, which will need replacing in the near future.
Member payments slightly increased this season, which includes match fees and annual subs processed through ClubBuzz.
Sponsorship remained almost the same as last season, and as always, a huge thanks to our main sponsors which include ARK ICT Solutions, Compare the Market, TC Bulley Davey, Hills Furniture & Hub Rural. Lightspeed should also be mentioned, who provided the dugouts as their sponsorship towards the club.
The Annual Ball which was held on 21st May 2022 was, as always, a great fundraiser for the club. This event raised approximately £2000. A huge thank you to Mike, his ball committee and the social committee who assisted.
Social events were also a part of the club’s surplus. This season’s accounts show approximately £700 raised through these events, but the figure is much greater due to cash raised at these events not having been banked within this financial year. There is approximately £1300 held in cash from various events, bringing the real figure closer to £2000. A huge congratulations should be given to the club’s young social committee.
Social hockey has significantly decreased, but this is due to the decision made for MT13 camps to be run by MT13 directly. Approximately £1000 of this figure consists of payments from MT13 as the pitch costs for the events were charged to SHC and then passed on to MT13. The rest consists of payments for walking hockey, for which we are very grateful to Fred Morris for running for the club.
Grants and donations also saw a large increase, with a generous payment from South Holland District Council of £750, Easy Fundraising summing to £88 and Lincs Co-op of £438.
Fantasy football saw an unfortunate decrease in participation this season. If you are interested, please contact Martin Perkins.
Other Income saw a decrease this season, due to last year’s figure of just under £1500 including the sales of the club hoodies. This year’s figure is made up of payments from primary schools contributing towards the primary school tournaments (a huge thanks to Fred Morris for the huge amount of work he puts into these).
This season’s lottery was not as successful as last years, despite an attempt to get more members involved in it. The winnings remained the same, with the total raised for the club through the lottery this season being £440. A big thanks to Adam Spencely for assisting me in the admin required to run the lottery.
This season’s match day catering figure remained similar to last season’s, with an increase of £65. A huge thanks should go to Tonic 44 for accommodating SHC on Saturday’s and even some Sunday’s for other club fixtures.
Fuel credits to club members saw an increase of just under £1500, despite the amount per mile not increasing (20p per mile is paid for members who travel with 3+ playing members to away matches). This increase is due to the Ladies 1s and Mens 1s new leagues consisting of much further away games.
Pitch Hire costs saw a decrease of approximately £2415. This is simply due to less pitch time being used by the club. Due to electric costs, the floodlight charge has slightly increased, but with the new LED’s which have recently been fitted, we hope to see a slight decrease due to their efficiency.
Umpiring costs rose by approximately £650. This is due to the Mens 1s league requiring appointed umpires by the league, as opposed to the clubs internal umpires (which Matt Pilgrim organises for the club).
This season’s league and cup entry saw an increase, with last year’s figure being £0. This is due to last season’s entries being carried over from the season disturbed by the pandemic, as well as a couple of entries to cups this season.
This season saw a decrease in equipment costs, with the costs for this season including goalkeeper kit for juniors, as well as match balls.
Due to MT13 camps not being organised by the club, coaching costs only included payments to Next Level Coaching (S Cunnington).
Affiliation fees (which includes club insurance) through England Hockey saw a £2 increase. This is still a big saving as opposed to purchasing club insurance through a third-party, and also ensures that we are covered to England Hockey’s recommended standards.
Website fees to ClubBuzz saw no increase, remaining at £250 per year, the same as many previous years.
A donation of £300 was made to SPARC, to contribute towards the cost of the defibrillator at Glen Park.
There has been an increase in bank charges to a few of the club’s accounts. The clubs accounts Accounts Reviewer (Jooles Higgins) advises of a move of funds so that we can make use of the clubs interest earning savings accounts, in order to have a longer-term savings account, a shorter term contingency, a lottery and a main account.
Other expenses include £8, which consists of shipping costs to return trophies to the league. Fines occur to clubs who do not return these back in time!
I personally want to say a huge thank you to this season’s main committee, Graeme, Jason, Sally, Jooles, Charlotte, Kate and Jacob. All your work and commitment is extremely appreciated. A very special mention to Jooles, for assisting me in putting the end of year accounts together – have a great holiday Jooles.
David
Comments/Questions:
- Jason: equipment upgrade/replacement
- Boards – these have done a great job but believe that it is now time to upgrade these
- Mini Goals – agreed that we need to upgrade these. Need to check with Matt Sanders on position of remakes
- Matt: Pitch replacement costs/funds
- Prudent to have a fund as feel that SPARC will not have any contingency
- Mike raised point of meeting with EH and Sport England 3 years ago and left with EH.
- Pitch has been down for 15 years so due for a change
- Claire Baker: incentive to get volunteers
- As there is shortfall of volunteers can there be an incentive for volunteers, e.g. subscription reduction
- Point raised by Karen Timby about ladies struggling for GK’s so can they have support
These would need to be quantified, and can the club afford this?
- Sally: are subs changing
- TBC
- Tim: are subs and fees covering playing costs and where is the surplus coming from
- Review would need to be done outside of the AGM – David to revert
Election of Officers
| Role | 2022 | 2023 | Proposed | Seconded |
| President | Fred Morris | Fred Morris | Jason | Matt |
| Chairperson | Graeme Matthews | Graeme Matthews | Jason | David |
| CO Chair | Graeme Matthews | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Club Secretary | Jason Naylor | Jason Naylor | Graeme | Kate |
| Treasurer | David Dorey | David | Jason | Kate |
| Assistant Treasurer | Adam Spencley | Louise Pang | Matt | Kate |
| Accounts Reviewer | Julian Higgins | Jools | Jason | David |
| Umpire Liaison Officer | Matt Pilgrim | Matt Pilgrim | Karen T | Mike M |
| Lincs Liaison Officer | Matt Pilgrim | Matt Pilgrim | Jason | Graeme |
| Pitch Liaison Contact | Tim Maltby | Tim Maltby | Sam | Jason |
| Club Liaison Officer | Julian Higgins | tbc | ||
| East League Liaison Officer | Julian Higgins | tbc | ||
| England Hockey Liaison Officer | Michael Morris | Mike | Matt | Jason |
| Fixtures secretary | Julian Higgins | Mark Fravigar | Jason | Graeme |
| Assistant fixtures Secretary | vacant | |||
| Head of Selection Committee Men | Vacant (Jason facilitated) | Arron Borst | Graeme | Willem |
| Head of Selection Committee Ladies | Vacant (Jason facilitated) | Steph Wilson | Karen | Charlotte Maplethorpe |
| Head of Junior Committee | Sally Pilgrim | Sally (head)/Charlotte/Kelly | Karen | Steph |
| Head of Social committee | Kate Amess / Jacob Baker | Jacob | Claire | Deane |
| Member of Social Committee | Jacob Baker, Georgina Maplethorpe, Amy Naylor, Tom Mayhew, David Dorey | Claire and Deane to join | David | Jason |
| Club Sponsors Liaison | Elaine Allen / Kate Amess | Kate | Jason | David |
| Press & Social Media Communications officer | Sally Pilgrim | Jennie Bradley | David | Kate |
| Communications Assistant | Lisa Dean | n/a As above | ||
| Influencer – Facebook & other platforms fixtures and results | Vacant | n/a As above | ||
| Kit Manager | Mike Morris & Elaine Allen | Kate | David | Jason |
| Mens 1st Team Manager | Jason Naylor | Jason Naylor | Kate | David |
| Mens 1st team Captain | Sam Howitt | Sam Howitt | Deane | Mike |
| Mens 1st team Vice-Captain | Jacob Baker | Jacob Baker | Sam | Jason |
| Mens 2nd team Captain | Tim Maltby | Tim Maltby | Sam | Pete |
| Mens 2nd team Vice-Captain | Dan Azzopardi | Harry M | Pete | Charlotte |
| Mens 3rd team Captain | Graeme Matthews | Graeme Matthews | Willem | Jason |
| Mens 3rd team Vice-Captain | Willem Borst | Willem Borst | Mark | Arron |
| Mens 4th team Captain | Harry Higgins | tbc | ||
| Mens 4th team Vice-Captain | Vacant | tbc | ||
| Men’s 5th team Captain | N/A | Pete | Jason | Deane |
| Men’s 5th team Vice-Captain | N/A | Simon Goode, Mark Rogers | Pete | Deane |
| Ladies 1st team Captain | Georgina Maplethorpe | Elle Holland | Sam Maltby | Steph |
| Ladies 1st team Vice-Captain | Charlotte Maplethorpe | Evie Matlby | Elle Holland | Sam Maltby |
| Ladies 2nd team Captain | Zoe Moore | Zoe Moore | Steph Wilson | Karen T |
| Ladies 2nd team Vice-Captain | Karen Timby | Karen Timby | Steph | Sally |
| Ladies 3rd team Captain | Steph/Charlotte | Charlotte Morris | Steph | Karen |
| Ladies 3rd team Vice-Captain | TBC | tbc | ||
| Website Officer | Will Baker | Will Baker | David | Jason |
| U11/13 Team Manager | Stef Wilson | Tbc junior committee | ||
| U11/13 Junior Lead | Sally Pilgrim | As above | ||
| U16 Boys Team Manager | Vacant | tbc | ||
| U16 Boys Junior Lead | Vacant | tbc | ||
| U16 Girls Team Manager | Zoe Moore | tbc | ||
| U16 Girls Junior Lead | Stef Wilson | tbc | ||
| Administrator/liaison for Junior fixtures | Vacant | tbc | ||
| Child Welfare Officer | Charlotte Morris | Charlotte Morris / Kelly T | Jason | Graeme |
| DBS Administrator | Karen Smith | Sally Pilgrim + Louise M | Charlotte | Jason |
| First Aid Manager | Vacant | Arron Borst | Graeme | Jason |
| GMS Liaison England Hockey | Andy Barlow | Tim Amess | Jason | David |
- Discussion on captain for m4’s. Does each team need a manager? Can parents be on the side of the pitch to help?
- Club Buzz / GMS training evening to be run for new people taking the roles on – to be set up
AOB
- League entries for 2023/24 – Jason to give update if we have one from the East League
- Do we know how many players there will be next season – action to send out email of all players to ask intent to play and link to next year’s subs going out on 1st June
- David – raised point about re-registration, ask all players to do this. It will clear all players who have left the club and not hold data
- Kit change proposal – had current kit for 4 years and current provider not able to continue. Kate has worked on proposals.
- Y1 seen as good option
- 12 wk max leadtime
- Bulk order initially
- Club kick back may be part of this
- Online shop
- What do we do on numbers?
- Sample for sizes would be needed
- Away kit discussion – take away for discussion
- Potential for sponsors on kit, there is interest from sponsors and potential for some sponsors to pay more – to be discussed.
- Action – need urgent sample of stripe on front to ensure all happy
- A club pole will be needed to all players managed centrally
- We need to ensure we have enough time to make the right decision and therefore should not push for change in September, potential for Christmas change over
- Potential for other designs from Y1
- Long term vision for the club (next 5 years) – who would like to be involved in this – ask to all present
- Claire & Deane Baker, Matt Pilgrim, Arron Borst, all Main committee
- Deane: proposal to create a non-playing membership that is voluntary, aim to help and support the club and feel part of the club. Action – discuss as part of the social committee. Potential of one off payment per year?
- Karen: Coaches for next season
- Graeme stated that this is being looked at to ensure we have the right number of people/coaches in the right place.
- Jason: men’s training pitch time, don’t believe there is enough men’s pitch time. Tim to ask SPARC what is available. No solution yet, but it needs to be fair for all members as everyone pays the same amount.