Bridlington Squash League Meeting 25th January 2018
Chair – Derek Boyd
Speaker – Neil Murray
Minutes – Ian Thurlbeck
Agenda was reviewed by Derek Boyd and key points summarised.
Neil Murray then spoke in detail about the reasons to become an affiliated club. The key points are below:
Reasons to be a club is for credibility and funding with the key reason being the continued growth and development of the junior programme.
The squash club should provide a safe environment for juniors with accredited people (first aid, dbs checked, H&S etc)
The ultimate aim is to create Bridlington Squash Club Junior Academy and that can only happen if we are recognised as a Constituted Club (affiliation with Squash England can be discussed at a later date)
If we stay as we are, the junior setup wont get bigger.
Question from Paul Metcalf – Could we create just a junior club?
It was discussed and decided that was too messy and difficult. There was no reason to split.
Question from Liz Burns - What are the cost implications?
The costs of affiliation with Squash England were discussed. The costs to just become a constituted club are zero.
Question from John Ashton – When Lta funding is granted, it must be paid back. Do we pay squash back?
The answer is No.
Neil mentioned money available from different funders (Children in Need etc)
Comment from Adam Yates - Discussion on committee size etc. He said keep it small and simple.
The main consensus from all was to keep juniors free – keep funding coming. Juniors will keep coming to the Monday night session for free. This creates an outlet for the better players to invited to the Academy (which might have a cost?)
A vote was then held on three options.
Decision was made to become a constituted club and allow people to put themselves forward for roles.
The possibility of new facilities was discussed by John Bannister and Neil Murray. Once the club is established, Neil and John will begin to source funding and update people at an appropriate time.
Update on courts building work – Nick Melarkey to produce report to Adam Mainprize who will back funding. No ETA on this document.
Action item – insurance needed for junior coaching. Derek Boyd to investigate.
Action item - Subs to increase to £20 annually.
Action item – Ian Thurlbeck and Neil Murray to arrange Level 1 Coaching Session at Bridlington Squash Club with invitation to everyone to participate (first come, first served basis). Cost is £150 per person. If we have a positive response, we will run two sessions. Ian to update in due course.
Close of Meeting
The following roles are to be created and the committee will consist of 10 people.
Please put yourself forward for one of these roles if you feel you could add value.
Chairman
The Chair’s job usually falls into four main areas:
Chairing meetings. Helping the committee to work together as a team. Having an overview of the work of the group. Being the main contact person for the group.
Secretary
The Secretary’s job usually falls into three main areas:
Taking minutes at the committee and general meetings. Keeping people informed about the organisation’s activities. Receiving and responding to information, emails and letters.
Treasurer
The Treasurer has the day-to-day responsibility of looking after the group’s money. They need to have an overview of the group’s financial situation and provide information to help the group make informed decisions.
It is important to remember that the Treasurer does not have sole responsibility for the group’s finances. It is up to the committee as a whole to decide how funds will be raised and spent. It’s also up to the committee to make sure that the group’s money is being handled properly.
Welfare Officer
Every club should have a Welfare Officer. This role is essential in providing a first point of contact for children, parents and adults within the club who have a child safeguarding or welfare concern.
In partnership with the club committee, the Welfare Officer ensures that the club is adopting and
implementing child safeguarding policy and procedures which are necessary for it to demonstrate its duty of care to children. The importance of the role cannot be underestimated – you may become involved in the most private aspects of a club member’s life and take part in meetings and discussions with the Police and Statutory Agencies in order to safeguard a child/children.
Public Relations Officer
Key Tasks:
To market the clubs/societies activities and events. Set up and maintain the club/society website and/or Facebook page. Send weekly e-mails and Facebook updates to members about events, fixtures, training etc. Organise club/society branded clothing. Take photos and videos of club/society activities
Vice Chair
The Vice Chair can be a key role that shares the Chairing responsibilities. This works well for big clubs or societies, but good communication between the Chair and Vice Chair is key to success!
Fund Raising & Sponsorship
Getting funds and sponsorship is increasingly challenging and often is neglected as day to day operations take priority. It is worth recruiting a committee position solely for this purpose to boost your clubs/societies bank balance and activities!
Social Secretary
Social activities are the key to a good club or society as well as boosting your social life, they will boost club/society morale and can be a good fundraiser too!
Competition Co-Ordinator x 2
This is a joint role and will involve a lot of creative thinking. Bridlington Squash League currently runs 3 or 4 tournaments per year but we want run more small round-robin style one-day tournaments for players of all abilities. This role will be responsible for running both adult and junior tournaments.
Please complete the form below if you would like to put yourself forward for a role. Nominations will close on Sunday 4th March. We will then allow every member to vote and the following should be considered:
When appointing new committee members, it's important to take their skills and experience into account for the role they're going to take on. You should aim for a diverse committee, as having a variety of viewpoints will push your committee to challenge each other and reach the best decisions for the club as a whole.
If all your committee members share the same demographic profile (for example, are all the same age, gender, race and so forth) they are more likely to have common viewpoints and not be reflective of your club in its entirety. It may discourage members in the club who don't fit that profile from feeling like the club is inclusive or that their opinions are being considered at a committee level. Having a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints pushes the committee and creates a more sustainable club for the future.