The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Avalon Golf League held at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club on Thursday 22nd October 2009.
The meeting was opened at 7.15 p.m. by the Chairman with 41 representatives, 9 observers and 3 other Committee members present.
1.Apologies. None although it was noted that there was no representative from Orchardleigh.
2.Minutes of the 2009 AGM. The Minutes of the 2008 AGM were accepted as an accurate record.
3.Matters Arising. None.
4.Chairman’s Address.
The Chairman expressed his, and the members of the Leagues’ thanks to Burnham & Berrow Golf Club for their hospitality and for hosting the AGM. He also tendered thanks to Wells for hosting the Mockeridge Cup at the beginning of the season and to Enmore Park for hosting Finals Day. Members were then reminded that we are always looking to the clubs to host these extra events and would welcome any offers. Congratulations were tendered to all Divisional winners and especially to Taunton & Pickeridge A for winning the Western Daily Press Trophy on Finals Day. He then tendered his apologies for not attending the event but was away in Turkey at the time.
Mention was made of the un-played matches but as the matter was to be raised as a separate issue during the meeting, he just noted at this stage that neither he thought it particularly unfortunate that it had occurred.
In closing, the Chairman expressed his personal thanks to the Hon Sec and his wife for the work over the previous year.
5.Honorary Secretary’s Report.
A copy of the report had been circulated to all member clubs prior to the meeting. In that report, the Hon Sec raised the question as to whether we are losing the main focus or intent of the League. This season has seen a number of issues regarding the cancellation of fixtures and the resultant impact that the points allocation has on the final result of a Division. Without going into the reasons for the cancelled matched or the points, I think we need to step back and look at the primary objective of the League. According to the Constitution, “The objective of the League shall be to promote the game of Golf and create a League of friendly yet competitive companionship for amateur players within its member clubs.”The Rules and procedures that we have built in to the Constitution should alleviate most problems and disputes, however, we can not set a rules for every possible contingency.
Members were also reminded that Results Sheets, signed by both Captains and hopefully clearly legible, were to be posted to the Hon Sec immediately following the match. It was noted that in some cases the sheets were not being sent until some weeks after the match and that this procedure was unacceptable.
We had to purchase a new printer this year. The unit we had suffered from a progressive series of paper jams whilst trying to deal with a rather large amount of paperwork at the beginning of the year, and eventually gave up completely. On assessment, it worked out cheaper to replace than repair.
We have had two applications for the addition of new clubs. One was from a course with only 9 holes and I have responded them appropriately. The other (Woodspring Golf and Country Club) is located in the SW Bristol area. A report on the result of the ballot would be presented at the appropriate time in proceedings.
The Hon Sec recorded his thanks to the team Captains who did report their results in timely fashion and who responded promptly to any issues that were raised during the season.
In closing, the Hon Sec warned the meeting that he intended for the 2010 season to be his last and that a volunteer to take on the post would need to be found before the next AGM.
6.Honorary Treasurers Report. Copies of the audited 2009 Income and Expenditure sheet were available at the meeting. It was noted that the League had a healthy balance at the bank at the end of the year, equivalent to about one years running costs. The Chairman (as an ex Banker) was thanked for carrying out the audit. There were no queries regarding the accounts, the statement and Treasurers report were accepted by the meeting on a proposal by Enmore Park and seconded by Taunton & Pickeridge.
7.Election of Officers. The Chairman informed the meeting that all posts were up for renewal and volunteers from the floor were requested. After a short pause, and with the agreement of the existing Committee members it was unanimously agreed that the post-holders should remain for another season.
8.Subscriptions. On the recommendation of the Hon Treasurer, the Annual Subscriptions were held at £25 per member team.
9.Match Fees. It was agreed that the Match Fees for 2010 were to be £100 with the usual proviso regarding extra players. Members were reminded that that the match fee (plus the fee for reserves) was to be paid for ALL who played, regardless of whether they stayed for any after match meal. It was also agreed that there was no need to have any extra mention of Match Fees added to the Constitution.
10.AOCB
a.New Teams (Woodspring Golf & Country Club) The meeting was informed that there had been insufficient support for Woodspring to join at this time (63% For, 17% Against, required support level of 70%). The Hon Sec had forwarded correspondence to Woodspring in response to their application noting that given the uncertainty surrounding existing planning applications affecting the Woodspring course, it was considered unwise to disrupt the League at this time.
b.Structure for 2010. Members were circulated with the plan of the Divisions for 2010.
·GPS Devices. At the particular request of Vivary Park, the matter of GPS devices and Range Finders was again added to the agenda. Following a relatively brief outline of their reasons for this, they then proposed that the devices now be permitted during League Matches. During the spirited discussion that followed it became clear that all clubs in the area had now been “mapped” and that a number were actually hiring out GPS devices for the use by visitors. Whilst some members considered that the use of the devices took away some of the advantages of experience and expertise, it was noted that the EGU and Somerset County were permitting their use during formal competition. In the ensuing vote, 33 representatives voted for their use during League Matches (provided such use was carried out according to the Rules of Golf) 8 voted against. It was agreed that notification of the decision regarding the use of GPS devices and Range Finders be posted on the website for the 2010 season.
c.Un-Played Matches. It was reported to the meeting that there had been a number of un-fulfilled matches during the season and this had resulted in the Committee issuing a decision regarding the allocation of points. The Committee’s decision resulted in an Appeals Committee being formed, as per the Constitution, and the matter had been dealt with. Further to that, it was reported that in another case, one team had been awarded a walk-over by their opponents and that result had had a major impact on the overall Divisional result. The latter issue had caused considerable ill-feeling amongst players from a team that could otherwise have won their Division and some had decided not to take any further part in the League.
After some discussion it was agreed that regardless of the circumstances, all un-played matches were to be reported immediately to the Hon Secwho would then make the appropriate points allocation according to the Constitution; teams unhappy with such allocation had the right to appeal.
It was agreed by all that there had to be trust between the teams to ensure that the points allocations would not be used to falsely promote or relegate teams.
d.Use of Buggies. After a short discussion it was agreed that buggies and or ride-on trolleys were only to be used when the user had specific medical dispensation to do so.
e.After Match Meals. The Hon Sec reported that he had been asked by a number of teams if the after match meals were a requirement. In response, it was noted that one of the prime reasons for the League was to promote a social/friendly element and that the after match meal was a part of that, however, in acknowledging that some matches (including travelling time) took up a large part of the day, it was not essential that the meal be “sit-down, semi-formal”. After some discussion it was agreed that provided both teams were aware, the type of meal could be varied to suit the occasion. This would also enable teams at Clubs with clashing catering commitments to vary the type of meal to suit their availability.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 8.15 p.m.
Following the meeting, trophies were presented as follows:
Mockeridge Pairs Cup – Farrington B
Div 1. – Taunton & Pickeridge A
Div 2. – Frome A
Div 3. – Orchardleigh
Div 4. – Vivary Park C
Div 5. – Oake Manor B
Div 6. – Farrington C
Div 7. – Frome B
Western Daily Press, Finals Day Trophy. – Taunton & Pickeridge A
Runners-Up – Frome A
Team representatives then congregated in their respective Divisions to set the fixtures for the 2010 season.
Avalon Golf League
