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MINUTES OF ELY RUNNERS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING,

PARADISE CENTRE, ELY, MONDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 2014 

 

Present (32) Alan Rutterford, Steve Tovey, Peter Harris, Stephen Howard, John Turner, Richard Hill, Laura Hill, Steve Starr, Kieren Drane, Peter Gipp, Conan Fryer, Lee Thompson, Andrew Thompson, Charlie Barker, Lionel Smith, Emily Knight, Nigel Reynolds, Martin Courtney, Matt Holmes, Samantha Collins-Shirley, Stephen Pettit, Emma Greaves, Miranda Reynolds, Ross Payne, Alison Blaney, Ashley Blackmore, Sarah Baumber, Amy White, James Dack (& Mother), India Thomas (& Father).

Apologies (5) Robert Campbell, John Crawford, Daniel Regan, Karl Bedingfield, Darren Murfitt

 

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks on 2013 (Stephen Howard – SH)

Chairman Stephen Howard opened the meeting at 19:35 by commenting how refreshing it was to see such a good turnout for the club's AGM and thanking members present for attending. Apologies received were read out. The Chairman said that it had been another very busy year for the club, with total membership the highest ever, now over 250.  He explained that the club is focussed on four areas: Supporting members in their running, staging open events for the wider community, promoting junior running through the Junior Section and encouraging the wider development of running through coaching and beginner courses.   The Chairman reminded members that with such a wide and ambitious remit it is essential that as many members as possible get involved and volunteer to help the club where needed. He thanked members for all their efforts over the past year and without further ado declared the meeting underway.

SH then presented the junior awards for 2013 (as decided by junior section coaches - AR, SCS):

2. Matters Arising from the 2013 AGM Minutes see www.elyrunners.co.uk > CLUB INFO > AGM

No matters were arising; and the minutes were adopted.

3. Treasurer’s Report 2013 (Peter Harris - PH)

Peter Harris began his report by pointing out that the Club is classified as a Community Amateur Sports Club for financial purposes. He mentioned that the corporation tax threshold increase from £30k to £50k was relevant, as it means our gross turnover remains well below threshold. He then summarised some key points from the accounts, which had been distributed before the meeting.

Income and Expenditure: Overall surplus is up on 2012, but does not exceed the high water mark of 2008. Income from membership is up, and the beginner course income is up significantly, now making a key contribution to income overall. PH felt that the level of income from beginners was probably at a peak now. Expenditure is down overall, notably the cost of running club events. The Christmas Raffle was able to make a good contribution to local charity NYAS.

GFHM: Overall a good profit, but down a bit on last year. Income from non-affiliated runners up; costs of permits down (no post race ARC charge), charge from St. John's Ambulance up due to the increased service provision. A provision from profit has been made for donation to charity.

NYE10k: Overall a good profit, but down a bit on last year. Income from non-affiliated runners up; costs of permits down (no post race ARC charge), charge from St. John's Ambulance up due to the increased service provision. A provision from profit has been made for donation to charity.

Balance Sheet: PH highlighted that the Club holds significant funds in deposit accounts. He pointed out that the relatively high value of total current liabilities is an anomaly resulting from the coincidence of NYE10k with the end of financial year i.e. there are a lot of bills unpaid from that event at the end of December. A summary of the general reserves was given. PH ended his report with an announcement of his intent to stand down from the position of Treasurer, with one year's notice.

Chairman SH thanked PH for the report and proposed that the accounts were accepted. sST - Carried.

4. Secretary’s Report 2013 (Steve Tovey – ST)

Secretary Steve Tovey gave thanks to: John Turner for the organisation of very well attended regular training sessions; and all those responsible for the thriving Junior Section. Steve stated that the Beginners initiative had now completed its seventh course and thanked Lionel Smith for his hard work and commitment to the cause. Steve thanked Emily Knight for taking on the role of Chief Marshal in 2013 and commended her for success in that role. He pointed out that in 2013 the Club has supported 7 members to gain coaching qualifications (3 CiRF & 4 LiRF) through grant aid rather than club reserves. Stephen Pettit was thanked for taking on the currently-running satellite running group for 16-24 year olds. Steve reminded the membership that some subscriptions for 2014 still remained unpaid,and urged payment to be made as soon as possible.

ST provided a brief summary of some racing in 2013. In the Kevin Henry 5k league Ladies were 4th, Men 5th. Craig Holgate won six ultra races and the UK National Championship at 100km distance, confirming that this was the Club’s first National Champion. ST also mentioned Daisy Glover’s half marathon victory in Norwich was noted..   

5. Team Captain’s Report (Lionel Smith – LS)

Lionel Smith highlighted parkrun successes and mass participation in the Kevin Henry League as high notes to 2013. Lionel drew attention to the upcoming Turing Trail Relay (3rd Sunday in March) 2014 Private Club Event with other teams by invitation only, and urged the club to contest the recent dominance of the Academics.

6. Training Report (John Turner – JT)

John Turner identified that the number of attendees at club training from the Paradise Centre had increased during the year, and overall was higher than in previous years. Members enthusiasm and effort was commended. Attendance represents a wide spectrum of interests and abilities. JT drew attention to the admirable way that everyone who attended training helped each other and thanked the Membership for this. He mentioned that away day training was not well attended this year, and mentioned the access available to club members at Friends of the Roman Road & Fleam Dyke. JT also highlighted the possibility of away-Sunday hilly training in the Royston area.

7. Club Coach’s Report (Alan Rutterford – AR)

Alan Rutterford explained that the number of members with qualifications in coaching or leadership in Running Fitness had now reached 19 in total, and that 4 more were in the process of qualified. AR mentioned that the structure and deployment of coaches within the club was under review, details to be confirmed. He identified that he had been and would continue to pursue all avenues for getting funding for coaching and expanding coaching facilities within the club, and finished by thanking all the coaches for their hard work and commitment over the year.

8. Junior Section Report (Samantha Collins-Shirely – SCS)

Samantha Collins-Shirley began by citing some numbers. The high point of Junior Section membership this year saw 71 members. 62 of these are renewing, 4 more pending. Attendance at JS training is typically 35-40 members. SCS went on to request that hi-viz vests be made available for all JS members as a safety concern; and Chairman SH agreed in principle, with details to be discussed at a later date.

Outgoing JS Secretary Lesley Wright proposed a discussion regarding the scheduling of an open event for juniors only; and agreed to continue to organise the juniors fun run within GFHM.

SH queried whether a cap on JS numbers was a possible consideration, and after some discussion it was felt by the Junior Section representatives that there was not a current need to do so, though any additional help with supervision would be useful. SH volunteered the services of the Membership in support of supervising the Junior Section, should they be required. SCS thanked SH, in particular with regard to running with faster juniors.

9. The club’s Officers (Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) and nine Committee Members were proposed, seconded and elected unopposed as follows:

   

10. Election of Events Working Group

This group comprises members with specific responsibilities for open and club events. NYE 10k Race Director, Open Event Sponsorship and RNR Open Class Team Manager remain vacant. The following were proposed, seconded and elected unopposed:

RNR note: ST mentioned that currently the race has an uncertain future due to a lack of a safety officer/race director. If the race goes ahead then SCS said she's like to manage an all ladies team in 2014 - with AR stepping down as the Open Class team manager this would currently leave the club without a men's team in the race. ST said that if the club decided to enter only one team under the management of SCS then there would be no requirement to marshal the Wissington changeover.

11. Discussion of training groups (JT)

JT gave summary of the proposal to provide more detailed training aimed at three different participation  levels within the Club: Open, Club, Development. The reason for the proposal being that there currently are not enough clear aims for different abilities during training. These targeted training plans would be make available through the usual email and website channels, and would not affect the cohesion of group training; simply provide more specific workouts for those who want them to opt in to. JT clarified participation in different level workouts was not enforced and entirely flexible. It is hoped that this will help everyone achieve goals with their running, and contribute to team spirit.

JT called for club coaches to be actively coaching more widely among the membership than at present, not just Beginners & Juniors. Coaches could be made more visible – bibs? SCS agreed. EK offered to order from main supplier.3. ST proposed (pST/sSH) and it was agreed unopposed that the constitution be amended to change the cut-off date for joining from 15/11 to 1/10 – i.e. anyone joining after 1/10 in any given year will also be paid up for the following year.

JT finished his report with a call for more advise being available for up and coming runners.

12. Website Redesign Q&A (SH/RH)

SH provided a summary of intent to rethink the club’s web presence.

EK proposed that the club facebook group administered by herself be amended to a closed group, several comments were made in support, and no objection was raised.

13. Proposal to revert to voluntary affiliation to EA for Junior members aged 11-17 for the affiliation year 2015-2016 (SCS)

SCS explained that the affiliation is very little used, and where necessary could be applied for ad hoc. The proposal would bring juniors in line with the way seniors apply for affiliation.

sJT – Carried.

14. Proposal: New Helper Rules:

a. Members are ordinarily expected to help out at a minimum of one open event per year.

b. Additionally if you run in our own open event as a condition of entry you must provide an extra substitute helper for that event.

Club events are staged by members for the benefit of members subject to sufficient helpers coming forward. We would encourage you to run in as many club events as you can and help out at one as a minimum. (SH/EK/JF).

15. Proposal (PH) to keep membership fees for 2015 at £20 seniors; £10 Juniors (U11) and £20* Juniors (11-17) (PH).

As a result of the decision in item 13, the proposal was amended so that all junior subscriptions should be £10 and senior subscriptions remain at £20. with EA affiliation being optional in all cases.

sST - Carried.

16. Renewal of Affiliations/Joining (ST)


sSH - Carried.

17. Authorise Committee & EWG (SH) to organise the following events:

sKieren Drane - Carried.

18. Authorise the Committee (SH) to enter the club for relay, team and league events, including:

sST - Carried, excepting Hereward Relay. SH identified the significant and growing obligation of ER to marshal much of the final stage of this race, and requested a dialogue begin with organisers March AC targeting a route reversal as an agreeable outcome. Emma Greaves mentioned the concern for tail end runners in the Ultra category of the race, and the time implications for responsible marshalling of the final stage.

19. Proposal: Any member who has the ambition and enthusiasm to want to run in a National/ Regional/ County Championship should have the entry paid for by the club (provided funds were available) (JT).

JT agreed to draw up a list of eligible races, which would be kept under review and updated with the agreement of the Committee.

sSH - Carried.

20. Annual review and re-approval of the £20,000 set aside for the Track Fund (JT) 

sSH - Carried.

21. Presentation of Annual Trophies and Awards (PH/SH):

Special Achievement Awards 2014 for 2013 (club’s officers)

SAA was given to outgoing Junior Section Secretary Lesley Wright in recognition of her service to the Junior Section, and she was presented with a token of appreciation.

Honorary Memberships were announced, certificates and tokens were presented to Steve Tovey, Charlie Barker and Lionel Smith, in recognition of services to the Club.

22. Proposal (ST) to continue with club membership (due 1st October) of the Paradise Centre for members to change/shower FOC after training or events

sSH - Carried.

23. Proposal (ST) for the club’s Officers or Committee (subject to the Treasurer’s advice on the threshold reserve of funds) to authorise reasonable expenditure, to the benefit of the club and its members, including:

sSH - Carried.

24. Any other business


Club Chairman Stephen Howard closed the meeting at 21:49

RH 06.02.2014