Minutes of Cramlington BC Annual General Meeting
Held 7th October 2021 at 7:00PM
  1. Chairman’s introduction.
John welcomed everyone to our first meeting in 2 years and thanked all 23 for attending and went on to say that “things have been difficult owing to some external difficulties however we’ve come through it and hopefully there is now light at the end of the tunnel. I also wish to express sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to the running of the Club, I don’t intend naming them all but they need to know that their efforts are greatly appreciated. I particularly wish to thank the Members of the Committee for all of their hard work throughout the year, without them the club would not be able to function as well as it does. We have a great deal of important business and I have one or two points that I wish to pick up later in the meeting so without further ado lets crack on.”
  1. Apologies for absence were received from: – David Smith, Keith Miller, Bryan Turner, John Summerside, Roy Goldsmith, Norman Reeve Colin Bell and Ken Watson
  2. The meeting acknowledged the passing of Jack Olivier and Bob Corrie, the chairman made the point of mentioning the debt which we owed to Bob as he did a great deal for the club not only in running the jumbles but also his fund raising via domino cards which brought in a great deal of finance to the club. The meeting stood for a few moments in memory of our late colleagues.
  3. Minutes of previous meeting were read and approved.
  4. Matters arising. There were no matters arising.
  5. Season review.
The Chairman addressed the meeting saying “I think it’s fair to say that we’ve enjoyed a fantastic season, to summarise:-
Monday, Cramlington won the Blyth Valley League, Klondyke didn’t.
Tuesday, The Nines League finished Mid Table, and perhaps our greatest triumph was winning the Knight League for the first time since 1986.
Wednesday, we finished 4th in the Clegg League.
Thursday, after only 1 season in Division 1 of the Parliamentary League we won it.
Friday, Cramlington won the Crawford Smith League, Klondyke finished in Mid table.
IN addition to the above pairs from Cramlington reached the Blyth Valley Pairs final which was won by Bryan Turner and Keith Miller.
Cramlington also were runner’s up in the Edwardson Trophy and finalists in the Challenge Cup.
All this achieved under challenging conditions due to the condition of ourgreen.”
  1. Treasurer’s report, Brian presented a report showing a very healthy and improved financial. The report was accepted unanimously.
  2. Competition entries. It was proposed to enter all competitions as in 2020, this was agreed unanimously.
  3. For reasons which became apparent, the committee wished to suspend, for this year only the 3-year rule in connection with Committee membership. This was accepted
  4. Election of Committee and Officers.
The Chairman addressed the meeting by saying: “ I’m pleased to inform the meeting that Joe, Terry and Tony have agreed to stay on as Committee Members. I am prepared to stay on for another year as Chairman but in doing so I wish to make a couple of points:
  • I would like to see an end to in fighting within the club, the sight of 2 members of the club openly arguing in front of away teams does nothing to enhance the reputation of the club.
  • I should like to see more members committing to represent the club in competitions.
  • Lastly I would like to see an end to the constant criticism of the Committee in relation to Team Selection, we don’t always get it right although results would suggest that in the main we have, however if members have a grievance please take it up with us rather than having a go behind our backs.
The position of Treasurer falls vacant as Brian is standing down and I’m pleased to say that Lee Lowden has offered to take up this position.
The position of Secretary falls vacant as Bob is standing down, I’m pleased to say that Paul Timney has offered to take up this position. I should like to express persona thanks to both Bob and Brian for their hard work whilst on the Committee”.
All proposed were accepted unanimously.
  1. Standardisation of Competition Rules.
JH to carry out a review and present findings to Spring Meeting.
  1. Club shirts.
The secretary addressed the meeting with a proposal that new club shirts in club colours of white with green and gold trim be sourced for next season. The purchase to be financed mostly by sponsorship from a very generous donation from a sponsor who wished to remain anonymous and partly by the club.
One shirt is to be provided for each member who is to represent the club in any competition. A second shirt to be provided for those who represent the club more frequently. It will be left to members discretion as to how many shirts they require.
Members are to refer to the club website for ordering instructions, which will be posted in due course.
Our current shirt supplier Aark embroidery will be approached with a view to producing the shirts. If they are not able to fill the order, then we have a national supplier who can.
13.Any other business.
Phil Ging asked that the meeting approve a move to eliminate bad language from the green. This was accepted by all.
Bill Gilbert queried the position of players representing two clubs during the same season. The Chairman is to check our constitution and report back.
Meeting closed at 7:50