Cramlington Bowling Club Annual General Meeting

Venue The Cramlington Masonic Building

1st November 2024 (18.30 Hrs)

1.0 Introduction
The Meeting was opened at 6.30pm by the Chairman welcoming everyone and thanking them for their attendance.  

2.0     Apologies
There were apologies received from; P.Ging, B.Turner, D.Kirk and J.Taylor.

3.0    Bereavements.

Thankfully there were no bereavements during the period under review, although thoughts were directed to Joe Watson who we were informed is very ill.

4.0    Minutes of the Previous Meeting.

The Minutes having been previously available to the membership were           formally approved and accepted.

5.0   Matters Arising.

5.1 Several issues arising from the previous minutes were included within the evening’s agenda for further discussion including Travel Expenses, Safeguarding and Internal Competitions.         

5.2 Although the ‘Big Bowls Weekend’ was completed successfully there were, disappointingly, no resulting new members forthcoming.

5.3 Personal Detail Forms are still required from several of the membership.

6.0 Chairmans Report (Including the Seasons Review).

6.1 The Chairman delivered his Report commencing with the League highlights and final positioning of each team, whilst explaining that it had been a challenging year for the Club although some success was achieved by finishing Runners-Up in the Knight League and the Jubilee Cup with the Wednesday Clegg Team maintaining their Division 1 status.

6.2 The Chairman continued by expressing concerns regarding the decline in    the Club Membership which now stands at a total of 47 and requested all the membership to try and recruit new players.

6.3 Behaviour on and around the Green once again was a topic which was addressed with the Chairman encouraging everyone to always give respect to others and any issues arising to be discussed in a civilised manner, remembering that Safeguarding now is a prime objective of both Club and Bowls Northumberland.

6.4 The role of selectors and team selection was raised and amicably discussed including the mid-season letter of concerns raised by a group of the evening League Players to which a formal letter of reply was available.

6.5 The Chairman concluded his report by expressing his thanks on behalf of the Committee and himself to a number of members and organisations including the External Sponsors for their financial support namely; The Cooperative Funeral Services and Cramlington Town Council with special mention to Phil and Sheila Ging for sponsoring the Open Day competition along with Bob Harrison for his organisation of the event.

Next the Committee members and those who actively attend to and look after the Club Grounds and Amenities, the latter who have been acknowledged by the Northumberland in Bloom Judges with the award of a Silver Gilt Certificate. Lastly Keith Twist for the management of the Club Website.          

7.0 Competitions.

7.1 In relation to the Internal Competitions the interest from the membership was disappointing and a review of the formats shall be undertaken to maintain them meaningful. The future of which shall be discussed in more detail at the next Spring Meeting with a view to removing some from the calendar of events.

7.2 The Secretary explained the events leading to the cancellation of the 2 x4’s competition game. The outcome being that the Committee had now introduced a monthly review of fixtures and competitions.

7.3 Team selection and membership was again constructively discussed with the Chairman requesting that the Team Selectors be free of outside pressure when producing a competitive team sheet with the limited number of players available.

7.4 With respect to the membership numbers it was proposed and agreed from the floor of the meeting to produce a recruitment poster which could be placed, if allowed, on the West Denton indoor bowling centre as well as the membership promoting the Club when and wherever possible.

7.5 The Club has been committed to the usual League competitions and also both the Jubilee and Edwardson Cup and shall commit to the 2 x 4’s only.

8.0 Treasurers Report

8.1 The Accounts and Report were presented and explained by the Treasurer with which the membership confirmed acceptance and although the Accounts appear healthy overall there was a deficit of £800 and with a diminishing membership changes need to be implemented with respect to the annual fees and especially Travel Expenses.

8.2 It was agreed that the Social Players should not be subsidising any traveling expenses with a proposal from the membership to increase the annual dues to £50.00 and consider a £2.00 levy on all League players prior to each away game. The proposal to be further discussed at the next Spring Meeting.

9.0 Election of Officers/Committee Members.

9.1 As there were no other nominees for the positions of Chaiman and Secretary the outgoing Officers were re-elected (J.Harrison and N.Reeve respectively)

9.2 The position of Treasurer shall remain with L.Lowdon until a replacement is confirmed.

9.3 The following Committee Members were proposed and Seconded; T.Gardener, K.Miles, A.Fantozzi, Jim Harrison and D.Clough.

10.0 Safeguarding.

The positions of Safeguarding Officials were again confirmed and the role within the Club explained and confirmed. It was hoped that no issues during the forthcoming year would be reported.

11.0 Presentations.

         Jumbles                 –     Jim Harrison

         Club Singles          –      D.Clough                 R/UP   –   D.Smith

         Club Handicap       –     D.Clough                 R/UP   –   D.Smith

         Club Pairs              –     A.Fantozzi/K.Gray   R/UP   –   J.Harrison/N.Reeve

         Club Championship   – D.Clough                 R/UP   –   D.Smith

12.0 A.O.B.

 12.1 Club communications were discussed to try to improve the current applications with several Apps being proposed each with their own benefits. The WhatsApp group was proposed to compliment the current website with a designated controller along with another second proposal to look at the Signal App.

This issue is ongoing to find a permanent solution and shall be further discussed at the Spring Meeting unless a final decision can be agreed and implemented in the interim period.

13.0 Chairmans Closing Remarks.

There being no further business the Meeting was closed by the Chairman at 7.40pm after thanking everyone for their attendance and involvement.        

        Signed :     N. Reeve                      Date    4th November 2024

                 (Secretary)