Minutes of the Eastbourne Hockey Club Annual General MeetingFriday 22nd May 2015

Eastbourne Saffrons Sports Club at 7.30pm

Present: Judith Barnes, Andy Edwards, Phil Martin, Rachel O’Dwyer, John Chissell, Claire Noble, John Smith, Tom Waterhouse, James Higgin, Lorna Wilkinson, Roz Whittaker, David Adelston, An-drew Price, Matt Narracott, Simon Hookway, Mike Osborn, David West, David Gordon, Jack Sut-ton, Angela Garner, Matt Pusey, Eddie Pusey, Adrian Newton, Chris Wadman, Will Francis, Dave Whatley.

The meeting was chaired by the Club President, Mrs J Barnes.

1. Apologies: Andy Bordass, Jenny Herold, Rob Richardson, Ruth McAtamney, Kath Easton, Kate Davison, Ronnie Moore, Natasha Jaeger, Ian Ford, Katie Hilsden, Mike Dixon, Tim Clay, Sharon Clay, James McKay.

2. Minutes2.1 The approval of the minutes of the AGM held on 16th May 2014 was proposed by John Smith and approved by David Adelston. 2.2 There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Judith Barnes welcomed everyone to the AGM. She referred to Andy Edwards’ “4 point plan” re-ferred to in his Chairman’s address last year, and how much of it had already begun to happen within the club. In particular, she described better structure and improved integration, as well as better movement of juniors through the ranks. She said that the laying of the new pitch had been a huge achievement, and thanked Andy Edwards for being the driving force behind this.

3. Chairman’s address - Andy Edwards“I will speak from a club perspective, leaving others to talk about our on field performances and highlights.Please cast your minds back to last year, if you can remember that far back. I talked about four pri-orities. We have made progress in all these areas. Highlights include:- the new pitch- the introduction of the Eaglets- a successful season for our mixed team- our summer and Christmas junior camps- a balanced budget- the hockey planner- social events planned through the season

There is more still to come over the summer, including: the laying of the new road surface at the Saffrons this week; the addition of 8 more new lights: the building of the new dugout and fencing.

One area where I think we could do more is with our juniors, and that will be a priority for me next year with the core fundraising over.

Finally, I would like to say some thanks to:- the Captains - unless you have done it, you won’t know how much work it is- the Umpires - those who give up their time to ensure that you can play your game- to all of you who enabled us to raise an amazing £260k in 1 year!- to the committee for all their hard work and dedication- to the Saffrons team - Neil and Gilly, plus Lisa for the best teas in Sussex!Thank you.”

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Judith Barnes thanked Andy again, and a round of applause was given by all attending the meet-ing.She then asked Phil Martin to give his treasurer’s report.

4. Finance Report4.1 Phil Martin presented the accounts for 2014-2015 which were approved.Phil then gave his treasurer’s report:

“I hope that you have all had a chance to see a copy of the Income and Expenditure account for the 2014/15 season.

The bottom line shows a profit of some £4,000 which on the face of it appears quite healthy, but we should not forget that some of this is due to a reduced coaching figure for the season.

Other notable changes for the season were:-

Subs income from 234 paid members was £19,390, down from £20,219 last year. Match fees down approximately £1,000 due in the main to the men's fives having so many games cancelled. My thanks to Simon Hookway for continuing to deliver his match fees every Wednesday on time.

We continue to see valuable contributions from kit income, the 100 club, Sunday teas and money from advertising board. My continued thanks go to Elaine Robinson, Chris Wadman, Dave Adelston and Natasha Jaeger and her Sunday team.

For the 2015/16 season subs will remain the same ie £160 for adults, £85 students and under 18's and £70 for under £14. £30 for social membership. Match fees will also remain the same at £7 per adults and £4 juniors – captains please note that the cost of the best teas in Sussex will rise from £35 to £40 per team next season.

Could I ask that all subs by the end of October at the latest. If paying by monthly in-stalments the first of five payments should be received by the end of September. No pay – no play. Too much of my time, the team captains and club captains is wasted chasing non payment.

Just to say that there it has been proved there is a God – Zak is back and the thirds match fees will be received on time with a properly completed match sheet.”

Judith Barnes thanked Phil for his efforts this season with the finances.

5. Ladies’ Club Captain - end of season report - Jenny Herold.

“This season saw the return of Ladies’ training to the newly completed astro pitch at Saffrons. With all training consolidated on the one evening, the decision was made to separate the sessions start-ing with the juniors, then Ladies from the 2nd and 3rd teams, with the first team starting at 8pm. It was good to see a number of new players join the club, and these ladies have made a valuable contribution to all the squads.

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Parky and Tony once more have been invaluable, and we must thank them for all their efforts with the Ladies’ section. They ran this segmented training format over the whole season, but, latterly, it was apparent that there were few players attending the earlier adult session. Their plan for the coming season is to run the sessions concurrently; this will give the younger players the opportu-nity to train alongside the first team players. This will benefit all, both in skills improvement and match play, and will enable Parky and Tony to split the player squads for individual skill sessions and set piece practice.

The newly promoted Ladies’ first team started strongly, and for the first half of the season were in contention for top of the league. Midway through the season there were a few hiccups, and the team slipped down the table. Fortunately, they rallied towards the end, and finished strongly in 5th position. Sharon has been an inspiring captain, with a work rate second to none, and total commit-ment to the team both on and off the pitch. The club must thank her for all her efforts over the years as Captain, and she has been an excellent role model for the junior players. Hopefully, now that she has stepped down as captain, she will be able to enjoy playing for the first team without all the additional responsibility that the role of captain holds. Katie Hilsdon and Claire Noble have gamely stepped up to take over the captaincy, and we wish them all the best for the coming sea-son and hope that the Ladies’ section will continue to support them in every way possible.

Katie is keen to push forward with summer fitness training, and I would ask all ladies who want to be ready for next season to contact her and join the sessions.

The Ladies’ 2nd team had an excellent season with a number of talented junior girls ably sup-ported by the more mature players. The squad played really well together and were a pleasure to watch as the season progressed. Their passing of the ball around the pitch was awesome, and the accuracy of placement demonstrated their cohesion as a team that played together regularly. Biddy, in goal, must be commended in that she only let in 17 goals in total in 18 matches and was our junior player of the season. The team finished a creditable second in the league, but as no team was demoted from South to the Premier league this season, we have been promoted with Crowborough to the First division for next year. Last season the Ladies 3rd team had us all on the edge of our seats in the last match of the sea-son willing them to score and stay up in division 3, which luckily they did! This season, with new players joining the club the team had a much calmer time and, despite being docked points for having to concede 2 matches, they finished comfortably mid table. The team is in good spirits, they have a great squad of players who enjoy playing together and they are very sociable and I am sure they are looking forward to a successful season next year.

Ange and Des have worked wonders with the Chicks. They have had a really successful season, winning the development league. A number of the older players in the squad have also enjoyed playing some games for the Ladies 2nd and 3rd teams. Chloe Pollard has been invaluable in this team with her on pitch coaching and encouraging the development of all our more junior players. The junior section has great strength in depth, and we have now introduced a development side in Division 4 for next season. Ange and Des are moving forward to manage this new team, and we will be looking for some support from some of our older players to assist these girls in their transi-tion to senior play. Dave Gordon has kindly agreed to take over the management of the Chicks, but would very much appreciate some of the parents of the players in this squad stepping forward to help him run the team.

This has been a very successful season for the club, and I would just like to finish with saying a big thanks to all the people who have worked so hard all season in coaching, managing, playing and supporting all the teams.k

Judith thanked Jenny for all her hard work within the Ladies’ section this season

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6. Men’s Club Captain - end of season report - Andy Bordass

• Good evening everyone

• Please accept my apologies that I cannot be with you this evening

• Before I go through the teams performance there are just a few bits of house keeping I want to go through.

• The website is a huge improvement on when we first started on this path, however I have noticed over the last year that its usage is starting to drop off. Please keep it up to date, ensure you are registered on it and I encourage you all to make sure you have put at least one comment or post on the website every month.

• Selection has been re-introduced this year on a Tuesday night, and I thank all the captains for turning out on a regular basis. Selection though is not just about the Captains on a Tuesday night. It is part of the wider club, I am surprised at how many people do not know what they are do-ing 1 week in advance in the Hockey season, and the number of players who pull out at the last minute. There are two parts to making the role of being a Captain easier. 1 is for the club to provide the tools to make it easier, but the second is the players of the club supporting the captains.

• I am also pleased to say that the Eaglets have completed their first sea-son and the expectation is that they will be supply 2-3 players into the 3rd

X! this year. This is a huge achievement to have re-introduced a team and brought them back to helping the club, and many thanks must go to Dave Gordon for this.

• Moving on - results on the pitch. Again this year we had two movers and three non movers, but this year they were what we needed as a club.

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• For the 3rd year running the 5th X1 achieved the set goal of staying in their league. This makes them the most consistent team. There have been a number of issues this year with the 5th X1, and not of their mak-ing, oppositions have been dropping out at the last minute and very few games were played. These issues have been raised with Sussex and a number of suggestions have been put forward to Sussex organising com-mittee but as yet we are awaiting feedback on how they are going to structure this league next year.

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• The 4’s despite a valiant run at the end of the season will be relegated! For those who want a full report on the season, and probably an opinion on the relegation, please read Si Mills 2800 word report, it has been trailed on the Mighty 4’s home page although at the time of writing had not gone into full publication. The 4’s actually came 9th in their league, but due to being called the 4’s will be relegated as according to Sussex league rules EHC can not have a higher numbered team in a lower league.

• However on their road to relegation they did win, in dramatic fashion the 4th X1 Sussex cup. This was the first time the cup has been away from Brighton for 7 years. If Dave Whatley is in the room – please talk us through your flick to win the cup.

• The 3rd X1 did not have the best of season, although by virtue of being called the 3’s avoided relegation – congratulations! I am afraid that they take the award from the 1st XI this tear for the highest negative goal dif-ference at 76, which in comparison to previous winning scores is actually very modest. Once again the 3’s are captainless - so if there are any tak-ers before I try and press gang someone please let me know.

The second X1 had a good run at promotion, and a great season, but came second to a well organised Crowborough, they did get themselves to the regional playoffs. A great come back from 2 – 0 down, in a feisty and hard fought game with the equaliser being scored at a short corner after the final before going on to win in golden goal extra time. Next year 2nd X1 will be back in the regional league – Many Congratulations to Will and the team.

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• Following last year’s disappointment the 1st X1 have consolidated their position in South 2, and the rest of the club have been able to watch them playing back at the Saffrons. They are in a great position to build for next year.

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• With a promoted 2nd X1 the club is now in a very strong position to sup-port the 1st X1 and develop players through the club, with Sides in South 2, Regional 2 , Sussex Two, Three, Four and Five.

Next year’s goal is get the 3rd X1 promoted!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who stood in to umpire at some stage this season; it helps enormously as it is one less thing for the Captains to think about.

A huge thank you to Lisa and Chris in the kitchen for some wonderful teas which have been en-joyed by all.

Many thanks to all of you who have played this season, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have and I look forward to seeing you all on (PLEASE CONFIRM DATE) at the club open day as we look to kick off the new season.

Have a great summer

Cheers

Judith thanked Andy for his hard work this season. She then asked Dave Gordon to give the junior report.

7. Junior representative - end of season report - Dave Gordon

Training

Training for juniors has continued to take place every Sunday morning and also on Tuesday after-noons (aimed primarily at primary school children). There has also been training arranged for the older “teenagers” as part of senior training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Numbers on Sundays have been tremendous and each week we are seeing new faces who want to have a go.

Thanks must go again to Dave Adelston , for running most of the sessions on Sundays (ably as-sisted by various senior players and assorted parents). I could give you a long list of names who assist on a regular basis at various training sessions and events but I won’t embarrass them. What is very pleasing to note though is that the list of willing helpers has once again grown over the course of this year and that is testament to the way the club is developing.

Thanks again to Tasha and Ronnie for co-coordinating all the paperwork and chasing subs etc.on Sundays We would be lost without their tireless efforts organising everything (including getting all the various junior teams in place for tournaments)

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Thanks again go to Linda McNeil for her Tuesday afternoon sessions and to those older children who have helped her out

U8s MixedThe under 8's attended three tournaments

A core of 4 played in every game, Emma, Anya, Oli and Sam, and they were joined by different people at the matches.

Each tournament had a different set up, pitch size etc. They won at Lewes (the best run) and at Horsham. They came 5th at EG but only lost 1 game in a tournament that saw balls regularly kicked in from the halfway line.

Andy Bordass received comments from many people about how well they have played, with their passing, tackling and movement. Their record is to score 8 goals in 5 mins.and at Horsham where 45 goals were scored in all matches, they had scored 29 of them and conceded just 2.

Sadly there are very few to come and take on the mantle next year.

The “core of 4” played superbly. 

U10 Girls

Won every tournament that they entered. Qualified for the regional finals where they lost out in the final to a scrappy goal against Surbiton (who they had beaten earlier in the day).

U10 Boys

The under 10 boys have had a very successful season. The highlight was making the regional fi-nals at Surbiton. At the Eastbourne tournament we put out two equal sides and finished 3rd and 4th. At the Ron Easton we finished as runners up. At Horsham we were also runners up. At the County In2hockey tournament we were runners up by a goal difference of 1. At the regional finals we finished 3rd in our group, but were given second, much to another team’s amazement. We let them have second place, and they were subsequently thrashed by Canterbury! Eastbourne were put into the plate competition, but were sadly knocked out in the semis. Maybe next year?

U12 GirlsOnce again no silverware for the under 12 girls but the weather I think got in the way of the u12s playing in more tournaments but numbers are great at this age group and they will form the bedrock of the Chicks next year.

U12 Boys

Played 5 tournaments some 30 games 24 wins 5 draws 1 loss

Eastbourne Tournament- Won all games and won the tournamentHorsham- Won all games won the tournamentRon Eastman-2 draws won the Trophy (second year running)In2Hockey county tournament 1 draw and for the 4th year running won the tournament to represent Sussex at the London regionalsLondon regionals –Won their group to go into the main cup draw but lost in the quarter finals

So that technically makes Eastbourne Boys U12’ the 6th best side in the South.

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Under 16 boys

The under 16 boys entered the EHA regional competition. They played their hearts out against as-sorted teams of “ringers” but did manage not to finish bottom of the league (for once) thanks to a comprehensive victory over Sevenoaks

Girls U16 Started well with a win and a draw in their first 2 matches in September. Unfortunately the following matches were scheduled in October and February half term and on Remembrance Sunday. This resulted in us struggling to get a steady team together and we did not perform as well as we could. This is the second year when matches have been scheduled in the holiday periods, as such we may well opt out of the competition next season and consider perhaps a trip to a tournament in Holland.

ChicksAfter finishing 3rd in the league last year with a youngish squad, the Chicks quietly set themselves the ambitious target of winning the league. The squad was relatively settled, with the addition of a couple of new girls and support from some of the younger girls. It seemed to be going to plan, by Christmas, the Chicks had won 9, lost 1 and were sitting top of the league closely followed by Brighton. The New Year break caused a slight loss of momentum, as some players were needed elsewhere, so after a draw against Lewes and second loss of the season to Brighton, they were now second in the league, but crucially with a game in hand. The Chicks would have to win the 5 remaining matches to clinch the league. They duly won the next 4 matches, with a 7-1 away victory at Hor-sham being a particularly impressive display. So to the last match away at Worthing, a victory would do it. However, it wasn't going to be straight forward because it was a rearranged match in the Easter holidays, player availability was an issue. Alice Fenton who had scored 28 out of 82 goals this season was going to be in Cornwall and our regular adult player Chloe Pollard was out injured. Luckily for the Chicks, Alice persuaded her Mum & Dad to cut short their holiday and Ronnie Moore stepped into the breach as our playing adult. Worthing hadn't read the script though and went 1-0 up after 15 minutes and that's the way it stayed until 20 minutes to go, when Chicks Player Of The Year, Polly McCarthy smacked in a screamer of a short corner, with Girls U14 Player Of The Year Lizzie Godson putting the Chicks in the lead 10 minutes later. The last 10 minutes seemed to go on forever, but thankfully they held on to the lead and clinched the title.The girls are going to continue their hockey development next year by stepping up to the Ladies League as a group and resurrecting the Swifts name, leaving the Chicks to the next wave of girls coming through, some of whom contributed to the Chicks success this year.

A big thanks must go to everyone who umpired for the Chicks this year, to Tony Hayes for his Tuesday night coaching sessions and to Ange and Des for ensuring we had a team every week, despite the best efforts of netball tournaments trying to sabotage us.

KestrelsFirst half of the Season the Ks were, remarkably, undefeated and equal top of the league with East Grinstead

Second half of the season lost only three games drew twice came third in the league

Sussex development Cup – the Kestrels won all the way through to the Semi-final but lost to Lewes (very contentiously!!!!!)

Not too shabby for a team whose average age is between 12/13 playing teams of up to 16 year olds

Eaglets

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2014/15 saw the rebirth of the Eaglets. They had a great first season and finished a respectable mid-table. They could have done better but the latter half of the season saw a number of the regu-lars promoted to the third team where they all did well and it shows the Eaglet system as a very good way of gradually introducing teenagers into the mens section.

My thanks go to Ross for turning out each week and also to Keith Weblin for regularly volunteering to blow a whistle..

General It would remiss of me to neglect to thank:-

1 All the parents for ferrying children to matches/training, standing in the freezing cold sup-porting and, most importantly, paying the subs and match fees

2 Those older juniors and assorted adult players and parents who have assisted with training, umpiring, baking cakes etc

3 All the coaches and the various team managers who have the thankless task of organising everything

Judith thanked Dave for all his hard work with the Juniors, particularly with the Eaglets this season.

8. Nomination of Vice-Presidents for 2015 - 16There were no nominations for vice presidents, and all were duly re-elected (list attached). Pro-posed by Andy Edwards and seconded by Matt Narracott. Judith Barnes thanked those vice-presidents present for coming to tonight’s meeting, and for at-tending the successful President’s Day earlier in the season at the Saffrons. She is hoping to ar-range a match day early next season to which they will be invited, and offered lunch.

9. Club Awards for 2014-15Veteran’s Award - Simon Hookway

Season’s Most Outstanding Achievement Award - Men’s 4s

Les Gordon Award for long service to the Club - Dave Whatley

Portman Building Society Award for service to the Club - Chris Wadman

Sumner Shield for passing the ball - Ladies’ 2s

McNeill Award for outstanding contribution to the Junior section - Dave Gordon

Fletcher Cup for player/team with great pitch achievement - Chicks

Cyril Jiggins Cup for a great contribution to the Club over many years - Allen Filer (fixtures secre-tary since 1988!)

Judith then handed out trophies for the player of the season for individual teams:Men’s 5s - David WestMen’s 4s - Owen CorkeMen’s 3s - Finley DevileMen’s 2s - Jamie FrancisMen’s 1s - Jamie Hyder

Ladies’ 3s - Carly Boussell9 of 12

Ladies’ 2s - Ruth McAtamneyLadies’ 1s - Rosie Sharpe

Mr Tom Waterhouse then made a short speech about an award he received some years ago from Sussex hockey for his part in uniting the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Hockey Associations into one body to become the new Sussex County Hockey Association. This took 3 years to collate, until the 2nd July 2001, when the 3 associations became one. Much of the preliminary work took place in the Old Pavilion at the Saffrons. Mr Ron Easton became the first President. Tom explained that he now wished to “hand on” the award to the club as an important part of its history. Judith thanked Tom for this, and for the very kind donation of a sum of money “behind the bar” for the benefit of those attending the meeting. She said that the award will be kept in the trophy cabinet at the Saf-frons clubhouse for display to the public.

10. Nomination of Officers for 2015 - 2016

POSITION ELECTED NOMINATED BY SECONDED BY

President Judith Barnes Chris Wadman Andy Price

Chairman Andy Edwards Andy Bordass Phil Martin

Hon. Secretary Rachel O’Dwyer Jenny Herold Judith Barnes

Hon. Treasurer Phil Martin Ade Newton Will Francis

Ladies’ Club Captain Jenny Herold Rachel O’Dwyer Claire Noble

Men’s Club Captain Andy Bordass Andy Edwards John Smith

Ladies’ Fixtures Secre-tary

Judith Barnes Jenny Herold Roz Whittaker

Men's Fixtures Secre-tary

Vacant

Junior Rep Girls Tasha Jaeger Jenny Herold Judith Barnes

Junior Rep Boys Matt Narracott Dave Gordon Andy Bordass

Hon. Social Secretary Will Francis Matt Narracott Dave Whatley

Publicity Officer Ade Newton Andy Edwards Matt Narracott

Fund Raising Officer David Adelston Rachel O’Dwyer Steve Perry

Elected Officer 1 Chris Wadman John Smith Dave Gordon

Elected Officer 2 Vacant

Child Welfare Officers Roz WhittakerElaine Robinson

Rachel O’Dwyer Judith Barnes

Co-opted member John Smith David Adelston Ade Newton

Men's 1s Captain Vacant

Men's 2s Captain Will Francis Dave Whatley Matt Narracott

Men's 3s Captain Vacant

Men's 4s Captain Jack Sutton Andy Edwards Ade Newton

Men's 5s Captain Jeremy Dewing Simon Hookway David West

Men's Eaglets Captain Ollie Askaroff Dave Gordon Matt Narracott

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POSITION ELECTED NOMINATED BY SECONDED BY

Kestrel’s Captain Tim Clay Matt Narracott Dave Gordon

Ladies' 1s Captain Katie HilsdonClaire Noble

Jenny Herold Rachel O’Dwyer

Ladies' 2s Captain Kath Easton Judith Barnes Jenny Herold

Ladies 3s Captain Becca French Rachel O’Dwyer Claire Noble

Ladies' Cygnets Cap-tain

Des HorriganAngie Garner

Jenny Herold Judith Barnes

Chicks Captain Dave Gordon Angie Garner Lorna Wilkinson

11. Any other businessHappy Birthday - Judith Barnes wished John Chissell a very happy birthday on behalf of the club, and invited everyone to sing “Happy Birthday” to John.

Publicity - Andy Price shared his view that the club needs to be more pro-active regarding public-ity in the local area. He suggested better use of the local newspaper as one means of doing this.

Coaching for Sunday parent helpers - Angie Garner asked whether there will be provision of training for volunteer parent helpers who assist with coaching of juniors on Sunday mornings. Andy Edwards replied that there are plans to address this for next season.

Feedback from Sussex Hockey - Matt Narracott reported that, at a recent Sussex coaches meet-ing, he had received some very positive feedback regarding the Eastbourne juniors currently par-ticipating in the single system.

Junior Committee meeting 9th June - Judith Barnes reminded all members of this committee of the upcoming meeting.

Judith Barnes thanked everyone for attending.

The meeting closed at 8.45pm.

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