MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 13th MARCH 2023 (LINDLEY LIB.)
MINUTES FROM 14th NOVEMBER 2022
These minutes had been published on the Website. There were no issues raised and these were accepted accordingly.
Proposed – Sean Peacock Seconded – Neil Hinchliffe
CORRESPONDENCE
No correspondence had been received
TREASURERS REPORT ( Secretary on behalf of Dean Poutney)
As mentioned at the November meeting entry fees and club affiliations were down from £3645 to £3530. The Association has seen a reduction of clubs which subsequently led to a reduction in teams across Snooker, Billiards and Vets sections.
Competition Entries and Payments
The current season had seen a healthy increase in Competition entries and the Committee will now look at the possibility of increasing prize monies where possible.
However, whilst individual entering and payment by Bank Transfer has made it more convenient to enter; the Committee and particularly the Treasurer have still been faced with the problem of reconciling entries to payments and individual clubs. As such it is the intention of the Treasurer and Committee to ensure a system is adopted that facilitates timely receipt of entry fees. This may take the form of one payment from each club to represent a complete entry format for all Competition entries made by a club with one Bank Transfer or Cheque to be paid by the November meeting at the latest. Delegates and Clubs will be notified of proposals in due course.
Balances
As at the 13th March 2023 the Association balances are follows:- Barclays Current A/c £2506.03 / Barclays Deposit A/c £10177.97 / Cash in Hand £120.
We no longer hold monies within a Paypal A/c and have closed this due to the cost of receiving monies.
Adverts
We no longer take space in our Handbook for Club or Individual adverts. so as to keep production costs as low as possible. We are however keen to utilise our Website for advertising and any clubs wishing to participate please contact the Treasurer or a Committee member for details.
Should anyone have any queries or questions regarding the Associations finances then please don’t hesitate to contact the Treasurer by ‘phone or E-mail as per the details on the Website.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
There were no matters to report.
COMPETITION SECRETARY'S REPORT
All Individual Competitions were now reaching their final stages and all Semi-Finals and Finals will be in a position to be played on the due dates. In addition the various Team Competitions will also be included as the respective Snooker, Billiards and Vets seasons draw to a close.
Any Clubs wishing to host any of the Finals should contact the Competition Secretary as soon as possible, to make the necessary arrangements.
A final reminder was mentioned that all Trophies, due for return, should have been brought back to this meeting. Any Individuals or Clubs who have not done so were asked to take them to Meltham Liberal Club a.s.a.p. for attention of Comps. Secretary.
LEAGUE SECRETARY’S REPORT
The Vets League season finished today with the winners of each section already decided.
Section 1 - Moldgreen Con. B Section 2 – Marsh Lib. C Section 3 – Almondbury Con
Round Robin matches will now take place on 20th / 27th March & 3rd April to determine the overall Vets League Champions for the newly inaugurated Pete Gilbert Trophy.
In the Billiards League only 3 points separate the top 7 teams – so the race for the title is still wide open – with the last games to be played on 28th March.
In the Open Snooker, the season will conclude on 6th April followed by the Team Championship play-offs and John Needham Plate matches. This season there has been an increase in the number of frames played from 3760 to 4200 frames ( an extra 440 frames ) due to having 5 Divisions instead of 6. Hence, next season we will be looking to keep 5 Divisions, depending on entries.
All games must be played by these last scheduled dates in order to determine league positions for inclusion in the Team Championship or John Needham Competitions.
In October we experienced some problems with the Website – but these have now been resolved. Also we have had some minor issues with Unseasoned players handicaps.
It is important to mention Stan Moody and his recent achievements. The Association would like to congratulate him as it is not everyday that one of our players achieves what he has aspired to, already in his career. We wish him well for the future.
In terms of the general running of the League there were no major issues to report.
The most contentious issue remains with new players handicaps. We have continued to monitor and apply points deductions in line with your wishes, in order to ensure a ‘level playing field’ for existing teams.
We would like to draw your attention to the following for next season.
The demise of the current Website, due to the logistics required to maintain it in its’ present form now that Pete Gilbert has retired. This will be replaced by a new format, currently being developed in time for the start of the new season. All delegates and clubs will be kept fully updated and this will be dealt with in depth at the AGM in June. However this will now entail greater cost to the Association, going forward.
Promotion and Relegation in the Open Snooker League will remain as now – 3 Up / 3 Down.
Any Fines outstanding must be addressed at the time of paying Team Entry Fees.
It is possible that we might be welcoming Primrose Hill back in to the League.
AOB
No matters for inclusion had been received by the Secretary and no further issues were raised for discussion.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.55pm
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 14th NOVEMBER 2022 (LINDLEY LIB.)
APOLOGIES
Dean Poutney, Billy Keenan, Dave Wenzel, Derek Hey.
MINUTES FROM 14th MARCH 2022
These Minutes had been published on the Website and distributed at the Meeting. There were no issues raised and these were accepted accordingly.
Proposed – Sean Peacock Seconded – Phil Birmingham
CORRESPONDENCE
A letter had been received from Ruddi’s in Linthwaite which was read to the Meeting.
It thanked us for a donation of £100 towards their Charity. This money had come from the Presentation Night in May, as a result of a Competition Winner failing to attend to collect their Prize Money.
TREASURER’S REPORT
The Association has seen a reduction of Clubs which in turn has led to a reduction in teams across Snooker, Billiards and Vets Sections for the 2022/23 season. This has led to a reduction in entry fees from £3,645 in 2021/22 to £3,530. As a result the league structure now comprises 36 Affiliated clubs with 74 Snooker teams / 9 Billiards teams and 30 Vets teams. Whilst we have seen a reduction in teams over the last few years this should not over shadow the strength and depth of our League and the number of registered players.
Competition Entries and Payments. The Competition Entries and Draws have not yet been fully completed ( Paul to explain in his report ). Of the 4 already drawn and published – Snooker Championship / Snooker Handicap / Len Oldham Pairs & 3 Player Team KO – there has been an increase in Entries in all of them. Consequently this should allow for an increase in Prize Monies. Breakdown of entries – Snooker Championship (46) / Snooker Handicap (88) / Len Oldham Pairs (45) and 3 Player Team KO (29).
However, whilst the League has seen this healthy rise in Competition Entries, there still remains a large amount of entry fees outstanding to date. The Treasurer is currently reconciling Entries versus Payments; but asks in the meantime that all delegates speak with their respective team captains to ensure that any unpaid fees are addressed as a matter of urgency. Payment can be made via the Website ( Bank details are indicated ) or by cheque direct to the Treasurer. We no longer hold a PayPal A/c due to costs incurred in receiving monies nor do we accept Cash in payment. Any queries can be sent direct to Dean Poutney (Treasurer).
Balances. As of 13th November 2022 the Associations Balances are as follows:- Barclays Current A/c - £1660.03 / Barclays Deposit A/c - £10161.75 / Cash in Hand - £120.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
Rod reported that there were no issues to report save those relating to the Website which will be covered in the League Secretary’s Report later.
COMPETITION SECRETARY’S REPORT
As mentioned and indicated in the Treasurers Report the 4 Competitions drawn and published all show a healthy increase – Snooker Championship (46) / Snooker Handicap (88) / Len Oldham Pairs (45) and 3 Player Team KO (29). Scoff asked that all Closing Dates are adhered to so as to ensure ‘smooth running’.
The Vets / Billiards and Junior Competitions had not yet been drawn as these were showing a decrease on previous seasons. Entry Forms will remain open until the end of November with the hope of attracting more entries.
Scoff asked if anyone had any queries. Both Andy Wike and Martin Garside indicated that qualification rules might be affecting entry numbers – Competition Rule 2 b) known as the 3/5 Rule. Scoff agreed to look into this matter to see if anything could be done to remedy this prior to the Closing Date at the end of November. He did point out that nothing could be done regarding those 4 Competitions already Drawn and Published.
LEAGUE SECRETARY’S REPORT
John reported that there had been some amendments to League structures – particularly in the Open Snooker – where we had moved from 6 sections to 5 (x 15 teams). This had meant the season starting a couple of weeks earlier than normal to avoid as many ‘byes’ as in previous years. Vets had ended up with a slightly longer season incorporating more ‘byes’ whilst Billiards were basically playing a season and a half due to the reduction in teams and not being faced with a ‘restricted season’.
Website
In recent weeks we had experienced issues with our ‘Host’ as they had not properly backed up our data. At that time we ‘lost’ about a week of results from 28th October to 4th November. However this has been recovered and rectified in full with abundant thanks going to Pete Gilbert’ without whose input we would have had serious problems.
As the Secretary mentioned earlier one of the main tasks now facing our Association and in particular our League Secretary and Committee, is the future of the Website due to Pete’s retirement. As our current ‘bespoke’ Website has been built over many years by Pete it would be impossible to ‘retain’ and ‘run’ this without his input due to the complexity of its’ coding and what happens ‘behind the scenes’ in the operation. To this end John is now actively working on developing a new format which is in the process of being ‘tested’. He is also looking at 2 other ‘white label’ sites and will be looking into and visiting users as to their viability and compatibility for our own needs. Whichever ‘road’ is taken it will involve additional costs which we will be unable to avoid. Rod mentioned that in the past Pete had undertaken this ‘free of charge’ and John echoed this that it could possibly have exceeded £100,000. Whichever route we take this will now involve extra costs to our Association and hopefully this issue will have been resolved in the next few months.
Facebook
We now have a notification group consisting of 163 members. This has been extremely helpful in running alongside the Website and everyone that can join in does so. The name of the group is “Huddersfield Billiards & Snooker Association – Notices”.
Handicap Changes
We’re getting increased numbers every week; mainly as a result of unseasoned players who either win or lose 4/6.
Handbooks
As usual the Website remains the ‘golden option’ for the most up-to-date information for Handicaps, Fixtures etc. When a Handbook has gone ‘to print’ it cannot be altered or updated, especially where Handicaps are concerned. Another recent example was in the Vets section 2 fixtures where St. Pats and Springwood were wrongly published. Therefore the ‘Golden Rule’ always use the Website as being ‘Gospel’.
New Players
Just a reminder that new players in the Open Snooker League do not automatically start on 21 Handicap anymore. It is important that they start at an appropriate Handicap to their ability – assessed by their Team Captain. Any new players must be registered by the end of December as per League Rules.
Lastly, as of Sunday 13th November, all but 3 fixtures had been completed – and John thanked everyone for keeping on top of this.
AOB
Urfan Bashir of New Mill raised the question of a player whom he played recently whose handicap appeared far too high for his ability. The President mentioned that such situations do happen but that we don't adjust Handicaps for seasoned players just because of a good run of form or an exemplary frame which appears wrong for the Handicap given. [Post meeting note: League Rules section 4 covers this in detail.]
The League Secretary requested that going forward where there are concerns about the handicap of individual players, these are raised separately with the Committee.
There was a further suggestion that handicaps should be reviewed more frequently for seasoned players. The Secretary also stated that given the vast number of players involved the workload involved could be prohibitive.
If however, Mr Bashir wishes to put forward a proposal to deal with this matter, then it will have to be put in writing and dealt with at the next AGM, when Rule changes and amendments are dealt with.
Next Association meeting will be held at Lindley Lib. On Monday 13th March, 2023 (7.30pm).
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.10pm.
AGM – MONDAY 20th JUNE 2022
LINDLEY LIBERAL CLUB
Rod Taylor welcomed delegates to the meeting and was pleased to welcome Dean, our Treasurer, who was only able to be present at meetings occasionally because he now lives in Newquay, Cornwall.
Apologies for absence
Apologies received from Billy Keenan & Derek Frost.
Members who have passed away recently
A Minute’s silence was held for Stuart Hill, a well-respected Billiard Player over many years, who had passed away recently. We consider it appropriate to mention Mervyn Williams, a well-known Vets player, who also died a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, word of his passing was not known until the day after the meeting; therefore, we were unable to include him in paying our respects.
Minutes of AGM – June 2021
Due to the Covid pandemic we had been unable to hold a meeting at Lindley Lib. in the usual manner. Documents for discussion had been produced ‘online’ and matters relating had been dealt with accordingly during the past 12 months. There were no issues raised in conjunction with these matters.
Correspondence.
None received
Presidents Report
Tony was pleased that we had finally been able to run a full season after more than two years, because of the restrictions which had been in place previously. He thanked all the members of the Committee for their hard work whilst having to ‘work around’ the obstacles that had resulted; to ensure that we were able to complete a full Calendar.
He thanked Paul who had taken on his new role as Competition’s Secretary, enabling a successful completion to all Competitions.
He then made a special announcement in connection with the forthcoming retirement of Pete Gilbert. He stressed how diligently Pete had worked over the years, building our website and maintaining it; without which we would have been unable to operate our Leagues in such an efficient manner. A new trophy had been purchased for the Vets League Championship Winners, to replace our old existing one. This will be introduced next season. He invited Pete forward, to show him the trophy, which will be named ‘The Pete Gilbert’ trophy in recognition of his hard work, whilst never asking for financial recompense – only the odd bottle of Whisky occasionally!
Treasures Report & Accounts
Dean explained that he had now been able to produce a Balance Sheet showing a true reflection of our financial affairs; basically, covering the past three years - which had not been possible, due to the pandemic, previously. We had shown a profit of £237.30 during the past year, compared to a loss in the previous season of £518.56 ( Computer & Website maintenance with no income ) and a profit of £446.96 in season 2019/20.
Current assets now stood at £8499.89 compared to a balance of £14213.97 for season 2020/21 when outstanding monies for Club entry fees and Competitions had been honoured. Whilst this is a fairly healthy situation, we had to consider the implications towards maintaining a website where contributions had been minimal due to the input of Pete Gilbert. We had made substantial savings in respect of Handbooks but had incurred additional costs by engraving trophies ‘No Competition held’ for season 1920/21.
No key issues were raised in respect of these Accounts, which were passed and accepted by all delegates present. Proposed Rod Taylor / Seconded Neil Hinchliffe.
Competition Secretary’s Report
Paul reported that we had been able to complete all outstanding Competitions last year which had been left in abeyance due to Pandemic restrictions. This had been followed by a successful outcome to last season, when we were able to complete a normal ‘campaign’. Bearing in mind the problems we had been faced with, Competition entry fees showed a slight increase from £1538 to £1579 from season 2019/20, which on balance was a positive outcome, As Dean had mentioned in his report additional costs had been incurred by engraving trophies to cover two seasons. The Presentation Night held on 27th May had also proved successful and was well attended.
League Secretary’s Report
John was able to report that we had been able to complete a ‘full’ season with Team entry fees only marginally down on season 2019/20 from £3970 to £3645. On reflection this was very positive when considering problems faced by Clubs during the Pandemic. He reported that several proposals regarding alterations/amendments to Rules had been received.
John made a request for any Clubs or teams that might struggle to find players to notify him, so that a message can be posted on the website.
Election of Officers
All current officials offered their names for re-election as follows:-
Tony Clegg (President) / Rod Taylor (Secretary) / Dean Poutney (Treasurer) / John Bastow (League Reporting Secretary ) / Derek Frost ( Chairman ) / Paul Schofield (Competition’s Secretary) / Billy Keenan (Handicap Committee) and Dave Wenzel (Junior Promotion’s Secretary).
There were no further nominations for election to the Committee, All the above were accepted as being re-elected to serve on the Committee for season 2022/23, unanimously.
PROPOSED ALTERATION TO RULES
Several proposals had been received as follows:-
1) MEETING ATTENDANCE – To clarify rule 1.5 regarding Meeting Attendance
‘Attendance’ is defined as being present for the duration of the meeting for at least 30 minutes (or for the entire meeting, whichever is the shortest. This was to overcome the practice of simply signing the register and then ‘disappearing’ to avoid points deductions.
PASSED FOR INCORPORATION INTO RULES
2) TROPHY CLEANING – To clarify rule 9 regarding maintenance of Trophies
All costs incurred to clean a Trophy (that has been returned in poor condition) will be charged back to the Individual or Club, via a ‘Fine’. The ‘Fine’ will be added to the League Registration Fee for the following season and payable as a condition of Registration.
PASSED FOR INCORPORATION INTO RULES
3) HANDICAP CHANGES FOR UNSEASONED PLAYERS – LAST 6 GAMES RULE
Handicaps reviews. These are reviewed after every set of 6 submitted results, as determined by the date the Results Card is first submitted. For example, if game #6 is postponed for 10 days and game #7 is played as scheduled, then the handicap review will occur after game #7 (and will be based on games 1,2,3,4,5, and 7).
Points Adjustments. The following points adjustments apply after every group of 6 games.
PASSED FOR INCORPORATION INTO RULES
4) HB&SA DISCIPLINARY RULES
During the past few seasons there have been a small number of complaints regarding the behaviour of some individuals associated with HBSA, causing issues for others. Therefore, it has been deemed necessary to clarify what behaviours are acceptable and action that will be taken when standards are breached. This is for the protection of all individuals associated with HBSA.
Disciplinary rules have therefore been documented that will apply to all current or former HB&SA players in relation to their conduct on any HB&SA related matter, including HB&SA sanctioned matches. These rules are based on shortened version of the WPBSA player rules. The full wording was posted on our website prior to the AGM and will be posted on-line in due course.
A key point to note is that, as with the WPBSA rules, the burden of proof for any breach is on “the balance of probabilities”.
PASSED FOR INCORPORATION INTO RULES
5) POINTS DEDUCTION REGARDING MEETING ATTENDANCE
A late proposal was put forward regarding the points deductions for non-attendance at meetings. The proposal stated that this was unfair. This proposal also asked that the system of points deductions should be ‘scrapped’ completely. Following discussion, it was concluded that, it was not unreasonable for each Club to send one representative to attend 3 meetings per year; and, in fact, necessary so that HBSA business can be conducted effectively. The existing penalty, however, may be harsh and so an amendment was proposed. This stated that the penalty for non-attendance be reduced from 4 points to 2 (Snooker Teams) / 3 points to 1.5 (Billiards Teams) / Vets not applicable.
AMENDMENT PASSED FOR INCORPORATION INTO RULES - TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY
THE FOLLOWING TOPICS WERE FOR NOTING ONLY
The full wording for the following was posted on our website prior to the AGM and will be posted on-line in due course.
1) PAYMENT OF FINES
All fines incurred during a season (e.g., late results, team withdrawals, etc.) will be added to the Registration Fees for the following season and must be paid as a condition of registration – to be paid in full at that time.
2) APPEALS PROCESS
This outlines what to do when disagreeing with a ruling, and where there is a wish to appeal.
3) HANDICAP RULES CLARIFICATION
These rules provide greater explanation as to how handicaps are set.
4) TEAM SWITCHES
This clarification notes that team “ownership” belongs primarily to the players playing most of the games, noting that rulings will be case by case, due to the range of circumstances often surrounding such decisions.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Some members do not refer to the Website on a regular basis, sometimes missing important information. Many refer to Facebook for their information so it was agreed that HB&SA will create a Facebook group to alert group members of new Website posts. This will be purely for notification and will not be a separate communication channel nor will it be a discussion forum.
Dave Orentas was issued with a permanent ban from HBSA during 2022 (with the possibility of reinstatement, based on various conditions being met). Dave spoke at the meeting to appeal this decision. The President stated that it was not appropriate or practical to bring up individual cases at an AGM. Dave was invited to contact the Committee separately via his team Captain to progress his concerns.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS THE MEETING CLOSED AT 9.05pm.
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 14th MARCH 2022
APOLOGIES – Dean Poutney
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 8th NOVEMBER 2021
There were no issues relating to these minutes, which were passed unanimously.
Proposed – Neil Hinchliffe / Seconded – Derek Hey
CORRESPONDENCE - No items had been received by the Secretary.
TREASURERS REPORT (Rod Taylor on behalf of Dean Poutney)
After a couple of frustrating years we have finally been able to complete 2019/20 season and consolidate the League A/c following payments of all Prize Monies, Refereeing Fees, New Trophies and Engraving Fees.
Whilst this has seen a protracted completion of the Associations full accounts for a couple of years due to the Covid Pandemic, we remain in a strong financial position due to the cost cutting exercises undertaken by the Committee.
The Treasurer will provide a full breakdown of the 2019/20 and 2020/21 A/c’s when presenting the current season A/c’s at the AGM to be held on 20th June 2022 at Lindley Liberal Club.
Entries 2021/22 – as mentioned at the November meeting, Club Entry & Affiliation Fees had declined from £3970 (2019/20) to £3645; due to the reduction of Clubs which subsequently lead to a reduction in the numbers of Snooker / Billiards & Vets teams. However we had not been as adversely affected as some Associations throughout the country.
Competition Entry Fees – The League saw an increase in entries this season. We will always endeavour to increase Prize Monies whenever possible, providing entry levels are maintained.
However, whilst increase in entries facilitated by payments by Bank transfer, as opposed to Cash, Cheques, etc has been a result of this; it is still causing problems when Individuals pay separately as opposed to one payment covering all entries from one Club. This causes the Treasurer difficulties when trying to reconcile payments from different sources. Therefore he has requested that only one person per Club is responsible for collecting all entry fees appertaining to Individuals and Teams and subsequently then submitting one payment accordingly prior to the commencement of any Competition. Delegates will be reminded of this at the AGM.
Cost Reduction & Investment – As mentioned in November cost reductions had been achieved by introducing a new host for our Website (thanks due to Peter Gilbert) and a reduction in the number and content of the Handbooks saving approx.. £300-£400 each year. We have invested these savings in covering ‘course’ costs for two new Referees and also the purchase of a League Laptop Computer for use by the Competitions Secretary to ensure the effective running of Competitions.
Current Balances held by the Association
CURRENT A/C - £7651.53 / DEPOSIT A/C – 5159.51 / CASH IN HAND - £170
We no longer hold any monies within the PayPal A/c which has now been closed.
Adverts -The Association is keen to utilise the Website for Advertising.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
There have been issues with Conduct and Behaviour during matches recently which is being covered in more detail by the League Secretary during his Report.
No further matters to report currently.
WEBSITE
Pete Gilbert announced his retirement from his position as Website Administrator after the AGM.
However he will be available to facilitate arrangements during the ‘close’ season this year in preparation for season 2022/23, He will also work closely with John Bastow during the season to ensure a smooth running and changeover to a new system which is currently being researched.
Pete will then finish his duties completely after next season. A vote of thanks was taken to show the appreciation by all Clubs and Delegates for his work during the past seasons which have proved invaluable to the smooth and efficient running of our Leagues and the Website.
John Bastow will outline future possible actions during his Report.
COMPETITIONS SECRETARY’S REPORT
Paul reported that all outstanding Competitions from season 2019/20 had been completed successfully during the current season.
All Competitions for the current season were being completed on schedule with the Semi-Finals to be completed during the next few weeks followed by the Finals in May to be held at Levels and Crosland Moor Con. respectively.
Entries to the Junior Championship had resulted in only 3 entrants as of the meeting date; but a 4th has now also been included which means we will now be able to play two Semi-Finals & Final in the coming weeks,
LEAGUE SECRETARY’S REPORT
Covid – Due to the Covid Pandemic 50+ games have had to be rearranged. The season has gone very well considering how things might have turned out only 6 months ago and all the uncertainties. We were at real risk of the Leagues being spoiled and teams and players have gone to great lengths to rearrange games and to keep us on track. A list of 31 names of Team Captains and Players were read out and given special thanks. John also asked that thanks be passed to officials and clubs for the flexibility they have shown. He also reminded the delegates to ensure that all final matches are completed by the scheduled dates by the end of the season so as to avoid any unfair advantage in Final League positions.
Byes – the number of ‘Byes’ had been an issue this season and some lower handicap players had dropped out or played less because of the reduction in matches and the opportunity to play different teams and venues. We may need to think about the way we address this issue in future. John asked for comments from the room and said that he would publish a player consultation form with a view to making proposals.
Website – following Pete’s retirement announcement earlier, we are able to ensure continuity of access for next season but thereafter we may have to seek a new solution. This gave us new opportunities (eg. Making the Website more ‘mobile’ friendly) but this would probably involve spending more money developing a replacement Website. John announced the launch of a test Website and if anyone wished to be involved or provide ‘input’ – then to let him know.
New Player Handicaps – We had 70+ new player registrations this season – all of whom had to be given a starting Handicap and we had done 2 things to improve this. (1) Changed the registration process for new players to compel whoever is making the request to declare information about the player, (2) Writing more detailed explanations of how we make our decisions which we will share as part of the AGM documents.
Conduct & Behaviour – Following Rod’s reference to this earlier, there had been a number of issues in the Snooker League which have involved further actions by the Committee.
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At the lower level we have had accusations of bias, refusal to accept rulings, refusal to accept Committee processes, threats to involve other Team captains (in order to ‘browbeat’ the Committee to change its’ mind).
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At the more extreme end (and on more than one occasion) a small number of instances of abusive behaviour – both in person and on-line. In a couple of cases physical threats were made to League players.
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Two separate cases this year from disgruntled players who experienced something unpleasant during a match, but felt unable to make a formal complaint through fear of intimidation from the player or team concerned.
‘Behaviour’ and different perspectives on what is ‘OK’ and what is not ‘OK’ have been recurring themes for a number of years – and urgent action now needs to be taken. We will now spell out what is or isn’t acceptable – and if players ‘stray’ beyond these boundaries there will be consequences. Therefore to ensure ALL players can enjoy participation in the future; relevant proposals will be put to the AGM regarding behaviour and sanctions and a vote will be taken.
Handicap System – possible amendments for next season.
These proposals were put on the Website and a few people have asked what is happening. Some changes may need to be put on ‘ice’ and remain under consideration with more clarity at the AGM.
JUNIOR SNOOKER
Following on from the November meeting, Dave once again pointed out that there were not many young players becoming involved. This was the responsibility of all Clubs to encourage Juniors as they ultimately become part of a successful ‘fabric’ of any Clubs future prosperity. Whilst the Association will facilitate these younger players in future it is up to the Clubs themselves, at ‘grassroots’ level to encourage them and develop their potential. Dave once again stressed that he is prepared to offer his help and share the past success he has had at Deighton.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The issue of Delegates attending prior to the start of Meetings – simply to sign the Attendance Register so as to avoid Points deduction penalties – was raised.
It was unanimously agreed by everyone present that this was ‘bad practice’ and needs resolving for the future. A proposal will be put to the AGM – and voted upon – with the view that this will no longer be allowed and anyone attempting this will be deemed as not being present for that particular meeting and liable to the same consequences.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.10pm
.MINUTES OF MEETING HELD MONDAY 8th NOVEMBER 2021
From the 39 Clubs in our Association - 35 Clubs were represented / 3 Vets did not attend (not compulsary) & 2 were not in attendance ( these 2 have had League points deducted as per attendance rule ). There were 57 delegates in attendance.
Chairman Derek Frost opened the meeting at 7pm by reading out the names of all those 14 playing members who had passed away since our last meeting held on the 9th March 2020. This was followed by a minutes silence in memory of their passing.
Apologies for absence Dean Poutney (Treasurer)
Minutes from meeting held 9th March 2020 (Rod Taylor – Secretary)
Rod explained that any matters arising from that meeting had been dealt with at subsequent Zoom Committee Meetings and AGM's, as we had been unable to meet 'face-to-face' in the past 20 months due to the Covid pandemic. There were no urgent matters outstanding, which was duly accepted.
Correspondence (Rod Taylor – Secretary)
No correspondence had been received.
President's Message (Tony Clegg – President)
Tony said he hoped that the new season, which had recently begun, would not be 'blighted' again due to the Covid pandemic; which saw us having to 'null and void' season 2020-21 completely.
The Committee had worked hard, holding regular Zoom meetings, in the hope that we might be able to salvage some kind of League fixtures; albeit in a reduced format with the restrictions appertaining at the time, but this was not possible. Therefore a reluctant decision was taken in January to cancel the season entirely.
We were able to put on 'hold' the outstanding Competitions from the previous season until restrictions allowed them to continue, as most of them had reached the Semi-Final and Final stages, prior to the 'Lockdown' in March 2020. Paul Schofield, Competitions Secretary, is currently working hard to achieve this and as of today only the Len Oldham Pairs and Billiards Championship Finals remain outstanding. Therefore the Committee had decided to hold a Presentation night, immediately following this meeting, as we would be able to present most of the Trophies and Cash Prizes, accordingly.
He also paid special thanks to both John Bastow and Pete Gilbert during the past few months in preparing for the new season.
Treasurer's Report - (Rod Taylor – on behalf of Dean Poutney)
After a couple of frustrating years we had now been able to bring our Accounts for season 2019-20, fully up-to-date. The Association remains in a strong financial position due to some cost cutting exercises which we had undertaken recently.
Entry Fees and Club Affiliations were down from £3970 to £3645 which had been due to a reduction in Clubs leading to a reduction in Fees received.
On the subject of cost reductions the two main contributors were (1) a new host for our Website arranged by Pete Gilbert and (2) a reduction in the quantity and number of pages for the new seasons Handbook – which should save the Association approx. £300-£400 annually.
There still remains a substantial amount of monies owing for Competition entries and delegates and team captains were asked to remind all entrants to ensure payments are made urgently. These can be paid either through a Bank Transfer or alternatively by cheque to the Treasurer.
As of 8th November 2021, the Associations Balances are as follows:- Current A/c £8015.93 / Deposit A/c £5159.51 / Cash in Hand £308. We no longer hold monies within a PayPal A/c which has subsequently been closed, due to the cost incurred in receiving payments.
We have the opportunity to utilise our Website to raise funds by way of advertising and we would ask that delegates speak to their respective Clubs in the hope that they will support us. Also it is a good opportunity for local businesses connected with the League to raise their profiles by way of taking advertising space. Anyone wishing to place an advert can contact the Treasurer or speak to a member of the Committee.
Secretary's Report (Rod Taylor)
As there had been no League activity and a reduced input from Clubs there was nothing of significance to report.
With regards to the Handbook; the Committee had decided to reduce the format together with the quantity produced. This meant that there was no longer any photographs included nor advertising, as mentioned already. These have now been fully augmented in to the Website.
Competitions Secretary's Report (Paul Schofield)
Paul confirmed that all outstanding Competitions had now been concluded, apart from the Len Oldham Pairs Final ( to be played 20th November ) and the Billiards Championship Final ( to be played 10th December ). We had been able to engrave all the trophies with the exception of these two, in time for tonight's Presentation. These will be presented following these two matches and engraved next Spring when all the other trophies for the current season are done.
Normally the closing date for Competitions is 31st October. However Paul has decided to extend these dates until mid / end November to take account of the completion of the outstanding matches so as to avoid too much overlap. Also entries were slightly down in some cases and the slight extension might attract a few more entries.
League Secretary's Report (John Bastow)
John reported that we now have 115 teams registered this year (compared to 124 in season 2019/20). We have lost 4 Snooker teams / 4 Vets teams and 1 Billiards team.
As a result we had to change section numbers, which meant some teams missing out on promotion. Unfortunately when teams drop out there is no simple alternative.
On a positive note, as of today's meeting, we have 517 active players, 984 registered players and around 70 newly registered players on our books.
Overall we have fared much better (post Covid) than some Leagues in surrounding areas.
Use of the Website for submitting results is now 100% and he thanked everyone for their efforts in achieving this.
He also reported that very few games had been affected by the pandemic and thanked everyone for working around this to ensure that fixtures are played.
He also thanked those Committee members who had been responsible for organising the Presentation evening and the considerable effort which they had put in.
Any Other Businesses
Dave Wenzel addressed the meeting and explained that he was now making initial enquiries to Clubs, with the aim of promoting the game to younger players. He has been responsible for achieving success with Juniors at Deighton which has not only produced some capable players who are an asset to the Club and the League, but also some good lads who are showing maturity.
He asked delegates if they would raise the matter within their respective Clubs as to how best we might achieve this objective and report back to the next Association meeting on 14th March 2022, with a view to implementing something positive at next year's AGM.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.30pm