Minutes

Buckinghamshire Short Mat Bowling Association

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Buckinghamshire Short Mat Bowling Association

Minutes of the BSMBA AGM

7:30pm Tuesday 7th May 2024, Wendover Bowls Club

The Chairman opened the meeting and thanked Wendover Bowls Club for their hospitality in once again hosting the BSMBA AGM and reminding those attending that there is one vote per club.

1. Apologies for absence

Lois Shoosmith, Mary Arnold, Brian Latham, Richard Ransley, Chris Millard, Irene Roberts.

Attendees are listed below

Name Club Name Club

Bob Hine * Chinnor Peter Coker * Beacon

Pauline Hobson Wendover Malcolm Hobson Wendover

Linda Coker Beacon Peter Horn Wendover

Belinda Horn Wendover Ann Smith Wendover

Eric Smith Wendover Carole Wagstaff Hardwick

Terry Wagstaff * Hardwick Chris Barksfield Wendover

George Hunt Wendover Tony Bloomer Wendover

Brian Harrison Wendover Brenda Harrison Wendover

Doris Brooks Wendover John Brooks Wendover

John Everett Marsh Gibbon Richard Fincher Hardwick

Malcolm Richards * Beacon/Bellingdon

* Denotes Committee Member

2. Approval of previous minutes

No questions or comments were raised about the minutes of the last AGM of the BSMBA which was held at 7:30pm on 9th May 2023 at Wendover bowls club. They were approved unanimously.

3. Matters arising from previous minutes

There were no matters arising.

4. Correspondence

No correspondence has been received from clubs/members concerning the agenda for the AGM or any other matters.

5. Report from Officers of the Committee

The Chairman's report is attached to the Agenda as Appendix A There were no comments or questions from the floor.

The Competition Secretary's report is attached to the Agenda as Appendix B. There were no comments or questions from the floor.

The Secretary's report There were no matters reported by the Secretary.

The Treasurer's report is attached as Appendix C. It was explained by Bob Hine that more by accident than design the cost of hiring Handy Cross was reduced to £90 per day. A vote to accept the report was proposed by Eric Smith and seconded by Doris Brooks and was carried unanimously.

6. Election of Officers.

No nominations for either officers or elected members of the Committee have been received.

Most officers of the Committee have indicated their willingness to continue in their roles. Malcolm Richards is standing down as Chairman at the end of the meeting.

Vote to re-elect members of the Committee

 Peter Coker (Treasurer)

 Peter Coker (Secretary)

 Bob Hine (Competitions Secretary)

 Terry Wagstaff(Membership Sercretary)

 Alan Egleton (elected member)

 Chris Millard (elected member)

 Clive Cook (elected member)

Brian Harrison proposed and Belinda Horn seconded a vote to re-elect en bloc and this was carried unanimously.

Vote to elect independent accounts examiner

 Richard Fincher

John Brooks proposed and Chris Barksfield seconded a vote to elect and this was carried unanimously.

Open for nominations/vote

There were no nominations for the post of Chairman

7. Review of membership of the ESMBA

There were no issues raised for discussion.

8. BSMBA Membership Fees for 2024/2025

The committee had proposed the club membership fee remain at £10 per annum. John Everett proposed and Tony Bloomer seconded the proposal and it was accepted unanimously.

9. Any Other Business

Malcolm Richards asked that if members were aware of clubs looking for friendly matches to pass the information to Bob Hine

10. Date of Next Meeting

Venue - Wendover will host the next AGM at 7:00pm on 12th May 2025.

It will be suggested at the Vale League AGM to be held on 14th May that both AGM’s be held on the same evening.

The meeting closed at 8:10 with Malcolm Richards thanking all present for attending the AGM.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Appendix A

This year has seen no major changes in our bowls world.

The leagues – the Vale 2 mat, South Bucks 2 mat, winter and summer single mat, are in a reasonably healthy state with a move in some to more daytime games.

The BSMBA has continued to provide regular games at Handy Cross for any one to join in, including those from surrounding counties, generally Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. Sadly, visitors from other counties often outnumber those from Buckinghamshire clubs. This throws their future in doubt as Bob will no doubt cover.

Other games initiatives include a long mat/short mat game against Handy Cross bowlers with a repeat game planned for the winter season. We are also hoping to support Holmer Green to resurrect their summer Masters tournament played on their outdoor mats, in its time an enjoyable and well supported one day event

The insurance scheme we provided is no longer available as the provision of an umbrella policy was no longer offered to us, but clubs have been helped to source individual policies.

I do hope in this coming year we will see more support for the events the BSMBA plan, but also more feedback from members and their clubs on what they would like from us.

Each year the question arises as to whether the BSMBA is needed. It was originally re-constituted to keep a county organisation in place so that if, at some point, sufficient players wanted to play in the Inter- County Competition and National Competitions provided by the ESMBA we could transition back to being ESMBA members and give them those opportunities. There is no sign of that happening so far. It would be more difficult to do that in the future should that situation change were the BSMBA to cease to exist.

I must thank all the committee members for the attendance at our regular committee meetings and their support throughout the year. In particular, Peter Coker for his work as Secretary and Treasurer, and Bob Hine for all the work he has put in to insurance, organising the monthly games at Handy Cross and administering our impressive website.

This is my last year as Chairman and I have enjoyed being a part of the BSMBA’s transition at a time when it seemed doomed. I hope it continues to support short mat bowling in the county.

COMPETITIONS SECRETARY’S REPORT Appendix B

Over the past year, we have continued to run monthly events at Handy Cross, courtesy of the Handy Cross Indoor Bowls Club. These have ranged from a Singles competition which was very successful and well supported, to Pairs, Australian Pairs, Triples and spoon drives.

Overall, the support for these events from our membership has been very disappointing and without the contributions from Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire players, we would not be able to continue. Having said that, I must mention that Wendover bowls club and Thame Bowls club members have been very supportive over the winter months and that is much appreciated.

Going forward, I must confess to be in two minds as to whether or not I am prepared to continue organising these events, as it is very frustrating when only a handful of our members come forward each month. I appreciate that during the Summer months, outdoor bowlers find it difficult to combine our events with their own weekend games. We did offer two half day sessions, as some people said they found a whole day too tiring and I completely understand that, but even these did not generate any additional interest.

Therefore, subject to the outcome of this meeting and any decision concerning the continuance of the BSMBA, I will make my own decision based on that outcome.

As Malcolm has already mentioned, we are currently in discussions with Holmer Green Bowls club and have agreed that we will assist them with the resurrection of the Holmer Green Masters competition. A date has been set, Saturday 20th July, and invitations will be sent out in the coming weeks. If this proves to be successful, then we are hopeful that this competition can continue well into the future

Insurance

As you are all aware, the Umbrella Policy that we had negotiated with Norris & Fischer, was discontinued by the insurers and no similar scheme was available on the open market. Therefore, it was regrettable that we were no longer able to provide that benefit to our member clubs. However, we did offer our assistance in finding alternative providers and most of our member clubs have now made their own arrangements.

Bob Hine

TREASURERS REPORT Appendix C

Year ended 31st March 2024

Income Expenditure

Registration Fees £ 70.00 Handy Cross £ 890.00

Handy Cross £ 1,299.00 Zoom Licence £ 0.00

Sundries £ 0.00 Insurance £ 202.89

Sundries £ 0.00

Income over Expenditure £ 276.11

Total £ 1,369.00 Total £ 1,369.00

Balance Sheet

Surplus brought forward £ 4,491.32 Nationwide £ 445.10