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MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE MEETING

Held on Monday 7 June 2010

PRESENT

Karen Taylor – Chair                                                  PeterBarker – President

Fran Walton –Treasurer                                             SueHart – Secretary

Also attending –Jacqui Hudson, Andy Edward, Helen Girvan, Jackie Gibbs, Lynn Dawson, JanineNicholls, Pia Tucker, Gavin Drescher, Ali Hay, Lori Monks.

1.   APOLOGIESFOR ABSENCE

Apologies werereceived from Isi Platt, Alex Pearson, Alison Denniff, Jill Harvey, NickBarker, Martin Hickman, David Wilson, Hugh Elliott, S-J Marshall.

2.  MATTERSARISING FROM COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 22 FEBRUARY

It was agreed thatanything not covered by the Agenda items would be discussed at the end of themeeting.

3.  CHAIR’SREPORT

KT said that her Endof Season Report had been published on the Club’s website and would beincorporated into the General Committee’s annual report for the main Club’shockey AGM to be on 17 June.  Members hadno comments to add, other than to congratulate the two U10 teams for theirsuccesses in recent tournaments and the large number of juniors in all agegroups that had earned representative honours (see annex to Chair’s report).  KT thanked the Committee for their hard workduring the Season.  KT also confirmedthat Jacqui Hudson had agreed to be Chair from September 2010. KT would bestaying on the Junior Committee in her role as Development CommitteeRepresentative.

4.  TREASURER’SREPORT

FW circulated theAccounts and confirmed that there was a healthy balance to be carriedforward.  A refund had been received fromSevenoaks School when three dates were snowed offand there had been a very healthy profit made from the Kit Shop, the money fromwhich would go into the reserves.   Kit will,in future, be provided by Bat & Ball so this income stream will belost.  FW did not feel it was necessaryto increase subscriptions as long as membership numbers remain stable.  The initiative of paying gap students hadbeen a considerable success although expenditure on this was less than budgetedfor, resulting in a high benefit to cost ratio. The unanimous view was that this should be continued next season.  KT agreed to advertise the opportunity to ourU18s and gap students, with a notice also being put on the website.                                       ACTION- KT

A vote of thanks to FWwas recorded for all the excellent accounting and bookkeeping over the lastSeason.

5. COACHING

The list of coaches,assistant coaches and managers was discussed and a draft of the proposed listis attached to these Minutes.  The listwould not be finalised until after the start of the Season as there are oftenparents who are prepared to fill some roles. Janine Nicholls noted that there were no Level 1 coaches involved withthe U8 Minis.  KT is still trying topersuade England Hockey to hold a Level 1 course locally and FW agreed to speakto Jill Thompson.                              ACTION – FW

There was a discussionabout the level of support in both the U18 Girls and U18 Boys groups.  KT agreed to circulate an email to assess theamount of interest at U18 level and Lori Monks noted that Tunbridge Wells havethe same problem of attracting players in this age group and that there mightbe scope to join forces.                                                                                      ACTION – KT

Indoor squads will beretained but with training earlier in the season – this would be helped by theavailability of the new facility at TonbridgeGrammar School which willhopefully help us to attract and encourage as many players as possible to takepart in these matches.

The lack ofgoalkeepers was again highlighted and it was agreed that an introduction togoalkeeping or a goalkeeping “taster session” would be held two to three weeksinto the Season.  Mike Hrebien was verykeep to help out with goalkeeping coaching.                                              ACTION – LD

Lynn Dawson askedwhether the Junior Section were again prepared to co-operate with EnglandHockey in supplying groups for Level 2 coach assessment.  It was confirmed that the Committee werehappy – perhaps in exchange for a local Level 1 course!

In reviewing thecoaching list for next Season, a gap had been identified in the U12 Girls andU12 Boys groups, both of which are key groups in terms of capturing andmaintaining juniors’ interest in hockey. KT said that historically we had relied on parent coaches alongsidewilling volunteers and had therefore discouraged any consideration of payingjunior coaches.  A major considerationwas the impact on the cost of running the Junior Section and the consequentincreases that would be needed in subscriptions, but also because it wouldchange the fact that we are an amateur club run by volunteers.   However, as other clubs are finding, coachingsuch as that provided by the JDC/JAC is based on paid coaches and this isdepleting the pool of coaches available to clubs.  Importantly, there were no knownparent/coaches moving into the U12 groups and last year’s U12 coaches weremoving up to their respective U14 groups. KT noted that with the help of the Ladies Chair, FW she had identifiedtwo excellent coaches who were hockey coaching as part of their day jobs andwho would be prepared to take on responsibility for the U12 groups.  The Committee agreed that in view of theexperience and backgrounds of the two Lead Coaches identified for these groups– George Lovegrove and Nicky Lloyd – these Coaches would be paid in accordancewith the fee structure agreed for the Ladies Coaches (which is based on theircoaching qualification) for coaching these large and key groups.  KT noted that this decision should be seen asexperimental and that the outcome would be evaluated at the end of the seasonby the Committee.

KT thanked all of the2009-10 coaches for their input and commitment which has been instrumental inus having such a good season.

6.  KIT

Although the originalintention had been to retain Amanda Gore’s involvement, because Gray’s expectationwas that they would supply both junior and senior kit, it was decided that Bat& Ball would stock kit for both Sections. FW confirmed that Tim Smith from Bat & Ball would be attendingLadies Trials, a notice has gone on the website about kit and FW agreed tocontact Tim to arrange for him to send samples of kit to each pitch venue onthe first Sunday of the Season (19 September).                                                                                                                        ACTION – FW

A vote of thanks toAmanda Gore was recorded for all the work she had done over the last fewyears.  An appropriate “thank you” wouldbe sent.                                                         ACTION – FW

The Junior Section isnow well equipped with bibs and balls but new first aid kits wererequired.  Helen Girvan/Ali Hay willcheck whether Incident Forms, as well as First Aid books, were required in eachkit and advise SH accordingly.                                                          ACTION– HG/AH

KT will discuss with JoHay the necessary updating and equipping each Lead Coach with a complete firstaid kit.                                                                                                            ACTION - KT

7.  MEMBERSHIPSECRETARY’S REPORT

The latest detailswere included in the Chair’s Report, but Harry Jones was stepping down asMembership Secretary and would be replaced by Pia Tucker.   A meeting to discuss the handover will bearranged for July and Harry will be asked to work with Pia during the first fewweeks of the season including helping her on Registration Day.

8. COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE

Jacqui Hudson willreplace KT as Chair and Pia Tucker will replace Harry Jones as MembershipSecretary.  The Secretary and Treasurerwill stand again.  The Committee felt thatwe needed to be quicker in getting all coaches and helpers CRB checked.  The Committee agreed that our intention wouldbe to comply with all legal requirements and that we would ensure that, as aminimum, up to date CRB checks would be applied for as early as possible forall who need them.  Alison Denniff hasagreed to take over the role of Child Safeguarding Officer from Sue Sheeres,who was thanked for all her work to date. Alison will need to attend a Safeguarding Children course and Lori Monksagreed to send her details of appropriate courses.                                                          ACTION – LM

Jackie Gibbs agreed tobe Umpire Co-Ordinator, taking over from Isi Platt.  This will not involve arranging umpires on aweekly basis but arranging courses for potential umpires.  There followed a discussion about the mostsuitable time/venue for a potential umpiring course as an application has to bemade to England Hockey prior to any arrangements being made.  It was agreed that possibly 1-3pm on a Sunday would be suitableand JG will contact England Hockey with a request that such a course be held atthe end of September/beginning of October.                                      ACTION- JG

KT noted that the mainClub are to establish an Umpire/Coach Development Fund, to which the JuniorSection would contribute to and also be able to draw from.

David Edward wasthanked for the immense amount of work he had done on developing the Juniorwebsite but Rob Luke has now agreed to take over the role of WebsiteCo-Ordinator for the whole Club.  Rob isseeking to make the website more interactive with directions to pitch venues,cancellations etc.  Andy Edward pointedout that the hardest issue was to get information from coaches to load onto thewebsite so that this could be passed on to the membership.  KT reiterated that on the Membership Forms anote would be made to more actively encourage parents/children to look at thewebsite regularly.                                                                               ACTION – PT

Lori Monks suggestedthat coaches address parents for 5-10 minutes at the first session of eachgroup to cover such issues as use of the website, cancellations etc.  Jackie Gibbs suggested that a note to thiseffect be included on the Membership Form.                                          ACTION – PT

9. FEEDBACK FROM QUESTIONNAIRES

Although only half adozen completed questionnaires had been received, the responses had been verypositive.  One reason for circulating thequestionnaires was for Club Mark purposes. KT suggested that questionnaires should be sent out annually towards theend of the Season.

                                                                                                                                    ACTION – SH

10.  DEVELOPMENTCOMMITTEE UPDATE

There had been no recentmeeting but FW repeated the importance of the safeguarding children role.  There followed a discussion about whetherAlison Denniff should be the point of contact for the Junior Section as manychildren now also play in the Senior Club. Traditionally, Nigel Tozzi had been the point of contact if a Junior wasinvolved.  FW confirmed that Sue Sheeressat on the Main Committee with the title of Welfare Officer and it needs to beclarified a) whether Alison is prepared/needed to undertake this role and b)how this fits with the Senior Club.  KTwill clarify.

                                                                                                                                    ACTION– KT

11. COURSES

KT confirmed that theJunior Section is prepared to pay towards relevant coaching/firstaid/safeguarding children courses for those who are providing support to theJunior Section (the proportion of payment to be determined by the Treasurer,Chair and Development Officer). Opportunities should also be taken to apply for All England Hockey andSevenoaks Sports Council funding for such expenses.  It was agreed that such courses should ideallybe held earlier in the Season, probably in late October/early November.  All coaches (lead and assistant) and managerswill be encouraged to attend relevant courses, after which places on thecourses will be offered to the Senior Club.                                                                                                            ACTION – SH

12.  CLUBMARK

In the absence of AlexPearson, KT relayed a report on the Club Mark application.  The file had been submitted to Club Mark forassessment and it was believed that it would be passed, although there was onesmall sticking point which related to the Senior Section.   Thesticking point concerned the fact that traditionally potential members have tobe proposed and seconded and Club Mark consider this to be discrimatory.  However, both Chairs of the Ladies and MensSection feel that the Club is a private members’ club, we already ensure wecomply with our Equal Opportunities policy and the potential to vet new membersif important for safeguarding purposes. No-one had ever been refused membership. The issue will be discussed at the Main Club’s AGM in the middle ofJune.

A vote of thanks wasgiven to Jackie Gibbs, who together with Sue Chandler, Sue Acott and RichardYoung, ran a Kwik-Styx course on the day the assessors visited the Club.  Thanks was particularly recorded to AlexPearson for the sterling work she did on preparing and collating the enormousamount of paperwork involved.  A token ofappreciation from the Committee will be arranged.                                                                                                               ACTION– FW

13.  DATAPROTECTION

It was confirmed thatemail addresses and mobile telephone numbers could be made available on thewebsite only with the permission of the owner. As far as any membership information was concerned, this could only beshared on a need-to-know basis.  However,KT will confirm with Rob Luke what and how much personal information would beavailable on the website.                                                                                                                                                     ACTION- KT

15.  DATEOF AGM

The Annual GeneralMeeting will be held at the Café at HollybushLane at 12noon on Registration Day – Sunday 12 September, with the firstsessions of the Season being held on Sunday 19 September.  On 12^th September, U8/U10 groupswill register between 9 & 10am,U12s – 10-11am, U14/U16s –11-12.30.  KT will organise a mixedcompetition for the U14/U16s.           ACTION - KT

16.  DATEOF NEXT MEETING

The dates of the nextCommittee meetings will be agreed at the AGM, but KT suggested that meetings beheld in early October and in late January/early February.  Communication with coaches will be primarilythrough email.                                                                          ACTION - SH

17.  ANYOTHER BUSINESS.

a)  Andy Edward reported on the continued successof the South-West JDC.   Three girls hadbeen accepted to JRPC – Tash Farrant, Fenella Keevil and Jenny Kelly.  There are four Level 2 coaches involved with SW JDC but more Level 1 coaches were sought.  U15 groups will train on Wednesday eveningsand U14/U13s on Thursday evenings at TonbridgeSchool.  There had been some confusion in the firstcouple of years, but from this September, the groups will be strictly run oncalendar year birthdays.

b)  Pete Barker reported on theAcademy.  The Development Committee willbe meeting to discuss whether to continue with the Academy now that the JDCsystem is up and running.  The feedbackfrom children is very positive, but once the JDC is more established, theAcademy might be phased out.  It wasnoted that there is still a role for the Academy as it involves the key agegroups (16-18 year olds) during the week.

Pete Barker, in hiscapacity of President, wished to thank the Committee for all their work duringthe season and particularly for KT’s involvement as Chair.

c) Ali Hay reiterated that it was essential that first aid kits be handedin on Registration Day so that they could be prepared and updated by Jo Hay forthe start of the Season.            ACTION – Jo Hay

d)  It was agreed that the date of the ChristmasParty for the U8/U10/U12s would be Sunday 12 December, subject to avoiding aclash with the President’s Cocktail Party.                    ACTION - KT

e)  The allocation of pitches was discussed at length.  These were confirmed as

Hollybush Lane           9-10am            U8& U10

Hollybush Lane           10-11.30am     U14Girls

Hollybush Lane           11.30-1pm       U16Girls

Wildernesse                 9.30-11am       U12Girls

Wildernesse                 11-12.30pm     U16Boys

Sevenoaks School       10-30-12.00     U12 Boys

Sevenoaks School       12.00-1.30pm  U14 Boys

f)  Pia Tucker showed the Committee asample of the medals which had been presented to the U8s.  She would like to design and present acongratulatory/attendance certificate to children in this group at theChristmas Party as an ongoing incentive. KT agreed that this was an excellent idea.                                                                                                                                              ACTION – PT

The question ofage/behaviour in the U8 group was discussed briefly and it was agreed that thestarting age should normally be age 5 but that attendance at this group would beat the discretion of the coaches.

g)  Lynn Dawson asked who had keys to the HBL pitchand the kit shed.  The shed requires aspring clean as there is a huge amount of kit to be sorted.  Jacqui Hudson and Fran Walton agreed toundertake this job.                                                                                              ACTION – JH/FW

h)  The proposed tournament in Lille to which the U14Girls and Boys had been invited was discussed but it was agreed that theSecretary would decline the invitation.                     ACTION – SH

There being no furtherbusiness, the meeting closed at 10.20pm.