ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
THE
HELD IN THE CLTC CLUBHOUSE ON
TUESDAY 21st APRIL 2009 at 7.00pm
The Meeting was
attended by the following Main Committee members and 76 other Club members, D Macleod (CLTC President), S Jones
(Chairman), J. Barlow (Honorary Secretary), A Brooks (Acting Honorary
Treasurer), J Taylor (Tennis Chair), M Crawcour (Squash Chair), F B Berendt
(Cricket Chair), Mrs M Brooks, R Churchman, Ms R Dodge and Mr C Woodruffe.
1. Minutes
of the Combined Clubs AGM held on 23rd April 2008
The
Minutes were approved and signed as a correct record of the Meeting.
2. Chairman’s Report 2008
The
Chairman’s report had been circulated to the membership prior to the Meeting.
Simon
Jones presented a review of the Club’s year, stating that it had been a
successful one with the Club’s financial state very healthy. SJ said that the
uncertainty of the current credit crunch has resulted in us reviewing our
financial risk and will exercise caution as we are expecting a drop in
subscription renewal levels which will reduce the cash available for us to
spend. SJ added that if there is a
severe decline we can call on our cash reserves of several hundred thousand
pounds put aside for capital projects and unforeseen circumstances.
The
Chairman thanked Michelle Wheeler for all her hard work as General Manager, and
Steve Jarvis our groundsman who has given us excellent grass courts and almost
too good cricket wickets. SJ continued
that there is a constant programme of facilities updating, and although there
have been no dramatic expenditure we have carried out general refurbishment to
both clubhouses to maintain their level of cleanliness and tidiness. SJ added that because of the problem of a
leaking roof over CLTC squash courts 3 & 4 we had the roof taken up,
resealed and relaid and so far things seem to be staying dry. In addition (for an approximate spend of
£45,000)
the
waterproofing beneath both CLTC and HCC terracing has leaked and we have
just
completed a new waterproof membrane and timber finish to CLTC. At HCC we have installed the same decking but
are still waiting to have the railing raised.
SJ
said that Regina Dodge, Marilyn Brooks and Jim Carter were holding a series of open
sessions with our neighbours to build on our improving relations in the hope of
their support for our application for both additional floodlighting on HCC
courts and better surfacing for HCC courts 1-3 which will require planning
permission.
The
Chairman said that John Taylor was standing down for family and logistical
reasons and that he would be a massive loss to the Club as Chair of Tennis,
having also overseen the negotiations on Club Afternoon and contractual
agreements with our coaching team. SJ
thanked John for his contribution and said that hard copies of his annual
Tennis Report were now available from the office and on the website. On the
tennis sporting front SJ reported a pretty successful overall team performance
with the Ladies continuing their reign as champions of the Premier Division and
winning back the Middlesex Cup. The
Ladies NCL 1st team were promoted to National Division 1 and the 2nd
team remain in National Division 2. SJ
reported that our Men were surprisingly knocked out in the first round of the
Middlesex Cup, but have retained their place in the Middlesex League Premier
division.
The
Chairman said that the Club Championships benefited from a new style of Referee
in Mike Marsh who, together with administration support from Peta Churchman in
the office, devoted 3 weeks to running our annual event. In 2008 we had our youngest ever Ladies
Singles champion in Harriet Dart (aged 12) and Pierre Pourquery defeated Colin
Taylor to take the Mens Singles title.
SJ
added that John Taylor was helped by a Tennis sub-committee and thanked Colin
Taylor, Ivan Ezekiel, Caroline Jones, Marilyn Brooks, Chris Bradnam and David
Turfrey who were supported by Michelle and Peta in the office.
SJ
thanked Marilyn Brooks for her work as Chair of the Junior Tennis Committee,
together with Nicki Siddall, Caroline Cohen, Jennifer Labrom, David Kilbourn,
Liz Shinder, Susie Dart and Chris Bradnam.
Simon Jones
added that the Club once again hosted a joint Mens $10,000 and Womens $10,000
LTA Futures event last year and had been invited to do so again in 2009 from 28th
August to 5th September. In
the Centenary Association the Club is represented by Donald Macleod, Brian
Hatton and John Taylor who very recently attended the AGM in
Simon Jones
reported that ongoing financial support for our younger members continued
through the Eleanor Caplin Fund. Since
the death of Caplin family members, control of the Trust has been given to the
Club, and fund Trustees John Taylor, Marilyn Brooks, Richard Churchman and
Chris Halder manage the investment and use of the monies. SJ reported a new initiative at local state
primary school Beckford where our coaches visited to give 36 children a first
taste of tennis. A summer coaching
programme is planned for this year, as the Trustees feel it important to be
seen trying to promote the sport in our local community.
The
Chairman reported that the Club has had a very good year under Matt Crawcour,
to date reaching the semi-finals of the Cumberland Cup – a prestige competition
that Matt Crawcour had resurrected.
Congratulations to our Mens 1st team who have won promotion
to Middlesex League Division 1. SJ
thanked Zubair Khan our Head Squash Professional and Mark Rayner who together
have brought in Middlesex juniors for coaching with our own juniors.
Simon Jones
thanked Rikki
The
Chairman reported a very good performance by our cricket section, with the 1st
XI consolidating their position in the ECB Premier division. SJ said that HCC were indebted to Paul Weekes
who has not only been coaching for the past two years – but also secured the
highest batting and bowling averages in the League last season.
Special
mention was made of the Ladies team who finished a creditable third in their
league. SJ reported that there are over
150 Colts playing cricket each week and thanked Alan Brooks and Roger Carter
for all their work for this section in the past year. Thanks too to Chris Winn and Frank Berendt
for their continued support, and to Jim Carter for his particular support this
year.
The
Chairman also recorded that the club now fields 7 Mens and 6 Ladies teams in a
great and thriving hockey section that makes regular social use of the HCC
clubhouse. SJ thanked Timur Asar and his
committee for all their hard work.
The
Chairman reported that since Chris Halder stepped down as Treasurer last year
he
has continued to support the Club and SJ thanked Alan Brooks who has stepped in
and managed to keep our accounting system going
The
Chairman thanked Anna Hay who as Chair of the Social Committee has helped
instigate new events such as Comedy Nights and Musical Evenings. SJ reported that this the Summer Ball this
year will at the Regent’s Park Marriott Hotel and thanked the support of Steve
McCormack, Nick Jones, Valerie Barber and James Churchman.
The
Chairman welcomed David Iwi as new Chair of the Bridge section and thanked Tony
Corby for his contribution in past years.
SJ thanked Gym Instructor, Paul Tereo, who has proved to be an asset to the
Club.
Simon
Jones reported that this year’s annual cricket match against the All England
Club had been rained off.
The
Chairman continued with thanks to Pat Broadway for running the Golf Society
events, to Ray Kershaw who formed our Backgammon team two years ago who play
the premier clubs. Thanks too to John Mark for the time spent in collecting
donations from members to the Staff Xmas Fund.
Simon
Jones thanked Alex Edwards for his work in keeping the Club website fresh and
informative, and thanked Adriana Kocurova for managing both clubhouse bars and
her husband Rob Kocur who gives us an excellent value for money menu.
The
Chairman thanked James Barlow, Honorary Secretary, for his reassuring help with
legal wrangles that occur occasionally, and thanked Marilyn Brooks, Richard
Churchman, Regina Dodge and Charles Woodruffe for their great support as
members of the Main Committee.
SJ
finished by thanking Peta Churchman for the support she provides in the office
for Michelle.
3. To
approve the Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2008
The
Accounts and Treasurer’s report were circulated prior to the Meeting.
Alan
Brooks started by clarifying a point on the abbreviated accounts that when
comparing
the Income and Expenditure accounts for 2008 against 2007, the surplus
of
£119,900 in 2007 is shown after a transfer of £90,000 from the Facilities
Improvement
Provision. This reduced the Ground
Upkeep expenditure in 2007
from
£123,285 to £33,285. AB said that
comparing like for like before the allocation
of
any provisions there is a surplus of £14,300 this year against a surplus of
£31,000
last
year.
The
Acting Hon Treasurer continued that membership income remained strong in 2008
and in cash terms was £29,000 higher than in 2008. The way Subscription income has been
accounted for in the Accounts has been changed with a higher deferred income
figure of £217,000 versus £185,000 in the previous year. AB said that the rate of new member
applications slowed down at the end of last year and the start of this year,
and we will only know the real effect of the credit crunch on subscriptions and
main income by mid-May this year. AB
added that reserves will not be called upon until the real figures are known.
AB
reported that in 2009 there had been a slight increase in subscriptions (but
not Entrance Fees) in line with the increase in costs. Salaries were reviewed last year, and the
decision was taken to increase those of the bar staff following problems in
recruiting. AB stated that we are a
members’ club and any increase in subs helps to boost the Club coffers and is
there for the benefit of the members.
AB
said that the Bank Balance of £423,000 shown at the end of December still had 3
further
months of expenditure to run, and this cash balance reduced to just over
£240,000
before we started receiving subs renewal payments in early March. The
Acting
Hon Treasurer added that the previous year’s bank interest income of £16,000
would obviously be substantially less this year.
AB
said he wanted to answer a member’s query why our bank interest and
charges
are so high at £8,500 in 2008 and is because half of this is accounted for by
credit
card transactions and the balance is bank charges for cash and cheque
transactions. AB confirmed that we can
accept direct transfers of subs and that half the hockey section pay this
way. He added that the club is aiming to
introduce direct debit payments of subs, hopefully with the Squash section subs
as a trial run in July. AB said that the
set-up costs would be £5,000 and that members would be given the option of
paying this way which will reduce work for the office and be easier for
members.
The
Acting Hon Treasurer said that we have reviewed income improvements overall and
are looking at ways to reduce costs in other areas – such as heating. Our bar prices have been kept low for 10
years but we have now made some increases and
have reviewed the status of the happy hour policy at both clubhouses. We still aim to keep low bar prices but are
keeping an eye on costs.
AB
reported that with Chris Halder stepping down last year we have used the
services of our external auditor Jon Addison to oversee some of the accounting
and reporting functions and help our part-time bookkeeper prepare more of the
accounting and detailed management information each month. AB added that as a result Professional Fees
have increased to include £3,700 for this accounting additional support from
Collards.
The
Acting Hon Treasure invited questions from members.
Graham
Barber asked how the capital expenditure for the clubhouse repairs to HCC and
the roof/balcony refurbishment to both clubhouses is shared with the Girls Day
School Trust. The Chairman replied that
within our Lease Agreement with the GDST we have a duty to maintain the HCC
clubhouse and that there is an annual inspection by them. SJ said that there is a capital expenditure
limit of £20,000 and we have an obligation to maintain the building, and that
the recent roofing leak was damaging their Dance Studio.
The Accounts as proposed were
seconded and approved.
Election
of Officers of the Clubs
The
following constitutional nominations were proposed, seconded and elected:
Donald Macleod as
President of CLTC
Chris Winn as President
of HCC
Simon Jones as Chairman
James Barlow as Honorary
Secretary
Richard Churchman as
Asst. Honorary Secretary
Alan Brooks as Honorary
Treasurer
5. Election
of Chairman of Tennis, Cricket, Squash and Hockey Committees
The
following sub-Committee Chairmen were nominated, proposed, seconded and
elected:
Tennis – Marilyn Brooks
Cricket - Frank Berendt
Election
of Chairman of Squash Committee
Voting
papers were distributed to all Squash member attendees for position of Squash
Chair for which nomination forms for which had been received for Matt Crawcour
and Alun Webster. The votes were counted
by James Barlow.
Having
received the higher number of votes Alun Webster (27 votes to 10) was duly
elected. Alun Webster thanked Matt
Crawcour for all the effort he has put in during his years as Chair. This was endorsed by the Chairman.
The
Chairman welcomed Chris Winn to the Meeting as President of HCC. CW asked to record his appreciation for the
management and staff who provide an able and friendly service.
6. Election
of Members of the Main Committee
The
following were re-elected as members of the Main Committee:
The
Chairman announced that nominations to the Committee had been received from
Jonathan Potter and Celia Goreham who were both proposed and seconded and
welcomed on to the Committee.
7. Re-appointment
of Collards
It
was proposed that Collards be re-appointed as Auditors for the current
financial year. This was seconded and approved.
8. Any Other Business
Simon
Jones said that Malcolm John had, prior to the Meeting, asked for a resolution
to amend the white clothing rule. SJ
explained that although a vote could not be taken at this Meeting because the
request had been submitted beyond the publicised closing date, he suggested a
majority show of hands would be sufficient to call an EGM.
SJ
read out the proposal as submitted by MJ for a change in rule to coloured
shorts and skirts but tops remaining predominantly white.
Malcolm
John said that it has been 2 years since he last proposed this change, which is
about personal choice. He added that it
is difficult to find white clothing, especially with the credit crunch. MJ said he welcomed a discussion from the
floor. Graham Barber questioned the
logic of the proposal, being neither one thing nor another. Malcolm John said he and his supporters felt
this was a compromise. Tony Dunstan
said
he preferred the all white rule as it looks better and maintains a standard.
Paul
Warwick said the change would bring the club into the 21st
century. Sue Boucher said that the white
rule is being abused and a blind eye is turned frequently.
Michelle
Wheeler said that Club staff would be grateful if members could help police the
rule. Regina Dodge said that other ‘all
white’ clubs had adopted the proposed compromise which is the middle ground
–but that she sees both sides of the argument.
Ray Kershaw asked Matt Crawcour if there was a safety issue involved
with coloured clothes. MC replied that
in his opinion squash must always be played in white because of seeing the
black ball.
John
Taylor said that our rule has been in place for over 100 years and does not
deter new people from joining: he added that if the club relaxes the rule he
believes there will be a decline in standards and it will be open to
misinterpretation leading to scruffy clothing on court.
Malcolm
John replied that it was difficult to buy white clothing and allowing coloured
tracksuits and sweaters can be confusing.
Donald
Macleod agreed with JT and gave the analogy of Westside club in
The
Chairman said that the Main Committee were happy with the existing rule but if
the membership wanted to change it this can be done through a membership vote
at an EGM. The Chairman then asked for a
show of hands, and the result was:
Tennis
Members:
Those
in favour of a rule change 9
Those
against The
majority balance
Squash
Members:
Those
in favour of a rule change 8
Those
against
The majority balance
The
Chairman said this result would be helpful for the Main Committee.
Graham
Barber said that the white rule must be policed more tightly.
The
Chairman said he was aware people are loathe to personally approach offenders,
and suggested that they make the office aware of who they are. This was supported by Regina Dodge. Richard Churchman said that the office held a
letter that had been prepared and could be sent out to advise offenders that
their membership would be under review.
RC added that people choose to join our club which has this rule, so they
cannot expect to be able to change the rule.
David
Aarons asked if the rule can be imposed on visiting clubs: the Chairman replied
that we would be thrown out of all competitions if we did so.
Alex
Edwards asked if the new terraces decking was fire retardant and whether debris
that collected between the slats could be cleared. Simon Jones replied that the material is
supposed to be flame retardant and debris can be cleared by lifting the wood.
Steve
McCormack asked if the extra section of terracing above the squash courts was
open for walking on by members. Simon
Jones replied that this area is a fire escape from the doors to the Ramus
Room. SM said there were chairs in the
area which tempts members and suggested signs being put up. SJ asked Michelle to have the chairs removed.
Graham
Barber complained that court congestion was still bad and that he was
experiencing a 45-minute wait on Sundays.
He asked if the Main Committee had plans to reduce membership with the
envisaged drop in subscription renewals.
The
Chairman responded to say that policy guidelines on waiting time from coming
off court to getting on again was 30-35 minutes. Graham Barber replied that players get cold
if they wait too long between courts and requested the Committee to revisit the
issue. Regina Dodge added that from 5pm
at weekends courts are virtually empty, but that if members come at peak times
they should expect to have to wait longer.
The
Chairman said that if annual renewals stay at normal levels, then it is time
for the Tennis committee to review the situation.
Edgar
Mehl asked if club policy was to support or discourage social tennis, and that
he personally had to wait an hour to get on court for 25 minutes play in Club
Afternoon. The Chairman replied that
Celia Goreham was now joining the Main Committee and would co-ordinate the
views of Club Afternoon players for consideration.
John
Taylor said that the issue of Club Afternoon was taking up a disproportionate
amount of time because of the polarised views.
He personally had tried to find a
‘middle ground’ way forward but he couldn’t satisfy everyone. He wished the new Tennis Chair and Celia
Goreham good luck.
Marek
Cichecki asked why floodlight bulbs take months to replace and if we are
putting new floodlights in at HCC perhaps the Club would consider new
technology for CLTC courts. The Chairman
replied that he agreed the bulbing mechanism for the boxes should be changed
and requested Michelle Wheeler to keep an eye on the situation as the proposal
for HCC floodlights was still at a very early stage.
Celia
Goreham said that floodlights are sometimes left on way beyond 9.30pm. The Chairman replied that problems occur with
timers when the summer/winter time clocks change and added that the 9.30pm
curfew agreement was for CLTC floodlights only.
The
Meeting ended at 8.30pm.