Minutes of Meetings

General Purposes Committee Meeting

Held at Kidlington BC

Thursday August 17^th 2023 @ 7.30pm.

AGENDA

Apologies– Paul Demczak, Bryan Flitter, Ryan Full, John Hurren, David Leighfield, Alan Scholan.

In attendance Chris Weller, Michel Grossnickel, Mike Morris, Tony Wright, John Henwood,

Minutes of the GPC meeting held on 17^thJuly 2023 having been circulated and signed as a

  true record. (Distributed with Agenda) 

Minutes Proposed John HenwoodSeconded Mike Morris

Note

 The Hon, Sec said that he wished to note there were insufficient members to form a quorum for this meeting.     However, there was business that needed to be discussed, which could not wait a further month. Therefore, he proposed that the meeting followed the agenda, but that any decisions, if required, were deferred to the September meeting so that a full quota of GPC members could be present and agree a course of action on any item. All present agreed.

Matters arising 

There were no matters arising.

Correspondence

The Hon Sec said that he had received two items that day which required discussion.

Firstly, BO Administrator Alan Scholan had forwarded an email to him from Pat Ray lamenting the lack of an OBA presence in the first few days of the National Championships at Leamington.She commented on the strong BOL presence, and the fact that OBA players at the event were dismayed at the lack of support. In addition, several BOL officers had needed to pay for admission and parking at the event, whilst passes and tickets issued to OBA officers were obviously not being used and were being wasted. The Hon Sec said that he would send an email to GPC members that evening asking that any passes and tickets that were known to be unused be returned to Alan Scholan immediately, for redistribution to BOL members who could make use of them.

It was noted that the OBA President had so far not attended on any day, or asked others to attend on his behalf if he was unavailable.

Those present listed the days that they had attended so far, and the days they were intending to attend for the remainder of the Championships.

The other email received was from Chris Lewis via Graham Kerr at O C& C, He asked if the GPC would support the view that all National Senior competitions should be based 65 years of age and over, rather than the current 55 years of age, as this gave those in this age group a distinct advantage over older opponents over the course of the game. It was agreed after brief discussion that this should be forwarded to all GPC members for their views and then the overall then forwarded to theBE working party who are currently reviewing all National competitions.

Treasurer’s report

Opening balance on 1 November 2021 - £ 10,722.48 

As on 15 August 2023 our bank balance stood at £ 15,905.59 with a couple of cheques not being presented so far.                                     

The following is a summary of Income and Expenditure to date during the current financial year between 1st November 2021 and 15th August 2023:

Overview.

We have a surplus of just over £5,000 in the account for the current year, although much of our expenditure occurs in the latter months of the year. Match income closely matches expenditure at matches, which is our goal, but currently we are up by £441.   My continued thanks to Alex Fleming for managing match day finances.

I have placed another order for County shirts, as most of the common sizes have been sold.     

Competition update.

Michel said that all trophies were now at Witney Trophy Centre awaiting engraving.

The trophies would stay there till a day or two before the Presentation evening.

John Henwood asked about the Hawker Cups whereabouts, he said that Headington BC did not have the trophy, so enquiries would have to be made.

2023 Annual dinner and Presentation evening update

Tony Wright had picked up the menus, one ordinary, one gluten free from Kirtlington Golf Club.

As a result,invitations and details would be sent next week to Club Secretaries, and finalists about the Annual Presentation evening at Kirtlington Golf Club, on Friday October 27^th 2023.

Michel was asked if he would be Master of Ceremonies for the evening, but declined, saying he would explain why later in the evening.

Further Unification update.

The Hon Sec said that the new Constitution had been approved by the BO Executive and had been circulated to all Club Secretaries, It was still a consultation document at this stage so it was hoped that there may be comments from clubs on the document.

Policy documents were still being compiled in readiness to also send to Club Secretaries for discussion atClubs AGM’s in the Autumn.

Nomination of officers 2024. President/Vice President.Further meetings were also planned in all the sections. Men, Women, Mixed and Junior. The next unification sub committee meeting was due to take place on Friday August 25^th.

A Deadline of 17^th Sept had been set for circulation of policy documents for circulation to allClubs.

Michel said he had an important announcement to make. He had attended a meeting with his current employers on Tuesday and had been offered a new position within the company, but which involved him moving to the south coast, and as a result he felt he had no option but to stand down from his Presidential year in 2024, as he would be leaving the County if things went according to plan by the end of September.

All present expressed their regret at this decision but understood the reasons why Michel had decided what to do.

A brief discussion ensued on what might happen next in finding a replacement, but no conclusions were reached.

The Hon Sec asked Michel to compose an email explaining the situation, send it to him, and he would then forward it to the rest of the GPC.

The Hon Sec said that nomination forms had been sent to all Club Secretaries just under a fortnight ago, and to date he had received just one completed nomination form.

He hoped that he would receive more completed nomination formssoon. The wording had been changed re the Vice President/President position for 2024/25

Clothing to mark County semi-final and Finals.

Again, it was felt that this matter should carried over to the next GPCmeeting in September.

Review of County matches, HCL and Middleton Cup matches.

The Hon Sec said that Alex would report elsewhere about preparations for next seasons games, but as the Middleton Cup Manager/President was absent a report on the County friendlies, HCL/Middleton Cup games would have to wait till the next GPC meeting.

Bowls Oxfordshire matters.

Alex had sent a report that said the fixtures for next season were progressing well, 11 different clubs hosting matches next season, the most for a long time.

Chadlington were going to be hosting a 4-rink fixture against Herefordshire, they had done a lot of work on their green and were over the moon at hosting a County match, the first in over 100 years. Alex had had 2 meetings with them, and they were going to use it as a major part of a big recruitment campaign next season.

Hanborough had also applied for a match, and Alex had gone to Hanborough for a meeting with Ken Williams.They would only be able to host a 4-rink fixture, and their greenhad been discussed, but they said they were working on it and to be fair it was a lot better than it had been.

South Oxford and Banbury Chestnuts were hosting a Home Counties fixture each and Chipping Norton are hosting a Middleton Cup trial match against Wiltshire. Kidlington are hosting the Middleton Cup match.

The first match of the season would be a trial match against Headington, a good way to start their Centenary celebrations. We will also be playing them in an evening 6 rinks Presidents match.

 There is a possibility we will also be playing a President match at Thame. Chris Shannon contacted Alex who told him to contact Chris.

We have a couple of new venues for the Midweek friendly matches, we play Somerset at Ashcombe Park in Weston Super Mare and the Isle of Wight at the Old Green Southampton, the cost of the coach for the Isle of Wight had got too much and it had been agreedto compromise to keep the fixture. Both should be good days out.

However, there was a dark cloud on the horizon. Sussex are to host us in a Middleton Cup match, Alex had asked for a neutral venue, but Bowls England have already said we are to go to Worthing, despite the rule being a neutral venue over 80 miles. Every time Alex had dealt with Sussex,he had found them extremely difficult and unpleasant, and he felt sure they would be the same this time. 

This season fixtures were progressing well, but dropouts remained a problem. The selectors were trying to pick reliable players for the away matches and so far,there had been 43 drop out of home matches, but only 15 away.

John Henwood said he would like it minuted that great credit should be given to Alex for all his support and hard work with the match fixtures, and in particular the hosting of games by Chadlington and Hanborough.

Bowls England matters.

(Alan had sent a brief report on Bowls England matters)

There was little progress to report this month, probably due to most BE staff moving to Victoria Park to prepare for the National Finals starting this weekend.

Here is a brief summary of current issues.

Clothing Guidance. Still at draft stage.

Calendar 2024.

BE have issued the first edition on the 2024 playing calendar; I’ve circulated it to BOL and OBA officers.

National Competition Working Party.

 No further report received; it is confirmed any changes will apply from 2025.

National Competitions 2024.

Entry forms will be issued by BE after the end of the National Finals, but it has been confirmed these will follow 2023 arrangements. This means that only the 27 counties with the highest overall number of entries will be entitled to 2 places in events. Oxfordshire came 27^th in 2023! So, when I issue the entry forms, I’ll be giving out a strong message to clubs to ensure their BOL and OBA delegates maintain or increase their entries.

Any other Business (of a minor nature only)

There was considerable annoyance at the fact that Bowls England had earlier that day given a walkover to the Surrey Mixed Fours team who were due to play the Oxfordshire team of A.J Docherty, Howard Watts, Katherine Hawes-Watts, and Lorraine Kuhler, for no other reason than it didn’t fit into their schedule, despite rinks being available later that day. Representations were made to Bowls England, but to no avail. It is not known at this point whether the players involved are planning to lodge a complaint or take further action.If required, it was felt Bowls Oxfordshire should support anycomplaint made.

John Henwood said that two dates had been chosen, 16/12/2023 and 03/02/2024 to host a Coaching course at OC&C. The December date had now been cancelled, so a new date was being agreed.

The Hon Sec thanked all who had managed to make the meeting and thanked to all who supported the meeting.

The date of the next GPC meeting was agreed as Monday September 11^th starting at 7.00 pm at Kidlington BC.

There being no further business to discuss the meeting closed at  20.45pm.