SUSSEX SRA COMMITTEE MEETING

Weald SC

10/06/2008 7.30PM

MINUTES

 

Present: Simon Tunley (ST) (Secretary), Fiona Western (FW), Mike Tonge (MT), Paul Millman (PM) (Chair), Chris Markham (CM) Karl Manning (KM), Mick Sheeran (MS) and Mike Phillips (MP)

 

 

 

 

 

Action

1.        Apologies for absence                                         

Ian Robinson (IR) John Parr (JP), Karla Pett (KP) and Justyn Price (JUP)

 

 

2.         Minutes of previous meeting/Matters Arising

            The minutes from the 08/04/2008 were accepted as an accurate record.

            .

3.       Newsletter

 

PM thanked Karla for her production of the end of season newsletter. All felt the content was really good although clarity on the list of coaches on the back page needed checking as coaches were missing and there were no contact numbers. KM to add to the website as a PDF so it can be downloaded

 

4.            Senior County Closed

 

Event in 2007/08 was cancelled due to lack of numbers. However MP confirmed that Chichester would be happy to host the 2008/09 event either in September or January once England Squash released the dates. He believes splitting the event between men’s and ladies senior event and masters would work better. It was agreed that players would not be paid to play and Mike would establish a budget and where possible a prize fund. ST agreed to provide MP with the relevant information and templates from previous events.

 

5.         Hon. Treasurer’s report    

                                                                                   

JP sent updated accounts to ST, unfortunately ST left accounts at home so they could not be distributed. Discussions were had on finding a replacement for JP as it was felt we could not continue expecting JP to stand in. ST suggested Vanessa Prosser as she already manages the junior accounts. Sarah Naish from Weald was also mentioned as an option MT agreed to speak to her on this. Post would also be mentioned at the AGM. ST stated JP was keen to get a budget for the juniors. It was agreed that £2500 was put into the budget. £2k towards development and £500 towards the county squads. The recent accounts from VP confirmed that the county squads were actually self sufficient however it was felt a safety net of £500 would help cover any shortfalls if numbers were low for squad training. VP/JP to note.

 

6.          Senior and Junior League Reports/ Knock Out Cups

 

FW was congratulated on the cup finals and the fact they were a great success. FW confirmed that there would be one extra team in the women’s leagues for next season Corals 3. FW was keen to draw up rules for the ladies. CM/FW want to bring in the pro rules which means a pro cannot play if an opposing team does not have one in their ranking lists.

 

FW stated that she would be increasing the numbers of fixtures to 16 in every league to give teams more games; this would mean playing each other twice home and away. FW would like penalty points for walkovers reduced to 8 due to only having four player teams. She also wanted the points awarded to the non offending team reduced to 16. CM was concerned that by reducing the points it might encourage clubs to negotiate walkovers knowing the winning team only get 16 rather than the 20 as was previously the case. It was agreed to keep the penalty points the same as last season.

 

Discussions were had on having separate rules for the men’s and women’s leagues. KM had concerns that the LMS may struggle to flag misdemeanours due to functionality if rules were different to the men’s league. FW gave copy of draft rules to KM to check and see if there are any issues. CM stated he would allow re-arrangements of fixtures in the men’s league only if two weeks’ notice is given. FW confirmed knock out cup was optional again this year.

 

CM to sort out trophies for league winners for this year and present at the AGM. CM confirmed one more team had entered the men’s league for 2008/09 season. He stated all clubs that attended the league meeting seemed happy with the league structure for next season.

 

It was agreed the AGM would be at the Falmer sports Complex, University of Sussex, on the 17th July at 7.30pm; this would be followed by the fixture meeting. Committee agreed to pay KM £225 for sorting out LMS. KM to invoice JP.

 

7.         County Teams/ Organisers

                                                           

ST to speak to county team captains on which teams to enter in 2008/09

 

8.            England Squash

 

JUP could not attend the meeting, however ST confirmed the development Coach for Sussex would be John Millard who would be going into clubs to kick start squash programmes etc. The post would be 20 hours a week. ST to ask John to attend AGM to confirm how his role will work around Sussex.

 

 

9.            Junior Development/Leagues/County squads

 

MT to get junior county coaches around table to resolve the managing of the county squads and improve transparency of how the fees are collected and distributed via VP. MT has emailed coaches and is awaiting confirmation on who can attend.

 

FW introduced Mick Sheeran to the committee who has agreed to take on and revamp the junior leagues. MS mentioned he wanted to speak to JUP as he had ideas of changing the format and going back to a triangular format, which was less competitive and included coaching sessions. Committee however were keen for MS to get the leagues back up and running using previous format. However there were discussions on what data could be stored on the web pages if the LMS was used to log results due to child protection issues.

 

On the development front MT asked about trying to get more level 1 coaches. Committee agreed to help fund this as long as there was commitment to support the county. ST stated that the last England Squash course which was free had not generated many takers and he had concerns money could be wasted unless right candidates are found.

 

MP provided feedback on how the girl’s county squads were going. He stated he had about 10 committed girls but felt he did not have enough strength in depth to enter any teams in next season’s county events. He was keen however to look at organising friendly matches. MP did have concerns about the future of girls squash due to the lack of numbers. MT agreed to send through a list of coaching contact s to ST so he can email around to see if there are any other girls/boys out there who might be suitable for the county squads, plus also to keep a watching brief for any future talent.

 

 

11.      A.O.B

 

Date for next committee meeting the 16th September 2008 at the Weald SC.  ST to book.

 

Date for the AGM is the 17th July 2008 venues see point 6 above. ST to book venue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MP/ST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MT

 

 

 

 

 

 

JP/VP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KM

 

 

 

 

 

ST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MT/ST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ST