2023-24 Notes from the AGM

Royal Wootton Bassett Volleyball Club

Notes of 40^th Annual General Meeting : 29^th April 2023

 

Present: (via video conference)

Male players (Yr11+): Sven Kalinda, Josh Blackman, James Daniell, Evan Palmer, Ryan Shackleford, Monty Rose, Connor Craig, Ced Tuazon, Charlie Hawkins, Andrew Rowe.

Female players (Yr 11+): Donna Cunningham, Kat Grote, Zuzana Pritchard, Lissa Pitts, Kaiden Kerrigan, Amelia Dulik, Marketa Sherwood.

Junior players (up to Yr 10): Robyn Cuthbert, Nicola McLaughlin (parent of Amy).

Non-playing members: Phil Heads (Chair, Head Coach), Cliff Ball (Ladies Coach), Julie Daniell (CWO), Dawn Davis (Secretary).

Apologies were received from: Taylor Davis, Millie Cuthbert, Hannah Cuthbert, Debbie Hanna, Faye Hanna.

 

Minutes of 2023 AGM

Notes of the 2023 AGM were confirmed and accepted.

Actions from the 2023 AGM were all completed and closed:

• Men’s indoor training now finishes at 7:45pm instead of 7:30pm. 
• Tensioning of the adult indoor net was improved, and will be further improved when new equipment is provided by the Leisure Centre.
• Kat investigated potential minibus transport to junior events.  Arrangements to use a Community Minibus would be logistically complicated and time-consuming, plus there may be heath & safety concerns with the state of Community Minibus.  Nicola offered to support exploring further options. 

 

Review of season 2022/23

1. Chair’s Report: (see full report on club website)

• The Chair was pleased to report a healthy club this season, plus upcoming investment in new equipment and a proposed new constitution. 
• Phil thanked everyone who volunteered and worked hard to make our club welcoming, safe and successful (see report for list).
•  The report was accepted by members.

1. Head Coach Report: (see full report on club website)

• The club provided a continuous pathway through the club for players from age 9 to adult.  Membership was at full capacity for women and men, and training for all age groups was well attended.
• As part of our continuous pathway the Club provided opportunities for players of all age groups to compete at appropriate levels, often for the first time.
• We were pleased to support nine of our players taking opportunities to develop towards higher levels through Volleyball England Talent Pathway events (ages U13-U15), South West Junior squad training (U15, U17), and Wiltshire Mavericks NVL and SWL squads (age 16+).  And we are delighted to congratulate Emily Tandy (U13) on being selected to join the National Team Talent Pathway
• Cliff (our women’s SW League coach) highlighted their achievement, with a lovely atmosphere, positive and supportive attitude across the squad.
• James (our men’s coach) said how proud he continues to be with both A & B teams and players behaving as a single supportive unit – a pleasure to be a part of.  Lots of personal development this year for all club men players.
• Kat (junior’s coach) shared that the most satisfying part of the club for her was seeing players who have life challenges, start off being nervous/anxious, and really come out of themselves through the team-ship & sport of volleyball.  Marketa echoed same sentiment. 
• Phil highlighted exceptional performance of our junior teams, plus our Men’s A & B teams playing off in the Dave Kinder Plate final. 
• The report was accepted by members.

1. Treasurers Report: (see full report on club website)

• The 2023/24 financial report reflects that income to March 2024 was higher than outgoing expenses, however some expenses are accrued and yet to be paid (post AGM) which means our actual working balance is much lower than that shown for 31^st March 2024.
• We continue to hold a reserve of c£3k, but expect to eat into this during next season, with less contingency for unexpected events. 
• To encourage participation across a range of age groups and member types, we aim to continue to keep our prices as low as possible and to provide exceptional value for all our members.  We plan to hold 2023/24 prices at the current level, being sensitive to the cost of living pressures.  We are not yet clear if the outgoing costs will increase, and will monitor this going forward. 
• ACTION: Committee to review budget position in December 2024 to assess if any changes are needed at that point.
• Phil thanked Donna for all her hard work as Treasurer – it takes a lot of time to keep track of multiple monthly transactions for 80 members.
• The report was accepted by members.

Planning season 2024/25 (see planning paper on club website)

• Our outdoor summer season will commence on Monday 20^th May.  A dedicated WhatsApp Group will be set up for Outdoor Volleyball to keep everyone informed of ‘weather watch by Sven & Phil’
• Our indoor winter season will commence on Sunday 3^rd September, with similar arrangements to the 2023/24 season (subject to hall availability and confirmation).  Some existing members will leave for college, work, etc, so we will invite new players from our waiting lists if there is spare capacity.
• Parent and player feedback on whether Volleyball training could continue through the summer period.  Consensus from the attendees to maintain the current approach, with a break from formal training between end of Spring term and September.  Marketa & Kat did offer that the Juniors/Minis could continue through into May, however this would require parental support & help as some of our regular coaches are not available in May. 
• Club’s 40^th Anniversary : everyone agreed that we should celebrate our club’s 40^th anniversary during the year to summer 2024 (the club was first established in May 1984).  Different options were considered, with agreement on a Sunday picnic & play.  Date agreed for Sunday 23^rd June from 12 noon onwards (or Sunday 30^th June if weather is bad).  Current and past members of all ages are invited, along with family.
• New Items Raised: Next season we hope to run a similar setup to our current successful format, however there is always room for improvement and we would like to address challenges such as:
  • Adult Training (Women and Men/Open) – To encourage more coaches/helpers so we have a bigger coaching team and can give more support to individual players.  We will support people to develop as coaches/helpers, and recognise that they don’t have to commit to every session (alternate training sessions was suggested).  For example, Junior training benefits from a larger team of coaches plus a number of teenage helpers.
  • Olympics 2024 will no doubt generate interest in Volleyball this summer – note that spaces are either at capacity, or limited, however we would ideally like to expand our capacity by providing recreational (eg pay-as-you-play) volleyball. 

 

Club Constitution Revision (see previous & new versions on club website)

A revised Club Constitution has been developed by the Committee, to bring it up to date, to meet expectations of Volleyball England and funders, and to modernise our approach to financial control.

The new constitution was accepted and agreed with one addition at clause 2.2 to define us as a Community Sports Club. 

 

Election of committee officers for 2023/24

Chair                 – Phil was re-elected.

Treasurer          – Donna was re-elected.

Welfare Officer – Julie was re-elected.

Head Coach      – Phil was re-elected.

Secretary          – Dawn was re-elected. 

 

Volunteers to be appointed by the committee

As shown on the agenda, a number of volunteer roles will be appointed and confirmed by the Committee.

 

Club awards 2023/24

After a ballot of all members and coaches, with 140 votes cast for 48 recipients, the following club award winners were announced and congratulated (awards to be presented at club events):

Kevan Hobbis Award for outstanding contribution to the club and its spirit, including coaching of juniors, plays in both Mens & Womens teams, and acts as Club Treasurer:

• Donna Cunningham

Best/Most Improved Player Awards:

• U12 – Eva Rowe
• U13 – Amy McLaughlin
• U14 - Michael Okereke
• U15 – Livia Lioni
• U18 Women – Amelia Dulik
• U18 Men – CJ Notman
• Wilts/Ladies Juniors – Fianna Lanaza
• Womens SW League – Faye Hanna
• Men Mixed A Team – Monty Rose
• Men Mixed B Team – Jetto Aji

 

Any Other Business

• Our club will be represented at the RWB Youth Festival is on 5^th May 2024, with Marketa acting as lead adult, supported by others.  An opportunity to come and try Volleyball.

 

Meeting Closed at 20:32 hours