Minutes of the BTTL Committee meeting held at 7.30pm on Thursday 14th November 2019 at the Hilton Centre.
Present: Messrs. Bolton, Bradshaw, Caswell, Chauhan, Rothwell, D Scowcroft (in the chair), J Scowcroft. Mrs Smart & Mrs Scowcroft.
Apologies for absence: Messrs. Barker & McCormick
Minutes of the last meeting: These had been circulated and were agreed.
Matters Arising: None
Correspondence: This was left until the end.
General Secretary’s Report: An obvious mistake has been made with the new cup rules in that we had done away with playing from scratch to avoid a drawn match. If there are no objections I propose that where the team separation is five or less, the away team starts on 0.5. This was agreed.
We also need to note that since we changed the rule so that a player can only play up from another club if they came from the division below, means that Division Three teams are excluded from borrowing a player from another club. Perhaps next year we need to add that any team in the bottom division can borrow a player from any team in the bottom five teams to make it fair.
The Committee agreed that this was an obvious oversight and would work on the correct wording for a proposal for next year’s AGM.
Match Secretary’s Report: There had been emails from Flixton ppong A and Farnworth Social Circle A that they should have been able to play their match at Ramsbottom as there was no Cricket taking place. Both Secretaries had visited the premises. All correspondence including replies had been circulated to the Committee. The General Secretary and Chairman visited the premises mid-week during the first week of play. The room contained a number of artefacts, viewing couches and carpet tiles. The fact is that the room is a museum and the Ramsbottom Committee will not let them have the room for table tennis until the last home cricket match has been played. The last home match was taking place that coming Sunday. The Ramsbottom C Team Secretary was taken into hospital that weekend for a heart by-pass operation. Nevertheless it was thought that someone at Ramsbottom should have had the foresight to give plenty of notice rather than one team being told on the Saturday and the other on the Sunday teatime the day before the match was to take place. Also, it should have been considered in advance whether the fixture could possibly have been reversed or perhaps a table hired at the Hilton Centre. Dates had been offered to Farnworth A, but they had declined as both their two main players were not available.
The General Secretary observed that perhaps there should be a rule to cover this like they have in the tennis league so the outcome is clearer. E.g. Any team that does not give at least 72 hours notice when it is known in advance that the room is unavailable will have the match treated as a default under Match Procedure Rule 21 (b).
Match Procedure Rule 21 empowers the Committee to decide the result of any match not completed within the four week period following the fixture. Since Flixton ppong A had beaten both teams either side of the Ramsbottom team in the league table by maximum points the result was determined as Ramsbottom B 8 - Flixton ppong A 27. The other match was assessed and based on the team’s average scores so far, as Ramsbottom C 25 – Farnworth SC A 12.
Treasurer’s Report: Since the resignation of the treasurer at the start of the season the General Secretary has been acting as treasurer.
We have paid Multicopy £440 for the handbooks and score cards; Inter-league fees of £32.50 and Lancashire affiliation fees £598. Bank balance: £5,776 PayPal balance: £826.
The next job is to invoice the sponsor and advertisers. We already have £20 from Multicopy.
We will be looking for a new honorary treasurer next year. Experience in the use of Excel spreadsheets would be an advantage.
Inter-league Secretary’s Report: None.
Tournament Secretary’s Report: None.
AOB: It was agreed to send a token donation of £15 re the death of Geoff Rushton.
Date and venue of next meeting: Usually some time in February TBA.
Correspondence: Some emails had been received which were dealt with under confidential disciplinary procedures.
