Mins of L&MTTL 2023-24 AGM – 24/6/24 Trimpell Social Club
St.Lukes, Trimpell & Lancaster University represented
Apologies: - Ray Carr, Dave Hewitt, Ben O’flynn, Cyrill Rollet, Paul Hines, Chris Knowles
Mins of 2022/23 AGM produced 2 matters arising
Extending the season to ensure completion of league fixtures – restricted to Univ Term Dates
Lancs County Affiliation Fees (refer Treasures report)
Executive Committee Reports 23-24
Chairman - Congratulated the University on a successful season. He acknowledged he was only doing a caretaker role as he believed it was essential for the league to have a Chairman which has been the case for the 70 years he has participated in the league. He would welcome someone else taking on the role.
HGS – The main issues were finances and cancellation of annual tournament (refer to Treasurers Report)
Match Sec – Will continue to enter match results but not press reports which teams/players can submit direct.
Handicapping Committee - a work in progress with some positive outcomes in the cup comps.
*Treasurer – Income is generated from team fees and Tournament entries. Expenditure is Trophies, Tournament venue hire, Lancs Affiliation Fees and Lancs & Cheshire League. The balance sheet records a false profit of £153.50 which is a result of the cancelled league tournament and non payment of Lancs Affiliation Fees.
*Annual Tournament – In addition to the increased hire charges the new School Academy regime stated they would not accept weekend bookings for 2024. For the record, previously we have operated a successful booking arrangement direct with the school Admin who guaranteed a suitable weekend booking plus a discount in return for use by the school of the leagues TT equipment which is stored at the school. On this occasion the Academy decision forced us to look for alternatives but with no success. As a result, I informed the school Admin we were considering removing our TT equipment from the school. In response the school Admin offered us a weekend date provided it was at the end of March. Unfortunately, that was ruled out as our main participants i.e .Univ due to term dates.
*Lancs Affiliation fees - (an annual charge to the county for every registered league player with nothing in return for our league!). Last season I informed Lancs of our concern which prompted them to exempt all the Uni players and in return I paid the reduced fee. At the same time, I also raised the issue re the non-requirement payment of fees by the Cumbria leagues who are now under the control of Lancs after the collapse of Cumbria County a few seasons ago. I asked for the same arrangement for our league and was told it was complicated and they would get back to me. As we have not received a response we have with held payment of the fees and as such we are currently not affiliated.
*Team Fees – Currently £60 per team, proposal to raise it to £65 was not challenged.
Match Reg 4 (iv) Team & Player Registration has been revised as follows:- All teams will pay a team fee decided at AGM. Teams are required to register a min of 3 players’. Players play free of charge whilst the league operates under the TT365 system. Players can also pay an individual Membership fee to Table Tennis England to take advantage of player insurance and participation in national tournaments. A player may play up for a higher team a maximum of 4 times each season, but in doing so may only replace a player of the same or higher playing standard. On the 5th occasion that a player plays up, he/she will become a member of the highest ranked team he/she has played up for that season. In addition, a player may also play down for a lower team, a maximum of 4 times in the season, but in doing so may only replace a player of the same or higher playing standard. Each player’s playing standard will be determined by the official list of player handicaps, which will be set by the Handicap Committee and may be varied from time to time, as the Handicap Committee sees fit. A player may also play for more than one team in the same evening but cannot feature twice in the same fixture.
TT365 – FYI Steve Pound new owner is currently pursuing a legal claim against TTE for use of his software.
L&CTTL – For the first time the divisional fixture dates were fixed. Previously, teams arranged convenient dates amongst themselves. However, this season the compilation of the division included teams from Cheshire in the south to Barrow in the north which was always going to cause problems with long distance and late nigh travelling. As a result, it came as no surprise with all teams recording un-played fixtures. L&CTTL would like weekend fixtures but that has previously been knocked back.
AOB – HGS stated that our long time County Rep and National Umpire Bob Williamson has retired from all aspects of TT and has informed TTE to refer any issues to the league HGS. For the record we have received one enquiry from TTE re the number of (in ticket) qualified coaches in the league.
Mins for 2022-23 L&MTTL AGM - Tue 21 June at Trimpell Social Club, 7.30 pm
Present:- St Lukes, Trimpell and University
Apologies – Paul Stebbing, Cyrille Rollet,
Matters arising from 2021-22 AGM
Cup and league fixtures being cancelled due to players having other commitments in other leagues. This was addressed under Rules and Regs
Executive committee reports: -
Chairman: - No in depth report as the absence of a permanent replacement makes this role mainly symbolic.
HGS Report made reference to the University’s 58th consecutive appearance in the league and their first participation in the end of season team handicap comp. Next season they will be under new management. Reference was made to the demise of playing venues locally with the loss of 33 clubs since 1965. Apart from some issues re un played Premier fixtures this season there was a player complaint re sporting behaviour which was dealt with by the player’s club. Match Sec announced a decent season with match results recorded promptly. Chairman suggested that in addition to reporting ad hoc achievements a regular inclusion of weekly results should be a priority..
Treasurer – After obtaining a substantial reduction in County Affiliation fees the balance sheet still recorded a loss of £154.6. Although the income was up the two costly expenditures were trophies and tournament hire.
Re trophies - midway through the season our long standing supplier had to take a break for health issues which resulted in purchasing 50% of the trophies inc engraving on line which increased our outlay significantly.
Annual Tournament Hire – Despite having a long standing arrangement to hire the sports hall with Morecambe High School at a reduced rate their fees have increased significantly. This is a direct result of the school becoming an Academy. Previously we dealt direct with the School Admin and secured reasonable hire charges along with flexibility when exceeding the booking time slots. As an Academy the site bookings are now dealt with by a separate business company with increased rates and no flexibility. Wef next season the league will have to increase entry fees.
Handicap Committee (Bruce Armitage, Graeme Moorby). The pre-season Kennon Trophy and Kennon Plate competition formats are traditionally individual handicaps with the end of season Coronation and Riley cups using team handicaps. This season the Coronation and Riley comps format operated on a new 31pts up system and despite some concerns was popular. However, opinion was divided whether to start each game on player’s individual handicap or on the difference between the handicaps. To assist in future decisions Paul Hines agreed to be part of the Handicap Committee. Whilst acknowledging handicapping is not an exact science a detailed Handicapping Guide was circulated detailing how data was collected and Problem Areas resolved.
Proposals – A proposal to extend the season was discussed as a result of several un played Premier Division fixtures. As it stands the league completion date is restricted to the final term date for the University. The main stumbling block is that several Premier players also participate in other leagues which on occasions results in fixture clashes. To resolve this a new match regulation has been introduced allowing players to play up and down for their club team’s subject to compliance with the criteria.
AOB - L&CTTL The league representative team finished 4th in Div. 1
2021-22 AGM Minutes – Trimpell Social Club - 3/8/22
No matters arising from 2019-20 AGM HGS stated communications with the University are currently positive
The new Handicap Committee have now had a complete season behind them
Update on achievements of Toby Ellis who is now playing club fixtures in Scandinavia with Bethany Ellis representing England junior age group events
Main concern is how to increase playing members with loss of 50% of venues
MATCH SEC has established good relationship with local paper re press reports.
Prompt receipt of completed match cards for University teams.
The Executive Committee were re-elected for 2022-23
Finance Officer – Team & Player, Tournament and Lancs Affiliation fees all down by 30% fees. Total League Income over Expenditure loss of £141. However, after deducting a one off payment of £130 to replace several Perpetual Trophies the real loss is only £11.
Trophies are a large expenditure and whilst we continue to examine alternatives this does not include replacing trophies with certificates.
As a result of the league breaking even it was agreed to retain the league team fees at £60.
The Chairman indicated he would look to bring in a new proposal to avoid future cup final walk overs and fixture cancellation as a result of players having commitments in other leagues. Lancaster Marketgate Ping Pong Parlour – a 3 table, free walk in and play parlour is currently in use in an empty shop unit at the rear of M&S. It is a TTE initiative to encourage people to take up the sport. It is not a Table Tennis club and the equipment is aimed at recreation participation as against that used by league players.
AOB – Divisional formats were discussed and the HGS will contact the University for their input prior to a final decision at the pre-season meeting in early September.
Mins of 2018-19 AGM
Present – Barton Road, Garstang, Morecambe, St Lukes, Trimpell, 315
Bruce Armitage, Martin Wakelin, Paul Hines, Dave Smith, Phil Goymer, Ian Gee, Paul Stebbing, Carl Stebbing, Graeme Moorby, John Allen, Mike White, Tom Clark
Meeting Chairman Graeme Moorby opened the meeting,
Apologies – University, Ray Carr
Matters Arising from 17-18
Team handicaps for the Coronation and Riley Cups were calculated on individual handicaps and reviewed for the finals.
League regulation 4 (v) revision - A player may play up for higher teams a combined total of 4 occasions without penalty. On the 5th occasion he/she will become a member of that specific team for the remainder of the season and is no longer eligible to play up.
MATCH SEC Report – With all the junior success at county and national level there was a constant stream of reports for inclusion in the local press. Due to pressure of newspaper space etc it was not possible to include everything which occasionally disappointed the parents. For next season some of the team captains asked for admin permissions to input their own home fixture results which we will grant when we know which programme we will be using.
HGS Report – A lot of time and effort involved in co-ordinating and managing the MCHS venue hire arrangement for 6 teams. Wef May 1st the school is officially an Academy and will now be run as a business which may/may not effect hire costs. For next season we anticipate a minimum of 4 teams to be based at the school.
On the 7th May we did stock inventory of the equipment at MCHS Sports hall and Studio.
Between the 2 locations we have 17 tables,18 surrounds, 17 scoreboards and 17 nets.
Sports Hall – All of the 9 tables are useable although at least one needs wheel adjustment. Some of the nets were unrepairable along with 3 of the surrounds and require replacing. The TT equipment stored in the Sports Hall belongs to the league and we have an agreement with the school whereby they can use it as part of their physical education and we also receive a reduced payment for hiring the hall.
The Annual Tournament ran smoothly with 26 entrants and we also ran the popular end of season Invitation Sandpaper Bat competition at Trimpell with all the entry fees paid as cash prizes. Toby Ellis beat Dave Smith in the final of the main event and collected £30. .
FINANCIAL SUMMARY - The balance sheet recorded a loss of £113.50 in part due to the decision to pay for the engraving of the perpetual trophies which has traditionally been done by the winners but rarely happens. We kept the costs of the trophies the same.
We had some difficulties collecting the University TT fees who missed several TTE payment dates due to problems setting up their own TT bank account which resulted in the student union refusing to release the fees. Eventually I contacted the Student Union and explained the funds they were holding were required to clear outstanding debts to both TTE and ourselves. Following discussion I provided them with the relevant payment details and they released the payments. The new Univ TT President is confident everything will be sorted for next season.
It was agreed to retain the Team Fees at £60 per team but it is not clear what the TTE player membership fees will be next season due to the ongoing issues with TT365.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS – No resignations and all agreed to continue.
RULES & REGS PROPOSAL - Individual averages - A proposal from Dave Smith to provide awards to the players from each division who record the most wins as against those who have the best win percentage was not seconded.
TT365 League Manager v TTE - As you may be aware TTE have chosen not to renew the TT365 League Manger contract and replace it with a basic model which they claim will reduce costs. TT365 have challenged this and claim TTE is deceiving the membership and have continued to circulate literature including a letter from a former TTE Treasurer claiming TTE have a reserve fund of £500,000. It was also stated that TTE’s claim they could transfer all the leagues historical data from 365 was dismissed TT365 as unrealistic. One of the leagues has tabled a proposition for the forthcoming TTE AGM for the player membership to be reduced by £7 which is the alleged amount TTE take from each players membership to fund TT365. If the motion is successful players will be able to use the £7 to pay TT365 to continue receiving TT365 League Manager. After considering the latest financial/I.T. information the meeting voted to continue with TT365 if possible. This may/may not be an option and there may be a scenario whereby leagues run both systems for 12 months before making a final choice.
JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT – As a result of Ken’s retirement the league tried to restart the Thursday night sessions at MCHS but possibly due to the inactivity since Ken finished there was not enough commitment from the Juniors. As things stands the league does not have an alternative plan although Dudley Jackson and Martin Wakelin have re-started weekly after school sessions at Greatwood School and juniors have been invited to attend the weekly Mon and Wed pay and play sessions at Trimpell during the summer.
Latest on Ken Richardson – he is not allowed to drive a car and has been discouraged from riding a bike but I can confirm the boredom of having to be at home all the time has motivated him to riding his bike for small trips around his village. For the last 20 years Ken has been the catalyst for junior table tennis in this area and was responsible for the initial development of all the talented juniors in this locality and the acquisition of tables for the various schools .There is a lot of feeling that Ken’s junior contribution was never properly recognised and the meeting agreed the league should do something. As a result
It was agreed to purchase a quality cup to be called the Ken Richardson Trophy and make a decision at a later date what to award it for.
L&CTTL – Congrats to the representative Vets who won their respective divisional league title by 4 points ahead of second place Chester.
VETS Trophy - Dave Smith offered to donate a payment to the league in return for the trophy to be renamed the Victoria Smith Vets Trophy. There was no objection and the HGS agreed to negotiate a realistic amount with the proposer.
AOB - Dragons captain Mike White was presented with the Championship Trophy and the meeting closed at 8.50 pm.
Mins of 2017-18 AGM held at Trimpell Club, Thurs 10 May 7.15pm
Present – Ray Carr, Phil Goymer, Dudley Jackson, Dave Smith, Dave Hughes, Carl Stebbing, Martin Wakelin, Ray Forbes
Apologies from Bob Williamson, Ken Richardson, Graham Coupe, Paul Stebbing, University
Matters arising – Proposal from Garstang re RTC not providing juniors for the senior league.
HGS Report – An extremely busy season for addressing communications, complaints within the league, county and national associations. The general disorganisation at University home fixtures has been taken on board by the new management team to improve things for next season. They believe the main problem has been the lack of anyone to organise their 2 Championship teams and they believe dropping a Championship team will improve their organisation.
The Annual Tournament at MCHS ran smoothly despite the last-minute change of date by the school which resulted in a loss of 15 entries which involved a change the format. Despite several of their top players missing the University still managed to dominate the prizes with the outstanding player Marco Tang collecting the Men’s Singles, Doubles and Handicap Singles all at the expense of Paul Stebbing.
On the back of the TV popularity of Ping Pong on Sky we piloted our own Sandpaper Bat competition with 12 participants at Trimpell. The competition which is a great leveller included a single point event, main event including groups and knock out’s plus a plate event. All the entry fees were used for cash prizes to the various winners and runners up and it was an enjoyable evening that will be repeated. For the record Toby Ellis beat Phil Goymer in the main event and collected his £30 prize.
If you read the local papers you may have spotted a changing of the guard as Graeme Moorby has taken over the role of Press Officer and he does not take prisoners. In addition he has also been actively involved in other league activities which is a major plus in this league. Mention to for John Allen who was instrumental in creating and organising the Morecambe B team of juniors and helping out with the coaching. Thanks also to Dudley Jackson who has been coaching a handful of juniors on Monday’s.
The divisional awards were presented at the Coronation & Riley Cup finals.
The Lancs & Ches Vets team finished runners up after leading the division for the majority of the season
Press Officer reported that having now obtained full admin permissions on the website he could continue his comprehensive weekly reporting to the local press and website without restriction. He has also taken on the Match Sec role so that individuals who do not input their match results direct to the 365 website can email or text a photo of the match card to him.
Treasurer reported a loss of approx £40 on the season which was a direct result of a one-off purchase of Sandpaper bats to run a competition. Apart from the bats the comp was self-funded.
Several of the expenditure items on the balance sheet were down, trophy costs slightly up but overall the league finances are in good shape. TTE are looking to increase the player membership fees from £14 to £16 for Seniors and from £7 to £8 for Cadets and Juniors. This does not impact on the league balance as we just collect the fees and forward them to TTE. It would save a lot of admin work if all players paid their membership fees direct to TTE but it is unlikely to happen.
It was agreed to keep the team fees at fees at £60 and continue with free entry to the annual tournament,
Re-elected officers – President Dave Hughes, Chairman Ray Carr, League Sec and Treasurer Carl Stebbing, Press Officer and Match Sec Graeme Moorby, National Rep Bob Williamson.
Elected to the committee Paul Stebbing
Handicap Cup competitions were discussed and it was agreed the team handicaps for the Coronation and Riley Cups to be calculated on individual handicaps and the handicaps will be reviewed for the finals.
Due to problems with raising teams in the Kennon Cups a proposal was supported by Dudley Jackson whereby clubs with more than one team be allowed a max of 1 player per club to represent another team in a later round. It was agreed to give it a try.
It was agreed to retain league team fees at £60 and continue with free entry to the league tournament.
League regulation 4 (v) revision - A player may play up for higher teams a combined total of 4 occasions without penalty. On the 5th occasion he/she will become a member of that specific team for the remainder of the season and is no longer eligible to play up.
Garstang’s proposal for junior teams matches in the Championship Division to be played on 2 tables was not approved. It was also pointed out that with the potential composition of next year’s Championship, 90% of the matches will be played on 2 tables.
Next season the current St Lukes venue is due to be demolished and whilst the replacement is being built alternative venues need to be found for their teams. The A and B teams are being accommodated at Slyne School which leaves their C, D and E team searching for a venue. The option for these teams to play at MCHS is being examined and the league will be contacting MCHS to ascertain details of the hire fees.
Junior Development – As a result of Ken Richardson’s retirement the responsibility has been passed over to the league. There is no obvious replacement to take on board the after-school sessions at LRGS, Ripley and the Bay Legaue. However, we are hopeful we can continue running the Morecambe junior teams based at MCHS and restart the Thursday night basic coaching sessions in September with a pool of volunteers. The league is also prepared to consider financing a coaching qualification.
AOB -Match Sec explained the double hit rule which a lot of players were unaware of.
Meeting closed at 9.25 pm.
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Mins of 2016-17 AGM at Trimpell Social Club, Morecambe. Mon 8th May 2017 – 7.15 pm
Apologies from ETTA Rep Bob Williamson
Present: Tom Clark, Ken Richardson, David Hughes, Ray Gaskell, Graeme Moorby, Ray Carr, Dudley Jackson, Derek Metcalfe, Carl Stebbing, Phil Goymer, Ransford Amponsah
Clubs represented Garstang, Morecambe, St Lukes, Trimpell, University
Not represented: 3-1-5 (Rule 5 non attendance)
HGS paid tribute to the league’s 2 senior players Ken Riley and Brian Gourlay who sadly passed away.
Matters arising from mins of 2015-16 included the pre-season rescheduling of University fixtures and confirmation that a donation had been made to the Garstang Regional Training Centre (RTC).
HGS reported on a match incident involving a senior and junior player who lost his composure which resulted in the game being halted. After a short delay and a verbal warning the junior recovered his composure and the game recommenced. The break in play worked in favour of the junior who went on to win the game. Unfortunately the senior was not prepared to accept the outcome and duly resigned from his team. The matter was referred to the committee who initially banned the junior but this was later reduced to a suspended ban when it was realised that no rules had been broken. The final ruling was also confirmed by the league TTE representative who is a qualified international umpire.
All teams are now using poly balls for matches.
There was a good turnout for the annual tournament with all clubs except Garstang represented with the awards distributed amongst players from all the representing clubs.
Treasurer circulated the financial summary of the league’s income and expenditure and gave detailed explanations of the various items. Overall the league recorded £17 income over expenditure which was in line with our predictions.
Match Secretary/Development Officer reported a vibrant primary and junior school programmes with special mention of the Bay League for primary school players. The popular Bay League includes 45 teams from Lancaster, Morecambe, Garstang, Kirkby Stephen and Tebay. Matches are played over 4 Saturdays at a central venue and are well attended.
The league continues to get good coverage in the local press with the change of reporting style the senior reports now more interesting thanks to our new reporter Graeme Moorby.
The final decision on Team Fees will be left until the pre-season meeting
The Vets team in the Lancs & Cheshire league division 1 found it hard going at this level due to a lack of strength in depth.
Promotion and relegation - HGS explained the regulation allows the committee to make the final decision after considering all the relevant factors and options. The regulation was introduced to create a more balanced set up in a small league. The actual number of teams entering next season will not be known until the pre season meeting. However, as University requested to retain 2 teams in each division it was agreed Championship runners up St Lukes C will be promoted to the Premier.
AOB - A request from Garstang Regional Training Centre (RTC) for another donation i.e. £200 produced an informative discussion and exchange of views with the Grastang represntative.
There is no doubt the RTC is a positive and popular initiative that offers selective young players the next level of development after progressing through Ken Richardson’s school systems.
There are currently 16 Lancaster & Morecambe youngsters attending the RTC but sadly only 2 of them now participate in the league. This is a concern for the future of our league especially when the RTC claimed we would see an increase in participating players. One of the reasons given is the players (or their parents) have been advised not to participate in the local league as the playing styles are not conducive to their future development within the RTC. The RTC representative confirmed the reasoning as valid. Potentially the situation could get worse for the league as the RTC targets even younger players with the possibility of them by-passing the league system altogether. Morecambe HS are already experiencing this first hand by announcing they have had to drop 2 of their 3 teams.
In conclusion no decision was made on the donation other than the league President stating the league was not getting value for money and recommended the Garsatng representative should refer the concerns back to the RTC.
The final item was the presentation of the divisional awards and the meeting closed at 8.45 pm..
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2015-16 AGM Trimpell Social Club, Out Moss Lane, Morecambe. LA4 4UP
(Downstairs Meeting Room)
Tuesday 3rd May, 2015 – 7pm
Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Mins of 2014/15 AGM (see 365 website under INFORMATION)
3. Matters Arising
4. Executive committee reports
5. Election of Officers:-
6. Cup comps
7. Team fees
8. Rule & Reg Proposals
9. Lancashire TTA
10. 365 Website
11. Regional Training Centre
12. AOB
13. Presentation of divisional trophies to Lancaster University and Garstang
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Mins of 2015-16 AGM at Trimpell Social Club, Morecambe. Tues 3rd May, 2015, 7pm
Apologies from Dave Hughes and Graeme Moorby
All clubs were represented with Ian Gee, Adam Cooper, Dave Smth, Ken Richardson, Martin Wakelin, Adam Stewart, Matt Simcock, Carl Stebbing, Bob Williamson.
Mins of 2014/15 AGM are displayed on the league website under INFORMATION
Table Tennis England Rep gave a demonstration of the correct use of the service law based on examples recently circulated by the ITTF. One member agreed that foul serves were common place in our lowest division but saw no evidence that anyone was gaining an advantage from them.
HGS reported the passing of long serving player Alan Whittaker and an update on the health of Ken Riley. The league received 2 complaints both of which were internal club disputes which was not a league matter. A decent turnout for the Senior tournament at MCHS which ran smoothly and to time. The prizes were shared amongst all the clubs who entered players. The Vets tournament for the Alan Hyde Trophy was held at a later date at Trimpell and in a break from tradition it was agreed to provide equivalent cash awards instead of trophies.
As we formulate the 2016-17 in early September the Univ have agreed to provide advanced information including contacts.
Treasurers report was circulated which showed that income over expenditure has dropped from £55.22 last season to £11.50. Income from Team Fees was up due to increased team entry to £50 although this now included entry to the tournament.
Expenditure increased with the purchase of better quality trophies along with the decision to provide similar awards regardless of profile. There was also a cost for work done on a couple of perpetual cups
Treasurer pointed out the cost of the hire of the Sports Hall for the Senior tournament i.e. £130 was not recorded as Ken Richardson has been funding this from his junior set up. It was agreed that this will be included in future reports.
Match Sec reported on a good season for the juniors with regular weekly coaching at district schools e.g. MCHS, Ripley, LRGS, Garstang etc. There are lots of competitions including the hugely popular Bay League which includes teams from Lancaster, Kendal, Barrow and Garstang.
The ongoing issue in the senior league is how best to address the situation whereby the Univ teams are faced with the problem of trying to catch up too many outstanding fixtures. This season resulted in several non played matches being agreed as a 15-15 draw which many believe is not acceptable.
Weekly Press reports continue and it was agreed that Graeme Moorby would take responsibility for the Premier Division reports with Ken Richardson concentrating on the Championship and Juniors.
All members of the Executive Committee were re-elected along with new addition Graeme Moorby.
A proposal for all clubs to switch exclusively to plastic balls next season was not approved. However, if a plastic or celluloid ball breaks during a match you must replace it with the same.
Lancs & Cheshire league - the Vets team finished 6th out of 7 in Div 1
Investment – A detailed request from Graham Coupe for the league to invest £200 in his (RTC) Regional Training Centre for Juniors was circulated to clubs prior to the AGM. Several responses/questions were received and discussed at the AGM. After extensive discussion it was agreed the league would support the investment and would offset part of the costs by increasing the team fees by £10. However, the
TTE Rep, Chairman and Development Officer were not prepared to approve a payment to a company/ ody that does not exist i.e. RTC. As a result it was agreed to withhold payment until Graham or the league can find a way around this. For the league the HGS will approach other investing leagues to ascertain how they dealt with this.
There was no other business and the meeting closed at 8.35 pm followed by a presentation of divisional trophies to Lancaster University and Garstang.
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2014 -15 AGM Trimpell Social Club, Out Moss Lane, Morecambe. LA4 4UP
Tuesday 12th May, 2015 – 7pm
Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Mins of 2013/14 AGM
3. Matters Arising
4. Executive committee reports
5. Election of Officers:-
6. Cup comps
7. Team fees
8. Rule & Reg Proposals
9. Lancashire TTA
10. 365 Website
11. AOB
12. Presentation of divisional winners to Lancaster University
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Mins of 2014 -15 AGM at Trimpell Social Club, Tuesday 12th May, 2015 – 7pm
Apologies from (President) Dave Hughes, Ken Richardson (Match Sec & Junior Development), David Bruce, Paul Stebbing
Present:- Ray Carr (Chairman), Carl Stebbing (League Sec and Treasurer),
Bob Williamson (TTE Rep), Adam Cooper, Daniel Jackson, Ken Riley, Ian Gee, Nicole Finn, Adam Forshaw.
Clubs not represented:- Morecambe, St Lukes.
Mins of the 2013-14 were accepted on block
Matters arising required a Handicap Singles event to be reinstated in the Annual Tournament. This was included in the 2014-15 tournament.
Ken Richardson’s comprehensive report included league tables, cup finals and tournament stats for all junior and senior events. Special mention was made of the highly successful Bay League and of the number of local juniors who have progressed via the league to achieve local, county and international success. The latest being LGGS who are now English schools U16 champions with Great Wood 3rd in U11.
Carl Stebbing reported that TTE (Table Tennis England) was now under threat of a takeover from a consortium including former CEO Alex Murdoch who were currently canvassing leagues for their votes. Our only concern with the current management was their misinformation on the introduction of the new balls. In contradiction of the ITTF they incorrectly insisted it was mandatory for all leagues to switch to the new ball next season. This has now been resolved and as both celluloid and plastic balls are approved we will leave it to individual teams.
We attempt to put as much info on the league website as possible but in response to several requests we will also produced some basic hard copy fixture booklets.
There was a reasonable turnout for the annual tournament despite the absence of a number of our top juniors who were playing in the Blackpool Grand Prix.
The league is also looking at the possibility of starting next season’s fixtures a week earlier to provide more flexibility to accommodate half terms and the University teams.
Income over expenditure has dropped from £200 last season to £50 primarily due to the additional cost of trophies as a result of additional competitions.
We registered more players this season but all those fees go to TTE.
For several seasons the league has frozen the team entry fee of £40 but for next season this will be increased to £50 per team which includes free entry for all players to the annual tournament.
The only item significantly different to last season was an income item of £1000 development grant which after recording was transferred to the Development Officer’s account.
As at the 11th May the bank balance is £2640.65, any items after this date will be recorded in the 2015-16 accounts.
All members of the Executive Committee were re-elected
A new format was introduced for the end of season cup competitions i.e. Coronation and Riley Cups. The team handicaps were calculated on the final league positions. This produced a last game finish in the Coronation but a one sided result in the Riley. On reflection each team has to field their strongest 3 players to accurately reflect the handicap and an eligibility rule on player appearances needs to be introduced. In the Riley final the winning team influenced the result with the introduction of a strong registered player who had not played any league games all season. It was agreed to resolve this at the next pre season meeting.
In the Lancs & Cheshire league the Vets team finished 5th in Div 1 but have qualified for the Denis Smith Handicap Cup final. Having won the cup last season the team will be defending the trophy albeit with a much changed team.
We try to put as much information as we can on the 365 website and welcome any suggestions. Recently we introduced an Honours list of individual and Team competitions since the early fifties. This is a work in progress with lots of blanks as we don’t have the records especially in the early years. If you can fill in any of the spaces contact the League Secretary.
The Premier Divisional winner trophies were presented to Lancaster University
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Minutes of the 2013-14 AGM
Garstang, Morecambe, Trimpell and University were represented at the meeting.
Apologies received from Bob Williamson, David Hughes and Angela Knowles-Cooke.
Barbarians, St.Lukes and 3-1-5 failed to send anyone to the meeting and were not represented which was disappointing.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORTS - HGS congratulated Ken Richardson for winning the Morecambe Sunshine Award for an individual or team who has excelled in the sporting arena.
The decision to play a league fixture on one or two tables is the responsibility of the home team.
The league President wants the end of season cup competition matches to be played during the week and not on a week end day. This will be decided at the pre season meeting.
The Annual tournament held at MCHS is held on a Sunday from 9.30 - 3 pm. There was a proposal to extend the time to include a ko handicap singles to include all entrants on which opinions were divided and will be looked at next season.
The experiment to provide general practice facilities at St.Lukes albeit on Tuesday afternoons was a moderate success and may be looked at again. The absence of a club providing general practice facilities is an ongoing issue.
The Match Sec/Development Officer reported he was pleased with the high numbers enthusiasm and success of the junior section. He gave an extensive report of league, school, county and national junior competitions and activities. Weekly coaching sessions for primary and junior players continue at Ripley and MCHS.
2014 Summer League - He reported difficulties obtaining his preferred venues, club unco-operation and a lack of player enthusiasm had left him with no choice but to cancel the summer league booking.
Copies of Income and Expenditure were circulated and discussed. The income 200 for the season therefore it was agreed 15. There is no information at this time regarding player registration fees from the ETTA.
