AGM Minutes

Shoreham B.C. proposed Rule 10 [b] be rescinded
Rationale: During the course of this season we have found it difficult to work within this rule which restricts Clubs from moving players about within their two or more teams. We at Shoreham understand that other Clubs are experiencing similar difficulties to ourselves which is primarily due to shortage of players within the Club. We therefore propose that Rule 10 b] be rescinded in its entirety. This will enable reasonable flexibility in choosing teams from within a Club and indeed enable new players who join from other Clubs during a season to be chosen for their new Club, thus removing the present restrictive practice.

BRIGHTON, HOVE & DISTRICT BOWLING LEAGUE: RULE 10. REGISTRATION

‘b] In league matches any player who in the same season plays three times in the same Division shall not be eligible to play in any lower Division. Where a club has more than one Team in the same Division, once a player has played twice for one Team, he is NOT eligible to play in the other. Any player who in the same season plays three times for a club shall NOT be eligible to play for any other club in a lower Division that season.

PENALTY for any breach of this Rule, the offending Club/Team shall lose two points from their final points total at the end of the season and 25% of the shots scored in the rink on which the ineligible player was playing.’

The Proposal was seconded by Brighton BC.
After a lengthy debate an Amendment Proposed by Mackie BC, Seconded by Hangleton BC that the AGM be recommended to adjust the Rule for the 2009 season to allow FOUR appearances instead of three with a review of the effects by the Executive Council after the end of the season was Agreed

BRIGHTON, HOVE & DISTRICT BOWLING LEAGUE: RULE 10. REGISTRATION

b] In league matches any player who in the same season plays four times in the same Division shall not be eligible to play in any lower Division. Where a club has more than one Team in the same Division, once a player has played twice for one Team, he is NOT eligible to play in the other. Any player who in the same season plays four times for a club shall NOT be eligible to play for any other club in a lower Division that season.

PENALTY for any breach of this Rule, the offending Club/Team shall lose two points from their final points total at the end of the season and 25% of the shots scored in the rink on which the ineligible player was playing.’

Hove and Kingsway B.C. proposed that where a Club had more than one team competing in the League, the team in the higher Division at the start of the season shall be known as the ‘A’ team and that this shall be implemented from the start of the 2009 season.

[At the Executive Council Meeting on 23 October 2006 [Minute 10] it was noted that Hollingbury ‘B’ and Hove and Kingsway ‘B’ were both in Division 1 while their ‘A’ teams were in lower Divisions. It was also noted that regardless of name the club’s best players were in the team in the higher Division - in these case the ‘B’ team. It was suggested that a new paragraph be added to League Rule 8 so that at the start of each season, when a club had more than one team in the League, the team in the higher Division would be named as that Club’s ‘A’ team. After a lengthy debate this was rejected.]

The Proposed was Seconded by The Competitions Secretary. After debate those in Favour 4, those Against 8 the Proposal was Rejected

An application for re-election had been received from Peacehaven ‘B’ who finished bottom of Division 6 Proposed that the A.G.M. be recommended to agree the club’s application for re-election:                                                                               Agreed

An application for election to the League had been received from Lancing BC. Although historically the boundaries of the League have been assumed to be the two rivers - Adur and Sussex Ouse - this is not enshrined within the League’s Rules. A proposal from Shoreham BC that the application be rejected was not seconded. Proposed by The Competitions Secretary, Seconded Preston BC that the A.G.M. be recommended to agree Lancing’s application for election to Division 6 After a debate those in Favour 15, those Against 2 the Recommendation was                                                       Agreed

Further Proposed that Lancing BC be invited to send two Delegates as observers to the A.G.M. was                                                                                                   Agreed

1. Apologies:
None had been received and only Hove and Kingsway BC was absent

2. Presidents Address:
This had been circulated with the Agenda:
He thanked the Officers for their work during the past year and congratulated all member Clubs for their assistance and support.

While the number of member Clubs is maintained the individual membership of each Club continues to fall and presenting a major problem for the future.

Recruitment at Club level is now the most important single issue facing the sport of bowls and he urged all Clubs to make major efforts in this direction.

An associated problem is the declining support for League representative matches - which is on the Agenda for discussion later.

He reminded Delegates of the League’s WEB site which provides a complete schedule of Fixtures together with results and League Tables updated on a weekly basis. It also contains League and Bill Hawkins Cup Rules together with historical information and Minutes of the most recent A.G.M. and Executive Council Meeting.

Despite the problems and challenges facing the sport the League is still able to offer Clubs a season of competition and friendly rivalry and he wished everyone successful bowling during 2009. Noted

3. Minutes:
Proposed by Preston BC, seconded by Woodingdean BC, that the Minutes of the AGM held on 21 January 2008 were correct and should be signed by the Chairman of the Meeting Agreed

4. Matters Arising:
No matters arising.

5. Correspondence:
Minor items of ‘junk’ mail only. Noted

6. Annual Reports:
The following Reports had been circulated with the Agenda:
a] Secretary:
Recorded his thanks to his fellow Officers, particularly Match Secretary - Brian Bayliss - for their assistance and support. This season the work load has been much greater than in previous years due to lack of support for the Representative Fixtures.

In addition, historically the Competitions Secretary issued League Tables at intervals during the season, but this year - after he had verified the results and confirmed the eligibility of those playing in each match – the results were passed to the Secretary to produce the League Tables and upload both the results and Tables to the WEB site on a weekly basis. Since these rarely arrived until Monday and more often Tuesday this created considerable pressure with little time to complete this work before the next matches were played. As a result he had received criticism from Clubs on the way the WEB site was being updated and operated.

Whilst the 2007 A.G.M. decided to award an honoraria for maintaining a WEB site he reminded members that he had created in 2006 and ran it on a personal basis to assist the League. The current site is part of his personal WEB domain and does not belong to the League nor can it be transferred to the League. Should the League wish to have direct control of its own WEB site it would need to appoint another member or pay a professional Web Master to construct and run a site with a Domain owned and paid for by the League.

At the 2007 A.G.M. Alan Hawkins advised the meeting that this would be his last year as Competitions Secretary and has now confirmed that he is not standing for re-election for 2009 Brian Bayliss has found that the work load of Match Secretary, partly associated with problems in relation to Representative matches, impinges too much upon his other commitments and has also decided not to stand for re-election for 2009 In addition, due to his recent election to the post of Assistant Secretary to Sussex County Bowling Association, he had decided, reluctantly, not to stand for re-election as Secretary for 2009

It had been a pleasure and privilege to serve the League as Secretary for the past six years and thanked everyone for their assistance and support over that period                                                                                                                 Noted

b] Treasurer:
The deposit account is now at a level he had been working towards. The reason being that a balance of £4,999 attracts a very much lower rate of interest but with £5,500 in the account he is able to transfer money, if needed, to the current account without causing a drop in interest.

The total on this year’s balance sheet is £5,766.16 compared to the audit sheet of 30 November 1988 which was £74.08 Whilst satisfied with his efforts he recognised the tremendous assistance from fellow officers, in particular the Late Ron Coleman, who did wonders with sponsorship in the early days providing the foundation for the current position.

On the downside, the amount of interest last year was £225
The bank statements are always a month behind so the interest for November comes in the next financial year. On the 2007 November statement he was receiving 4.75% but on the statement for October this year the rate was 3.50% and we have had a further reduction of 1.5% which they have taken in full, so it will only be 2.00% and now the bank rate has been cut a further 0.5% but he had not yet had any communication on this but assumed the interest would drop to 1.5% which will only bring around £83, providing there are no further bank rate cuts.

Bob Henstridge, our sponsor, has agreed to sponsor for a further two years but indicated that it would probably be the end of his sponsorship. As there was a little uncertainty about this sponsorship we were rather late in ordering the scorecards. We have now ordered enough for two years but the cost of around £95 will be shown in next year’s figures.

Match income is down. This past year has been very unusual, firstly we had two matches cancelled because of rain - the first time for at least 20 years that this has happened - and then the last match outdoors was cancelled by Worthing on the morning of the match. There was no income from those matches and for the Worthing match he had to pay £36 to Hove Park to cover the cost of the food they had bought. In three other matches a player did not turn up so we had to pay for the cost of the guest who played for us.

Most of the other items are within the normal variable bounds.

As we are in a fairly stable position at the present, and with everyone feeling certain difficulties due to the ‘credit crunch’ he proposed keeping the Affiliation Fee unchanged.

Lastly, when Clive Jubb the scrutinizer died he had great difficulty in finding someone to do the job. Learning of the problem Ian Ward of the Preston Club volunteered to do the job on the proviso he was not required to attend evening meetings which, he had agreed.                                                                                                                             Noted

c] Match Secretary:
The League played nine Indoor matches and won only one. Most recently the match against Preston IBC scheduled for Sunday 14 December was cancelled by the host club as they were unable to raise a team.

In the same period five Outdoor matches were arranged but of these only two were played, winning the Mayor’s Challenge match against the Worthing District League and losing to the Eastbourne League. Two were cancelled due to rain and the remaining match – scheduled for Sunday 17 August, was called off by the Worthing District League as they were unable to raise a team.

Surprisingly only one League blazer badge was awarded this year, to Brian Bayliss of Hangleton B.C.

Unfortunately there appears to be a total lack of interest by a number of Club Secretaries and matches appear not to be brought to the attention of their players, consequently it is difficult to raise a team of a high standard - as the results show. My thanks to those Club Secretaries who have assisted me during the season and to the bowlers who have played and especially to those who agreed to play at very short notice.

This has been an interesting year but the communication problems with some Clubs and the low number of players coming forward for selection take up a disproportionate amount of time and he was unable to accept further nomination for the post.                                                                                                                                                                     Noted

d] Competitions Secretary:
In general the League matches and Bill Hawkins competition ran smoothly. There was the usual delay in submitting match score cards by certain one or two Clubs and again a number of cards that were difficult to read. Nevertheless he recorded his thanks to his fellow Officers for their assistance and to those Clubs who gave him their full support throughout the season.

Early in the season on his weekly check of match score cards he identified an unregistered player who had bowled for Peacehaven ‘B’ and Rule 10 [b] was applied with 25% of the shots being lost on that Rink and the Club being deducted 2 points from the season’s total. This resulted in this team finishing bottom of Division 6

In the third Round of the Bill Hawkins Competition Hove and Kingsway ‘B’ as the Challengers failed to offer their opponents - St Ann’s Well Gardens - any dates for the match in accordance with the Bill Hawkins Cup Rule 4 [b] and were eliminated with the match awarded to St Ann’s Well.

The Bill Hawkins Cup Final was played on the Hangleton Green in September with St Ann’s Well Gardens winning impressively against Preston ‘A’ He thanked the Hangleton Club not only for hosting the fixture but also the excellent hospitality they provided to both teams after the match.

As advised at the A.G.M. he is not standing for re-election as Competitions Secretary for 2009 but had enjoyed carrying out these duties for your League during the past seven years.                                                                                 Noted

7. Adoption
Proposed by British Rail BC, seconded by Mackie BC that the Reports and Accounts be accepted                     Agreed

8. Narrow Bias Woods:

The Secretary advised the meeting that as requested at last year’s A.G.M. he had written to Bowls England stressing the League’s concern at the growing use of Narrow Bias Woods. Tony Allcock had replied indicating he was aware of the problem and was seeking discussions on the subject with World Bowls. He had cautioned against trying to ban the use of such woods as this could lead to legal action by the manufacturers.

More recently, having noted the description of certain woods in some magazines as ‘suitable for indoor or fast outdoor greens’ the Secretary had contacted Bowls England for a definition of ‘fast green’. The reply indicated that internationally a fast green was over 18 seconds but for the slower greens of England this would probably equate to a 16 second green. The Secretary added that the Hangleton green was usually around 11 seconds and on that basis he doubted if any of the greens used by the League exceeded 14 seconds. This might be used, if Bowls England and Brighton and Hove City Council could be persuaded to test all our greens and declare a speed for each one, as a basis for banning woods declared in publicity material as suitable for fast outdoor greens.

After a lengthy debate is was proposed that, in view of the problems associated with identifying which woods would be unacceptable, the problem be left for the moment for Bowls England to try and resolve with World Bowls, particularly as there was growing resentment among bowlers nationwide. Agreed

9. Representative Fixtures:
The Secretary had circulated a discussion paper with the Agenda:
“At the Executive Meeting in October Delegates considered the feasibility of playing League Representative Matches and in particular the following options:

i. Should Representative matches be confined to the outdoor season?
ii. Should Representative matches be arranged for days other than weekends - particularly avoiding Sundays?
iii. Should the League only arrange Inter League Badge matches instead of a mix including club friendlies?
iv. If these matches are to continue what can be done to encourage greater response from bowlers, particularly the more experienced and those from teams in higher Divisions?

At the meeting in October a Proposal by Hollingbury Park, Seconded by The Competitions Secretary that Representative matches be confined to the outdoor season was rejected by just 4 votes: 5 in favour and 9 against.

A further Proposal by Vicarage BC, Seconded by Shoreham BC that the A.G.M. be recommended to agree that in future no Representative matches be arranged for Sundays was agreed with 11 in favour and 2 against. The Match Secretary will contact opponents for 2009 with a view to re-arranging all Sunday fixtures if the AGM ratifies the Proposal.

Discussions on discontinuing meal matches deferred until the AGM

Background to the problem:
Each year we play sixteen ‘Representative’ matches divided into two types: [i] Friendlies against Club sides and [ii] Inter League Badge matches. Four of these fixtures are played on a Sunday and one on a Saturday. In addition, while the League is an outdoor organisation, eleven of the sixteen Representative fixtures are played indoors, including four ‘Badge’ matches.

Over the past four years there has been a serious decline in the number of bowlers putting their names forward for selection, particularly Friendly matches and those played on a Saturday or Sunday. The impact of this has been disguised by the efforts of League Officers telephoning round to bowlers inviting them to play and make the numbers up. In addition there has been a shortage of experienced players from teams in the higher Divisions and most of the bowlers now applying for selection are from teams in and below Division 3 This is reflected in the results, where we have won only two of the nine matches played to date this year and only four of sixteen played last year.

One measure of the support for these matches is the number of League blazer badges awarded. 13 badges were awarded in 2002; another 12 in 2003 and 13 in 2004 In 2005 this dropped to 8 with 9 in 2006 and 7 in 2007 This year however just 1 has been awarded.

This may in part be due to the decline in numbers of bowlers within Clubs generally with many having enough matches at Club level and not wishing to play these additional fixtures. However the current cost of petrol and that indoor matches are almost always more expensive ‘meal’ matches could also have some bearing on this.

To counter this the League’s Officers decided two years ago to invite two Clubs to each nominate a complete Rink for each Representative match. This has assisted the selectors as they now need only to select four Rinks [16 bowlers] for each match. This past year however this has become a problem and on occasions there have been less than 16 bowlers available.

The shortage of applicants for selection is compounded by the fact that from those applying it is usual for six or seven to withdraw after selection. With so many withdrawals and usually few if any reserves this invariably weakens the team. This past year, with the League’s Chairman - Alec Grisbrook - being heavily involved with duties as the County Indoor President and Ken Fennell, the Treasure being incapacitated, these problems have created considerable extra work and frustrations for the President and Match Secretary.”

The Secretary advised Members that as matches were arranged a year in advance it had not been possible to re-arrange the Sunday matches for 2009 as Agreed by the Executive Council on 30 October [minute 9] but the new Match Secretary would need to address this instruction for all fixtures commencing 2010                                                 Noted

After a lengthy and wide ranging debate including cost and number of indoor matches played by an outdoor organisation a Proposal by Shoreham BC, seconded by Brighton BC, that Sunday matches during 2009 scheduled for 26 July, 16 August and 13 December be reduced from 6 to 4 Rinks. [The policy of inviting two Clubs to each submit a complete Rink for matches to continue] was, with 25 For and None Against,                                                                   Agreed

A further Proposal from the Competitions Secretary, seconded by Woodingdean BC, that from October 2009 no indoor fixtures against Club sides shall be arranged or played by the League [only inter League Representative matches will continue] was, with 25 For and None Against [Outdoor Friendlies – anniversary matches etc are unaffected]       Agreed

[For 2009 the Fixtures on 3 November v Wealden, 17 November v Adur and 13 December v Preston IBCs and same matches, inclusive but not exclusively, for 2010 and any future years are to be:                             Cancelled.
For 2010 and any future years Matches scheduled during January to April against, including but not exclusively: Denton Island, Eastbourne, King Alfred and Horsham IBCs are to be:                                                   Cancelled.]

10. League Rules:
The Executive Council meeting in October proposed that, for the 2009 season only, Rule 10 [b] be amended to allow FOUR appearances instead of three before a player was ‘tied’ to a team in a higher Division. The effects of the change to be reviewed by the Executive Council after the end of the 2009 season. No change to Bill Hawkins Cup Rules    Agreed

BRIGHTON, HOVE & DISTRICT BOWLING LEAGUE: RULE 10. [b] REGISTRATION [2009]

b] In league matches any player who in the same season plays FOUR times in the same Division shall not be eligible to play in any lower Division.Where a club has more than one Team in the same Division, once a player has played twice for one Team, he is NOT eligible to play in the other. Any player who in the same season plays FOUR times for a club shall NOT be eligible to play for any other club in a lower Division that season.

17. Officers Election:
Nominations were invited for the posts of: Secretary, Vice Chairman and Assistant Secretary. Graham Cosham, Brighton BC volunteered for the post of Secretary. There being no other names submitted it was proposed that the other two post be left vacant. Under Rule 5 the Executive Officers could co-opt to fill these posts should a nomination be made later.                                                                                                                                                                   Agreed

The recommendation from the Executive Council on the 30 October that the following nominees be elected was    Agreed

President : C Bennett Hangleton BC

Chairman : A Grisbrook Saltdean BC

Vice Chairman : vacant

Secretary : G Cosham Brighton BC

Assistant Secretary : vacant

Treasurer : K Fennell Preston BC

Competitions Secretary : G Mann Hove Park BC

Match Secretary : P Fowle Brighton BC

Auditor : I Ward Preston BC

Delegates [2] : R Henstridge Vicarage B

R Llewellyn-Powell Carlton BC

11. Sponsorship:
Bob Henstridge of A.A. Locksmiths had generously offered to continue his sponsorship of the League, which was gratefully                                                                                                                                                        Accepted

12. League Fixtures:
The League Fixtures for 2009 had been issued to all clubs with the evening’s Agenda                                           Noted

13. Name Change:
Hollingbury Park BC had advise the League that at its AGM the Club decided that from 2009 Hollingbury Park ‘B’ playing in Division 2 of the Brighton, Hove and District League would be their first team and would be named Hollingbury Park - with no ‘B’ suffix. Their other team, in Division 4 of the League, would continue to be named Hollingbury Park.’A’                                                                                                                                                             Noted

14. Election of Clubs:
Recommendation from the Executive Meeting in October to accept an application from Peacehaven ‘B’ for re-election and an application from Lancing BC for election to the League.                                                                           Agreed

15. Bill Hawkins Cup 2009:
The draw for the Bill Hawkins Cup competition was made. Full details will be posted on the League WEB site.     Noted

16. Honorariums:
Proposed by British Rail BC, seconded Brighton BC that the Honorarium for 2008 shall be unchanged at £50 each for the Secretary, Treasurer, Match Secretary, Competitions Secretary and WEB Master                                        Agreed

Apologies for absence were received from: British Rail, Dyke Road Park, Lewes and Portslade Bowling Clubs                                                                                   Noted

Proposed by Hollingbury Park, seconded by Carlton, that the Minutes of 22 October 2007 were correct and should be signed by the Chairman                                 Agreed

None.                                                                                                             Noted

None.                                                                                                             Noted

The Secretary recorded thanks to fellow Officers and in particular, Match Secretary Brian Bayliss, for their assistance.

He advised those present that he had received some criticism about delays in up dating the League WEB site and detailed the problems encountered in updating the site on a weekly basis to provide Member Clubs with regular League Tables. He also reminded the meeting that the WEB site was his personal domain and not owned by the League.

He confirmed that as advised at the previous A.G.M. the Competitions Secretary, Alan Hawkins, was not standing for re-election and also the Match Secretary, Brian Bayliss, had decided not to seek re-election, this was largely due to lack of support for Representative matches which meant their organising was taking up a disproportionate amount of time. The Secretary added partly for the same reason, he was reviewing his position and might also not seek re-election as Secretary although he was standing for a third and final year as President.                                                                       Noted

This year, to date, 7 indoor representative matches have been played and all lost. We were also scheduled to play 5 outdoor representative games but two were cancelled due to rain and a third was cancelled by our opponents - The Worthing District League. Of the two played we won one - the Mayor’s Challenge match against Worthing at Woodingdean - but lost to the Eastbourne League where they loaned us a player to make up the six Rinks only to be further compromised when two bowlers failed to arrive and were replaced by two lady supporters. A further four matches are due to be played indoors before the A.G.M.

The lack of support is reflected in the number of Representative Badges awarded and this year only one bowler, himself, has been presented with the District badge.

A full programme of representative matches has been provisionally arranged for next year and details will be discussed at the A.G.M.                                                 Noted

In general the League matches and Bill Hawkins competition ran smoothly although there had been the usual delay in submission of match score cards by the usual one or two Clubs and again a number of cards that were difficult to read. He recorded his thanks to fellow Officers for their assistance and to those Clubs who gave their full support throughout the season.

Early in the season the weekly check of match score cards identified an unregistered player who had bowled for Peacehaven ‘B’ and Rule 10 [b] was applied with 25% of the shots being lost on that Rink and the Club being deducted 2 points from the season’s total. This resulted in this team finishing bottom of Division 6

In the third Round of the Bill Hawkins Competition Hove and Kingsway ‘B’ as the Challengers failed to offer their opponents - St Ann’s Well Gardens - any dates for the match in accordance with the Bill Hawkins Cup Rule 4 [b] and were eliminated with the match awarded to St Ann’s Well.

The Bill Hawkins Cup Final was played on the Hangleton Green in September with St Ann’s Well Gardens winning impressively against Preston ‘A’. The League thanked Hangleton Club not only for hosting the fixture but also the excellent hospitality they provided to both teams after the match.

He confirmed, as advised at the A.G.M., he would not be standing for re-election as Competitions Secretary for 2009 but was honoured and had enjoyed being able to carry out these duties for your League during the past seven years.                             Noted

The Secretary outlined the problems the League was currently facing: Each year the League play sixteen ‘Representative’ matches divided into two types: [i] Friendlies against Club sides and [ii] Inter League Badge matches. Four of these fixtures are played on a Sunday and one on a Saturday. In addition, while the League is an outdoor organisation, eleven of the sixteen Representative fixtures are played indoors, including four ‘Badge’ matches.

Over the past four years there has been a serious decline in the number of bowlers putting their names forward for selection, particularly Friendly matches and those played on a Saturday or Sunday. The impact of this has been disguised by the efforts of League Officers telephoning round to bowlers inviting them to play and make the numbers up. In addition there has been a shortage of experienced players from teams in the higher Divisions and most of the bowlers now applying for selection are from teams in and below Division 3 This is reflected in the results, where we have won only two of the nine matches played to date this year and only four of sixteen played last year.

One measure of the support for these matches is the number of League blazer badges awarded. 13 badges were awarded in 2002; another 12 in 2003 and 13 in 2004 In 2005 this dropped to 8 with 9 in 2006 and 7 in 2007 This year however just 1 has been awarded.

This may in part be due to the decline in numbers of bowlers within Clubs generally with many having enough matches at Club level and not wishing to play these additional fixtures. However the current cost of petrol and the fact that indoor matches are almost always more expensive ‘meal’ matches could also have some bearing on this.

To counter this the League’s Officers decided two years ago to invite two Clubs to each nominate a complete Rink for each Representative match and this has assisted the selectors as they now need only to select four Rinks [16 bowlers] for each match. This past year however even this has become a problem and on some occasions there have been only 16 bowlers available with no reserves.

The shortage of applicants for selection is compounded by the fact that from those applying it is usual for six or seven to withdraw after selection. With so many withdrawals and usually few if any reserves this invariably weakens the team. This past year, with the League’s Chairman - Alec Grisbrook - being heavily involved with duties as the County Indoor President and Ken Fennell, the Treasure being incapacitated, these problems have created considerable extra work and frustrations for the President and Match Secretary.

The League is currently faced with the possibility that the Representative match against Wealden Indoor Bowling Club on Tuesday 6 November may have to be cancelled due to lack of support with only 12 bowlers having indicated their availability for selection.

This situation cannot continue and Members were invited to consider the feasibility of playing these fixtures. In particular decisions are required on the following options:

i   Should the League continue to arrange any Representative matches?
ii   Should the League only arrange Inter League Badge matches?
iii Should Representative matches be confined to the outdoor season?
iv Should Representative matches be arranged for days other than weekends
   particularly avoiding Sundays?
v If these matches are to continue what could be done to encourage greater response
  from bowlers, particularly the more experienced and those from teams in higher
  Divisions?

After a lengthy debate Proposed by Hollingbury Park, Seconded by The Competitions Secretary that Representative matches be confined to the outdoor season: those in Favour 5, those Against 9 the Proposal was                                                    Rejected

Proposed by Vicarage BC, Seconded by Shoreham BC that the A.G.M. be recommended to agree that in future no Representative matches be arranged for Sundays: those in Favour 11, those Against 2 the Recommendation was             Agreed

Subject to Confirmation at the A.G.M. the Match Secretary will contact opponents for the 2009 season scheduled to play on a Sunday and re-arrange the fixture.           Noted