SURREY DARTS ORGANISATION

SURREY MENS SUPER LEAGUE
AGM MINUTES 17TH AUGUST 2008
HELD AT WORCESTER PARK BRITISH LEGION

Meeting Commenced: 6:20pm

1 Roll Call

Teams represented at the AGM were: Golden Lion, Golden Lion A, Walton Working Men’s Club “C”, Princess, Salfords, Park Barn, Fairlands, Worcester Park, Esher and Rhodrons.

Apologies were received from Tim Stedman (Chairman), as Walton Working Men’s Club were competing in the Champion’s Cup finals that day in Daventry.

Persons present: Martin Cullip, Martin Byrne, Claire Heron, Steve Hitchens, Chris Gallagher, Paul Neate, Ron Gorrie, Graham Moulds, Gary Creamer, Keith Benson, Aline Cook, Rich McLaughlin, Simon Reynolds, Terry Davies, Jim Cullip, Adrian Ridgers, Mick Taffurelli.

2 Approval of Minutes

Martin Cullip stated that, due to the fact that he was taken ill during the previous meeting, there were no minutes from the previous meeting. There were no questions from the floor.

3 Secretary’s Report

Martin Cullip reported that 2007/8 had been a difficult but successful season. The league suffered the loss of one team at the halfway stage but thanks to savings made elsewhere, the final payout wasn't badly affected with the league winners receiving just £100 less than 2007/8 and other prizes being marginally cut.

Martin stated that there were a couple of issues regarding fees and payouts that had been added to the agenda as some problems had arisen during the season.

Martin congratulated Walton Working Mens Club for winning the League Title again 2007/8 and reported that they had reached the National Finals of the Champions Cup that was held that day, only to lose narrowly to Glamorgan. Congratulations were also extended to Gary Creamer who won the League Singles Title, as well as the Freeholders pair of Andy Nye & Ben Walford who took the pairs event and the Triples Champions from Salfords. It was highlighted that 9 of the 13 teams that finished the 2007/8 season were represented at Finals Night which was testament to the strength and competitiveness of the league.

Martin formally notified those present that he was leaving the post of Super League Secretary which he had held since 2001 and thanked the meeting for their co-operation in the changes that he had implemented which led to a large increase in prize money along with a fundamental change in the way results are conveyed to the Secretary and also to how news is returned to the members of the league. Martin Byrne was introduced to the meeting as the new Secretary, and Martin C. wished him well and expressed his view that Martin B. would move the league forward further in the future.

4 Chairman/Secretary

Further to the new appointment of Secretary, in Tim Stedman’s absence, Martin C. expressed Tim’s wish not to stand for the post of Chairman for the following season. Martin C. emphasised the pivotal role in the league's success that Tim had performed and thanked him for his invaluable guidance through the years. Martin C. said that he himself was willing to stand for this position for the following season, and invited anybody else to express their interest in the position. He emphasised that, as Secretary of the league, problems inevitably appear from time-to-time and it was important for the Chairman to give help and advice to the Secretary whenever possible, and that he felt that this was something that he was able and willing to do. Jim Cullip proposed that Martin C. take the position of Chairman, this was seconded by Rich McLaughlin and unanimously agreed by the floor.

5 Fees & Payout

Martin C. explained that due to Walton Working Men’s Club “B” only paying half the season’s fees, the payout at the end of the season was slightly less than anticipated. He also expressed how difficult it can be chasing teams for payment, despite rule 5d stating that league fees should be paid every four games. In the case of Esher, Martin C. said that he still hadn’t received payment of all their league fees, although a payment schedule had been arranged. Aline Cook asked why rule 5d had not been enforced, and Martin C. replied that, as so many teams were irregular in making payments, it had been necessary to use discretion and not start fining teams for forgetting to send payments in on time.

Jim Cullip expressed the view that there was no excuse for not being able to come up with the money, as he and other teams have tried and tested methods of raising the money from the players and venues. Rich McLaughlin agreed, and explained that his players paid all of their fees at the start of the season. Martin B. stated that this was also the case with Esher, although the fees had not yet made their way to the Secretary. It was agreed that, whilst punishing teams for missing the 4-week deadline was not realistic, a rule change was necessary to ensure that all money was collected.

Jim Cullip (Worcester Park) proposed that rule 5d be changed so that teams were no longer penalised for missing the 4-week deadline, but that all league fees must be paid by the end of the first half of the season. Reminders would be sent to teams when necessary, and teams that did not pay all of their fees by half way through the season would be penalised at the discretion of the Committee. The Princess seconded the proposal, and the motion was carried.

6 2008/2009 League Teams

At the AGM, 10 of the 13 teams that completed last year’s fixtures were present. WWMC “A” sent apologies prior to the meeting, and neither the Metropole nor the Freeholders were represented. Martin Cullip had been contacted by an individual wishing to enter a new team, but there were no new teams represented at the AGM. As there were 13 teams, Martin Byrne said that, although he was at the meeting representing Esher, he would enter a new team playing from the Federation Club, Epsom (formerly Epsom British Legion). This would bring the league up to 14 teams. This was agreed by the floor.

7 Man of the Match Competition

Martin C. explained that he had been in contact with Andy Nye, who had originally offered to hold the competition at the Freeholders. The meeting agreed that the competition should be played off before the start of the next season. Aline Cook reminded the meeting that a similar competition for the Ladies was agreed, so any MoM competition should be either over a weekend or consecutive Saturdays/Sundays. It was suggested that another venue could be used for the competition, and Martin C. said that Andy Nye did not have a problem with this. Martin C. told the meeting that he would speak to Andy Nye and arrange a weekend on which to play the competition.

The meeting agreed that the Man of the Match and after-season competition should run for the following season also.

8 Any Other Business

Aline Cook explained to the meeting that, since Surrey now have a new BDO Group Director, SDO need to send off player registration fees to the BDO as soon as possible. Martin B. said that all teams need to register their players before playing them, according to rule 3d. This means that player registrations should be received by the league secretary in the week after the first game. Martin B. told the meeting that player registration fees should be received as soon after registration as possible, otherwise action may be taken in accordance with the league rules.

Martin Cullip raised the matter of the annual donation to the Surrey Youth side, and if the league was happy to continue with this donation. Jim Cullip made the point that, as the youth team were to receive sponsorship from the venue for the following season, the £10 per team would not be needed. Aline Cook and Martin B. said, however, the money was and always had been important and gratefully received by the youth team, and if the team did have more funding than last season then that would permit the players to organise and travel to more competitions. Martin C. suggested that the Youth donation be added to the league rules, as although the donation was customary each season he felt that it should be made more permanent. The floor agreed to raise the registration fee to £40 per team, £10 of which should be donated to the youth team.

The focus now turned to the fixture dates for the following season. Martin B. confirmed that the season would begin on the 16th September, and that since Christmas Day and New Year’s Day did not interfere with nearby match dates, we could bring fixtures forward this year. After some discussion, the meeting agreed to play a match the week before Christmas, keep 23rd December free for rearranged matches and then have no game the following week. This means that the summer league can start a week earlier, and so next year’s super league can begin earlier also.

It was at this point that Jim Cullip questioned whether rearranged matches should be allowed at all. After about ten minutes of discussion, Keith Benson (Lion A) proposed that teams should not be allowed to postpone matches, unless express permission is received from the super league committee (i.e. in special circumstances only). This was seconded by Jim Cullip (Worcester Park), and the motion was carried.

Martin Cullip next informed the meeting of an error made in the 2006/2007 season, in which the Jubilee club were paid £118 short at the end of the season. Chris Gallagher is now playing for Park Barn, so Martin C. said that this season they should be given this amount in credit, which they would have to pass on to Chris. Martin C. said that mistakes do happen, but they are very difficult to rectify after finals night when the payout is made. This was the reason for this issue not being cleared up previously. Martin C. proposed that a rule be added to say that no mistakes can be rectified after the season’s payout has been made. Martin B. told the meeting that, if they approve, he would send all teams their final statement before the league competitions, and that any mistakes must be communicated to him before Finals Night. Jim Cullip (Worcester Park) proposed the motion, which was seconded by Walton C. The motion was carried.

Finally, Aline Cook thanked Martin Cullip on behalf of the teams for all of his time and hard work running the league in the past years. She also wished Martin Byrne the best for his first season in charge.

The Meeting was closed at: 7:25pm