Date: Monday 29 June 2009 Place: Seedfield Methodist Church Hall

Present: Ken Crimes, Keith Warrington, Keith Butler, Graham Jeffries, Rodney Hall, Simon King, Graham Wardle, Ian McKenzie, Andrew Webster, Edward Freeman, Simon King, Mandy Winskill, Bob Goodman (President)
Apologies: Steve Hathaway

1 Minutes of the meeting held on 23 April 2009

Approved.

2 Matters Arising

RH had begun the process of trying to get Elton Vale lighting improved so that it could become a venue for Finals Night. In view of the discussions about the future of Finals Night he will put this on the back burner for the time being.
Action: RH to pursue this again depending on the final decision of the Championship sub-committee

3 Formation of the divisions

The numbers applying to take part in the League for 2009/10 matched the total number of places available, but on a division by division basis this was not the case. The general principle of promoting two teams and relegating two teams in each division was adhered to. Four new teams had applied; two for Division1, one for Division 3 and one for Division 5, and two teams had dropped out. There was lengthy discussion on how to balance the wishes of as many teams as possible against the overall requirements of the League. Eventually agreement was reached on admitting one new team each to Divisions 1 and 2 and two new teams to Division 5. This meant the top four divisions were complete and there was one vacancy in Division 5.
Action: KW to inform clubs of the new divisions

4 Cup Competitions

SK had done a lot of work on new proposals for the League's cup competitions, with a view to changing the competitions and introducing a new handicap system. There was general approval for the idea of retaining the Dwyer Cup for all teams and replacing the other two competitions with divisional handicap cups. The handicaps for all competitions will be based on the individual players' abilities rather than on a team basis. The Committee has already received approval from the League clubs to make such changes as it thinks best. There were still some details to be worked out and a handicapping sub-committee was formed by SK, GW, AW, KW, SH, RH and GJ.
Action: SK to report at the next meeting

5 Closed Championships and Finals/Presentation Night

SK submitted proposals to enlarge the entry for the Closed Championships (by broadening the appeal and making it a more local event) and to complete the competitions on a single day, replacing Finals Night with a Presentation evening. The former suggestion was universally approved by the Committee members but the latter was subject to debate. It was accepted that other Leagues ran well-attended and successful Presentation Nights but they had both a tradition of such events and rules that encouraged participation. Bury did not have these positive factors at present. It was agreed that a venue in Bury, or at least closer than the Hilton Centre, would encourage players to enter the Championships. SK, EF and KW will make enquiries to see what might be available. SK's proposals for the types of events and their format would hopefully broaden the appeal. SK withdrew his proposal to discontinue Finals Night. The Committee agreed that it would be prepared to fund some losses on the Championships in an effort to popularise the event. Publicity would be important, perhaps via divisional representatives. A sub-committee of SK/KW/GW/RH was charged with agreeing a date and venue in time for publication in the handbook and finalising the proposals by the time of the League meeting on 10 August. A League Committee meeting would only be arranged before then if necessary.
Action: SK to advise KB of the date by mid July and report the final proposals at the next meeting

6 Fixtures

KC put forward a proposal for the season timetable to take account of the new competitions and with the aim of ensuring that some teams did not end up with a shortage of matches during certain periods. After discussion limited changes were made to the initial proposal and the timetable was agreed.
Action: KC to send details to KB

7 Committee roles

The task of umpiring the various finals usually fell to a very limited number of individuals. KC's wish was that the Committee members would all take on a share of these duties. KB assumed that SH would again design the cover for the handbook and will talk to him about this.
Action: KB/SH
The Emergency Committee will be KW/IM/RH with reserves GJ/EF. There were no volunteers to take on the task of dealing with the trophies for all competitions. KB will ask if SH will deal with the printing of the tournament surrounds.
Action: KB

8 Cover for KW's absence

KW will be away for six weeks from the beginning of December to mid January. In the absence of any other volunteers to take over any of his duties KC said that he would cover this period.

9 Sponsor

Ben Armstrong had decided with regret that, after a number of years as League sponsor, Burning Desire Fireplace Centre would not continue in that role for the forthcoming season. The Committee wished to express their thanks for the support Ben had given the League during that period and KC will write to Ben to this effect. In the light of this decision GJ had approached the local branch of his employers, Perrys the Vauxhall dealer, and they were pleased to become League sponsors for 2009/10.

10 Handbook

KW and RG will write an article for the handbook explaining the history of the present League trophies and giving details of the new ones that will be played for in 2009/10.
Action: KW/RG
KB asked that if anyone had ideas for new pages in the handbook then they should let him know.
Action: All

11 Trophies

George Lomax's widow had indicated that she would like to present a trophy to the League, in George's name, to be awarded for a suitable competition. It was thought that the new Division 5 cup competition would be appropriate as that is the division that juniors will generally start in and George had been very keen on the development of junior players. As far as the other divisional cups are concerned it was agreed the MacDonald Cup will be used for Division1 and the Poytress Cup for Division 2 (subject to agreement from David Poytress). New trophies named after Ellis Pressman and Sam Hilton would apply to divisions 3 and 4. The Committee had recently heard of Ellis's death and a number of members paid tribute to Ellis as a player and a gentleman.

12 Date of next meeting

League meeting: Monday 10 August at Seedfield at 7.45 p.m.