Minutes of the Federation Annual General Meeting held at Burntwood Rugby Club, Sports Way, Chasetown, Burntwood, Staffordshire – Sunday 15th January 2017
OFFICERS PRESENT: Vice Chairman: Shaun Josẻ, Secretary: Nicky Duckett
Clubs Represented: Olney TOWC, Triple F TOWC, LCS TOWC, Diesel Power TOWC
The meeting commenced at 11.10 am
Presidents Address and Opening of Meeting
Due to the absence of the President because of continued ill health it fell to Shaun Jose to open the meeting as Vice Chairman.
Apologies for absence
No correspondence had been received from the Chairman regarding absence. Apologies were received from Steve Gardner (Treasurer), John Meakin, Nick Bell and Antony from Black Dog TOWC, who were all unable to make it to the meeting.
Minutes of previous Annual General Meeting held on January 17th 2016
The minutes from the last Annual General Meeting were read by all those present and agreed to be a true record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the Minutes – None
To receive the following reports:
The Chairman’s Report
No report received from the Chairman to address the AGM. Vice Chair gave a small report on the last year’s competition. It was recognised that 5 clubs kept the Federation functioning last year with B teams contributing to a total of 8 team at certain competitions. Inter Counties was a good platform for the Federation having pulled infront of a large crowd of spectators, next season it is hoped that this will be further improved on as have been informed that the pulling will now take place in the main arena.
The Vice Chair also thanked Olney for putting on the Federation National Championships, which he felt was a good venue with refreshments etc put on by the team. It was agreed by all those present that the Championships were a successful and pleasant day for the Federation.
The Secretary’s Report
There were no major issues arising from the Secretary for the last year. Correspondence has been minimal with only a couple of queries which have been redirected to the individuals able to help with them. The only other item raised by the Secretary was her desire to resign from the position of Secretary and Judge from the Federation due to a change in personal circumstances.
Treasurer’s report and the Income and Expense Accounts for the Financial Period 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2016
Although Steve Gardner (Treasurer) was unable to make the meeting he sent through his financial report which was handed out during the meeting. The total income for the last season was £1,487.55 with an expenditure of £642.18, with the balance transfer from the previous Treasurer the balance in the Federation account to date is £3,662.10.
The Treasurer also stated that he was happy to continue with the position for the next season if needed which was only a temporary position. He feels that it is working well with Kevin Wilson from LCS TOWC collecting the entrance fees from the competitions and signing them over to the Treasurer for banking. If it is agreed by all those present that this was a satisfactory remedy to his being unable to attend all the competitions he would be happy to continue for the foreseeable future. It was agreed by all those present that this was suitable solution and should to continue to function in this manner.
Election of Officers:
President – Dave Ling Proposed: Shaun Jose (VC) Seconded: Jo Osbourne (Olney TOWC)
Chairman – Shaun Jose Proposed: Chris Pollard (Triple F TOWC) Seconded: Nicky Duckett (Secretary)
Vice Chairman – Henk Kruse Proposed: Shaun Jose (VC) Seconded: Jo Osbourne (LCS TOWC)
Treasurer – Steve Gardner Proposed: Shaun Jose (VC) Seconded: Henk Kruse (Triple F TOWC)
Secretary – Shaun Jose agreed to take on this role temporarily until someone was found to take over the role as no one was forthcoming at the meeting.
Resolutions
- Affiliation Fees
Shaun Jose (VC) proposed that team affiliation fees be reduced to £25 per team to encourage more teams to register and come to the Federation. Also to be no affiliation costs for Committee members and Officials (Judges & Recorders) to encourage and incentivise people to take up the posts. Proposed: Shaun Jose (VC) Seconded: Dave Price (Diesel Power TOWC)
TWIF Ruling for Pulls
Shaun Jose (VC) also brought the proposal that all future competitons should be run under the TWIF rules of the best of two ends rather than best of three. Felt that last years pulling was a bit end driven and that some pulls were down to the toss of the coin for the third end.
This proposal was discussed at length as some of the teams felt that this was likely to shorten the days pulling somewhat especially for those that have travelled a long way or for one specific weight. Chris Pollard (Triple F TOWC) suggested a test period for some of the competitions. Shaun Jose (VC) further suggested testing on one weight on the day to possibly be on the weights with 5 teams or more for the trial period to be decided on the day. This then went to the vote and was passed. Proposed: Shaun Jose (VC) Seconded:: Henk Kruse (Triple F TOWC)
Reduction in 3×3 weight classification
Dave Price (Diesel Power TOWC) asked if it would be possible to reduce the weight classification for the 3×3 competition from 465 kg to 450 kg. LCS TOWC were happy to do this as are always under the weight for the 3×3. Dave Osbourne (Olney TOWC) suggested an additional weight class for the 3×3 to accommodate this, but it was felt by all those present that there were not enough lady pullers to warrant this additional weight class. This then went to the vote and was passed. Proposed: Dave Price (Diesel Power TOWC) Seconded: Kevin Wilson (LCS TOWC)
Youth Team
It was requested if at the judges discretion on the day the Federation would allow Youth teams a 30 kg weight advantage on the weight classes to encourage new pullers. This was discussed at length by all those present and it was felt that it was not required to be voted in as a resolution as it would be on the Judge’s discretion and we are trying to actively promote the sport to new individuals at present.
525 kg – 8 Ladies team
Dave Osbourne (Olney TOWC) asked if it would be allowed that 8 ladies could weigh in to pull in the 525 kg weight class normally made up of 6 pullers. This is to give an inexperienced novice ladies team a chance of pulling and also to promote the Federation in the hope of retaining pullers. It was agreed by all teams present not to pass a resolution for this proposal but to test it at a few competitions to see how it goes with a review at the next Council meeting scheduled for 18th June 2017.
National Championships – Last Competition of Season
It was proposed by Shaun Jose (VC) that the National Championships be officially the last competition of the Federation season. It was felt that every team builds to this competition and then does not then attend the National League Finals held a couple of weeks after. Last season there were only two teams able to make the competition, and was therefore cancelled. It was also proposed that the National League Finals be moved prior to the Championships.
This went to the vote and was passed. Proposed: Shaun Jose (VC) Seconded: Henk Kruse (Triple F TOWC)
M Simmons Memorial Pull
Steve Gardner had received some correspondence from Maurice Simmons’ family following his sad passing last year. The family would like to hold a memorial pull near to his home for the Federation to include Youth teams and Novice teams. It was agreed by all those present that this would be a nice way to remember Maurice and a date in either May or June would be reserved for this in the Fixtures calendar as requested. It was suggested that due to the distance for the teams to travel that this be held on a Saturday as a late afternoon pull with the opportunity for teams to camp over and socialise after the event. It was agreed that this was a more agreeable solution and Shaun Jose was to go back to the family with regards facilities to accommodate this.
Fixtures / Judges
The below list of fixtures were agreed with all present at the meeting for the coming season
To start on 30th April and finish 27th August 2017
April 30th: Diesel Power TOWC (National League 1)
May 7th: Triple F TOWC (National League 2)
May 21st: LCS TOWC (National League 3)
June 4th: Olney TOWC (National League 4)
June 18th: LCS TOWC (National League 5)
July 2nd: Diesel Power TOWC (National League 6)
July 15th: Maurice Simmons’ Memorial Pull
July 30th: Heckington Show (Federation Inter-Counties Championships)
August 13th: Olney TOWC (National League Finals)
August 27th: LCS TOWC (Federation Championships)
Any Other Business
Shaun Jose (VC) raised the issue that there are currently no official Judges or Recorders within the Federation at the present time. It is therefore every teams responsibility to ensure that they have someone or book someone to do the officials jobs for any competitions they are holding prior to the event. Under no circumstances are visiting teams expected to turn up and be asked to provide an official on the day from their team. We have two offers of judges from previous pullers these are Nick Bell and John from Triple F TOWC. The only thing that has to be arranged is the Federation Championships, as this will have to be judged and run by someone who knows what they are doing and are able to run the day in a professional and fair manner.
Date, Time and Place of next Council Meeting
Sunday 18th June at 10 am
LCS TOWC, Burntwood Rugby Club, Sports Way, Chasetown, Burntwood, Staffordshire
Date, Time and Place of next Annual General Meeting
Sunday 21st January 2018 at 11 am
LCS TOWC, Burntwood Rugby Club, Sports Way, Chasetown, Burntwood, Staffordshire
