Southport L.V. League 2024

Minutes of the Southport L.V. Bowls League Extraordinary General Meeting

Held at Churchtown Conservative Club on 10^th January 2023.

 

7.30pm Meeting opened by the Chairman, Chris Harding.

Chris then introduced the new officers of the league to the floor.

Vice-Chairman John Hughes, Secretary Gary Burgess, with apologies from the Treasurer, Mark Eustace, who was unwell.

Roll Call.

All clubs where represented, with 19 members in attendance.

Application to join the league from Crossens BC.

This was put straight to a vote and accepted unanimously.

Discuss and vote on proposed new rules.

The new rules had been previously sent out to all club delegates and were made readily available for any members to request a copy.

The Chairman asked if there were any queries or questions regarding the section entitled “General Rules”. No queries or questions were brought up. This section of the rules was accepted unanimously by the floor.

The Chairman asked if there were any queries or questions regarding the section entitled “Divisional Cups”. A query was raised regarding the Handicap, this was explained by the Chairman and Secretary. This section of the rules was then accepted unanimously by the floor.

The Chairman asked if there were any queries or questions regarding the section entitled “League Matches”. A query was raised regarding the points system, this was read out by the Secretary and explained to be exactly the same as the old points system. This section of the rules was then accepted unanimously by the floor.

The Chairman asked if there were any queries or questions regarding the section entitled “League Competitions”. No queries or questions were brought up. This section of the rules was accepted unanimously by the floor.

The Chairman asked if there were any queries or questions regarding the section entitled “President's Day”. No queries or questions were brought up. This section of the rules was accepted unanimously by the floor.

Proposed Dates for 2023

These were handed out by the Secretary and he explained that if we could get 2 divisions of ten teams, then we would be running a full program of bowls from the beginning of April till the end of September.

 

 

 

Secretaries Report

The Secretary reported that during the last week he had sent out a letter to fifteen clubs that fall within the catchment area of the league and do not play in the league. The letter advised them of the change of officers of the league and the change of status of the league from a men only league to a mixed league. It also invited the clubs to enter a team into the league for the coming season. He also reported that the Chairman was having a meeting at Santander to open a personal bank account and once this was done,it would mean that all the officers of the league banked with Santander. This would mean that the league could bypass the need to have a meeting with a business manager in Preston to open a new bank account for the league. The floor was informed of the funeral details for ex-treasurer of the league, David Pennington.

Any Other Business

Terry Corfield asked about the feasibility of separating the Home and Away fixtures. The Chairman asked the floor if this is was they wanted, it was voted against separating the fixtures. The Secretary said he would speak to the website host to see if it could be done and still maintain the current scoring system.

John Dawson asked if the league could get a card reader to make it easier for clubs to pay the fees. The Secretary's response was that the league could get a mobile card reader, but it would cost the league money. We would have to pay either a monthly fee or a percentage of the transaction total as a fee. The Chairman responded with the fact that once the bank account is set up, every club could pay their fees via a bank transfer which would incur no costs.

Roger Foulkes asked about the league maybe setting up a pool of players that might not be able to get a game in their team, but would be able to play for another team that maybe struggling to get the full ten players. This was discussed and found to be a rather difficult thing to organise. It was suggested from the floor about maybe players playing twice, like some other leagues do. This needs to be given more thought and a proper proposal put to the next AGM.

John Hughes shared with the floor his idea of a Pairs League on a Friday afternoon that would come under the banner of the LV League. Four pairs per match with eight teams to start with. It was mentioned that there is still a ladies Friday afternoon league. This needs advertising on the leagues website and the Southport & District Bowling Forum on Facebook to gauge the interest.

The Secretary informed the floor that the Team Registration meeting would be on Tuesday 28^th February. This is to give any new clubs coming into the league plenty of time to ask their players if they would like a team in our league.

 

The meeting was closed by the Chairman at 7.58pm