EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

7.00pm 17 January 2018

Duffus Park Bowling Club, Cupar.

MINUTES

Attendance Present:

Rona McCraw – Chair

Philip Mould - Secretary/Treasurer

Councillor Margaret Kennedy

Michael Kavanagh – Sports Development Officer

Mandy Strachan – Tayport Tennis Club

George Sharp – DPBC

Gary Anderson – Elmwood College

Elspeth Wallace – Fife Athletics

Welcome and Apologies

Rona welcomed the attendees. Apologies came from Councillors Andrew Arbuckle, Vice Chair Robbie Nellies, Ian Bell and Chris Reekie.

2. Minutes from last meeting

The minutes of the last meeting on 16th November 2017 were approved; being proposed by Elspeth Wallace and seconded by George Sharp.

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous meeting.

4. Secretary/Treasurers report

The Secretary confirmed the findings of the Grants Committee that has sat immediately prior to the Executive Committee Meeting. Firstly, a submission from Shukokai Academy for expenses relating to a future spring event had been withdrawn due to cancellation of planned attendance. A grant submitted by Newburgh Sailing Club for assistance in purchasing smaller sails for club boats to enable juniors to participate in more inclement weather was approved; totalling £123. Submissions from Pegasus Gymnastic Club were both referred to Fife Council for the specific Coach and Officials Grant scheme.

The Secretary explained that the preceding period had been dominated by preparation for the forthcoming Awards Ceremony. Bringing forward the Awards Ceremony had resulted in the invite for Nominees taking place over the Christmas period. The response had been very slow and was currently the main point of focus in terms of chasing Clubs for nominees. The agreed choice of Keynote Speaker, Laura Muir, was also proving difficult and this matter was being pursued as a matter of urgency.

The Secretary confirmed that he had been in contact with Fife Council, Lynne Leitch, to finalise the submission for the Recurring Grant. Mention was also made of the cancelled Fife Council Sport Strategy Review in early January due to bad weather.

5. Income and Expenditure

The Treasurer presented accounts up to the most recent balance of 15 Dec 17 and confirmed a balance of £19,291.94 as per the bank statement No.75. It was explained that the current balance was artificially low as the remaining Fife Council Grant Allocation of £11,724.00 had yet to be received.

The Chair confirmed that SALSC had placed a limit on grants being not in excess of £300 from the SALSC account.

6. Correspondence

The Secretary confirmed that he had received correspondence from SALSC requesting volunteer Clubs to host the SALSC Gents Bowling Competition in 2018. An update on the plans for the SALSC Curling Competition due on 6th Feb 18 had also been received indicating that regional Sports Councils were not responding positively to this opportunity.

7. Sports Development Officer Report

Michael Kavanagh spoke of an initiative to market local Clubs in order that school children had a better understanding of what sporting opportunities were available after school hours.

He also spoke of Active Fife working with Lochore Meadows and introducing school children to rowing and the prospect of possibly moving onto contact with local coastal rowing clubs.

Finally, he confirmed the ongoing work to produce the completed Recurring Grant package with Fife Council and it was agreed for the Chair and Secretary to meet at County Buildings on Tues 5th Dec (1030 hrs) at County Buildings.

8. Active Schools Report

Mike Kavanagh explained that Graeme Duncan was otherwise engaged and that he remained the only Active Schools operative currently in post. He would be covering for Caitlyn McAleese throughout her maternity leave. A replacement for Lyne MacKenzie had yet to be appointed.

9. Report on Website Development

The Secretary reported that he was currently focused on getting the Awards Ceremony organised. Thereafter it was necessary to concentrate on the Club pages of the website and establishing links to Club website information. The other priority was to create an online process for re-affiliation in April 2018. The requirement to record Club Fife Accreditation was requested by Mike Kavanagh and this was agreed.

10. Awards Ceremony 2018

The Secretary re-iterated his concern that the nomination process was slow and assistance in chasing up Clubs would be appreciated. It was agreed to extend the deadline until the beginning of Feb 18. It was further agreed that the Awards Committee would sit on Fri 9th Feb and confirm the shortlist of Award Winners. To speed up the usual process the committee were to meet at the Press Café in Cupar (1100 hrs) and conduct the awards process in a single sitting. Thereby allowing the Secretary to immediately carry on with notifications and invites for appropriate guests.

It was confirmed that the appointment of a Keynote Speaker had still not been finalised. The Committee named a number of alternatives for the Secretary to pursue. Lucinda Russell, David Hay, Mark Beaumont, John Buchannon, Horne Brothers and Paul Noble.

The Chair requested that the Secretary pursue alternative prizes to the glass vases and plaques in the form of Quiachs. The Secretary agreed to cost such alternative prizes.

Finally, the Secretary confirmed liaison with St Andrews University had been ongoing to deliver the event in the Younger Hall and the deposit had been paid. The response to sponsorship was also ongoing and was proving difficult to finalise. Committee assistance to attract new sponsorship was requested.

11. Spring Training 2018

The Secretary reported that from a recent East Neuk CSH Meeting there had been little positive response for a further or repeat Club Management Training Workshop. He did confirm that the Waid Academy Community Centre were receptive to the Sports Council using classroom facilities for any future planned evening Workshops.

The subject of changing law with regard Data Protection was identified as a possible topic for a Spring Workshop. It was agreed that the Secretary would approach Helen Rorison of Fife Voluntary Action to see if there was any course training available to cover this subject.

12. AOCB

It was confirmed that Laura Baxter of Lead to Exceed would be invited to the next Executive Committee Meeting to present a short brief explaining her services with regard Business Planning for Sports Clubs. This opportunity would take place at the beginning of the next meeting (7.00pm) and the Executive Committee would discuss the best way to harness support if appropriate.

The Secretary confirmed the need to obtain suitable photographs of the recent Grants received by Ladybank Golf Club and Elie & Earlsferry Sailing Club. He would arrange for the Chair to visit a suitable venue for this purpose in due course.

Councillor Margaret Kennedy spoke of an opportunity for First Aid Training through Michael Braid. This was to be pursued through Active Fife who already had planned First Aid training in hand.

13. Date of Next meeting

Wednesday 7th March 2018 at 6.30pm for the grants committee (if required) and 7.00pm for the full committee. Venue – Duffus Park Bowling Club.