Minutes of a meeting of the St Andrews RFC Minis & Junior Section Committee
Held at 1.00pm
Sunday 21st October
Present -:
Iain Finn (Chairman)
James Marston ( Vice Chairman)
Lorraine Marston
Nigel Headley ( Bar Manager)
Coaches -:
David Allinson ( Elvis) (U7/8’s)
Rick Watkins (U7/8’s)
Paul Hirons (U 11’s)
Pete Murch (U 10’s)
Dean Smith (U9‘s)
Martin Townsend (U 14/15’s)
Adrian Vinsome (U 14/15’s)
Martin Ollis (U14/15’s)
John Waldron (U 16’s)
Secretary – Mary Kerr
1. AGM Minutes
Any matters arising to be referred to the next meeting. Action Mary.
Report Warwickshire Meeting - Copies available from Iain.
James outlined discussions at the recent Minis & Junior Warwickshire meeting on 20th September in Kenilworth, including discipline, online entries, regulations relating to Girls and U19 players. All contained in the Rugby Continuum available from Iain
· Details to be posted on the website
· It was also stressed that the club had a duty to inform Warwickshire of any occasion that they were to go on tour or play a club out of the RFU
Action- M.Ollis
· Club Resource Centre storing stationary/ Continuum/ training DVD’s etc to be set up (hopefully ) by next Sunday.
2. Finances **Please see attached
The current financial statement which shows a healthy balance was presented to the Committee.Taking into account that £1,500 is surplus tour money from the U 13’s/14/s tour last season , and that sundry expenditure needs to be taken off, a balance of £3,300 remains.
· It was stressed that any and all financial transactions, need to be approved by the Committee.
3. Coaching and Seal of approval / Club Mark – Requirements of Committee
Iain presented the criteria which we are required to meet in order to qualify for Club Mark and therefore gain access to financial support from Sport England
Many clubs in Warwickshire have already applied and been granted Club Mark
As discussed at the last meeting, one of the corner- stones of Clubmark is Coaching, which reinforces the need to get our Coaches qualified to the recognised standards. Moves to qualify the Coaches and succession- planning has been under way for a while in St Andrews and the 7/8’s Coaching plan has already been presented. However, all Individual age groups are to produce their strategy – Coaches aims and targets throughout the season- as Club Mark depend on this forward planning
Action- M&J’s in conjunction with Senior club
4. Registration
Lorraine reported on the present situation, and Registrations currently show a shortfall -with an income of £1750 as opposed to an expected £3,000 –odd ,which should have been taken in.
Coaches were asked to produce a list of all their players and give them to Lorraine to compare against actual registrations, as a matter of urgency.
· A Committee vote resulted in a policy of “No Pay No Play “being operated, with the exception of new players, who will still be required to register but have the option then to pay subs as and when, they choose to commit to the Club.
· 5 year olds are also exempt from paying subs unless their 6th birthday falls within the next month, but Elvis has suggested to parents that until then they may make a donation, and he was also asking for photos in readiness for proper registration.
Iain warned that if just one player is not registered with the RFU, insurance for the entire team, opposition and Coaches is invalidated.
5. Raffles- Elvis proposes a weekly Raffle for 7/8’s.
Any age groups have the opportunity of holding a weekly raffle although it was agreed that as most do not take up the option, the 7/’8’s would be allowed to hold one in any free week up to Christmas, after which fund raising will concentrate on the needs of the Tour teams who will take priority
· All requests to hold a raffle until the New Year are therefore to be agreed with Elvis.
6. Tours / Days out
· The U14’s to form a Sub-Committee to plan their tour next year
· U11/12’s – Paul Hirons is in the process of arranging a day out to Twickenham along the same lines as previous trips, which have been a great success and resulted in return visits from the young Twickenham squads.
· Under 7/8’s – Rick & Co have plans under way to take this age group for a day to Leicester Tigers, comprising a coaching session /lunch watching a match . Expected cost - £25 per head. (Date to be confirmed).
Meetings to discuss these events to be set up- Paul to co-ordinate, and progress reports and fundraising plans for next meeting please.
Action – Paul /Rick/Martin
7. Fixtures
Matches have gone well so far but Iain stressed that any arrangement to play, home or away, must first be cleared through him to avoid clashes etc .
· Club policy is to reserve the big pitch for the older players and U13’s and below, to play on middle and far pitches.
· A possible fixture with a visiting Twickenham side for U10/11’s needs to avoid a Saturday date
Iain would be delighted if anyone were willing to take up the mantle of Fixtures Secretary, which he remains responsible for, but they will have to spend a fair time under his guidance as it is a job with many considerations.
He really doesn’t want to be still doing it next season!! ANY OFFERS PLEASE??
8. Kit
Well done to Rick who has secured a sponsor to produce shirts (and possibly rain jackets), for the 7/8’s and he was duly given the go- ahead from the Committee, providing the shirts stay with that age group when they move up. On this basis, it was agreed that the old shirts could then be sold off for training.
· Martin T.asked that we took up the issue of damp kit with the laundry and it would be pointed out to them-
(Action- -Lorraine??)
· James asked for a kit audit from each coach- it seems we have a lot of Junior- size kit but not much for the smaller boys.
Action -all Coaches
· Johnny thinks the Colts are using the U16 shirts leaving them short of kit- Colts are the Senior clubs responsibility- someone take this up with them??
· Lorraine has some Coaching tops in stock
9 . Catering.
As usual – not enough help throughout the age groups. The kitchen, as has been proved- is a great source of revenue but too much responsibility continues to fall on the same (old ) shoulders .
· Coaches must somehow get their parents to help more.
· All food requirements/ notification of matches, to go through Lynne Reeves and Lorraine.
· All coaches to make sure they go to the counter to check food for their teams on the day.
Action- all Coaches
· Food is usually only put on after matches. Providing hot dogs after training for the 7/8’s can very easily overload the kitchen and it sets an unworkable precedent whilst also discouraging the sale of club food. The Coaches agreed not to continue.-
10. A.O.B.
Briefly,
· No players will be served with dirty kit / hands and Coaches are to encourage them to bring a change of kit after training.
· In view of the above it is essential to provide somewhere for the 9/10’s to change and it was pointed out that the 7’s included a few girls who will be told that they can change in the toilet.
Action – relevant Coaches
· Attention to be drawn to these points on the website.
Action- Martin Ollis
· Seniors had asked for a £50 contribution to the art work for Dress shirts which have been ordered but are they for U16’s as well as Colts- Take up at next Senior Committee meeting.
Action M&J Rep.
A final word from the Chairman reiterated a crucial point made on many occasions –the club are in desperate need of new blood to help in all aspects of the Minis & Juniors section, ideally parents who have a vested interest in the different age groups because they have children playing, and who team up with parents of other players, creating a strong support network
The present Committee and helpers who take on the bulk of responsibility for the running of the club on a weekly basis no longer have children in the M&J section and this is not a situation which promotes development of the best kind.
Coaches were urged to try and promote this amongst some of the shyer parents !
Date of next meeting
13.12.07 ??