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27/05/2009 - Meeting of the Malaga Provincial Committee |
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Minutes of the Malaga Provincial Meeting held at Santa Maria Bowls Club – 27 May, 2009 at 11.00
Present :-
Chairman : Tony Winterton ( TW ) Treasurer : Jackie Wright ( JW ) Belplaya : Tony Frowd ( ALF ) Los Amigos : Geoff Wright ( GW ) Benalmadena : Clive Montaut ( CM ) Miraflores : Derek Shemmings ( DS ) Benavista : Tony Farmer ( TF ) Santa Maria : Derek Hilton ( DJH ) Ken McBride ( KM ) David Jones ( Superbowl ) DJ Competition Secretary & N.E.C. Member Murray Johns ( MJ )
Apologies :-
Diane Chambers, Charles Ottaway, Ken Talbot and Rob Robinson
1. Minutes of Meeting from 31 March and Matters Arising :-
The Minutes of the last Meeting were approved and there were no Matters Arising.
2. Report on the Malaga Provincial Championships :-
MJ confirmed an excellent Tournament, which had been well supported, with some Players delaying their return to UK in order to participate. It had been necessary to speak to several Players regarding their interpretation of the Dress Code and, for the Finals and subsequent Federated Events, only “official” Club Shirts would be accepted.
KM asked whether three matches on the final day could have been avoided. MJ said he had devised a schedule to fully maximize the use of the Green and keep costs down to a minimum and only Malcolm Greenwood, or himself, had this problem to contend with. Preliminary matches in all disciplines had been “slotted in” and the Pairs and Triples Finals had been played within the schedule which, in light of the eventual Finalists, had been the correct decision and had averted further problems / “bottlenecks” later in the Tournament.
3. Report on Funding for 2009 :-
TW advised that the large increase in Federated Lawn Bowlers arising from the introduction of the Corporate Fee in Andalucia had brought about two major events :-
- The appointment of four Members to the F.E.B.’s National Assembly which regulated the activities of the national Federation - An increase in the F.E.B.’s funding for International and Inter-regional activity, those being its remits. To a total of 21000€, as evidenced by the F.E.B. Budget for 2009 published in the Federation section on the Bowling in Spain web-site.
The number of Federated Bowlers in Andalucia for 2008 was 577 and for Alicante 368, a total of 945 resulting in an income, based on the F.E.B.’s share of the Licence Fee of 14€, of 13230€.
Unfortunately the situation was not replicated in Andalucia. As had been previously reported for 2007, the F.A.B. had had to return 7500€ of its Grant to the Junta de Andalucia due to not being able to justify its use in the case of Lawn Bowls by there not being sufficient Federated events.
Clubs should therefore consider the desirability of other major Tournaments currently not Federated being brought under its “umbrella” so that funds available from the F.A.B. could be used to reduce entry fees to these events, this being a matter of great concern at present.
TW then confirmed details of “The Way Forward” and said the National Executive Committee had discussed the proposal at its Meeting on 24 May and agreed it should be openly discussed at Provincial Meetings.
TW advised that Clubs in Valencia were strongly in favour of the concept and a Membership Fee of 10€ per person had been suggested as the maximum which would be paid by each Club. He briefly outlined the envisaged structure under the CBBA as follows :-
- Each of the Provinces would elect a Regional Committee which would control Bowling affairs. - Each Province, from its Committee, would have an equal presence on a National Committee. - The N.E.C. would comprise of 2 or 3 Members from each Province with an elected President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. - The anticipated annual income would total c.€27k.
DS asked why, if the Budget was currently beneficial to Lawn Bowlers and the existing format appeared to work, did we need to change it. He expressed his view that the Costa Del Sol Owners’ Committee had successfully run Bowls in the region for many years and, as the majority were social Players, why should it be replaced for those who wished to play competitively.
KM strongly contested this view and said that, within Benavista, the majority ( c.60% ) wanted competitive activity, a view shared by other Members present.
There then followed an open discussion which culminated in the following proposal from CM :-
TW to draft a detailed proposal stating clearly the objectives of the new organisation, how the objectives could be achieved and the financial requirements for both income and expenditure.
This proposal was seconded by ALF and the vote was unanimously in favour.
TF asked for the proposal to include the make-up, and responsibilities, of both the National and Provincial Committees and DJH said it should also outline the benefits to all Clubs and Members. Once again this was unanimously agreed.
Post Meeting Note : Proposal on hold pending clarification of the legal status of the CBBA. 4. Activities for 2009/10 :-
a). National Championships :-
MJ said the “cut-off” for entries was Sunday, 31 May. To date entries from Valencia were disappointing and it may be possible to stage the Finals on one Green. This would be further assessed following the closing date and TW would liaise accordingly with the host Clubs.
b). Champion of Champion Pairs :-
TW said our entries had been accepted and the event was to commence at Javea on 5 June.
c). Champion of Champion Singles :-
TW issued details relative to the Tournament to be held at Country Bowls in October.
d). Summer League arrangements :-
MJ advised that Los Amigos only pulled out of the Monday Triples League on Sunday, 10 May. This left only three Teams and, as a result, it could not take place this Summer but would be re-introduced in 2010. Due to the short notice it had not been possible to liaise with the Owners’ Committee for them to consider, for this year, taking the Monday slot. However, the Thursday Kings Cup League was taking place as scheduled but there would not be a National “play-off”.
e). Visit to Isla Canela – Test Match v Ayamonte / East Algarve ( 27-29 Oct ) :-
MJ said there had been an excellent response and, currently, 20 of the 24 available places had been filled. He once again explained the Match had been finalised when there was a clear “slot” in the Owners’ programme. Subsequently the Ladies’ Annual Triples had been allocated the same dates but he had identified the “clash” on the “Flyer” so Members could make their choice.
TF asked whether the Team would be selected from everyone expressing an interest or on the “first come, first served basis” specified on the Flyer. MJ confirmed the latter as it was important to have a full compliment of people. He advised he would have a “reserve list”.
f). Malaga Cup ( Mijas ) :-
MJ confirmed Mijas had agreed to stage the event subject to the remedial work on their Green being completed. Following discussions at the N.E.C. Meeting re : the format of the National Championships for 2010, this would now retain its original format ( i.e. as per the Provincial Championships to identify the Champions in each of the Single Sex disciplines ).
g). Replacement Tournament for Andalucian Championships ( 1 – 10 Feb, 2010 ) :-
Superbowl had agreed to stage this event but the N.E.C. had agreed to consider a further change to the format of the Spanish National Championships subject to the approval of Clubs within each Province ( see Section 5.a) below ). If this proposal was approved by ALL Provinces, this “slot” could be used by each Club to identify its Club Champions in Pairs, Triples and Fours. Failing this, the “slot” would be retained by the F.A.B. for a Federated Provincial Event. MJ was able to address an issue raised by TF prior to the Meeting. The adoption of the proposed new format would “free up” time for Clubs to run their “in-house” Federated Tournaments with sponsorship coming from the F.A.B.
5. Spanish National Championships 2010 :-
TW and MJ said that, following the poor response to this year’s Provincial qualification concept, two proposals were being considered for 2010. These had been suggested by the N.E.C. and were to be discussed at Provincial level before a decision is taken.
a). Club Championships :-
TW outlined the proposal as follows :-
- Each Club with Federated Members conducts its own Tournament in Pairs, Triples and Fours. - Competing Teams would be nominated and could be Single Sex or Mixed to increase entries. - The Club Champions and losing Finalists would be eligible to compete in the National Finals. - Sponsorship for each Tournament would be provided by the F.A.B.
With 30 Clubs in Spain this would provide an opportunity similar to that currently provided by the National Champion of Champions ( both Pairs and Singles ) and would negate the need to run each of these Tournaments in June and October respectively.
b). Entry as prior to 2009 :-
ALL Federated Bowlers could enter as Club Pairs, Triples and Fours but in a Single Sex or Mixed combination. MJ clarified the benefit as follows :-
12 Members of the same Club could travel as a Team and play 6 x Pairs, 4 x Triples and 3 x Fours. Qualification for the Singles Tournament would be as before with a maximum of 8 Ladies and Gents being able to qualify from Malaga, Almeria, North and South Alicante.
c). Dates, Venue, “feedback” and other questions :-
TW advised that Torrevieja would once again host the Finals between 15 & 29 May, 2010.
MJ was asked to circulate a separate letter to Clubs to give a more detailed outline of the options.
TW asked Representatives to discuss this matter within their Club Committees and report back to him not later than 31 July, 2009 so the thoughts of our Province could be communicated to the other regions.
TW confirmed it was the National Singles Champion of Champions who was eligible to represent Spain in the World Championships and not the Winner of the National Championships
CM said he was totally against Tournaments being allocated to only those Clubs with Federated Members. He expressed his view that, as ALL Clubs are Federated, allocation should be shared to ensure certain Clubs did not monopolise events along the Coast.
TW and MJ responded by saying that Members had insisted that only those Clubs with Federated Members be allocated Tournaments as they were those supporting the F.E.B. / F.A.B. In the case of the recent Provincial Championships, Santa Maria had been a totally Federated Club when the
Tournament had been offered to them. They also confirmed that Clubs were offered the opportunity to stage events, they were not allocated.
6. Coaching :-
MJ confirmed the Instructors’ Course would commence at Belplaya on 28 May and conclude on 30 May. He officially thanked ALF, on behalf of the F.A.B., for donating the facility at Belplaya and for co-ordinating matters there. Unfortunately one person had withdrawn that morning but nine people were still attending of the maximum 10 that could have been accommodated.
7. Umpires & Markers Association :-
MJ confirmed the Committee had finalised dates for the next Umpires Course to be held at Santa Maria on the mornings of 6th, 13th & 20th October with the final examination on 12 November.
DJH asked for written confirmation of these details.
8. Duties of Club Representatives :-
TW confirmed these were unchanged.
9. Any other Business :-
a). Resignation :-
TW advised he had reluctantly accepted the resignation of MJ from his role as Competition Secretary and Provincial Delegate on the National Executive Committee. He thanked Murray for the excellent work he had done over the three years and his contribution in effecting a change in opinions both nationally and provincially. MJ also said he was stepping down as Secretary of the Umpires’ Association as he felt it important to withdraw his services totally from official activity.
b). National Championships :-
TF asked, in view of the above news, who would be co-ordinating the 2009 Finals. TW said there would be no change as MJ had agreed to continue and he was happy to do so.
c). Costa Del Sol Handbook :-
TF asked for a commitment from the F.A.B. for their entry into the 2009/2010 Handbook.
TW asked for the F.E.B. and F.A.B. logos to be reinstated and, if this commitment was given by the Owners’ Committee, he would be happy to commit to the printing costs.
MJ confirmed that a copy of all F.A.B. insertions had been given to DJ and TW asked that he be allowed to “proof check” our entries this year prior to the commencement of printing.
TF said he would report back to TW following the next Owners’ Meeting.
d). Subsidies and Seeding of Players :-
GW asked whether, at subsequent Federated Tournaments, the F.A.B. could look at the possibility of subsidising Entry Fees and the price of Water. MJ confirmed that he and TW had already discussed this and a viability study was being undertaken.
GW asked whether Players / Teams could be seeded. MJ said this had been discussed on many occasions at both National and Provincial level. It was deemed to be impractical and unnecessary for Tournaments run by the Federation at any level.
10. Date of the next Meeting :-
Saturday, 20 September, 2009 Venue : Santa Maria B.C Time : 10.30 hours
With no further items for discussion the Meeting closed at 13.55 with a vote of thanks from TW to all of those who attended.
Minutes prepared and circularised by MJ in the absence of Diane Chambers ( Secretary )
8. June, 2009 |
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