Attendance
Chris Roberts (chair)
Joanna Corless (secretary)
Chris Woodhead (treasurer)
Rebekah Vettasseri
Lorna Robb
Lydia Sadd
Aman Mohammad
Sky Lui
Cat Miedziak
Pete Miedziak
Carwyn Parker
Sophia Danilova
Tafara Chivasa
Deri Clinch
Maria Pollard
Josh James (non-member)
Matthew Flowers (non-member)
Emma Rosser (non-member)
Ian Charlesworth (non-member)
Meeting notes
Approval of minutes of the 2024 AGM
Chris R opened the meeting. Minutes from last year were approved, although it was raised that they lacked detail; more detailed minutes were requested for this year.
Statement from the Chair
The Statement from the Chair was given by Chris R. The statement acknowledged that the year had been set up to be difficult given the loss of many coaches and members at the end of the previous season. However, the sustainment of the club throughout the season despite these difficulties was recognised as an achievement. Acknowledgements were given to various members who had stepped up to take on new responsibilities this season; Rebekah as Head Coach, Lorna as Fixtures Secretary, Lydia as Social Media Secretary and Aman as Recruitment Secretary. Finally, it was stated that an ambition for the next season was to recruit enough new members to get two full, standalone teams.
Statement from the Head Coach
Rebekah thanked members for their contributions, both in playing for the club and volunteering for various responsibilities to keep the club running.
Report from the Treasurer on Club Finances
The report from the Treasurer was provided by Chris W. The club had a deficit of £475.30 for the period August 2024 to August 2025, but this was a smaller deficit than expected, given the reduction in membership numbers since last season. The loss was less than expected due to Archers having fewer matches than usual this year, as well as a slight reduction in the number of training sessions due to hall unavailability. We had also seen a boost in funds from the use of Easy Fundraising and the uptake of our beach korf sessions by members of other clubs. The overall bank balance is healthy for the time being.
Next year, it was outlined that the club could make a loss of up to £2000, assuming current membership levels and a continuation of current training arrangements. Options for making club finances more sustainable were to be discussed later on in the meeting.
Discussion and vote on proposed constitutional amendments
Several constitutional amendments were discussed, summarised as follows:
– Recruitment Secretary to be made a required Executive Officer role on the Committee, so that the club cannot exist without the role being filled
– Change to the timeframe in which the AGM must be held each year; instead of requiring this to be held by the end of June, require it to be held between the end of the season and the end of August
– Clarification of the methods by which members may nominate candidates for election as Executive Officers; this could be done in writing in advance of the AGM or verbally during the AGM, and members are free to nominate themselves
– Clarification that honorary members who are not currently paying subscriptions will not be counted towards the requirement that at least 20% of members be present at a general meeting
– Removal of text referencing under-18s in the section on Voting, since the club is not currently accepting under 18 members
– Adaptation and removal of text in the Welfare and Child Protection section, to reflect the fact that club is not currently accepting under 18 members
Amendments 1 – 4 were passed unanimously. Discussion around amendments 5 and 6 led to the suggestion that rather than removing text around under-18 members, these could be moved to a separate section which would only apply if under 18s were admitted to the club. This amendment was passed.
Discussion of proposals for changes to training
Three proposals for changes to Tuesday indoor training sessions were discussed. Briefly, these options were:
– Continue running Tuesday sessions on the condition of increased recruitment
– Move to a different venue for Tuesday training sessions, with an earlier start time and potentially lower cost
– Cancel Tuesday sessions and stick to a single training session every week
There was discussion around the need to remain competitive with other clubs in terms of the amount of training sessions we offer for our membership cost. However, points were made around unique benefits we can offer, including a good level of attention from coaches and the opportunity for less experienced members to play in the Regional League. Several members voiced a preference for an earlier start time to training on Tuesday. There was a suggestion that Wednesday be considered as an alternative to Tuesday.
It was suggested by some that given the lower cost and lesser availability of a school hall under consideration during summer holidays and exam periods, the training slot be increased from 1.5 hours to 2 hours.
A vote was first held on proposal 3, which had no votes in favour. A second vote was held on proposal 2, which had one vote against, the rest in favour. Since proposal 1 was mutually exclusive with proposal 2, proposal 2 was thus taken to be the favoured approach.
Election of Executive Officers to the committee
The Executive Officer roles were filled as follows following member votes:
Chair – Chris Roberts
Secretary – Jo Corless
Treasurer – Chris Woodhead
Fixtures Secretary – Lorna Robb
Recruitment secretary – Aman Mohammad
Social Media secretary – Lydia Sadd
Social Secretary – Maria Pollard
Tournament secretary – Rebekah Vettasseri
AOB
Membership fees were discussed. Some members voiced that they would be happy to pay more in membership fees and argued that we provide good value for money compared to other forms of sport and fitness. There was a suggestion that new members could have a lower membership cost for an initial period of time. However, no changes to membership fees were made at this time.