AGM Minutes

                                                               MINUTES OF THE SKITTLE COMMITTEE MEETING                                                                                   

                                                                  ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 5TH JUNE 2026

Members present: R. Chapple, D. Cooke, S. Cunningham, C. Gale, M. Harris, A. Kiff, M. Kiff, A. Kingdon, B. Latham, M. Latham, R. Morgan, A. Norden, D. Stentiford.

Apologies: B. Baker, T Kingdon, D Symons, T Delahaye, The Knights.

Opening Remarks: The Chairman Welcomed everybody to the meeting.

Minutes of the last meeting: The secretary read out the minutes of the last A G M and the Chairman signed them as being a true record. Forwarded by M Kiff, seconded by A. Norden.

Matters Arising: There were no matters arising.

Chairmans Remarks: The Chairman said that the season had run very smoothly indeed & that by having a couple of cup matches before the league games started work,ed out very well & that he was sure that this would continue for another year. He thanked his committee of Officers, Rob Morgan, Shaun Cunningham, Dave Cooke & his Vice Chairman Bryan Latham.                                                                            He Congratulated S & T for winning the Champions of Champions & Congratulated all League & Cup winners for 2025/2026. He also reported that the County Cup was held at Newton Abbott on May 9th & Congratulations to Goodly Knights who represented Barnstaple & won, the 1st time time a Barnstaple Team has won since 1994, they are also representing Barnstaple in the Devon Open on June 20th. Finally , he wished everyone well for the coming season.

Secretary's Report: The Secretary remarked that the Annual Dinner seemed to have gone well. The meal was better than the previous year & there had been little if any negative feedback.

Fixture Secretary's Report: The Fixture Secretary apologised for missing the Annual Dinner , the 1st time in 11 years. He then repeated his tribute to our outgoing President, that was read out on his behalf at the dinner by the Secretary Rob Morgan. He then also congratulated S & T for winning Champions of Champions again.                                                                                                                               He then said that the league is looking for a new sponsor & outlined the cost & how much free advertising in the fixture book & on the website goes with it. He also outlined various Venues that had spaces if a Team wanted to change alleys. He mentioned that the road through to Bickington & Fremington will be closed, but it is thought that the road should be open again by the time the new season begins.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     He asked for all forms to be returned in time as he is off to Spain on July 23rd for 10 days & wants everything sorted & off to the printers before then. He also asked that all forms are filled out clearly so that there are no mistakes when everything is sent to the printers. Please check all details.                                                                                                                                                                                                        He remarked that for the committee the season doesn't start in September & end in March, they work throughout the year, discussing issues & new ideas or rule changes, along with the formation of the league, Finals Day, Cup games etc. So a big thank you to the committee for their outstanding help & support in keeping the league going throughout the year. A big thank you to Dave Cooke our Cup Secretary & Treasurer for organising our Cup games, our Chairman Richard Chapple Richard Chapple for chairing all meetings, our Secretary for taking minutes & organising the dinner & Presentation evening & himself Fixture Secretary, all our sponsors, Venues & of course, all Teams & players without whom there would be no skittles. Finally, good luck for the coming season.

Cup Secretary's Report: All went well but FInals Day was not as successful due to the Devon County Final also being played at Bideford on the same day. He pointed out that it was not our fault, instead was down to the organisers of that event. Two cup matches will will start our season again, these matches becoming more popular.

Treasurers Report: We managed to reverse the loss we incurred last season to a small profit this season, this was mainly due to the cost of the Trophies being down on the previous year & the dinner cost £500 less. Setting up fees can now be paid by BACS.

Election of Officers: All the Officers were unanimously re-elected & a new committee member is now needed & one couldn't be found on the night. As we were looking for a new Vice President, Dougie Braunton agreed & was unanimously into that post.

Rule Change: A new rule change was proposed by Colin Gale which if accepted would become rule 35._

The two captains are responsible for their players behaviour when playing the match & also after in the bar of the Club or Public House they are playing in, as any bad behaviour reflects on the league as a whole.

This was passed & has now become rule 35.

A.O.B: As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.10pm  with the date of the next AGM being provisionally set as Friday 15th May 2026. The Captains were asked to come and collect their registration forms & hand back their voting cards.