Minutes of the meeting of the LRCA Ltd Annual General meeting held on Wednesday 26 May 2010 at Spinney Hill

1. Attendance

Present: David Reynolds (Ashby); Jim Bingham, Mike Salisbury (Braunstone); Sean Hewitt (Heathcote Arms); Terry Adcock, John Glover, Jim Miller (Loughborough); Peter Poolan, Tom Reynolds, Alan Jex (Melton Mowbray); Mike Thornton, Ted Williams (Oadby); Brian Foreman, John Pattinson, Michael Tate (Scraptoft Valley); Richard Davis (Spinney Hill); Neil Beasley, Andy Morley (Wigston).

Apologies: Lawrence Hayden (Ashby); Graham Booley, Peter Harrison (Heathcote Arms); David Farrall (Shepshed); Paul Deacon, Brian Slater (Spinney Hill); Cyril Johnson, Julie Johnson (Syston); Martin Burrows, Walter Dehnen (Wigston).

Clubs not represented: Hinckley, Market Harborough, Red Admiral, Shepshed, Syston.

2. Minutes of AGM held on 27 May 2009

The minutes were accepted with no matters arising.

3. Officer's Reports

3.1. Chairman

Sean reported a quiet year.

3.2. Secretary

Peter Harrison could not be present and left no comment.

3.3. Treasurer

The account was printed and distributed prior to the meeting.  The treasurer drew attention to a correction (timing).  The £64.12 loss is actually £151.28 profit.  Profit from the Atkins (£220) had not been included.  In capital terms there has been a £500 donation.

Andy Morley asked for clarification regarding Congress funds.  The congress / LRCA funds are fluid and flexible; there was a £400 loan to congress and a £386 accumulated profit.

Audit Statement: Martin Burrows was not present but had left a statement with the Chair that he accepted the accounts are accurate.

Committee Chairman's Reports

4.1. County Teams

Graham Booley could not attend but Sean said we are doing well. We only just lost the Minor last year and this year both the minor and U160 are in the national semi finals and we wish them well. Sean congratulated Graham, Pete and David on their efforts so far.

4.2. Congress

Andy Morley said the events have gone well and feels special thanks must be given to Pete Harrison and his family for providing essential sustenance to the gathering. The meeting acknowledged the effort. Regent College is considered a good venue. A question was asked whether it is large enough to cope with a larger entry and Andy said there is overflow capacity if required.

4.3. Publicity

Sean said Paul Colburn is doing a good job and is trying to get the Leicester Mercury to let him write their chess column. There was discussion about the difficulties without an outcome other than Paul should continue to push. There was subsequent discussion about the WEBSITE (see 8.3). There is general disquiet that publicity and the website are not co-ordinated. It remained unresolved.

4.4. Juniors

Paul Findlay has withdrawn from Chess, a pity he filled a LRCA gap. There was a general discussion of the importance of promoting junior chess with acknowledgment that our club venues and club night meeting times do not encourage youngsters. John Glover felt schools could do more to create a bridge between school and club chess. Terry Adcock felt the average age of club players created too much of a gap for children to comfortably join a club. There was a general feeling we need a different approach, commitment, timetable and initiative. Whilst recognising the challenge the meeting offered no concrete solution.

5. Report of ECF Delegate

1. Report of ECF Delegate. Sean expressed disappointment that the ECF continues to avoid achieving a balanced budget. There is a reduced government grant from £60k to £45k. Sean has suggested the ECF cut costs and budget more realistically; unfortunately the current leadership is unwilling to do so. There is a new Finance Director who might implement change.

6. Report of MCCU Delegate

No report received.

7. Grader's Report

Brian Forman expresses no problem with grading through the chair.

8. Election of Officers

Sean Hewitt and Pete Harrison are standing down from the posts of Chair and Secretary. The meeting thanked them for their past efforts and feel that Sean in particular has put a lot of effort into the task.

The nominee list provided for the meeting has some unfilled positions. The most serious being the junior member’s co-ordinator. The new committee will endeavour to fill these positions by co-opting members during the year.

8.1. Officers Elected

The new policy committee and non-committee delegates and other officers were put to the vote with the exception of the webmaster and this was accepted unanimously.

8.3. Webmaster

Stewart Gordon has been under some pressure and has been given assistance by Michael Fraser, in particular, to automate the result updates and reduce the time consumed. The meeting criticised the website in four main particulars:

• Match results are not applied quickly enough.
• County team activity is not reported.
• Essential information – for example the AGM venue, date and agenda, is not on the site.
• The site lacks “news” and “excitement” (“bland” said Peter Poolan).

There was a general discussion. Sean said that Stewart currently waits for results from both sides before applying them and this could be reviewed. It was felt that Michael’s automation tools will improve this aspect.

Andy Morley said he is willing to help but did not want to “take over” as webmaster. Andy has recently done some web based work and has a good understanding of the amount of work involved making any significant change. It is daunting. David Reynolds questioned whether all the functions needed to be in a single site rather than linking back and forth. Sean said that might be possible but it was important that the site had a common “look and feel”.

The activity will be reviewed to see if work can be shared in some way.

For the moment, the meeting was asked confirm Stewart Gordon as Webmaster and this was accepted unanimously.

9. Special Resolution (requires 75% majority)

9.1. To abolish the position of Vice-Chairman

Accepted unanimously.

9.2. That the Leicestershire & Rutland Chess Association Limited be wound up and the assets and responsibilities of the Company be passed to the unincorporated Leicestershire & Rutland Chess Association, with the Directors and Officers of the Company becoming officers of the unincorporated Association.

Andy Morley questioned “why remove protection” and it was explained it could be reconstructed quickly if necessary but the risk has reduced (ECF member exit) and there are costs and obligations related to Limited Company status. After a general discussion the meeting voted to wind up the Limited company. Accepted unanimously.

Given that the LRCA has reverted to the “old” constitution; the other propositions were withdrawn.

10. Subscriptions for 2009-10

1.1. The Board proposes that fees for game fee clubs increase to £65 per 5 man teams and £52 per 4 man teams. Fees for membership clubs should remain unaltered. Accepted unanimously.

11. Any Other Business

Jim Miller reiterated thanks to Sean Hewitt’s past efforts and the meeting supported the sentiment.

12. Date of Next Meeting

May 2011 – to be confirmed.