1 - ATTENDANCE
Marc Shipley, Mandy Forster, Kevin Forster, Tracey Coats, Ian Davies, Mick Barnes, Anita Hammond
2 - APOLOGIES
Connor Snaith, Mark Flynn, Russell Hughes
3 - MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
• Minutes of the Meeting 14th June 2023 agreed.
4 - MATTERS ARISING/ACTION POINTS
4.1 - Action Point Update:
• 4.5 Speeches at 50th Anniversary undertaken by Marc, Mick & Mandy.
• 5 Marc to raise matter of notices about behaviour in & toward Bar staff at next Executive Meeting on 17th July.
4.2 - Summer Teams 2023
• Marc advised the Committee of the current results: –
o Boldon 1 have won 2 & lost 2;
o Boldon Mondays have won 3 & lost 2.
4.3 - Dashboard
• Marc did a walkthrough of the Dashboard reporting membership is 196 to date, more to be added.
• He advised the Committee that £1,215.00 has been transferred to the Club Treasurer for court bookings and £57 for squash memberships.
4.4 - Squash club maintenance/improvement
• Refurbishment of the Ladies Changing Room almost complete.
o Fan grill to be sprayed white and put back in place.
o New carpet to be chosen.
o Kevin proposed replacing the current lock with a key pad to which the Committee agreed.
• The Committee expressed their gratitude for all Kevin’s voluntary hard work on the refurbishment.
• Anita mentioned the current state of the ladies showers that do not appear to have been cleaned adequately.
• Men’s shower drain has been cleaned by Kevin.
4.5 - 50th Anniversary
• The Committee agreed the Anniversary event went well.
o The feedback has been very positive about how the squash club is highly organised, well maintained and of the number of improvements that have been implemented.
• Marc thanked everyone involved for their organisation and assistance.
• The Committee agreed to pay £250 to The Racket to help toward expenses.
4.6 - Club Executive Committee Feedback
• Club Current Account £12k; Club Reserve Account £20k.
• Gas and Electric prices expected to come down soon.
• Bar doing well, up from this time last year and wage rises absorbed by healthy bar takings.
• Cricket teams doing well.
• No new cricket members.
• 28 Social members joined.
• Glass etching on new main doors unlikely to go ahead, Executive agreed to look into purchase of stickers of Club logo.
• Executive agreed to the purchase of a new hand dryer in the Ladies toilets next to the Bar.
• TV and bracket obtained, to be erected in Bar for advertising purposes only.
• Tidy Up Day – a skip is to be organised.
• Maintenance List to be considered seriously.
• Next Executive Meeting scheduled 17th July.
5 - AOB
• Marc informed the Committee that he had attended the Northumbria Squash AGM:
o There had been discussions around the Winter Leagues, and the potential impact of the impending changes proposed by England Squash.
o He explained that the club currently pay England Squash £55 per court (to rise to £70 per court) of which a rebate of £11 goes to Northumbria Squash.
o Additionally, the club pays £45 per team in the Northumbria Squash Leagues and £12.50 per team player to enable them to play team squash.
? Of that money, Northumbria receives £4 per player rebate.
o England Squash is proposing that in 2024, probably around April, each individual player will be asked to pay £25 directly to England Squash.
o In addition, they are proposing to charge £10 per social squash membership.
• Marc explained that these proposals are still in the discussion stages with clubs across England and Webinars are continuing to take place, and he will monitor the situation and report back to the Committee.
o ACTION Marc - to look at figures for the Club to contribute toward England Squash team players.
o ACTION Marc – membership fees for both Kevin and Tracey to be paid by the squash club in recognition of all the work they put into the running of the club. Proposed by Ian and seconded by Marc.
• He also reported that Liam Gutcher is to set up a WhatsApp group for Northern coaches and asked Kevin to take this forward if he is interested in joining.
• Kevin reported that Courts 1 and 2 require insulation in order to replace the ceilings on both courts from the inside.
o ACTION Marc – to take forward with Fulwell Ceilings.
• Marc and Kevin to discuss offline the timelines for the squash membership renewals.
• Ian advised the Committee that the Tuesday night social squash players are planning an Archery Introductory Session and he is liaising with Dianne Staincliffe about a suitable date.
• Mick asked about the presentation of medals to the 2nd Team.
o ACTION Marc – to discuss suitable date with Ian Mapstone.
• Kevin reported that one of the members had asked if the court times could be staggered to help alleviate congestion in the Men’s showers.
o ACTION Marc – to check with the Wazygoose administrator whether this is feasible and cost effective.
Date of Next Meeting – Wednesday 16th August 2023 7.15pm
