SUSSEX
SRA COMMITTEE MEETING
Black
Lion Patcham
03/12/2008
7.30PM
MINUTES
Present:
Simon Tunley (ST) (Secretary), Fiona Western (FW), Mike Tonge (MT), Paul Millman
(PM) (Chair), Chris Markham (CM) Karl Manning (KM), Justyn
Price (JUP England Squash), Mike Philips (MP) and Andy Turner (AT)
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1. Apologies
for absence John Parr (JP), Mick Sheeran
(MS) Karla Pett (KP) and Ian Robinson (IR) 2. Minutes of previous meeting/Matters
Arising The minutes from
the 16/09/2008 were accepted
as an accurate record. KM
to add newsletter to website as a PDF so it can be downloaded. Graham
Stevenson to complete child protection workshop in order to complete coaching licence Training
on how to add information to the website still to be done 3. Newsletter Due to a
family tragedy KP unlikely to produce newsletter at the present time. The
committee send their sincere condolences to Karla and her family. 4.
Senior/Junior County Closed ST met MP in October to discuss
options/format for the senior county closed in January/February next year. MP
has produced posters and applications forms and has the financial backing of
SSRA. Posters etc have been posted on the website and be
sent out to all the clubs. It was agreed by all the event must happen. ST
mentioned that Ali Pruden had promised to return
the ladies trophy which she has had for some time!! MP to chase. At asked
about lower grade events and MP agreed if numbers were good he would look at
C grade and below for the men. JUP stated everyone on the committee should
try and get their club players to enter as it should be a flagship event for
the county. Junior county closed went ahead on
the 27/28th September 2008 at Corals squash club. FW confirmed it
was a well run event and financial made a profit. The committee would like to
thank Tim Vail for all his efforts on this. 5.
Hon. Treasurer’s report JP sent updated accounts to ST,
which were distributed to the committee. All ok and there is just the need to
tie in the junior accounts via Vanessa Prosser into the main account. JP has
spoken to VP on this and will be included ready for the next meeting. Main
concern was that Storrington SC has not paid their
fees. CM questioned what should be done about this. It was agreed that the
committee should come down hard on Storrington and
pull them form the league. CM to contact Storrington
to confirm if there is no payment by the 31/12/08 then they will be removed
from the leagues 6.
Senior and Junior League Reports CM
confirmed men’s league now underway and all seemed ok. Bexhill now no longer
in the league. FW
stated all was going well with the ladies leagues apart from Horsham pulling
their team from league 1. Now struggling to get the numbers of teams participating
and this is a serious concern on the future of the ladies leagues. Needs to
be looked at seriously as part of the county development plan. MP mentioned
the issue with Chichester pulling out as well KM stated for them it should
have been their second team that they pulled not their 1st team. MS
could not be at the meeting but all was going well with the revitalised
junior leagues which are a massive plus for the county. Thanks should go to
MS for all his hard work on this. 7.
ST confirmed
the relevant teams had been entered for 2008/09 and the captains agreed upon
and informed. No feedback as yet from teams but FW mentioned that the 035 had
done ok and MT confirmed that the 060 had played their first weekend, but had
not done as well due to a weak team. ST to chase up results. 8.
JUP stated there had been a number
of positives in Sussex. Dunnings Mill has achieved
their charter status and the University of Sussex is to submit theirs this month. K2 has now formed a club and has 59
members. An Service level agreement is beinf ratified with public sector facilities. JUP
confirmed a countys success was based on people and
volunteers. John Millard is doing a lot of work in the county at venues such
as Olympos leisure centres and the University of
Sussex. PAR 11 is to be slowly to be
integrated into the game. A discussion was had on whether we should look at it
for the Sussex leagues. PM keen to see the evidence on whether it does work
and whether people have signed up to it. An advocacy document should be
produced on it and it should perhaps be trialled to see the implications of
introducing it. Committee decided it should be raised at the annual fixture
meeting and AGM to get an idea on how popular it might be. Option to email
clubs now to try and get feedback? 9.
Junior Development/County squads MT raised issue of hosting junior
clinics again. Committee felt they should run again but be spread around the
county to have maximum impact. JUP agreed that John Millard’s hours could be
used for this. He was keen to look at running one a month and to confirm
locations for them. In addition to using Graham Stevenson, ST and MP offered
their services to help with the clinics. The key was to have clear outcomes
and to make them financially viable. ST confirmed Mike Harris was hosting
a coach’s workshop at the University of Sussex on the 15th
February 2009 2-5pm. Info is on the website and has been sent to clubs. 11. Website KM stated there had been an issue
with rankings but hopefully sorted. CM to email clubs to advise them to check
their rankings in case there are any discrepancies. 12. Strategy MT raised the issue about the fact
there were now large gaps in sussex in regards
clubs still being involved in the leagues especially in the east. There is
also the issue of ladies/girls squash which is definitely struggling to
remain viable at all levels. MT keen to integrate clubs form
the Eastbourne league into Sussex leagues to help strengthen Sussex squash
especially in the east. He confirmed that Eastbourne leagues are now
struggling which tends to encourage this option. JUP stated we should try and
get these clubs affiliated with England Squash which means we can offer them
support in the form of development opportunities. It was agreed that MT would
sit down with Adrian Standivan who runs the Eastbourne
leagues to discuss options. PM discussed the idea of getting
core clubs around a table to find out what they want form Sussex squash. Racketball was discussed as a way forward to try and keep
people in the game and offer them an alternative. Committee agreed to relook
at the county development plan at the next meeting and see where we stand in
relation to it and whether it needs adapting at all based on current
needs/problems. PM asked the question on where the
County Sports Partnership fitted in with supporting Sussex SRA; it was agreed
ST to contact Sadie Mason to try and get clarity on where we fit with their
development plans. JUP confirmed that the CSP delivers on behalf of national
governing bodies through making links, mapping and generic coaching. 13. AOB MP talked about girls county squads which
were now back to grass roots as there has been a big drop off in players. Has
recruited additional girls but has also lost 5. JUP mentioned attending multisports events to talent ID girls; this might be one
area where the CSP could help. Talk was had on relooking at the offer and
trying to build friendship groups through various social activities. Option to run a level one coaching
course in Sussex and also supporting two players at Dunnings
Mill SC getting the award through a subsidy towards their fees. FW to confirm
interest and potential cost. Date for next committee meeting
the 10th February 2009 Weald SC.
ST to book. |
KM KM MP CM ST JUP/MT CM MT ST FW ST |