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16/02/2009 - Umpires AGM - Malaga Province -Submitted by Murray Johns |
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FEDERACION ESPANOLA DE BOLOS - LAWN BOWLS SECTIONMALAGA PROVINCE UMPIRES & MARKERS ASSOCIATIONANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ( held at Santa Maria Bowls Club – Monday, 16 February, 2009 ) PRESENT :- Geoff. Land (GL) Gordon. Adams (GA) Murray Johns (MSJ) ( Chairman ) ( Vice-Chairman ) ( Secretary ) Garry Aldridge (GA) Ian Anthony (IA) John Carr (JC) John Howlett (JH) Marjorie Johns (MJ) Angie Knight (AK) Doreen Musgrove (DM) Dorothy Nuttall (DN) Bill Ogden (WO) Clive Thomas (CT) Denis Tolfree (DT) Susan Walker (SW) Dennis Wood (DW) Tony Winterton (TW) 1. APOLOGIES :- Bill Hartley Jim Neilson Hadyn Parker Nancy Shaw 2. MINUTES OF THE LAST A.G.M. ( 20-02-08 ) :- These were read by the Secretary and were approved as a true record by all Members present ( proposed by DW and seconded by DT ). 3. MATTERS ARISING :- SW advised that no “follow up” sessions had been arranged following the Course in October 2007. GL said this could be done and DM, MJ and SW expressed interest. ACTION : GL to co-ordinate DM asked about the availability of Fleece Jackets. MJ advised that her research had not been too successful as Minimum Order quantities had been unrealistic for “purpose made” garments despite Almeria adopting a “common” Dress Code to that of Malaga. MJ said we had used a local Supplier in La Cala for the Shirts ( with the F.E.B. logo and ) and these were available to order. Imported Fleece Jackets has been sourced but continuity of colour was a possible problem. JH said he was aware of a similar outlet in Mijas and it was agreed to investigate further. ACTION : JH to establish range MSJ apologised for not sending out Nomination Forms with the Agenda. AK asked about Certificates / Cards for Umpires. GL said he had the Certificates available but, currently, Laminated Cards were unavailable. It was agreed that all other relevant matters were covered in the Agenda. 4. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT :- The Chairman (GL) welcomed TW to the Meeting and explained that he was present to explain the “link-up” of this Association to the F.A.B. TW covered the following issues :- - Spanish Law re : Umpires / Officials in Sport - Funding of the Association - Funding an Umpire’s expenses when officiating at Federated events After much discussion it was agreed, following a proposal by TW / MSJ, that non-Federated Umpires could still officiate at Federated events but they would not be able to claim any expenses and could not be covered by the F.E.B.’s Insurance scheme. This was unanimously agreed. GL thanked TW for his constructive contribution on this subject prior to his leaving the Meeting. GL said he was pleased with the ongoing progress made over the last year and extended his thanks to the Vice-Chairman and Secretary for their commitment and support. He expressed his disappointment that only two people had expressed support for the Jan / Feb Umpire’s Course 5. SECRETARY’S REPORT :- The Secretary (MSJ) commenced his Report by saying how sad it was to lose Desiree Anthony from the Association since the last A.G.M. following her long battle against illness. All present extended their sympathy to Ian who was present at the Meeting He thanked everyone for their support throughout the year and said that, with the exception of Santa Maria, no Club had approached him or the Chairman for assistance and support at any major Tournament. DW said Miraflores had been awarded the Champion of Champions and Winter Championships in 2009 and it was agreed GL should approach Mr.Shemmings to determine if the Association’s support is required. CT said he always approached individuals for assistance at Mijas and nobody criticised this action. However it was agreed that, for major “coastal events”, the Chairman / Secretary be approached direct. The approach of Umpires to enforcing the Laws was once again raised particularly relating to “Foot Faulting” and “Rink Possession” where standards were getting worse. JC and DW said the decision reached at the last A.G.M. should be employed i.e. “Laws should be fully implemented and Umpires should observe, and speak appropriately with offenders, in a tactful and diplomatic manner with a view to protecting Bowlers and ensuring fair play at all times”: Following an incident at last year’s Winter Championships, the role and acceptance of “non-qualified” Coaches was discussed. MSJ said the National Executive Committee of the F.E.B. did not accept any Bowler as being qualified to take on this role unless they were registered with the Spanish Bowling Coaching Scheme ( SBCS ) and this ruling would be adopted for the Finals of the 2009 Spanish National Championships.
MSJ
extended his personal thanks to JC for his help in preparing the
Marker’s Workshop Course. JC and MJ had assisted MSJ run successful
Courses at Benalmadena, Benavista, Los Amigos and Superbowl which
had resulted in an additional 39 Bowlers reaching a greater level of
competence. Mijas had identified 10 people and the Course would be
run during March. The emergence of Lauro Golf Bowls Club would mean the training of many people, new to the Sport, on matters relating to etiquette, basic training, Marking techniques and the Laws of the game. The Federation is committed to support Lauro and he hoped Members would support ALL activity at this location. MSJ said much had been achieved in the last year. He had closely liaised with TW to secure full funding which is why the Association can now run both Umpires and Markers Courses at no cost to Federated Members and cover travelling and subsistence expenses at Federated events. He closed his Report by expressing concern at the number of “active” Umpires. Of the 28 listed in the Costa Del Sol Handbook 6 are no longer available, 5 only officiate within their own Club and 5 are not available during the Summer months. This leaves a balance of 12 and, for the Provincial and National Championships, this would mean resources being stretched to the limit so he would need everyone’s support. 6. ELECTION OF OFFICERS :- It was proposed the existing Committee, if willing to stand, be re-elected en-bloc. MSJ said he would prefer to relinquish his position if anyone wished to take on the role as Secretary. Nominations for Office were as follows :- Chairman : Geoff Land Proposed : DW Seconded : DT Vice Chairman : Gordon Adams Proposed : DW Seconded : JC DW and JC encouraged MSJ to continue the excellent work of the previous 2 years and, in the absence of any volunteers, he agreed to do so. SW ultimately agreed to assist the Secretary and the offer was accepted. The Meeting unanimously agreed to SW being seconded to the Committee and MSJ thanked her for her gesture and commitment. 7. IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRENT LAWS :- It was agreed this had been covered in the Secretary’s Report but the Chairman reinforced the need to be decisive and to maintain composure at all times. DW said that, if he knew of someone who was known to offend in a particular way, he often spoke with them prior to play in order avoid confrontation during the course of play. This approach served to develop a mutual respect and possible problems at other events. 8. UMPIRE’S COURSE & MARKER’S WORKSHOP :- After much discussion it was agreed the structure, and timescale, for the Umpire’s Course was correct. MSJ confirmed the Marker’s Workshop was not “in depth” and, as a result, it did not carry a certifiable qualification. Those attending received a Certificate to say they had attended ( Date and Venue being specified ) 9. PROVINCIAL & SPANISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS :- MSJ confirmed Santa Maria would host the Provincial Championships from 9 – 23 May with Championship Finals being hosted by Benavista ( Gents events ) and Superbowl ( Ladies events ) from 8 – 19 September. For the purpose of recruiting experienced Umpires and Markers these were ideal venues for the National Championships. Once again Members were asked to advise their availability subject to them not being involved in the Finals themselves. They were also asked to identify potential Markers as there would be a maximum of 62 Singles games over a two day period split between Benavista and Superbowl. 10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS :- SW wished to officially record the quality of the Umpire and Markers at the recent Andalucian Championships. MSJ said he had already passed on her comments to the Chairman of the Association in Almeria. MSJ raised the subject of Coaching as he believed Members were ideal to identify potential candidates. He confirmed that Ruth Compton would visiting the Province from June onwards to Coach a number of Club Coaches ( possibly 6 / 8 per session ). This would be limited to Federated Members as funding was, once again, through the Provincial Federation. The names of those interested should be passed directly to the Secretary. The Chairman issued the signed Umpire’s Certificates to those present.
In closing, the Chairman once again thanked the Secretary for his personal commitment to the ongoing development of the Association. There were no further items for discussion. The Meeting closed at 13.10 with a vote of thanks to Santa Maria Club for their hospitality once again and to ALL Members for their attendance.
Murray Johns ( Secretary ) 18 February, 2009 |
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