Trustee Meeting Minutes 27th April 2023
HALESWORTH TENNIS CLUB
2nd NEWSLETTER 2023-2024 SEASON
Summary of Extraordinary Trustee Meeting Minutes
Thursday 27th April, 18.30 The pavilion
Present
Simon Thackray, Mick Binder, Charlotte Binder, Lyn Burnett, Mike Davis, Ben Sharratt, Scott Fishwick, Tessa Summers
1. Apologies for absence and welcome to Scott
Dan Sanders, Pam Fenner
Scott was officially welcomed as a trustee to the Club. His appointment builds on the broad representation of skills, backgrounds, and experiences on the committee.
2. Declaration of conflicts of interest
Mick and Simon (HCSL)
3. Approval of minutes of the previous meeting (12/04/23) and a follow-up of the action points from the preceding meeting (08/04/23) to ensure they have been addressed.
-Minutes (12/04/23)
Approved with no changes.
-Action Points
(i) Simon will change the lock number once membership for the new season has settled.
(ii) Lyn and Pam have come up with a compromise for the outdoor display of notices to avoid additional expense.
(iii)Fire extinguisher has been purchased and is inside the hut.
(iv)Scott will meet with Pam to discuss his role as Safeguarding Officer. ACTION
(v) Ben suggested the Sunday afternoon directly before Wimbledon (02/07/23) for a mini tournament. Details to follow nearer the time.
(vi) Fund-raising was discussed later in this meeting.
4. Review of AGM minutes and matters which need to be addressed.
(i) Agreement on overall strategy on membership numbers
Simon asked if the Committee agree that a membership of 60 plus, including juniors, is sustainable. This was agreed.
(ii) Funding of resurfacing (A) Bank account needs to be named and able to receive transfers; (B) Request going to membership; (C) External grants; (D) Loan availability.
- It was agreed that Mike/Ben need to ensure that our deposit account is set up to receive incoming bank transfers from members, that the account will be renamed 'Halesworth Tennis Club courts resurfacing fund', that funds will be transferred from the current account to the deposit account so the balance stands at £6,000, and to inform Simon of the renaming and the account number as this information needs to be added to the circular letter to go out to members. ACTION
- Simon’s draft letter to members about the voluntary donation was approved by the committee.
- Simon is happy to take on fundraising and will look at the 3 tiers of local government – Halesworth Town Council, East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council.
- Simon said that any available loans from the Suffolk LTA could be the last port of call but also pointed out that a loan would become the responsibility of future members and not just those playing currently – a good thing.
(iii) Do we go further than just resurfacing e.g. fencing, disabled access?
As Mick suggested, only part of the fencing needs replacing. All agreed that a flat level disabled access at the side of the hut would be desirable in terms of inclusivity and would put the Club in a better position to receive funding.
(iv) Planning the Open Day
Simon will speak with Heads-Up to confirm their availability for our Open Day. ACTION It was agreed that a cash incentive to join will be offered DURING the Open Day and ONLY for NEW members. This will be as follows: Family Membership £150 to £135; Single Membership £90 to £80; Junior Membership £30 to £25. Clubspark will be set up to reflect this. ACTION 6 Once the details for the day are in place, Lyn will get an advert in the Halesworth Community News through Micropress. Posters and Flyers will also be organised. ACTION 7 Mick, Charlotte and Lyn will take charge of organising the Open Day. ACTION
(v) Arrangement with Heads-Up/Ross; expectations of Ross
Ross has committed to being more active on social media and this should continue into the new season. The committee will monitor this.
(vi) Club Night and Tennis Xpress
After a lengthy discussion (and subject to Simon clearing it with Ross) ACTION it was decided that Club Night should resume as soon as possible (most likely 10th May) and for a trial period of 2 months Ross will be paid by the Club to coach throughout the session. Club Night will remain on Wednesdays as this is better for Ross (after his junior coaching) and does not interfere with the Intermediates group scheduled on Thursdays. To ensure we are an inclusive Club, Tennis Xpress (beginners and those returning to tennis after a lengthy absence) will also have a trial period of 2 months when the Club pays for members to be coached for free. Non-members will still pay. The way these 2 groups operate will then be reviewed.
(vii) Review of the regular playing groups – are they appropriately named; any additional groups required?
The current situation was discussed at length in response to comments made at the recent AGM. It was considered whether we need to offer an organised session at the weekend other than ‘Saturday Experienced’. Ben suggested offering a social session on Sunday mornings and he will give this more thought and come up with a proposal. ACTION The most important thing is to ensure that we advertise all that is on offer through Halesworth Tennis Club Clubspark website and all our social media groups, so our membership knows what is happening and when. It is hoped that Dan will be able to update our website so we can follow Southwold’s lead in advertising and promoting all our activities. ACTION
(viii) More 'social tennis'?
See (vii) and Ben’s suggestion.
(ix)New tennis ball supply line; selling old balls (x)Pickleball (xi) Banners (xii) Box League? Ladder? Doubles day competition?
Mick and Charlotte have volunteered to keep the tubes of balls for distribution. Pickleball is an on-going discussion. Mick will organise new banners with the help of Charlotte and Lyn. ACTION The Box League will be sorted out later along with any other competitions.
(xiii) Website and social media
See Action 11. Given the criticism expressed by some members at the AGM, updating our website is a top priority and we hope that Dan can do this. In the first instance we need to have current photographs and advertise our weekly activities.
(xiv) What we do with the draft AGM minutes
Lyn suggested that Draft AGM minutes should go out to members as a newsletter. Also, a shortened version of committee meeting minutes should be put in newsletter form so that the wider membership knows what is being discussed and actioned. These newsletters can be emailed to members and go on our website. This will be acted on once Simon’s letter about donations has been circulated. ACTION
5. Finance – Treasurer’s report
Mike agreed that we stay with HSBC and set up online banking. ACTION
6. Transition of the role of Club Secretary
Simon is happy to take on the charity commission and LTA. Lyn will be the phone contact and Lyn and Charlotte will meet with Pam to make sense of Clubspark and membership. ACTION
7. HCSL – report on the state of play with the lease
On-going.
8. The team – report from Tessa
Matches begin on the 04/05/23.
9. A.O.B.
None.
Thank you for reading A summary of the
HALESWORTH TENNIS CLUB
Extraordinary Trustee Meeting Minutes