Hi all, hope you have had a lot of tennis and unfortunately the weather has dampened the tennis this last week.
So, what has happened since my last update just before Xmas? Quite a lot – we have had a couple Executive meetings, a Special General Meeting was held, Chelsea Cup kicked off and we are needing your feedback – all of which is discussed below.
Executive meetings have covered off the following:
- Choosing the preferred supplier for the court resurfacing. We have chosen TigerTurf with a targeted start date of 8 May 2017 and expected to take 3-4 weeks. We will be resurfacing three courts at a time so courts will be available for coaching and some casual play. We are also discussing with the Vets club whether we can use their courts if needed. We hope we have good weather for this period or the project may be delayed.
- We agreed that dogs and other furry friends would not be allowed in the clubhouse. We appreciate they’re an important part of your life but we do ask that they stay outside as we have food preparation areas inside.
- Bryan has continued to repair and repaint the clubhouse roof – an amazing job and the clubhouse is looking splendid.
- We have investigated upgrading the bar till system with a tablet-based application. This option is much easier and will yield huge efficiencies in managing the bar.
- We have been very busy with organising club champs for both senior and junior grades, and juniors have also been busy with Parent/Child tournament and Teen Tennis.
- Ladies Day will be 7 May and we will hold Mens Day in August (date TBD) after the courts have been resurfaced.
A Special General Meeting was held on 26 February 2017 to propose changes to the Constitution. 36 members attended (thank you!) and there were two proxy votes. All resolutions were passed except for resolution 1 which was well debated due to divergent views. The results were:
1 – The Constitution be changed to amend the Life Member election process. – FAILED
2 – The Constitution be changed to include Life Member eligibility criteria. – PASSED
3 – The Constitution be changed to remedy a typographical error. – PASSED
4 – The Constitution refers to the Income Tax Act 1994 which has since been replaced. – PASSED
5 – The Constitution be changed to amend the SGM notice period. – PASSED
6 – The Constitution be changed so that a quorum is defined for meetings of Council. – PASSED
7 – The Constitution be changed so that there is a reduced number of Executive meetings during the year. – PASSED
Chelsea Cup is going well, with a great team and an amazing calibre of tennis. We have passed the half way mark and the team are in 5th place, with the top six teams separated by 6 points so it is going to go to the wire. We hope our guys can get into the top four teams. Thanks to KGA Warkworth for sponsoring the team and for the support shown by our members. The team love the support!
We would also like your feedback and expressions of interest on the following proposal. We are considering creating a Club Manager role (paid position, ~10 hours per week) that would cover the following key tasks:
Bar Manager (Bryan is stepping down from this role after nine years of superior service);
Assisting Club Captain and Junior Manager (registering interclub teams, dealing with team managers, maintaining membership lists, organising prizegiving, assisting Ken with organising junior coaching etc);
Responsible for marketing, communications and sponsorship; and
Ad hoc assistance to Executive (e.g. grants, invoicing, maintenance if required).
We believe our financial position can accommodate this position, and we will apply for grants to offset the cost. There are no plans to increase membership fees due to this expense. Please send your feedback on the above to me – [email protected] or call me on 021 545 842 – before end of March 2017.
Feel free to discuss any of the above with the Executive. We aim to ensure you enjoy the tennis and social interaction befitting our community spirit and “Tennis Northern Club of the Year 2014/15 and 2015/16” awards.
Brendon Forbes
President