Report of October 2010 Council Meeting

[<<] [>>] by Ian Vincent at Hurlingham
19th October 2010 (CqE Official News)

Council met in the afternoon following the AGM and elected Barry Keen as Chairman and Jeff Dawson as Vice-Chairman. In taking the chair, Barry thanked his predecessor, Patricia Duke-Cox, and said he hoped to match her charm and efficiency. He started well by quickly dispatching the formal business.

Arising from a special meeting of Council in July, which had agreed to oppose a motion before the August meeting of the WCF Council "that World Team Championships shall be open to teams representing a single WCF member only", it was reported that the motion had been passed by a narrow majority and that the Scottish CA would meet to consider its position in the light of that next month.

An Archive Policy was agreed, but a proposed policy on Conflicts of Interest arising from people holding posts in both the CA and WCF was not. Committees were asked to consider the implications of publishing their reports and minutes to CA members on the website.

David Maugham, chairman of the MacRobertson Shield selection committee, reported on the team's performance and the International Committee was asked to consider whether individual(s) should be appointed with responsibility to maximise elite performance at both Association and Golf Croquet. Colin Irwin, who chaired the MacRobertson Shield organising committee, reported on the administrative and financial aspects of the event. The main disappointment (apart from the weather!) was the lack of national publicity, despite considerable efforts to obtain it. Given the changed economic circumstances since the tendering process and that expenses were much lower than budgeted, due to the team and officials staying with friends, it was agreed to waive the financial contribution expected from some clubs and consider whether to reimburse some expenses incurred by others.

The meeting concluded with a wide-ranging discussion about recruitment, arising from concerns about an increase in the number of social, as opposed to competitive, players in a number of clubs. A sub-group selected by the chairmen of the Coaching, Development and Marketing committees will be tasked with considering the points raised.