Minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2008.
Attendance
The meeting was attended by Norman Wedley (Chairman), Harry Currie, Patrick Ribbands, Michael Pope, Chris Russell, Chris Ross, Marcus Misson, Tom Hazel, Francis Bowers, John Beck, James Beck, Mike Onyons and Paul Kemp (Secretary).
Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Rob Henderson, Marcus Connolly, Stephen Pride, Mike Angel, Peter Baddeley, David Barnicoat and Richard Coates.
Minutes of the Meeting Held on 12 September 2007
These minutes were approved as a correct record. There were no matters arising.
Grading Officers' Report
Chris Russell reported that there were more players and more games to be graded in the past season because of Cambridge's participation in the League. There was also a pleasingly low level of defaults. He thanked Patrick Ribbands for grading the Rapidplay and other events, who commented that all had gone smoothly. The meeting thanked the joint grading officers for their work.
League Composition and Entries
Clubs had expressed a preference for playing in the following divisions of the League:
Division 1: St Neots A, Cambridge A, New England A, Warboys A, Buckden A, Peterborough A, Peterborough B.
Division 2: St Neots B, Cambridge B, New England B, Warboys B, Buckden B, Peterborough C, Spalding.
The meeting was informed that Peterborough had not been able to confirm their plans until the uncertainty regarding the acceptability of their player nominations for the first team had been resolved. Paul Kemp said that the league rule drafted on this point following the AGM was confusing and open to different interpretations. He said he would bring the rule back to the next AGM for further consideration. In the meantime he had been persuaded that the stricter interpretation of the rule would create real difficulties for Peterborough, not least in transport arrangements, which was likely to impair their ability to fulfil their fixtures. The meeting accepted Peterborough's assurances as to the reasons for their nominations, and agreed that they could stand.
The meeting agreed the participation of clubs in the League as set out above as it was felt to fairly reflect strength and was in accordance with clubs' wishes, whilst noting that there had been no promotion or relegation from last season.
Team 500 Entries and Arrangements
The following entries had been received for the Team 500 competition:
North: Spalding, Peterborough, New England A, New England B, Warboys.
South: Warboys, Buckden, St Neots, Cambridge A, Cambridge B, Linton Jockeys.
It was agreed to run the tournament as a single-round all-play-all within the geographic groups, with the two winners playing off in the final.
Chris Ross questioned whether the aggregate grading limit of 500 was too high given the wish to encourage lower-graded players. It was agreed that this would be reviewed at the AGM in the light of the first year's experience.
Fenland Cup
Michael Pope reported that St Neots, Warboys, Cambridge and New England had entered the Cup. He would chase Peterborough and Ely to see if they wished to enter. It was agreed that the first round would be held later this year, probably in mid-October. Michael Pope would make the draw at the St Neots club once the entries had been confirmed.
County Individual Championship
The meeting debated the respective merits of a Swiss tournament or a knockout, which were finely balanced. Equal votes were cast for the two options, and the Chairman's casting vote was in favour of the status quo, a knockout tournament. It was agreed that the rounds would be held in the weeks commencing 3 November, 8 December, 19 January and 25 February. Chris Russell would invite entries and finalise venues for each round.
Special Events
Paul Kemp reported that arrangements were in place for the match between the two former County Associations, to be held at Warboys on 24 September. A Jamboree would be held in the spring, provisionally arranged for 13 May, and a Rapidplay would be organised along the lines of the successful 2008 event.
Membership of Disputes Committee
Norman Wedley, Paul Kemp and Francis Bowers were elected as the Disputes Committee. Tom Hazel, Marcus Connolly and Marcus Misson would be co-opted if necessary.
Any Other Business
Peter Baddeley was elected County U100 team captain following Andy Davison's move to London, and was thanked by the meeting for his willingness to stand.
The meeting agreed to the introduction of a Cambridgeshire Grand Prix, which would aggregate scores by players in County matches, the League, the Team 500 competition, the Cambridgeshire Rapidplay and the EACU club championship. Paul Kemp would prepare a brief note for publicity/circulation to clubs. Michael Pope kindly agreed to collate the scores, and would liaise with Neil Holmes regarding putting the scores on the website.
The Committee provisionally set the date of the AGM as Wednesday 3 June 2009 at Warboys.
