1. Present

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Kevin Hilliard (Vice-Chairman)
• Kay Price (Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Treasurer)
• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)

2. Apologies for absence

• Michael Ledwich (Insurance)
• Becky Hull (Stoolball Development Officer)
• Ruth Arthur (Stoolball Development Officer)

3. Minutes of the last Officers’ meeting

The minutes were signed and approved as a true record.

4. Matters arising from the last meeting

There were no matters arising that would not be covered later in the agenda.

5. Treasurer’s report

Trevor Parsons reported that there were high levels of stock at this time of the year and very little income, therefore the current deficit of £360.97 was not unexpected. He also reported that he would be closing the Alliance & Leicester Building Society account and moving the balance of £141 to the main Stoolball England account at NatWest.

6. Stoolball England website

Rick Mason told the meeting that he had been working at increasing the amount of match data which can be added to the website. Therefore, when teams add their match results, they can also add individual batting scores, bowling analyses and catches taken. Any teams using this will be a ready-made analysis of statistics for their team and individual players.

7. Coaching Programme for 2010

As reported at the last meeting Stoolball England have submitted applications to get funding for three initiatives this summer (2 with Sport Unlimited and 1 with Awards for All) and a fourth application was submitted to Sport Unlimited by Inspire Leisure in Littlehampton involving schools in the Angmering/Littlehampton area.

Since that meeting in January, we have learned that three of these projects were successful (Horsham rural schools and Crawley secondary schools) and the Littlehampton application, but to date we have not heard from Awards for All who will be assessing the application to fund the Midhurst schools. Stoolball England has since learned that the Awards for All application was rejected.

Stoolball also learned that the Mid Sussex County sports club conference “Get Inspired” had been cancelled at rather short notice and that it will now be held on Thursday 19 May which unfortunately coincides with the league match evening of all the stoolball clubs in the Mid Sussex area.

The Secretary also reported that the “TakePart” festival in Brighton will be held between Saturday 19 June and Sunday 4 July. A meeting to discuss the format of the festival this year is being held at the Withdean Stadium on Thursday 25 February which Stoolball England will attend.

8. Review of Stoolball England Constitution and Child Protection Policy

Copies of the revised Stoolball England Constitution were circulated following the last meeting and it was agreed that this document still needs further work. It was also agreed that when the Child Protection Policy was updated, this would also impact on the Constitution. Prior to the meeting, it was learned that Sport England have finished their assessment of the Stoolball England governing body “recognition” application and it will be presented to their board during March.

9. Insurance

Trevor Parsons would be meeting up with our Insurance Officer, Michael Ledwich, and an insurance expert to finalise the Public Liability Insurance for the coming 12 months. It was agreed that the cover needed updating, particularly in relation to age limits and the cover for Stoolball England coaches and Development Officers whilst working in schools/clubs etc. Both officers will report back to the next meeting with their progress.

10. Any other business

1. The Surrey Umpires’ course is confirmed for Sunday 18 April at Alfold.  Kelvin Speirs from the Sussex County Umpires’ Association and Stoolball England Chairman, John Price, will be organising this course.
2. Stoolball bats have been received from Gray-Nicolls and a meeting is being planned with them to discuss some proposed manufacturing changes. Part of a consignment from Hunts Bats was received before Christmas and the remainder of the order is expected in March/April. After discussions with Newbery, it was learned that they will not be making stoolball bats in 2010 but will review the situation again next year.
3. Publicity leaflets: Following receipt of 10,000 leaflets from the printers, bulk supplies have been circulated to central distribution points in each county and onward transmission to libraries has been authorised in East Sussex (29), West Sussex (31), Brighton & Hove (15), Surrey (52) and Hampshire (55) totalling 182 branches in all. Circulation of the leaflets in Kent is ongoing.
4. Coaching manual: Now at proof-reading stage and samples provided for us to look at are very good.
5. Business cards: Following the cards printed for specific officers, blank ones have been provided for all other officers who would like a small quantity.
6. Hastings Chamber of Commerce initiative: Following an inaugural meeting to set up this initiative, it was decided to go ahead to create a sporting legacy following the 2012 Olympics. John and Kay Price attended this first meeting, but Stoolball England will be represented at future meetings by Toni Wheatley and Mike Hearn from the East Division of the Sussex County Stoolball Association.
7. Eastbourne Red Triangle and Hailsham Mixed League: Following approval at the last meeting, emails were sent out to both these mixed stoolball leagues inviting them to meet up with officers from Stoolball England. An immediate response was received from Hailsham and a date will be agreed following their AGM on 2 March.
8. Trina Perry, new equipment agent for Eastbourne Red Triangle and Hailsham Mixed area: A date has been arranged to deliver stoolball equipment to Trina prior to the beginning of March. Stoolball England is pleased to welcome Trina to the fold.
9. Bob Lake, East Sussex County Council: Stoolball England have been in touch with Bob Lake regarding the proposed “inset day” involving stoolball which is planned for April/May.
10. Gary Stidder, Chelsea College, Eastbourne: Stoolball England have been in touch with Gary regarding the additional module which is planned this summer. There are currently two teaching modules for stoolball at Chelsea, but this summer a third module is being added to their schedule which will include a Level One coaching course. The course tutor, Sue Perry, will be making contact.
11. South Downs Living magazine: This is a free magazine which is circulated throughout Mid Sussex. Stoolball England have been asked to write an article of 1,000 words about mixed and ladies stoolball in this area and provide pictures of both. This has been completed and will hopefully appear in the April 2010 issue.
12. Registration Forms: Rick Mason has made some changes to the registration forms for 2010 and these can now be completed on-line.
13. Easebourne Primary School: Shirley Reed reported that this school already has after-school coaching and if funding is successful would like to be included in the end of term Stoolball Festival. Sadly the Awards for All bid was rejected (see Item 7 above).

Dates of future meetings with a 7.30pm start time:

• Monday 22 March
• Monday 19 April
• Friday 21 May
• Friday 25 June
• Friday 23 July
• No meeting in August.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.50pm.

Kay and John Price
27 February 2010

1. Present

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Kevin Hilliard (Vice-Chairman)
• Kay Price (Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Treasurer)
• Becky Hull (Stoolball Development Officer)

2. Apologies for absence

• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)
• Michael Ledwich (Insurance)
• Ruth Arthur (Stoolball Development Officer)

3. Minutes of the last Officers’ meeting

The minutes were signed and approved as a true record.

4. Matters arising from the last meeting

There were no matters arising that would not be covered later in the agenda.

5. Treasurer’s report

Trevor Parsons reported that there had been expenses of around £2,000 for wickets and website expenses, but no income is expected at this time of the year. There were good stocks of equipment ready for the new season (bats, balls, scorebooks, boundary flags and spray paint) with only further supplies of bats needing to be ordered from Gray-Nicolls.

6. Stoolball England Website

This item was deferred to a later date when Rick Mason would be able to attend.

7. Coaching Programme for 2010

So far this year Stoolball England have been involved in funding applications for four coaching initiatives.

1. Midhurst Schools (6 primary and 2 secondary) – Awards for All
2. Horsham rural primary schools – Sport Unlimited
3. Crawley secondary schools (2) – Sport Unlimited
4. Angmering and Littlehampton schools, this project is being organised by Carrie Reynolds, Community Development Manager at Inspire Leisure in Littlehampton – Sport Unlimited

If the applications are successful, Stoolball England coaches will be looking forward to a very busy summer.

In addition Mid Sussex Council is running a “Get Inspired” sports club conference at St Paul’s School, Burgess Hill on 17 February from 6.15 to 10pm. Stoolball England has applied for a stall at this event where there is also an open invitation for local stoolball clubs to attend with a view to publicising their clubs and using the opportunity to attract new members. Stoolball England will be contacting local clubs to make them aware of this conference.

Stoolball England will also be having a stall at the TakePart festival in Brighton, displaying stoolball equipment and publicity material.

8. Review of Stoolball England Constitution and Child Protection Policy

Following a request from Sport England to clarify one or two points in the Constitution as part of the governing body “recognition” process, the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) recommended firm of Solicitors also provided some useful suggestions in other areas of the document which we are now going to consider. The first draft will be circulated to members of the Management Committee for comment shortly.

The current Child Protection Policy covers both young children and vulnerable adults, but as a result of the introduction of the new ISA (Independent Safeguarding Authority), it will be necessary to create two new documents from the original. These will be presented to affiliated members at the Annual General Meeting in November.

9. Club membership registration forms

A copy of the 2010 form will be circulated and also put on the website.

10. Rules of the game

It was agreed that the “no ball” rule needed clarifying to make it clear that both feet must be within the “return” crease when the ball is delivered. It was also confirmed that feedback had been received from Wessex Friendly Group, West Division SCSA, and three Kent clubs in response to the “catch” questionnaire.

11. Insurance

Michael Ledwich will be continuing as Stoolball England’s Insurance Officer in 2010 and it was agreed that certain changes will need to be made this season. Michael will be liaising with Trevor Parsons to ensure that the upper age limit is raised to 80 and we also need to make sure that our coaches have appropriate insurance cover.

12. Any other business

1. An umpires’ course is being arranged in Surrey and the date and venue will be finalised in the next two weeks.
2. Stoolball England business cards and the publicity trifold leaflet are being printed.
3. It was agreed that in the place of a General Meeting, members of Stoolball England Management Committee would request meeting dates with affiliated members to find out what help can be provided for them.Dates of future meetings with a 7.30pm start time:
   • Thursday 18 February 2010
   • Monday 22 March 2010
   • Monday 19 April 2010
   • Friday 21 May 2010
   • Friday 25 June 2010
   • Friday 23 July 2010
   • No meeting in August.

The meeting closed at 10pm.

Kay and John Price
29 January 2010

1. Present

Stoolball England Officers:

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Kevin Hilliard (Vice-Chairman)
• Kay Price (Hon Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Hon Treasurer)
• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)
• John Fitzpatrick (Umpires)

Vice-President:

• Delia Saunders

Leagues, associations and clubs represented:

• Mid Sussex Mixed Stoolball League: Carole Brown
• Lewes Mixed Stoolball League: Rick Mason
• Surrey Ladies Stoolball Association (SLSA): Becky Hull and Ruth Arthur
• Sussex County Stoolball Association: Doris Younger
• Mid Division (SCSA): Daphne Hunt and Kelvin Speirs
• West Division (SCSA): Kevin Hilliard and Rosemary Newland
• Central Division (SCSA): Gerry Miller and Barbara Parsons
• North Division (SCSA): Sybil Voller and Keith Younger
• Sussex County Umpires Association: John Fitzpatrick and Fred Newland
• Wessex Friendly Group: Shirley Reed

Apologies for absence:

• Melissa Mantle (SE Coaching Development and Chief Coaching Examiner)
• Barbara Fitzpatrick (SE Marketing and Publicity Officer)
• Jacqui Davidson (Hailsham Mixed Stoolball League)
• Mr and Mrs B Bertin (Sussex County Stoolball Association)
• Karen Spiller (Mid Division SCSA)
• John Pritchett (Vice-President)
• Brian Johnson (Vice-President)
• Gwyn Griffith (Vice-President)
• Richard Emsley (Vice-President)
• Ann Peck (Vice-President)

2. Chairman’s welcome

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Annual General Meeting of Stoolball England and because it was the 30th anniversary of the reformation of the governing body of stoolball, photographs were taken of all those members in attendance.

3. Minutes of the 29th Annual General Meeting

The Chairman briefly went through the minutes of the 2008 Annual General Meeting and following a proposal by Ruth Arthur (Surrey) which was seconded by Shirley Reed (President), the minutes of the 29th Annual General Meeting were unanimously approved and signed as a true record.

4. Matters arising

It was agreed there were no matters arising from the minutes.

5. Chairman’s report

The Chairman’s report had previously been circulated with the meeting agenda to all the affiliated leagues and associations in membership and further copies were made available at the meeting. The Chairman quickly went through the major points in his report, in particular congratulating Bluebells Stoolball Club who in 2009 were the first club to achieve Club Accreditation status. He also took the opportunity to rectify a serious omission and thank umpires Alan Kirby, Shirley Reed, John and Barbara Fitzpatrick, Trevor Parsons, Andy Jones and Sarah Reeves who had officiated in the first under 14 County Girls Schools Tournament at the Waterhall, Brighton. There were 12 secondary schools at this event competing on one of the hottest days recorded last summer.

John Price spoke about the amount of work which had been done by the officers of Stoolball England and he thanked them all for their whole-hearted support during the year. In particular, he mentioned John and Barbara Fitzpatrick who were not seeking re-election at this AGM. They had both made valuable contributions to Stoolball England in the last three years and would be sadly missed. Other items of interest during the 2009 season were:

1. A successful Level 1 course had taken place at Greenway School, Horsham at the end of May under the tutorage of Helen Murdock. Our grateful thanks go to Helen and the 16 participants.
2. Following a successful coaching programme in six Horsham Primary and Junior Schools in the summer, Becky Hull (Surrey) gave a summary report of the coaching team’s work in these schools. As a result of these activities and the obvious lack of stoolball equipment in these schools, it was interesting to record that one headmaster proudly announced that his pupils had collected over 60,000 “sports vouchers” via the Tesco and Sainsbury schemes. Therefore, it became clear that it would be in Stoolball England’s best interests to get stoolball equipment included in the 2010 catalogues of these two companies. Stoolball England are very grateful to Sainsbury’s who have agreed to include our equipment in their catalogue next year, but sadly Tesco, even though we are mentioned in the National Curriculum, have stated that Stoolball “is not mainstream enough to be included in their catalogue”. A disappointing outcome for us and the schools.
3. Following our name change at the end of last year, the updated Stoolball England application to obtain “recognition” as a governing body has now been with Sport England for ten months. Therefore it was disappointing to learn that, apart from a letter of acknowledgment received in February, our application has gone no further and has still not been officially assessed by Sport England.
4. Another disappointment followed when BingoLotto restarted in September only to be withdrawn a month later.
5. Over the past three years, Stoolball England has received valuable support from Keith Younger who has refurbished and mended numerous old bats and wickets and enabled us to loan this equipment to schools and clubs who are starting up with no funds to buy equipment. To thank him for his services, Keith became the first winner of the President’s Award (Item 7 in the Agenda) and President Shirley Reed presented him with a wooden bowl made of burr wood with the grateful thanks of everyone in the world of stoolball.

In conclusion, John Price recognised that the year ahead was likely to be equally challenging and exciting as the last 12 months and asked for comments from the floor, but none were forthcoming.

Acceptance of the Chairman’s report was proposed by Becky Hull (Surrey), seconded by Kelvin Speirs (Mid Division, SCSA) and was unanimously approved.

6. Treasurer’s report

The Treasurer, Trevor Parsons, told the meeting that the Stoolball England accounts were in a very healthy state and it had been a very successful year with equipment sales up by 20% showing a profit of £2,870. The Public Liability and Personal Accident Insurances showed a profit of £1,503 and there was an increase in the revenue obtained from affiliation fees. The coaching courses carried out by Melissa Mantle at University College, Chichester and during the summer at Greenway School in Horsham had also provided a valuable income of £1,600 for Stoolball England.

Trevor reported that all the monies created during the year had been earmarked to fund our publicity leaflet (copies of which were circulated at the meeting) and the Coaching Manual, both of which would be going to press during the near future. The leaflets will be going to libraries, leisure centres and health clubs in Surrey, Kent, Sussex and parts of Hampshire, and the 48 page Coaching Manual will be available to clubs, schools, colleges and universities.

The coaching programme carried out in Horsham was funded through Sport Unlimited and Stoolball England were very fortunate that they were able to claim the total sum spent on this initiative with support from the Sussex County Sports Partnership.

On the expenditure side, under “administration expenses”, the sum of £1,426 included half-page advertisements which were in two of the quarterly editions of Physical Education Matters, the official journal of the Association for Physical Education, which is circulated to PE professionals countrywide. Total profit for the year amounted to £4,826.

The majority of Stoolball England funds are now held in two accounts within NatWest, and Trevor reported that it had been a very satisfactory first year of office for him. The Treasurer was given a vote of thanks by the meeting, and acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Rick Mason (Website Administrator) and seconded by Barbara Parsons (Central Division, SCSA) and unanimously approved.

7. Presentation of President’s Award

This took place during Item 5, Chairman’s report.

8. Election of Officers

• President: Shirley Reed, proposed by the Stoolball England Management Committee, seconded John Fitzpatrick
• Chairman: John Price proposed by the Stoolball England Management Committee, seconded Rick Mason
• Vice-Chairman: Kevin Hilliard proposed by the Stoolball England Management Committee, seconded Fred Newland
• Hon. Secretary: Kay Price proposed by the Stoolball England Management Committee, seconded John Price
• Hon. Treasurer: Trevor Parsons proposed by the Stoolball England Management Committee, seconded Kay Price
• Officers: Melissa Mantle, Toni Wheatley, Michael Ledwich and Rick Mason, proposed by the Stoolball England Management Committee, seconded by Doris Younger

Two new Management Committee members Becky Hull and Ruth Arthur (Surrey) were proposed by the Stoolball England Management Committee, seconded by Doris Younger (SCSA) and all the Officers were unanimously approved.

Following the Election of Officers, the Vice-Chairman, Kevin Hilliard, also congratulated Bluebells Stoolball Club on their success and urged everyone present to go back to their leagues and associations and promote the Stoolball England Accreditation Scheme with the aim of recruiting at least one or two clubs in their ranks. He promised he would help any interested clubs with their applications and his details were to be found in the latest edition of the newsletter.

8. Election of new Vice-President

In recognition of all the work that Keith Younger has carried out on behalf of stoolball, he was proposed as a new Vice-President by Daphne Hunt (Sussex) and seconded by John Fitzpatrick (Sussex County Umpires Association) and unanimously approved.

9. Independent examiner

Stoner Cottingham of Horsham were proposed by Kevin Hilliard (Vice-Chairman) and seconded by Ruth Arthur (Surrey) and were unanimously approved.

10. Any other business

1. The Chairman gave a brief demonstration on how to oil a stoolball bat and referred members to the latest edition of the newsletter where information on oiling a bat and looking after stoolball equipment can be found.
2. Congratulations were offered to the Chairman and Secretary for their contribution during the year by Doris Younger.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 12.10pm.

Kay and John Price, Stoolball England
1 December 2009

Congratulations to Bluebells Stoolball Club

I am delighted to open my report for 2009 by congratulating Bluebells Stoolball Club on becoming the very first club to achieve recognition under Stoolball England’s Club Accreditation Scheme. This recognition is well deserved and credit must go to John and Sybil Voller, Delia Saunders and members of the Bluebells Committee for the work they put into completing their application. The parents of young players and adult newcomers joining their club can be assured that they have the correct documents, standards and policies in place to provide a safe environment to play stoolball.

We are eager that more clubs should take steps to achieve official Club Accreditation and we know that there are a number of clubs already working in this direction. Application forms and advice are available from Kevin Hilliard (01403 259617) for those who feel ready to make the move.

Recognition of Stoolball England as the governing body of stoolball

Having submitted our revised application for governing body recognition in March this year, it is most disappointing to tell you that due to yet another reorganisation within Sport England, our application is still sitting in a pile of similar applications awaiting assessment. Our contact in Sport England explained to us that due to our name change, our application would only need to be looked at by Sport England and not Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so the assessment period would be quicker! As soon as we have some news, we will pass it on to you.

Our relations with County Sports Partnerships

For the last five years or more, it has been very clear that it is important to build up sound relationships with the Sports Partnerships in all those counties where stoolball is played. In the last 12 months, we have built relationships with Active Surrey, which is based in Guildford, and Kent Sports Development Unit from West Malling.

However, when funding to these groups were cut by the Government at the end of March, Surrey in particular found it very difficult to maintain a pattern of regular forums with governing bodies because a number of their group, including their manager, left for pastures new. This caused an abrupt halt to the relationship we were beginning to build. In Kent, the organisation is more under the control of the county council and we have had an encouraging meeting with the County Sports Development Manager who is very keen to develop stoolball in their schools.

In Sussex due to the Government cuts, the Sussex County Sports Partnership Trust had their staff numbers reduced by nearly half (from 14 to 8 staff) and as a result we have now been asked to make a contribution towards the services that they can provide for us. Naturally this was a shock to us because we are the only governing body they deal with which is not funded by Sport England! We have given up trying to work out the logic of this situation.

On a more encouraging note, I am pleased to tell you that Partnership Development Managers (PDMs) who are responsible for all the state-run secondary and junior/primary schools in their counties have been asked to draw up priority listings of sports under two work strands of Physical Education and Sports Strategy for Young People (PESSYP). In the primary list were basketball, badminton, tennis, swimming, rugby, gymnastics, netball and cricket, whilst in the second list stoolball appears alongside hockey, table tennis, golf, cycling, exercise, movement and dance.

This is particularly good news for us because a key strand of PESSYP is the funding stream called “Sport Unlimited and School Competitions”. We shall work very hard to ensure that we get our fair share of funding to continue the development of stoolball in schools. This news makes it even more important that all clubs work hard to build good relationships with the schools in their area. When we fill in the application forms for school funding, one of the most important sections is that relating to “exit routes”, ie those funding the initiative need to know that there are clubs in the vicinity willing to take youngsters and help them progress in stoolball.

In Hampshire, this was an undeveloped area with contacts still to make. However, during the summer we made contact with two ladies who play for Surrey clubs and are based in PDM offices in Hampshire (Havant and the Aldershot area), plus another PDM at The Petersfield School who plays for Graffham. So time permitting, we believe we can start to work in Hampshire and begin with schools in the Petersfield area if not further afield.

Coaching in primary and junior schools – test market

I am pleased to tell you that the stoolball coaching programme carried out during the summer term in six Horsham schools was a considerable success with a total of 517 children, from Year 4 (66), Year 5 (294) and Year 6 (157) taking part. The culmination of this programme was a highly successful festival held at the beautiful Horsham Cricket Ground where 16 teams playing in 4 groups took part. There were trophies for the winners of each group, winners and runners-up certificates and also certificates for everyone participating.

My sincere thanks to Becky Hull and Ruth Arthur for all their excellent coaching and organisation at the Horsham schools, and to Natalie Jagota, a multisport coach from Horsham Leisure Link for her coaching and funding support. We were also indebted at the festival to Doris and Keith Younger, Fred Newland, Jim Barnes (Barns Green Stoolball Club) and Sarah Reeves (Oakwood Hill Stoolball Club) for umpiring the games, and Val Oakes (Forest Green Stoolball Club) and Natalie Jagota for their scoring services.

Sussex Girls’ Under 14 Championship 2009

The first ever Sussex Girls’ Under 14 Stoolball Championship was held at the Waterhall in Brighton on the hottest day of the year in July. 12 teams took part in two sections of 6, comprising Warden Park, Millais, Cardinal Newman, Ratton, Robertsbridge and Beacon in Pool A, and Oathall, Hazelwick, Uplands, Longhill, Ringmer and Dorothy Stringer in Pool B. We were particularly grateful to Dorothy Stringer School who provided a team at short notice when another team dropped out.

In an excellent and closely fought final, Ratton from Eastbourne beat Oathall, Haywards Heath, while Beacon from Crowborough beat Ringmer in the 3rd/4th place play-off. Next year, the format will be changed to cover girls at under 13 and under 15 level and provisional dates have been organised for 23 June (under 13) at a venue to be arranged, and 1 July (under 15) again at the Waterhall.

Level one coaching course

Stoolball England held a very successful Level One coaching course at Greenway School in Horsham in March with 21 people attending from clubs and organisations across Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The course tutor was Helen Murdock from Surrey and plans are in hand for further courses.

Stoolball equipment and the schools voucher schemes

During our Horsham schools’ coaching programme this summer, only half of them had any stoolball equipment (mainly bats) but it was very interesting to learn that at one school alone, 60,000 sports equipment vouchers had been collected from the Tesco and Sainsbury initiatives. Therefore it became imperative that we make efforts to ensure that our equipment is included in their 2010 catalogues, so that schools can redeem their vouchers and get stoolball equipment.

In order to rectify the situation, Stoolball England submitted applications to Tesco and Sainsbury in August (they were both due to review their catalogues in September) and made a case for the inclusion of Stoolball. Last week, we heard from Sainsbury that our application had been successful, but to date there has been nothing from Tesco.

BingoLotto on hold/curtailed

After much hard work by the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) working with ISG (the owners of BingoLotto), it was very disappointing to report that it has ceased after on a month on our TV screens. Everybody, Stoolball England included, was hopeful that this initiative would bring much needed money in sport, but sadly the response was not sufficient to allow BingoLotto to continue.

Audrey “Fritz” Ambrose

It is with sadness that I report the death of Audrey Ambrose (known to everyone in the stoolball world as Fritz) earlier this month. She was born in Laughton and played her stoolball initially in Laughton, but then moved to Ringmer where she spent many years, firstly playing for Ringmer, but latterly helping with the club’s junior team with Daphne Hunt. They were a formidable partnership. Fritz also umpired for Ringmer and was Treasurer for a large number of years for the Sussex County Umpires Association until her retirement two years ago. Stoolball England and many friends from Sussex County were present at her funeral at Eastbourne Crematorium. She will be greatly missed.

Keith Younger

In previous years, I have mentioned the excellent work that Keith Younger from the East Grinstead Club has done for everybody playing our game in refurbishing both stoolball bats and wickets. He has not only continued this work despite not enjoying the best of health, but he has also found time, together with his wife, Doris, to umpire at the Schools Festival of Stoolball in July at Horsham.

Incredibly, if all this wasn’t enough, Keith has recently embarked on a programme of making a considerable number of brand new wickets with metal bases for Stoolball England. True to tradition, these wickets look superb and will be a lasting monument to Keith and his exceptional skills. My sincere thanks go to Keith for his enormous contribution to stoolball and to Doris for her understanding and support.

New clubs

I am delighted to report that we should be seeing three new clubs playing mixed stoolball next season. They are Burgess Hill, East Hoathly and Cowfold. Burgess Hill were formed after playing in an invitation match against Horsham District Council in Horsham Park, while East Hoathly and Cowfold have reformed after folding several years ago. Stoolball England were delighted to be able to help them back to life.

Your committee – my thanks

John and Barbara Fitzpatrick are not standing for re-election at the AGM this year. We shall miss their contributions on all matters relating to marketing and umpiring as well as stoolball in general. We wish them well and my sincere thanks for all they have done over the last 3 years.

At the AGM last year, we were very pleased to welcome Trevor Parsons from the Adastra Club at Keymer as our new Treasurer and it is very clear that he is enjoying his new role as he starts to make new contacts and gets to grips with all matters relating to our funds. He is keen, enthusiastic and a good person to work with.

To Kevin Hilliard, Michael Ledwich, Rick Mason, Melissa Mantle and Toni Wheatley, my sincere thanks for the contributions they have made on so many fronts from club accreditation, insurance, website, publicity, coaching and promotional materials as well as the meetings they have contributed to. All this has been achieved at a time when there has been huge pressure on them on their work or domestic fronts, or both. This is not an easy world for grass roots volunteers to survive.

My thanks too to all our stoolball agents who have produced our best sales of stoolball equipment ever at a time when additional income will come in very useful when our coaching manual and trifold publicity leaflet go to print.

Shirley Reed, our President, has been, as always, totally supportive and a pleasure to work with. She brings a calm, positive and reassuring presence to all our meetings and I do not know what we would do without her.

Finally, in an incredibly busy year on all fronts, both home and abroad, my thanks to Kay who has worked tirelessly to make everything happen. In the New Year, we are off to Kandy, Sri Lanka to coach stoolball at Hillwood College for Girls and we are very much looking forward to it.

Have a good Christmas and all the very best for 2010.

John Price
Chairman, Stoolball England
9 November 2009

Please make every effort to come to the AGM. However, if for any reason you are not able to attend and cannot send a deputy, please contact Kay Price  on 01403 252419 or at [email address available when you sign in] before the meeting. It is important for the wellbeing of the game that those of you who are involved in the organisation and structure of stoolball attend this meeting to express your views.

Agenda

1. Chairman’s welcome
2. Apologies for absence
3. Minutes of the 29th Annual General Meeting
4. Matters arising from those minutes
5. Chairman’s Report
6. Treasurer’s Report
7. Presentation of President’s Award
8. Election of Officers. Existing post holders are:
   • President: Shirley Reed
   • Chairman: John Price
   • Vice-Chairman: Kevin Hilliard
   • Hon. Secretary: Kay Price
   • Hon. Treasurer: Trevor Parsons
   • A minimum of five officers to undertake specific roles: Melissa Mantle, Michael Ledwich,  Rick Mason, Toni Wheatley, Barbara and John Fitzpatrick

   Barbara and John are not seeking re-election. Proposed:

   • Ruth Arthur (Forest Green Stoolball Club in Surrey)
   • Becky Hull (Forest Green Stoolball Club in Surrey)
9. Election of new Vice Presidents. Existing Vice-Presidents are:
   • Ann Peck
   • Marian Stanbrook
   • John Pritchett
   • Delia Saunders
   • Brian Johnson
   • Mick Cawley
   • Gwyn Griffith
   • Richard Emsley
   • Peter Cheesman
   • Edward Keates
10. Independent Examiner: Stoner, Cottingham of Horsham
11. Any other business

1. Present

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Kevin Hilliard (Vice-Chairman)
• Kay Price (Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Treasurer)
• Michael Ledwich (Insurance)

2. Apologies for absence

• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)
• Barbara Fitzpatrick (Marketing/Publicity)
• John Fitzpatrick (Umpires)

3. Minutes of the last officers’ meeting

The minutes were signed and approved as a true record.

4.Matters arising from the last meeting

1. BingoLotto, discontinued due to lack of support after four weeks
2. Sussex County Sports Partnership –. Service Agreement under discussion. A draft document has been received and returned with comments
3. Applications to Tesco and Sainsbury submitted in August asking if stoolball equipment can be included in their 2010 catalogues as a result of their sports voucher initiatives will need to be followed up

5. Catch Rule update

Forms have been received from Speldhurst and Penshurst in the West Kent Ladies Stoolball League, both clubs are in favour of the current ruling.

6. Treasurer’s report

Trevor Parsons reported on the set of figures which will be presented at the Annual General Meeting in November. As previously agreed by the Management Committee, the Alliance and Leicester account in the name of National Stoolball Association will now be closed so that all Stoolball England funds will be with NatWest. It is intended to open a Deposit Account which will earn interest on money not in current use.

Trevor reported that he now felt he had a firmer grip on the stocks of equipment and that stoolball wickets were now being included as new item of equipment with a potential cost price of £140 per set. He was happy with the set of accounts at the end of his first year in office and they would be presented to the Auditors, Stoner Cottingham, at the beginning of November.

7. Newsletter

Shirley Reed reported that she would be completing the next edition of the newsletter to circulate at the AGM. There were a few leagues that had yet to send in their season’s results but she would follow these up as soon as possible. Shirley asked if an article on looking after bats and other stoolball equipment could be included and John Price agreed to action this request.

8. Annual General Meeting of Stoolball England

The Secretary reported that the AGM had been agreed for Sunday 29 November at 10.30 for an 11am start, but that the booking of the Renshaw Room at Wivelsfield Village Hall had yet to be acknowledged. It was confirmed that John and Barbara Fitzpatrick would not be continuing in their roles next year and replacements would need to be found, however the remaining members of the Management Committee were happy to continue for another year. It was also agreed that as a mark of appreciation for all the work that Keith Younger has done for Stoolball England over the last few years, he should be presented with a President’s Award. There were no names for Vice-Presidents proposed.

9. Stoolball equipment – manufacture of wickets

Trevor Parsons referred to these during his Treasurer’s report and it is encouraging to report that a blacksmith has been found to make the metal bases (similar to the Curtis Lloyd bases) and the remainder of the wicket is being finished by Keith Younger. To date 11 sets have been completed together with metal pins and these will be on sale for next season.

10. Any other business

1. Safari Sports – Stoolball England were invited to visit their premises at West Molesey to inspect their stock of stoolball equipment which was duly approved as satisfactory
2. Dubai – a request to play Stoolball in Dubai has been received
3. India – two more requests have been received from India, both answers were copied to Sangram Gadgil who is founder of the Indian Stoolball Federation
4. New mixed stoolball clubs – two newly formed clubs, Burgess Hill and East Hoathly have been formed in the last three months and a further club is planned in Cowfold, although they are not quite so advanced in their planning as the first two
5. Sri Lanka – a coaching trip is confirmed to commence on 6 January for 14 days. Coaching will be carried out at Hillwood College, Kandy during the trip and a further three days coaching will take place at Trinity College, Kandy which will be open to students from other schools in the area
6. Stoolball Coaching Manual – this manual is close to completion, just the front cover to design, and quotes have been received and approved for printing. This will be a splendid addition to our stoolball publications
7. Tri-fold leaflet – subject to some rearrangement of the text, the leaflet will be ready for printing in the next month
8. Stoolball England Management Committee nominees – it was agreed to approach Becky Hull and Ruth Arthur to join the committee in a coaching development role.

Date of next meeting: Annual General Meeting to be held on Sunday 29 November 2009, 10.30 for 11am start, in the Renshaw Room at Wivelsfield Village Hall.

The meeting closed at 10pm.

Kay and John Price, 5 November 2009

1. Present

Stoolball England Management Committee members:

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Kay Price (Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Treasurer)
• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)
• Barbara Fitzpatrick (Marketing/Publicity)
• John Fitzpatrick (Umpires).

Leagues and associations represented:

• Mid Sussex Mixed Stoolball League: Rick Mason
• Sussex County Stoolball Association: Kay Price, Margaret Bertin and Barry Bertin
• Mid Division (SCSA): Daphne Hunt
• North Division (SCSA): Keith and Doris Younger and Sybil Voller
• Sussex County Umpires Association: John Fitzpatrick
• West Kent Ladies Stoolball League: Miranda Brockman
• West Kent Mixed Stoolball League: Richard Emsley
• Wessex Friendly Group: Shirley Reed

2. Apologies for absence

• Kevin Hilliard (Vice-Chairman)
• Michael Ledwich (Insurance Officer)
• Melissa Mantle (Coaching)
• Toni Wheatley
• Mike Hearn (East Division, SCSA)
• Alan Kirby (Chanctonbury Ladies Stoolball League)
• Cindy Cavie (Eastbourne Red Triangle League)
• Jacqui Davidson (Hailsham Mixed League)
• Anne Hardwick (West Kent Ladies Stoolball League)
• Pat Wyatt (Coastal Ladies Stoolball League).

The Chairman, John Price, welcomed everyone to the 2nd General Meeting of the year and in particular Miranda Brockman from West Kent Ladies Stoolball League who was attending a Stoolball England meeting for the first time.

3. Minutes of the General Committee meeting

The minutes of the previous General Committee meeting held in March (proposed Barbara Fitzpatrick and seconded by Doris Younger) were signed and unanimously approved as a true record.

4. Matters arising

In response to a question from Doris Younger, Rick Mason was able to confirm that there has been increased usage of the Stoolball England website in 2009. This season, the Chanctonbury League has been publishing their fixtures and results, and in 2010, Eastbourne Red Triangle Mixed League intends to do the same. It was agreed that this is very encouraging.

5. Treasurer’s Report

In his report Trevor Parsons was very encouraged with the current sales figure of £10,096 which showed an increase of 20% over the 2007-8 figures. He also reported that income from the affiliation fees was good; the coaching courses held at University College, Chichester and Greenway School in Horsham had been very successful and it was good that Stoolball England was now in a position to submit CRB applications. The surplus of more than £5,000 meant that there was more money available to invest in the game.

6. Summary of Stoolball England activities from March-September 2009

A document listing all these activities was circulated to all members at the meeting. However, prior to this item being discussed, John Price took the opportunity to congratulate Sybil Voller from Bluebells Stoolball Club who are in North Division, Sussex County Stoolball Association, on becoming the first accredited stoolball club.

John Price quickly went through the 16 items listed in the document which included news on our application to Sport England to become the recognised governing body of stoolball; progress of stoolball overseas; CRB checks; the coaching project in Horsham; the Sussex Girls’ under 14s tournament in July; taking part in the second Brighton & Hove fortnight of sport; Level 1 coaching courses; news of new clubs and spreading the gospel of Stoolball in South East England.

Shirley Reed told the meeting that stoolball was also being played at an aboriginal school near Alice Springs in Australia. Rick Mason reported that a second stoolball international had been played between members of the Lewes Hungarian Society and local players.

In conclusion, a vote of thanks was given to Stoolball England by Sybil Voller and Keith Younger.

7. Feedback from Affiliated members

Mid Sussex Mixed Stoolball League and Lewes League: Rick Mason, a member of both leagues, told the meeting that in the Mid Sussex League games were of 12 overs, while in the Lewes League, games consisted of 8 players and 10 overs. He reported that Mid Sussex only had four teams this year, but that potentially there were more teams joining next season. It was also suggested that new teams from Burgess Hill and East Hoathly could be possible newcomers. They were also trying to start a mixed indoor league this winter and an appeal for teams had been placed on the Stoolball England website.

West Kent Mixed Stoolball League: Richard Emsley reported that this league was being restarted next season with potentially four teams, Hildenborough, Leigh, Groombridge and Fordcombe. On 14 June they had organized a mixed tournament which attracted 8 teams and this was won by Fordcombe. Richard was confident that this league would be up and running in 2010.

West Kent Ladies Stoolball League: Miranda Brockman, in her first year as Secretary, reported that it had been an interesting season. She told the meeting that West Kent Ladies now had its own website which had been set up by Sophie Richardson. Sophie had undertaken this project as part of her university course and it had been very successful. Fordcombe were the 2009 league champions with Bidborough runners-up. In their league tournament, Groombridge were the winners with Bidborough again runners-up.

Mid Division, SCSA: Daphne Hunt from Ringmer Stoolball Club and President of Sussex County Stoolball Association reported on behalf of her Division that it had been a very closely fought league this year with Adastra tying for top place with Barcombe. They had already held their presentation evening and this was followed on 20 September with President v Chairman matches for seniors and under 17s which were very entertaining. They were due to hold a quiz night on 25 September to finish the seasons’ activities.

Sussex County Stoolball Association: Margaret Bertin, their Secretary for over 30 years, reported that Sussex had enjoyed a very successful season with Horsted Keynes, champions in Central Division, Stone Cross in East Division, Adastra and Barcombe tied at the top of Mid Division, Fletching in North Division and Angmering in West Division. The inter-divisional championship was won by East Division beating West Division in the final and she congratulated Angmering who won the grand slam of stoolball, winning their own division title, the Champions’ Tournament at Seaford (beating Horsted Keynes in the final), the Sussex Knock-out Cup (beating Stone Cross) and the Sussex League Cup (beating Horsted Keynes).

North Division, SCSA: Sybil Voller, their Secretary, also reported a tie at the top of the North Division league table with Fletching beating Maresfield in the play-off. She told the meeting that her club, Bluebells, had been advertising for more players and was thrilled to report that three young players from St Paul’s School in Burgess Hill were joining them in 2010. Sybil and a club colleague, Delia Saunders, also ran an indoor league which had been running for 20 years and was still proving very popular, with 12 teams playing regularly in the winter months and a further three teams on the waiting list.

Keith Younger, a member of East Grinstead Stoolball Club and a Vice-President of SCSA: Keith reported that it was his pleasure to carry out repairs on wickets, bats and anything else he could help with. He told the meeting that he had obtained a tender on behalf of Stoolball England for the manufacture of metal wicket bases and pins, and once completed, he would be providing the wooden uprights and marine ply squares faces to complete the wickets. He also stated that he was currently organising the production of a branding iron of the Stoolball England logo which will be used to stamp the newly made wickets.

Wessex Friendly Group: Shirley Reed reported that she had 12 friendly teams in her group. Every season, they ran a Cancer Tournament and this season they had raised over £2,000 for the MacMillan charity. Of the teams in their group, there are currently two teams in Hampshire, her own club Steep and Liphook. She also took the opportunity, as the publisher of the bi-annual Stoolball England Newsletter, to ask everyone present for their 2009 league results and any other items of interest to include in the next edition due to come out in November.

Sussex County Umpires’ Association: Their long standing President, John Fitzpatrick, reported that following a first-ever umpire complaint this season, his association had found it necessary to introduce a complaints’ procedure. He found it very painful that this situation had occurred and hoped that it remained a one-off situation.

Junior stoolball clubs: Trevor Parsons, the Stoolball England Treasurer who has a young daughter playing for Adastra Stoolball Club, took the opportunity to encourage any club with a junior team to approach their local or parish councils and find out if they have a youth opportunity fund. His daughter has been successful in obtaining money on two separate occasions to provide kit and equipment for her junior team at Adastra.

8. Any other business

The meeting then discussed the “catch rule” which had been passed over at the rules review in October 2008 so that it could be discussed more fully by individual clubs before any more changes to this rule were agreed. Details of the history of this rule were circulated together with a form for each club to complete. Following further discussion, it was agreed that this document should be emailed/posted to all associations and leagues to circulate to their member clubs.

Date of the Annual General Committee meeting was discussed, but no firm decision was made.

The meeting closed at 10.15pm.

Kay and John Price, 25 September 2009

1. Present

• Shirley Reed (President)
• John Price (Chairman)
• Kay Price (Secretary)
• Trevor Parsons (Treasurer)
• Rick Mason (Website Administrator)
• Barbara Fitzpatrick (Marketing/Publicity)
• John Fitzpatrick (Umpires).

2. Apologies for absence

• Kevin Hilliard (Vice-Chairman)
• Michael Ledwich (Insurance)

3. Minutes of the last Officers’ meeting

The Minutes were signed and approved as a true record.

4. Matters arising from the last meeting

1. BingoLotto, due to start again in September and can be advertised on the Stoolball England website
2. Sussex County Sports Partnership – as a sport not funded by Sport England, Stoolball England are being asked to pay £300 plus VAT in order to ensure continuing support from SCSP staff. Dialogue with Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) and Sport England still ongoing.

5. Treasurer’s report

A financial report up to end of August was circulated to Management Committee members by the Treasurer and it showed that the sales figures had reached £10,000 for the first time. The surplus for the period was £1,427.94.

6. Insurance report and rules update

There was no insurance update available. Regarding the catch and bowling rule (feet outside the line of the bowling crease returns on delivery), it was agreed that the bowling rule in particular needed more clarification. It was also agreed that the subject of the catch needed to be discussed at the General Meeting in September and a document to send to the clubs should be available then.

7. Website report

Rick Mason reported that he had entered into a hosting deal with a playing colleague who was starting up his own business and in future will share the costs of the website. He reported that the Alresford League will be starting up again in 2010 and from information received from Richard Emsley, Chairman of West Kent Ladies Stoolball League, the West Kent Mixed League is hoping to begin again next season. Rick also told the meeting that Google figures showed a definite improvement this season and two more teams may be joining the Mid Sussex Mixed League next year and 4 more teams were talking about joining the Lewes League.

He was hoping that the four indoor leagues would put their fixtures and results on the website. As there was little activity during the winter months, it would provide some more interest. He also explained that if clubs added the number of individual runs scored when they entered the results, it would be possible to make additional team statistics available.

8. Publicity material

1. Coaching manual: Still some editorial work needed. Action: Kevin
2. Tri-fold leaflet: a photo needs to be changed and then it is ready to print. Action: Kevin
3. Business cards: A sample business card was included in the presentation made by Rick when he devised the new logo. It was agreed that a number of blank cards were needed in addition to those where names are required, i.e. for John and Kay. Action: John and Kay

9. Stoolball equipment and stock levels

1. A quote had been received from a manufacturer to make the metal bases of 40 sets of wickets (80 bases) and metal pins. It was agreed to go ahead with the quote. Action: John
2. Applications have been made to Tesco and Sainsbury to include stoolball in their 2010 “sports voucher” catalogues. No news to date. Action: Kay to follow up

10. Any other business

1. An email has been received from India showing interest in stoolball from another source. The response was copied to Sangram Gadgil from the Indian Stoolball Federation.
2. Sussex County Sports Partnership e-news detailed a business session of stoolball taking place at the Arun Centre in September
3. Natalie Payne from Horsham Leisure Link took two sessions of stoolball at Pulborough Cricket Club and a further one at The Weald School in Billingshurst
4. In September there will be another stoolball session in Horsham Park organised by Horsham District Council
5. Contact made with John Bromhead who would like to carry out a schools’ survey to find out the “History of Stoolball in Schools”
6. Dialogue with Andrew Lusted from the Sussex County Archive in Lewes who has historical knowledge about Miss Betty Brand, a player whose bats are in our stoolball archive. Andrew is currently writing a history of Glynde Cricket Club and mentioned the stoolball team who played at Glynde who were called “the Glynde Butterflies”. Stoolball England were able to supply him with two poems which were written in 1861 about competition between the Glynde Butterflies and the Chailey Grasshoppers.

Date of next meeting: 2nd General Meeting on Monday 21 September 2009 at the Renshaw Room at Wivelsfield Village Hall.

The meeting closed at 10.15pm.

John and Kay Price, 25 September 2009