Minutes for the
Shepshed Running Club Annual General Meeting
At The Bowling Club, Charnwood Road, 28th February 2023
Present
David Bottomley (Chairman), David Hattersley (Secretary and Memberships), Bob Haskins (Treasurer), April Clough (Female Captain XC), Stacey King (Female Captain LRRL) , Paul Wooldridge (Male Captain LRRL), Jonathon Wortley (Male Captain XC), Gary Sawle (Kit), Stuart Taylor, (Entertainment), George Clarke (Shepshed 7 Race Director),
Craig Stinchcombe, Helen Stinchcombe, Phil Higgs, Ian Benskin, Rachel Cornes, Daniel Cooke, Russel Balbi, Richard Bibb, Alison Bibb, Sharon Elliot Elle Walsh, Matthew Roberts, Ellenor Todd
Welcome.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 20:36 28th February 2023 and welcomed everyone to the meeting. It was decided that there were enough members to hold the AGM.
Apologies
The Chairman stated that Jane Evans and Rachel Muddimer offered there apologies and David Hattersley stated that Tracey Brookes was unable to attend and offered her apologies
Minutes of 2022 AGM
Last year’s minutes were presented to the meeting. It was pointed out that they had been available on the clubs Website for a year. The minutes of the 2022 AGM were agreed to be a true record.
David Hattersley stated this year’s minutes would be available in approximately two weeks due to work
Reports
A: The Chairman
David Bottomley stated the following:
It’s 12 months since I was elected to be the club chair. First of all I’d like to thank my predecessor Richard for his many years of service for the club before me, for leaving it in such great shape, and for his support and advice, not to mention a few beers.
It’s been 12 months of welcome normality after the disruption of Covid over the previous 2-3 years. Many who stayed away during lockdown have now returned. Club nights, socials, races and even the Christmas Party have been supported and enjoyed, just as they were in pre-pandemic times. Nothing can stop us running!
Races
It has been great to see so many taking part in races of all distances and locations through the last 12 months. As well as the great support for LRRL and XC events, many have taken part in public races ranging from parkruns to marathons, and events such as the Six-Pack challenge.
The club captains reports detail our support and success for the LRRL and Cross-country races. We regularly have a good turnout at the Dishley parkrun, and there are a number of enthusiasts who make a habit of touring local and nationwide parkruns.
New members
It’s been particularly pleasing in recent months to welcome new runners, especially younger ones. Thanks for all the work done on social media and the distribution of leaflets, which has definitely helped. I am sure we will all continue to welcome and encourage them.
We have revamped our website, to ensure it contains as much useful information as possible for people looking for a running cub to join.
Club nights & Socials
Tuesday and Thursday Club nights have been well supported. We have made some good progress in ensuring that we have 4 regular groups on Thursdays, which we now advertise on our website, and people are enquiring about. Thanks to Richard & Alison, Sharon, Stuart and Nick in particular for leading training runs week after week. Away runs have been less well supported and may be something we want to review.
We experimented with a couple of fitness evenings with Bridie Darcy, which we will look at repeating again this summer.
We produced guidelines for running in groups – to ensure nobody is left behind, and that everyone is safe. These are normally followed.
It would be helpful to have someone prepared to co-ordinate training across club nights and away runs, to ensure we have leaders for each group each week, and to co-ordinate different activities on Tuesdays.
Sunday Socials have been less well supported and therefore less frequent, and I’m not sure how to take these forward.
Questionnaire
Last May we ran a questionnaire asking everyone for their feedback on the club and ideas for making things even better, or for new initiatives. Then we conducted a poll of 15 potential changes and improvements, the top 10, and number of votes were:-
Plans for 2023
For 2023, it would be good to introduce some variety to our club nights, preferably on a Tuesday, so that we maintain the regular groups on a Thursday. One or two have come to me with ideas, so it will be great to try some of those out as the nights get lighter.
What shall we do about Sunday socials or other additional group activities?
Is there a desire for – and someone to organise?
• A warm up on a Thursday?
• Couch to 5km?
• More fitness training evenings?
• Enter races elsewhere in the UK as a team?
• Share where people are running park runs, so we can go together?
• Social runs during the day (e.g. lunchtimes)
Thanks
It’s been brilliant to feel the club sprit, camaraderie, and enthusiasm return. WhatsApp has become a lively, informative, and often amusing chat group, alongside our members’ Facebook site. We have a fantastic running club and it’s a real pleasure to be the chair.
A special thanks to the other committee members – and many others -who give so much time and energy on behalf of the club.
B: Female Captains
Stacey King stated the following:
2022 saw 12 individual female members take on the league races. The West End 8 saw our highest scoring race of the season with 7 members taking part. All races had a full female team with 3 members participating in their first LRRL league, which showed in the results and better than previous years. Unfortunately the Ladies and Vet teams were relegated back to Division 3 after promotion in 2019.
The Shepshed team spirit should not be underestimated with each member encouraging others across the line, and we were without question the loudest at the Joy Cann 5!
Special mention goes to Rebecca Randell who placed 2nd in the female league scoring an impressive 1994 points over 4 races, April Clough who came 10th in the VF40 category and the Ladies Team Captain (Stacey King) who attended all 6 races.
The focus for 2023 will be to build on the increasing participation by encouraging existing and new members to take part in races to get us back into Division 2. Each member contributes to the results but also the overall engagement of the club.
It was great to get back to league racing after a mini league in 2021. Thank you to everyone that took part and here’s to an exciting 2023 with the first race that kicked off this past weekend.
April Clough stated the following:
The 2021/2022 XC season was a bit of a strange one with races starting to return after the pandemic. We didn’t manage to have a full ladies team for every race so unfortunately didn’t get an official score, but we had a presence at all of them, even if it was just me! This season we have been back on form with a full ladies team out for every race. At the end of race 4 we are coming a solid 6th place (out of 15) in league 2, with one more race to go.
C: Male Captain
Paul Wooldridge stated the following:
Last year was a very successful one for the Men’s team who gained promotion to Division 2 in runners up position and the Vets narrowly missing out of promotion to Barrow on the last race.
All participants seem to be very committed/enthusiastic in terms of coming to the club nights and entering races which creates a great spirit within the club.
The future is looking good with existing members racing more and some fantastic new members wanting to also, this is why we had full teams for every race. With this in mind our target this year will be the Men’s team to establish themselves in Division 2 and for the Vets to continue to push for promotion!
I would like to thank everyone who participated to make last year a memorable one.
Jonathon Wortley stated the following:
The 2022-23 Derby Runner cross country league has seen an increase in participation by club members compared to the previous season. We have been able to field full teams for three of the four rounds. A number of new faces have been very much welcomed into the teams this season to join the regulars. Here are the results after four rounds:
- SRC men are 5th in League 2
- SRC Ladies are 6th in League 2
Notably, the following club members are in the top ten of their age categories on an individual basis:
- Phillip Higgs (6th)
- Stuart Hunter (6th)
- Ray Draycott (3rd -running for Wigston)
- Rachel Cornes (6th)
- Jacqui Williamson (7th)
- Sharon Elliot (9th)
The Charnwood Hills race was supported by seven SRC members, three of whom were participating in the event for the first time.
The Charnwood Challenge was also supported by SRC members, with Phillip Higgs finishing in a notable 13th position in the 10 mile race.
Along with these results a big congratulations and many thanks goes to every one of our team members who participates in the cross country events. The sense of camaraderie and team spirit is as strong as ever within the Shepshed XC teams. I’m sure all will agree that a great deal of the enjoyment that comes from participating in cross country is because of the people with whom we share the experience. We have a lot of fun whilst supporting and encouraging each other to run at our best on the day. That we have a great time is testament to the friendly culture of our club which we must maintain and develop.
There has been a concerted effort to capture the ‘spirit’ of the cross country events for our Facebook and WhatsApp reports, mainly through photos -I hope these have been good records for the participants and also for encouraging others to give XC a try. Along with the social media advertising and reporting, an XC FAQ was also produced to try to provide guidance and encouragement for newcomers. It would be useful to update the FAQs as required each season.
I hope we can build on these initiatives and the momentum of this season into 23-24, with the aim of having a full team at every fixture whilst encouraging more club members to give XC a try.
D: Membership Secretary
David Hattersley stated the following:
Due to the Covid Pandemic two years ago the club membership dropped. We had a rise in members, but it has levelled out a little. The trend being shown below.
2018 91 Members 30 EA Members
2019 110 Members 31 EA Members
2020 65 Members 30 EA Members
2021 84 Members 25 EA Members.
2022 83 Members 27 EA members.
2022 drew in £1476 approx. in membership fees.
We have a current list of 147 possible members, (runners who have been members in the last five years). However we only have 83 current members at this time.
Non Payees
All members who have been regularly running have paid with only one or two exceptions. These being members who only joined in the last two months and with deferring the club fees till March/April it seemed fair to wait till the renewal date.
EA Membership Fees
EA membership will be £17 as of this financial Year. EA memberships are due on the 1st of April 2023
Two members paid very late in 2022 and I did contact them to advise them it would be beneficial to defer this till 2023 so they got maximum use from their membership.
Club membership remains at £150.
ARC Membership
ARC is approximately £100 but this is determined in April and is based on last year’s membership levels.
Marathon Draw
We did not expect to get a Marathon place this year following initial contact with TCS who organise the marathon ballot. However they then changed their stand point and Paul Wooldridge won the Marathon Place in the club draw for the 2023 race.
We now expect the rules for club places to now stabilise and for us to get an allocated place each year.
Due to this I propose to keep the entry rules for the club ballot the same.
1 Be rejected from the London Ballot
2 Be a member of SRC for over one year.
3 Be a Member of English Athletics
4 Not to have been in the London Marathon in 2023 in any category (i.e. charity or ballot entry)
E: Treasurer
Bob Haskins Stated the following:
Bob presented the club account balance sheet to the meeting:
In 2022 the club made a deficit of £226. He did note that the club had bought a large amount of kit for members some of which has not yet been sold which would account for some of the deficit.
The club also paid out £300 in affiliations to LRRL, Association of Running Clubs (ARC) and English Athletics (EA)
We also paid out £350 in ground rent to the school.
Some of these costs have increased from last year
We have also spent some of the clubs funds on members. The club paid for the food at the summer BBQ and the donations from members was sent to the Air Ambulance charity and this amounted to a £124 donation
The club also paid for the AGM buffet.
It also paid the cost of the Christmas Disco
The club does now hold a surplus of £4756.60
Bob then stated the finances are in a good position but stated that next year it may be necessary to increase membership fees.
Bob then presented the Shepshed 7 Account balance sheet to the meeting:
In 2022 the race made a profit of 1303.80.
It was noted that the club had made a £250 charitable donation to Prostate Cancer charity in respect to our club member Jacqui Williamsons late husband.
It was noted some costs had diminished yet others had increased
The Chip timing cost had reduced due to having less runners
However the Medical coverage cost had increased
The race did have £7031.44 in race entries however the costs of T-shirts and other race costs come out of this figure.
Bob then confirmed that the Race account now has £9800.66 in it and suggested that we could now be in a position to make some charitable donations from it. Also spend some on the club itself.
Phil Higgs then raised a point that £95 had been spent on measuring the course.
Bob pointed out that Dave Mann who had made the official measurement had to travel across Leicestershire to complete it and had spent some hours and used equipment to complete it. In doing so it had been good value considering the work involved. This was accepted by the committee
It was noted by the Chairman that enough money had to be kept in the account to cover the cost of the race should it be cancelled.
Bob stated the expenditure to cover the race would be approximately £6000
The Chairman then thanked Bob for his hard work and the report
F: Kit Secretary
Gary Sawle stated the following:
This year saw the updated design on the hoodie / zoodie and t-shirts. We also slightly redesigned the Shepshed 7 tops to be multi coloured! We have also introduced a reflective top that can be bought directly from the online shop via the website (justalittlebit.co.uk)
For this year I would like to expand on the self-service of kit and also the range of kit ordered. I’m currently working with a new supplier to make this happen. I believe the self-service of kit (except for vests) represents a more efficient way of managing the kit going forward. I would also like to collaborate with the club about a re-design of the clubs league/cross-country running vest.
G: Entertainment
Stuart Taylor stated the following:
Due to Covid there had been restrictions in place. With lifting them last year, this year had been trying to slowly re-establish the social events in a safe manner. With that not many social events had taken place.
It is hoped more will take place in the next twelve months
However the Christmas Event was a great success and Stuart thank Paul Woolridge for his help in arranging this.
It is hoped that there will be more events this coming summer around the handicap race.
Stuart also suggested more could be made of members individual achievements such as events to mark 100 park runs etc
He also suggested collating results and announcing them at club nights again. But it was noted that obtaining results off the clubs WhatsApp and Facebook site was difficult as they were getting lost in all the messages posted on them.
David Hattersley suggested that a dedicated site could be set up on Facebook and team captains and committee members could post results at the end of races so they could be easily collated and announced on club nights.
Stacey King then suggested the club could have a specific Awards night for club members to celebrate their achievements.
She also suggested that categories could also not be just for racing or times but also valued members to the club etc.
David Bottomley stated it was a good idea but would require 3 to 4 people to work on it.
Paul Woolridge, Jonathon Wortley and Russel Balbi all offered to help with this if the matter went forward.
H: Social Media Officer/Press Officer
Rachel Muddimer could not attend to make a Press report but passed information that there had been issues with the Loughborough Echo and Shepshed Eye and it was difficult to use either to advertise the club.
Stacey King stated the following:
2022 saw the launch of Shepshed RC Instagram which opened up a new demographic and way to engage with members and the public domain. It automatically links to the public Facebook for easy posting. It’s a slow burner currently with 83 followers but these do include race organisers and recently the LRRL. Shepshed Running Club Facebook page has the biggest interaction and it’s page health is ‘excellent’ according to Facebook. There are currently 752 followers, and the biggest demographic is in the 35-44 age range with a swing towards female followers.
Social media content throughout the year included ‘Meet the Member’ posts, where a specific set of questions were answered by willing volunteers to impart their wisdom (Gary’s post had the highest engagement with Bob and Dave runners up), Monday Motivational quotes, individual member achievements, advertising for the Shepshed 7 and of course Team Shepshed LRRL and XC races. Paul W’s achievement at the Chicago Marathon was featured on 2,050 individual Facebook feeds with 182 interactions thanks to the #|Chicago Marathon tag!
Focus for 2023 is to increase engagement across the different platforms boosting participation and new followers. Using #srcfamily, #shepshed and #runlocal are to be consistent on postings with additional race hashtags to link to the organisers. This can be done on individual’s accounts as well for reposting. Thanks to everyone for sending photos and tagging the club in their posts. Keep sharing for the club!
I: Shepshed 7 Report
George Clarke stated the following :
Gallop & Handicap
Persimmon homes meeting for The Gallop and The Shepshed 7. Persimmon homes have agreed that both races and The Shepshed 7 handicap can go ahead this year. I will be ensuring any changes at the venue throughout the year to ensure that everything is ok. Next year the race may or may not go ahead depending on the work being carried out throughout the park.
The Garendon Gallop is on Sunday the 30th of July 2023 starting at 10:30am, This race starts and finishes at Charnwood college, Thorpe hill, Loughborough.
The Shepshed 7 handicap run will take place on Tuesday evening on the 20th of June 2023, starting as close to 1900 as possible. I have discussed this with Lesley at Iveshead college and everything is ok. I will contact the school’s maintenance team nearer the date to ensure the venue gates are open and to make sure they know we will be on site for a couple of hours.
We will need to do some gardening nearer the time to ensure that the weeds, brambles etc. are clear.
Shepshed 7
The Shepshed 7 this year will take place on Sunday the 5th of November 2023. I have discussed this with Lesley, and she has entered the date into the school diary. I will discuss this nearer the time to ensure all is ok and all schools on site are aware and the gates will be open etc.
We will have the usual meetings throughout the year to ensure that the volunteers are all available and ok to resume their usual places, or new volunteers are briefed etc.
I have spoken with John Skevington who has entered the date into his diary and has confirmed he can supply the chip timing, numbers, and chips. I will contact John nearer the time and give him the event numbers and make sure everything is ok.
I have contacted Colin at ABC and he has entered the date in his diary and confirmed he can attend.
The marshals did a fantastic job last year and the previous years. This year with the knowledge they have, there will be a more laid-back approach from myself. This year we will assign the areas into sectors, so 4 sectors will have 4 leaders and they will be responsible for their volunteer who are in their sector. The leaders of the sections will all being well ensure that they have the bibs and information for their volunteers. So, the sectors will have the radios and just make sure that all the marshals are ok and are in position at the beginning of the race. If there are any incidents the marshal in this area will have a point of contact, the leader can then contact myself and the appropriate action can take place. As I said the marshals have been brilliant and most know exactly where they are going, there just maybe some new ones etc. however it’s still good to have the areas managed.
- This year we have What3words for all the mile markers.
- The water will more than likely be from Aldi and bottled.
- The canteen was the new area and could do with signage to give everyone at the venue the information of its location, even pointing out how far it is.
- Changing and toilets again signs up.
- T shirts will need to be discussed at the first Shepshed 7 meeting.
- Trophies and prizes to be discussed at the Shepshed 7 meeting.
We have discussed at other meetings purchasing some trucks to move equipment, how are we doing with this?
The Fun run was discussed, and we came to a decision that it would not be part of the Shepshed 7s, but if we were going to put it on it would be a separate event.
Richard Bibb then stated that following the last race at a debrief meeting that it had been agreed not to continue with the fun run as this eliminates some car parking issues. However the club could then look at a family event in the summer to compensate.
Also we should keep a cap on the numbers in the race as this also helps with parking but still allows the race to stay in profit.
He also stated the club needs to look at rationalising the prizes as they are currently confusing.
Daniel Cooke then asked if the clash with the football clubs holding events at the same time of the race could be looked at. It was pointed out that the club has no control over this and that the school have never actioned this in the past when we have asked them previously.
It was agreed to look at this during the race planning meetings.
George Clarke will arrange a separate Shephed 7s planning meeting.
J: Maintenance Officer
The Chairman stated that Derek Butler used to be the maintenance officer. However no one has since been appointed but asked David Hattersley to give a report:
David Hattersley stated the following:
The structure of the hut is owned by the High School but the club is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance.
The roof is in good condition and water tight as are the walls. There has been a water leak this year in the heavy rain but this was not due to the physical structure degrading but due to the construction of the walls and the roof deflecting the water down the walls and not into the gutters. This has allowed it to then soak under the walls.
David stated that he would be addressing this once the weather improves
It was pointed out that the hut was for all purposes a shed and as such it is prone to degradation and this will be monitored but presently it is in good condition.
David then state that the club is looking to make interior improvements this year but would address this in Any other business.
Elections
Chairman David Bottomley
Secretary David Hattersley
Treasurer Bob Haskins
Membership Secretary David Hattersley
Social Media Officers Stacey King
Race Director George Clarke
Press Officer Rachel Muddimer
Male Captain Paul Wooldridge and Jonathon Wortley
Female Captain April Clough and Stacey King
Kit Secretary Gary Sawle
Entertainments Officer Stuart Taylor, Paul Wooldridge
Maintenance Officer David Hattersley
Subscriptions
Fees had already been agreed earlier in the year at £18 for the club and EA had increased to £17. The committee agreed for this to stay the same
Any Other Business
It was raised that the club celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. It was pointed out that Bob Haskins was the only original founding member still in membership. However Jonathon Wortley was running for the club at the time.
It was agreed that any events taking place should involve past members and that Bob Haskins and Laurie Fluck may have contact details for a lot of the past members
Daniel Cooke as suggested that an article in the Shepshed Eye would be a good idea to raise awareness of the club’s anniversary
Davis Hattersley also raised the point that members had suggested previously that the summer BBQ could be combined into a 40th anniversary event
Stuart Taylor suggested that he could set up a subcommittee to look at the anniversary. Elle Walsh, Stacey King and Helen Stinchcombe all offered to assist.
David Bottomley then raised that following the last AGM he sent out questionnaires to members and it was suggested some changes to club nights.
He suggested that there should be more variety on Tuesday nights which could focus on fitness training, hill training, interval training etc.
Jonathon Wortley also suggested track nights may be included.
David Bottomley also then added that Thursday being the beginners night should remain with four groups and that the paces and distances should be set beforehand. This was now in place and advertised on the website
He also stated that it would be good to have someone to co-ordinate club nights, including away runs.
It had been suggested we have warm ups before club nights, but the person who had volunteered to do this has since left the area.
Dave Bottomley then stated that Sunday Social runs had dropped in popularity. Some thought that this may be due to the winter, although in the winter it is an opportunity to run together in the daylight in the countryside.
Stacey King suggested a later start may be beneficial to increase popularity
Elle Walsh also stated that the pace that the group ran may be too fast to a number of members and that this should be addressed
It was agreed that this could be all looked at
David Hattersley raised the matter of the future maintenance of the hut.
He stated that having discussed it with committee Members the intention is to line out the interior of the club hut to the end of the carpeted area with plasterboard and paint the interior.
This would require the removal of the worktop and sinks. Then construct two changing rooms at the end of this section. This will provide a divider and the rear of the hut will be left as storage. He also stated that the intention is to buy some racking and plastic tubs to go on them for storage so that equipment could be easily selected for races.
He stated he hoped the cost would be approximately £800 for materials and he would carry out the work during the year when the weather improved.
It was also suggested by the Chairman that the cost would be covered by the race account.
Other members offered to help with the painting and decorating.
No objections were raised to this proposal
Bob Haskins then raised the issue of Persimmons constructing on Garendon Park. He stated that Pear Tree Lane was now closed and this would affect summer runs across the park .
George Clarke also pointed out that Persimmons were very behind in construction and that there were less than 100 houses built. However this will affect the Shepshed 7 race in years to come.
Stuart Taylor then raised that each year he raises the issue of club vests. He stated that members only use the vest for races to represent the club and they cost members £20 and suggested the club subsidise these by £10.
Gary Sawle then stated that he was looking at redesigning the vest but this could be looked at.
Stacey King then raised the idea of a Park Run Take Over. It was pointed out the club had done these and Bob Haskins stated that if the club wished to take over the Dishley Park Run they should contact Kevin who ran it and he would be willing for us to do so.
Richard Bibb then suggested the club could talk to Zoe Heath if we wished to take over the Beacon Hill Park Run.
It was agreed this could also be looked at
No other matters were raised
Meeting closure
No other matters were raised. The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 21:52 hours.
Minutes for the
Shepshed Running Club Annual General Meeting
At The Black Swan 22th February 2022
Present
Richard Bibb (Chairman), David Hattersley (Secretary and Memberships), Bob Haskins (Treasurer), Rachel Muddimer (Kit), Jonathon Wortley (Joint Male Captain), Zoe Heath,(Joint Social Media Officer) Lynn Persse (Joint Social Media Officer), Stacey King (Joint Kit Secretary),
Sue Grimes, Tracey Brooks, Mike Brettle, Ian Garrett, Phil Higgs, Dave Bottomley, Luke Brewster, Gill xxx, Paul Wooldridge, Derek Butler, Craig Stinchcombe, Helen Stinchcombe,
Welcome.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 20:30hrs 22th February 2022 and welcomed everyone to the meeting. It was decided that there were enough members to hold the AGM.
Apologies
The chairman offered the apologies from the following members who were unable to attend due to illness or other reasons.
Alison Bibb
Sharon Elliott
Rebecca Randall
Gary Sawle
April Clough
Stuart Taylor
Paul Tebbutt
Laurie Fluck
Minutes of 2020 AGM
The 2020 years minutes were presented to the meeting. It was pointed out that they had been available on the clubs Website a week following the last AGM. The minutes of the 2020 AGM were agreed to be a true record.
David Hattersley stated this year’s minutes would be available in approximately one week due to work
Reports
A: The Chairman (Richard Bibb)
It has been a most unusual two
years since our last AGM. Like all running clubs, we have all faced a
challenging time. Last year it was not possible to hold a normal AGM although I
did circulate a
report in February 2021 and we adjusted the memberships fees deadline hoping to
coincide with
the gradual opening up of restrictions, which largely came to pass although
slowly and then
reappearing again to some extent in the winter thanks to the Omicron variant.
Thankfully, that
variant has proved to be less severe and combined with vaccine boosters we have
not returned to
the most stringent restrictions and I am optimistic for the rest of 2022. I am
delighted that we are
now returning to normal in terms of meeting on Tuesday and Thursday evenings
and taking part in
races again. I am very pleased that we can once again hold an AGM in person in
the pub!
Importantly we have continued to
operate effectively as a club. We remain financially sound and
despite lockdowns we have of course continued to pay our Association of Running
Clubs (ARC)
membership and rent to Iveshead School. England Athletics memberships have also been
maintained.
Despite all the disruption we
have engaged in a fantastic amount of running, setting up our own
challenges, engaging in the LRRL Lockdown League, arranging our own Lockdown 7
and thankfully
last November we held the Shepshed 7 again. We took a pragmatic approach to
resuming the race
by limiting numbers, not having a cafe indoors and not having the fun run.
However, the race went
excellently and it was great to be hosting this deservedly popular race again.
As always, I offer a
massive thank you to everyone that contributed to the preparations and on the
day.
We took part in the LRRL Reunion
League season with some great performances but special
mention must go to Rebecca Randall who had an amazing season with the
highlights winning the
individual women’s LRRL Reunion League 2021 and the Leicester Half Marathon.
Sadly, we have not been able to
resurrect our Grace Dieu Cross Country race due to the closure of
the Grace Dieu Manor School and the impending sale of the site. However, the
Cross Country
League started again this season and we have enjoyed some great races, I have
even managed a
few myself despite my various injuries.
It has been great to see the
resumption of Parkruns and I am proud that many of our members
continue to support Parkruns including regularly volunteering, especially at
our local Parkrunin
Dishley. We also contributed to the purchase of a defibrillator for Dishley Parkrun.
We have all done amazing things
to keep running as much as we can within the all the different
and changing rules and to support each other online, in small groups and now as
we hopefully
finally return to normal. It has been great to see the camaraderie amongst members, which is
what is so special about our club. We even managed a Christmas party despite
the best efforts of
Omicron.
My thanks to everyone that has
helped to keep up the club spirit through our Facebook pages and
WhatsApp groups and organising and supporting our virtual challenges and more
recently our
actual races.
It has been great to see so many
of you returning to club nights again and returning to running in
our usual supportive groups and organising social runs at weekends. It has also
been great to see
some familiar faces return to running on a Thursday as well as welcoming new
members and
beginners.
After the change instigated last
year, i propose we keep our annual
renewal date the 1st April
which keeps us aligned with England Athletics renewal. This means that fees should be paid well
before 1st April to ensure
the monies are passed on to England Athletics well ahead of their 1st
April deadline.
I did my first Chair’s report in
2014 and as I reflect back on the last 8 years, I am very proud of
everything we have achieved as a club, especially how we have all coped with
the challenges of
the last two years. I look forward to a strong future for the Club as it
approaches its 40th
anniversary and handing over the Chair. I will of course continue to support the Club as much as
I
can.
With my very best wishes …
Richard Bibb
Chair
B: Male Captain (Jonathon Wortley and Stuart Taylor)
Jonathon Wortley stated that since the
recommencement of the XC league we’ve
been represented at every race to date.
Although we’ve not always had a full team, there is a
core of Shepshed competitors that keep the
flag-flying in the league and other off-road events. By keeping these efforts visible in our social
media, I hope that we can attract others who may have a
casual interest to be regular XC team-
members’.
Stuart offered his apologies for not being able to attend but asked that the clubs thanks be given to Paul Wooldridge for his help in organising the Clubs Christmas Party.
C: Female Captain (April Clough)
April Clough offered her apologies for not being able to attend but asked for the following to be presented to the meeting:
It had been a very good year for the ladies this last year.
She asked that special mention be given to Rebecca Randell for winning the overall female position in the Road Running League .
She also reminded everyone that the next LRRL race was on the 27th February 2022 at Stilton and we had entered a full female team.
D: Membership Secretary (David Hattersley)
David Hattersley mentioned the following:
Due to the Covid Pandemic the club membership has dropped over the last two years. The trend being shown below.
2018 91 Members 30 EA Members
2019 110 Members 31 EA Members
2020 65 Members 30 EA Members
2021 84 Members 25 EA Members.
The pandemic initially hit in 2020 just after the yearly memberships were due. We had received our initial flow of members but then due to club nights stopping members did not attend and as such memberships ceased.
In 2021 running started again in small segments and memberships started again and the membership base has increased again. However there has been a reduction in members as not everyone has come back. We also have a small turn over of old members leaving and new ones starting.
2019 drew in £1890 approx
2020 memberships drew in £1170 approx
2021 Memberships drew in £1503 approx
Not all members have paid the full amount, Some have joined late in the Year therefore only paying £9, which is normal practice.
We have a current list of 172 possible members, (runners who have been members in the last five years). However we only have 84 current members at this time.
None Payees
All members who have been regularly running have paid with only one or two exceptions. These being members who only joined in the last two months and with deferring the club fees till March/April it seemed fair to wait till the renewal date.
EA Membership Fees
EA membership will be £16 as of this financial Year. EA memberships due on the 1st April 2018
Club membership remains at £150
ARC is approximately £100 but this is determined in April and is based on last years membership levels
Marathon Draw
Vicky Berrington won the Marathon Place on the last draw for the 2020 race.
However due to covid and the cancellation of the 2020 Marathon all runner places were automatically deferred to 2021.
I have since been contacted by Virgin London Marathon (VLM) today and been informed that Vicky Berrington has then deferred her entry again from 2021 to 2022.
Due to us having a member in the 2022 race and that the race is oversubscribed, VLM have taken the decision to not give places to any club which has a runner entered in this years race. As such we will not get an allocated place this year.
E: Treasurer (Bob Haskins)
Bob Haskins mentioned the following
The clubs finances are in a good position.
He stated that due to Covid the club had less expenditure but we had also received less income due to membership levels being reduced.
He mentioned particularly that the club had subsidised the Christmas Disco but this had been agreed beforehand by the committee
Also the cost of hosting the club website was included this year as Ian Martin had only recently submitted the invoice for the last few years.
Also the club had bought a number of T shirts, vests etc. for sale to members and this stock was held but would take time to pay back.
Also as the club has lost the chance to host a Cross Country Event we had no income from this and we may not be able to host this race in the future depending on the sale of Grace Dieu Site.
However the Club account appears healthy and we made a profit of £371.62.
The Shepshed 7 Race account was also in a good state. We had hosted the Shepshed Seven this year. However we had reduced entry levels due to Covid so this had reduced the amount of entry fees we could draw in.
Also there had been no café and the Garendon Estate Owners had required the club to enter a legal agreement this year to run in the estate that had cost extra though it did include a Charitable donation.
We had also had to purchase water, though the cost of the T shirts had been less. This all lead to the cost of hosting the race being increased.
We had also made a charitable donation to Dishley Park Run of £250 towards there De fibulator
However overall the race had made a profit of £331.49.
This meant that the Race account is also healthy and there were enough funds in case of a total loss.
Due to all this Bob stated he saw no financial reason that the membership subscription should increase and proposed that it should be held at £18 for club membership and that EA athlete membership which is set by EA is £16.
This was agreed by the meeting.
F: Kit Secretary (Stacey King)
Stacey King apologised that Gary Sawle was not able to attend.
She also stated that the club had bought additional kit this year and that she was looking at possible additional items.
It was mentioned by Richard Bibb that he and other members had liked the new kit that had been purchased.
G: Entertainment
Stuart Taylor offered his apologises for not attending due to illness. He asked that Paul Wooldridge be thanked for his assistance in organising the Christmas disco.
However other events had been hampered by Covid
H: Social Media Officer/Press Officer (Rachel Muddimer/Stacey King)
Rachel Muddimer stated that due to Covid not as many races had been entered by members and that she had struggled to contact the Loughborough Echo as the main reporter had been furloughed
She has since arranged new contacts but any submissions have to be with the paper by 1200 on a Monday morning to get in print.
She also stated that she was looking at a monthly report rather than weekly depending on the amount of results club members achieved
Stacey King then stated that the clubs Social Media accounts were being well received as had the recent ‘Meet the Club Members’ posts. It had got good encouragement from the general public
She was also putting up a Monday Inspirational Post and was checking that any race photos that are posted on the club site were done with the permission of the members in them.
She hoped that the LRRL races would also provide material for the social Media Posts.
She encourage people to look at the posts and the more people who register they like the posts and comment on them the more the Social media platforms circulate them which widens our profile.
It was pointed out by Zoe Heath that a number of members were putting posts on the clubs Messenger platform about whether they can attend club nights or not. She felt this may be swamping the profile and therefore loosing its impact.
Stacey stated she would look at creating another account so members could post this on a separate profile.
Stacey also asked about placing new members on the Whats App club site as there telephone numbers are then visible to all other club members and did not want members contacted by other members without permission.
It was suggested by the Chairman that this permission be placed on the membership form for new members and only if ticked would a member be placed on the Whats App group.
I: Maintenance Officer
The Chairman stated that Derek Butler had always maintained the club hut but had not been able to over the last couple of years but thanked him for his past hard work.
Due to Covid the hut had not been used but had no maintenance issues at present. No maintenance officer was currently in place but the hut would be monitored. The hut is annually inspected by the School and that fire safety and fire extinguisher were checked. The appropriate professionals would be contracted for any repairs needed.
Elections
Chairman Dave Bottomley
Secretary David Hattersley
Treasurer Bob Haskins
Membership Secretary Dave Hattersley
Social Media Officers Stacey King
Race Director George Clark
Press Officer Rachel Muddimer
Male Captain Paul Wooldridge and Jonathon Wortley
Female Captain April Clough and Stacey King
Kit Secretary Gary Sawle and Stacy King
Entertainments Officer Stuart Taylor
Subscriptions
This was detailed earlier in the meeting
Any Other Business
Zoe Heath asked if the AGM could be moved to later in the year when it was warmer.
However Dave Hattersley and Bob Haskins stated that subscriptions, affiliations and the tax year end require subscriptions and accounts be set prior to the end of March and that memberships need to be collected before then so the AGM needs to be around February to facilitate this.
It was suggested that the Handicap Run be held in the summer to encourage a social event as the AGM cannot be moved and George Clark would be contacted with a view to looking seeking permission from the Garendon site owners, Persimmon.
It was noted that in 2023 the club will celebrate its 40th Anniversary and Paul Woolridge asked if a 24 hour relay event could be looked at to help celebrate the event. Zoe Heath also asked if there could be a anniversary T Shirt to also celebrate and the committee agreed to look at both suggestions.
Bob Haskins also asked that the club look at meeting back in the hut now that Covid restrictions had been eased and the Chairman stated he would look at putting up a facebook post to encourage people to meet back inside or at least outside.
Dave Hattersley then stated he enjoyed the away runs being restarted but advised new members would need to be told about these in a similar way to the hut announcement.
Zoe Heath then asked if there was a possibility of introducing special training nights to include track nights or to get experts in. The Chairman stated he would contact the experts to see if this was a possibility.
Helen Stinchcombe then thanked the Chairman for having organised the beginners group on Thursdays for so long and also thought other should help to spread the responsibility. Lynn Perrse, Jonathon Wortley and Zoe Heath all stated they would be willing to assist with the beginners group. They would also be willing to consider hosting a Beginners to 5K group if there was the need.
Stacey King also asked that the club consider taking part in a Litter Picking event (Plogging: Picking litter whilst Jogging) so as to increase the clubs charitable work.
She also suggested a Park Run Take Over at Dishley to raise the clubs profile. Again the Chairman stated this is something the club has done in the past and we could look at doing again.
Zoe Heath also stated that the Beacon Hill Park Run was still being planned and they were looking at volunteers to be part of the Core Team if members were interested.
Meeting closure
No other matters were raised. The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting.
Minutes for the Shepshed Running Club Annual General Meeting At The Black Swan 2nd February 2020
Present
Richard Bibb (Chairman), David Hattersley (Secretary and Memberships), Bob Haskins (Treasurer), April Clough (Female Captain), Rachel Muddimer (Kit), Stuart Taylor (Entertainment), Ray Draycott (Press), Laurie Fluck, Sue Grimes, Tracey Brooks, Lynn Persse, Gary Sawle, Zoe Heath, Mike Brettle, John Harris, Jonathon Wortley, Emily Muddimer, Ian Garrett, Jane Evans, Andy Portsmouth, Dave Hartley, Basil Shapleski,
Welcome.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 20:30 04th February 2020 and welcomed everyone to the meeting. It was decided that there were enough members to hold the AGM.
Apologies
David Hattersley stated that Steve Williams was unable to attend and offered his apologies
Minutes of 2019 AGM
Last year’s minutes were presented to the meeting. It was pointed out that they had been available on the Club’s website for a year. The minutes of the 2018 AGM were agreed to be a true record.
David Hattersley stated this year’s minutes would be available in approximately one week due to work.
Reports
A: The Chairman
The Chairman stated that Shepshed Running Club have had another excellent year, in fact probably our best for many years and certainly the best in my time as chairman with many collective and individual achievements.
Parkruns are more popular than ever and we have our local Parkrun at Dishley well established and the promise of another one very close coming along in the spring. It is great that so many members have volunteered at our local Parkruns and that some of our members are instrumental in developing the new one. We had many people achieving Parkrun milestones including Ray Draycott being the first in the Club to complete 250! Zoe Heath also managed the amazing feat of completing 55 Parkruns in one year! 14 runners now have their red 50 t-shirt and 8 have their black 100 t-shirt. We made a contribution to Dishley Parkrun by donating their pacers vests.
The Chairman continued stating in March 2019 we took on the Loughborough Half marathon in force with 7 relay teams and 4 individual runners taking part. Relay teams finished 2nd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 13thand 15th out of 26 teams! It was great to see such a great club presence at our local race. Thanks also to Clare Smith and Alison Bibb for the sausages! Lots of members did lots of races but Gary Sawle deserves a special mention for 14 half marathons in one year!
We had our best entry and results for many years in the LRRL and achieved some promotions. The Ladies were Division 3 Champions with the Vet Ladies Division 3 Runners Up and the Mixed team were also Division 3 Runners Up ensuring promotions to Division 2. Our Vet Men’s Team narrowly missed out on promotion by 1 point, finishing 3rd in Division 3. Stacy King was the club’s highest placed woman finishing 70th overall with 1548 points. In the men’s individual results Stuart Taylor was the top men’s scorer finishing 91st with 1326 points. Stuart Hunter completed all of the eleven League races. Congratulations and well done to everyone that took part in League races this year. We are looking forward to the coming LRRL season with the first race in just two weeks’ time.
We are again competing in the Derby Runner Cross Country Leagues this winter. We are 4 races into the cross country season with the combined team in 6th place in division 2. The Men are 7th in division 2 and the Ladies team, having been promoted last season, are 9th in division 1. The Ladies are again doing really well and so far, we have had full teams out, but it would still be to get more men taking part.
We hosted our cross country at Grace Dieu on 17th February 2019 and again recently on the 26th January (hence delaying this AGM) but giving me the opportunity of reporting on two events. Both proved a great success due entirely to the hard work and dedication of our members and their friends and families. I am biased but I think it is the best course in the county with a combination of traditional cross-country terrain including, long grass, mud, stones, tree roots and two stream crossings. We altered the course this year due to the sale of a field. However, the new course was just as good if not better and not one person minds that it is just under 5 miles. We have received many positive comments online and also some excellent photos. We had one minor injury, but it was dealt with promptly and even this person posted online that it remained her favourite course! A big thank you to everyone that helped and ran on the day!
The Shepshed 7 in November was excellent again with a record entry and although the weather was good on the day the extremely wet autumn meant that the field took a battering leading to slippery conditions at the start and finish. Once again, our congratulations and thanks are due to Race Director George Clarke supported by Ian Martin who handled the entries. A big thank you as ever to every club member, ex-member, their families and friends who helped in so many ways on the day. Despite the mud, we received a lot of positive feedback. This year we were able to give away £2,000 in donations to local charities. The development of the Garendon estate has begun at least from the A512 side and it yet to be seen what effect this will have on the race but hopefully we will be able to carry on holding the race.
The Chairman then said well done to everyone that achieved their County Standards and thanks to April for coordinating the certificates. Thanks to everyone that has volunteered to create routes, lead groups and helped with beginners this year.
He also said thanks again to Derek for the work he has put in maintaining the hut again this year. Thanks to Rachel again for sourcing our kit and the Shepshed 7 shirts.
Thanks to everyone that has volunteered to help administer our closed and public Facebook pages. The messenger and What’s App groups are also being well used to help organise “Social Sunday” runs and Parkrun tourism. Thanks to Ian Martin for producing our new website. I appear to have got the hang of it and attempt to keep it updated as best I can.
Thanks to Stuart for organising and the Christmas party, which had a great turnout, and everybody enjoyed judging by the fact that at one point every person there was dancing; even your chairman!
Thanks again to all the committee members who have helped to run the club this year; April Clough (ladies’ captain) George Clarke (men’s captain and 7), Ray Draycott (press), Ian Martin (website and 7), Dave Hattersley (memberships and secretary), Rachel Muddimer (kit) and Bob Haskins (treasurer) and Stuart Taylor (social events) they have all done a great job this year and the club could not operate without them.
We have had an excellent year and I have no doubt failed to mention many excellent individual and collective achievements. If I have forgotten something important, please be assured this is only due to my own poor memory.
B: Female Captain
April Clough stated the following:
It had been a very good year for the ladies this last year. We have had a number of new female runners join the club and who have joined in with the LRRL and Derby Runner cross country races. This also helped the ladies team gain promotion in the LRRL.
April then stated that we have struggled to get a full female team entered in LRRL races as entries have filled up very quickly. Sometimes races have sold out within twenty minutes, meaning some of our female runners could not enter in time.
April then asked Zoe Heath if this is something the League would look at. Zoe Heath (LRRL secretary) stated the club should have seven to ten days warning of all league race entries opening.
April stated that she and other entrants would have to organise being available when the entries opened to try and ensure full teams entered.
April then stated that the female team had remained in division one in the Cross Country league this year but due to a couple of fast runners leaving the club it would be more difficult to remain in our current division and may drop down this year.
However she then continued that although we are a small club we are doing very well for our size compared to other local clubs.
We also had a ladies Centre Parks trip last spring which everyone enjoyed. She stated that we were unlikely to hold one this year due to races.
April did state she would investigate the possibility of some run/walks in Derbyshire over the summer.
Richard Bibb then mentioned that April was fourth in her age category in the current Cross County and Eileen Carpenter was fifth in her age category. Both were congratulated on these achievements.
C: Male Captain
George Clarke current Team Captain could not be present so Richard Bibb informed the meeting that the men had managed to field a full team in each of the cross country races this year and hoped it would continue.
He then stated he had mentioned how the men had done in his main report and that there was nothing further to add at this time.
D: Membership Secretary
David Hattersley mentioned the following: –
There has been an uplift of members again this year
2015 52 Members (No EA List)
2016 69 Members 24 EA Members
2017 110 Members 33 EA Members
2018 91 Members 30 EA Members
2019 110 Members 31 EA Members
Last year memberships drew in £1700 approx.
This year memberships drew in £1890 approx.
Not all members have paid the full amount, some have joined late in the year therefore only paying £9. Some have only joined this month.
We have a current list of 164 possible / previous members. Some have not attended all year.
Non-payment
All members who have been regularly running have paid.
Returning members
We thought we had lost two of our long-standing members last year, but we were glad to see the return of Sharon Elliot and Vicky Berrington.
EA Membership Fees
EA membership will be increasing to £16 as of this financial Year. EA memberships due on the 1st April 2020.
Club membership remains at £150
Marathon Draw
Vicky Berrington won the London Marathon place this year and we wish her good luck. Also, last year’s place, Rachel Muddimer, had to defer her entry due to injury and we wish her good luck in this year’s race.
The draw was well received at the time and everyone had the chance to partake that were eligible.
Keeping the eligibility rules same was proposed and agreed.
- Club Member for at least one year
- Not got in through the national ballot
- Current member of EA
- Not awarded the place in the year before
David stated he did check all members eligibility prior to the draw and showed a list of those who could enter.
E: Treasurer
Bob Haskins mentioned the following: –
The club’s finances are in a good position.
He then presented a breakdown of the accounts. He highlighted that in 2019 the club made an overall surplus of £644.98 for the year.
He noted that the club had a number of additional expenses this year. That the club had paid £300 for ground rent to the school. Also, the club had paid for members to go to the LRRL presentation evening. Also the club had funded a training course for one member.
This then showed that the club had assets of £3679.58.
Due to this the treasurer proposed that the club fees remain at £18 for club membership. This was agreed by the meeting. It was noted that members could choose to pay the additional fee of £16 for EA Membership.
Richard Bibb agreed to put this on the website.
Bob also discussed the Shepshed 7 Race account. It was noted that the race had made a profit of £822.61 this year. However Ian Martin has not submitted all his expenses at this time and it is suspected that there is still £200 left to pay. Due to this the account holds £8365.37.
It was noted by Richard that this money is held to cover a total loss should the race have to be cancelled one year and the club has to cover the costs.
It was noted by Bob that the club had given £2036.50 to local charities from the profits from the race. This included £50 to the Shepshed Lions after members photo-bombed Santa on the Christmas Lights Run and no member had any money to donate at the time.
He also noted that the Shepshed Toy Library website shows the Club as a long-term supporter and thanked us.
Also £200 was donated to the Beresford Court Assisted Living and due to this Ray Draycott has been invited to help at their Easter Bonnet judging.
Bob concluded in stating that the local charities really appreciate the Club donating an amount of £200 as it is a significant donation and makes a big difference to them.
F: Kit
It was mentioned by Richard Bibb that we had received new Parkrun tops. The club had received 20 and all have been given out. Rachael Muddimer requested to stand down as kit secretary and Richard offered thanks for her help in this role.
G: Entertainment
Stuart Taylor stated the following: –
The Christmas event and quiz night had gone well this year.
However he then stated that the Christmas event had now been the same format for the last two years and he was going to look at different options for next year. Depending on the response from club members he would decide whether to keep it the same or change it.
He also stated this could be combined with an awards night where awards could be issued to members.
Bob Haskins pointed out that this had happened in the past but thought the last one had been in 1987 though he did think it was a good idea.
H: Press
Ray Draycott stated: –
He had been using the Shepshed Echo and the Shepshed Eye Community Magazine to place race reports and results.
He also stated that both media wanted to hear about more non-running photos and events that the Club is involved in.
He concluded that all the press releases he had issued had been printed except one which had been issued late.
Richard Bibb thanked Ray for all his hard work.
I: Maintenance
The Chairman stated that Derek Butler was not able to attend but has maintained the hut. He thanked Derek for his hard work.
Richard Bibb stated that all members needed to keep an eye on the hut and if work is needed then there may be additional costs. David Hattersley stated that he could help with repairs and it was suggested that Pete Kowalik could also assist
Elections
Chairman Richard Bibb
Secretary David Hattersley
Treasurer Bob Haskins
Membership Secretary Dave Hattersley
Social Media Admin Stuart Taylor, Zoe Heath, Lynn Persse
Shepshed 7 Race Director To be decided later
Press Ray Draycott
Male Captain Stuart Taylor and Jonathan Wortley
Female Captain April Clough
Kit Gary Sawle and Stacy King
Entertainments Stuart Taylor, Alison Bibb, Gary Sawle
Subscriptions
This was detailed earlier in the meeting
Any Other Business
April asked for a trolley to assist in carrying equipment to races and this was agreed.
It was also mentioned by Ray and Stuart that members who gained their county standards could be awarded a presentation mug. This was considered and would be looked at.
It was raised by Zoe Heath that she would look at the Strava group for Shepshed. It was noted this had been running for a while without any management. It had been noted that members who had long since left the club appeared in the Strava group as did some people who appeared to have never been members and were unknown to us. This was confirmed by Stuart to be the case. Zoe suggested that a new group is started for current fully paid up members so that it was more relevant to the current membership. The existing group will be left in place. Zoe Heath agreed to look at this and it was agreed by the meeting.
Stuart Taylor then asked if the club should look at fully or partially subsidising the running vests for members representing the Club in league races.
Rachel Muddimer pointed out that the current vest costs the club £23 but we sell them to members at £20. We also give free T Shirts to members if they take part in Parkruns. She also stated if we subsidise more costs could be excessive. It was agreed to keep the current arrangement.
It was raised whether members needed to complete new membership forms. David informed the meeting if members details had not changed there was no requirement to do so. However, he did note that not all members had completed their emergency contact details. It was pointed out that Stacy King had fallen recently and if her condition had been much worse than the emergency contact details could have been vital. Richard then informed the meeting that members would be wise to carry details on them when running on their own or stored as “ICE” on their mobile phone. Zoe pointed out that EA sell a bracelet with these details printed on them that are available from their website.
Ray Draycott then asked if the club vests and T shirts could be redesigned. He stated in the time the club has had its design most others had redesigned them four or more times. He then suggested that one year the profits for the Shepshed 7 race be split between local charities and funding a vest exchange for the Club’s members. David then added that he had been looking at new t-shirts and designs along with Steve Williams. David informed the room that members had told him a year before that they thought the vest design needed changing. He then presented two examples of what could be done should the Club decide to change the design along with designs created by Steve Williams. It was pointed out that dye-sublimated t-shirts would cost £28.56 each plus postage. Vests would be £27.71 each. Minimum order is 50. Richard was concerned that members who had already bought vest would feel pressured into obtaining new ones if designs were radically different and the costs were high. It was agreed three designs based around the current vest should be created and once complete put to the membership for opinions.
No other matters were raised
No other matters were raised. The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting.
Minutes for the Shepshed Running Club Annual General Meeting At The Black Swan 29th January 2019
Present
Richard Bibb (Chairman), David Hattersley (Secretary and Memberships), Bob Haskins (Treasurer), George Clarke (Male Captain), April Clough (Female Captain), Rachel Muddimer (Kit), Stuart Taylor (Entertainment), Ray Draycott (Press), Laurie Fluck, Sue Grimes, Tracey Brooks, Lynn Persse, Gary Sawle, Zoe Heath, Mike Brettle, Alison Bibb, Tom Neath, Rachel Cornes, Jonathon Wortley and Graham Cresswell
Welcome.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 20:35 29th January 2019 and welcomed everyone to the meeting. It was decided that there were enough members to hold the AGM.
Apologies
The Chairman informed the meeting that Ian Martin was not able to attend.
Minutes of 2018 AGM
The minutes of the 2018 AGM were agreed to be a true record.
Reports
A: The Chairman
The Chairman gave his Annual Report (full written report attached)
Chairman stated the following:
A number of members had taken part in races and events this year, notably:
The Dishley Park Run
The Tour of local Park Runs
The Cross Countries.
He mentioned that the Derby Cross Country Races had been rationalised this year by splitting up the Leagues so the more distant races had been removed.
He noted that we had been putting out both a female and male team in each of the Cross-Country races this year and hoped members would be encouraged to continue to take part.
The Chairman then stated that the Grace Dieu Cross Country changed course last year as the Grace Dieu Priory Committee had objected to the race going through the ruins. It was noted that the race had not actually gone through the ruins of the priory. He noted that the race had not been in 2017 but the club had managed to bring it back for 2018 and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Some entrants had commented that the race was slightly shorter but no one having completed it asked that the distance should be increased. He then stated that the course was technically challenging and demanding and it went well on the day. He was looking forward to the event this year.
The Chairman then stated the Shepshed 7 race went well and had record numbers of entrants and turnout on the day. A total of £1750 was given to local Charities. The club had tried to give away a total of £2000 but one local charity had received a Lottery Grant and had politely declined the donation requesting the club to give it to a different local charity. The Chairman then thanked Ian Martin and everyone from the club who had helped in holding the event. He stated the race could not have gone ahead without everyone’s help.
The Chairman did note that work was due to start on the Garendon Park site shortly and may cause issues. He anticipated the main issues will be during the construction works but once complete the race should be able to carry on but may require different permissions to be obtained in the future.
He then mentioned that the Thursday beginners’ night had become more of a normal club night. He thought this night should still try to encourage new runners to join. He felt it had become more reliant on the Chairman taking the beginners out and asked if more regular members could help.
Lynn Persse and Mike Brettle supported this idea and offered to help. It was pointed out by Mike Brettle that Lynn Persse had completed a Run Leaders course and hoped what she had learnt could be filtered down to other members.
It was also pointed out that Zoe Heath had also completed the course. Both Lynn and Zoe indicated that the main thing the Run Leaders Course stated members should do that we are not doing is warm ups, stretches and cool downs. All three agreed to help out with the new members as did Alison Bibb.
The Chairman then stated that the club had purchased new tents for races and flasks for hot drinks. He noted that members had really liked that drinks were available at the Cross-Country races. He then stated the club had purchased a new Start/Finish Gantry and thanked David Hattersley for sourcing it and preparing it. He hoped for it to debut at the Grace Dieu Cross Country.
The Chairman went on to say the Closed Facebook group had settled down and was being well used.
However, he then stated that Paul Tebbutt who had been organising the Club Web Site could no longer carry on with this role and due to this the web site address has been temporarily lost. The club has therefore reverted to its old web address.
He then stated that Ian Martin has taken over the running of the web site at short notice. He has completed some work but has then been taken ill and has not been able to continue the rebuilding of the site. However he seems to have recovered and is hoping to get back to it soon. It is hoped that Ian can create a facility for club members to be able to upload data such as results straight to the website via E-Mail. April Clough then stated she would be willing to create a race Calendar to be placed on the website for members.
The Chairman then went on to state the club had a number of Social Events this year which were well received. He then mentioned the quiz night and the Christmas Party and thanked Stuart Taylor for organising them. He also thanked George Clarke for providing the disco.
The Chairman then went on to thank the Committee members, Ian Martin, April Clough, George Clarke, Dave Hattersley, Bob Haskins, Ray Draycott, Stuart Taylor, George Clarke and Rachel Muddimer for their hard work this year.
The Chairman then went on to say the club had unfortunately lost two members this year. Jerry Cook and Ruth Moir had both passed away. The club had passed on all our sympathies and given donations to the charities requested by both Jerry’s and Ruth’s Family in their memories.
The Chairman then closed his report saying that two of the club Members Mike Leighton and Flo Hiersemenzel had both left the club to move to Austria. Whilst there Flo had given birth to a baby and he offered his congratulations.
B: Female Captain
April Clough stated the following:
It had been a very good year for the ladies this last year.
The ladies had won division 2 in the Cross Country league and been promoted to Division 1. They had also put out a full team in each race so far.
She also stated the ladies had competed in the Road Running League and hoped this would continue.
She then went on to state that ladies from the club had taken part in the County Standard Times and that four ladies had achieved the standards they had aimed for. She hoped this would continue this next year.
She was then asked when did it start again and she fed
that back that the County Times runs for the calendar year. She stated the rules were up in the hut and
she will aim to place it on the Web site when it is up and running. She closed by stating the County Standards
were a good way of getting motivation to improve and hoped more would take
part.
C: Male Captain
George Clarke stated the following:
He apologised for not being able to compete himself due to injury and has therefore not been able to attend races. He also stated that he had taken over at short notice from Mike Leighton.
However he did report that the men have put out full teams in each of the Cross Country Races this season and hoped it would continue.
The Chairman then noted that John Hartley had come back to the club after a long absence and taken part in one Cross Country Race for the club but got injured and has not been able to compete since.
He also noted Gareth Pymm had also returned to the club and has also competed
The Chairman also noted that Jonathan Wortley had been doing well in the Cross Country Races.
The chairman then made a special note of Gary Sawle in the last Cross Country race did very well after loaning his Trail shoes to another club member and competing in road shoes and struggled in the conditions.
D: Membership Secretary
David Hattersley mentioned the following
There has been a slight drop in members again this year
In 2017 the club had 110 Members and 33 EA Members
In 2018 the club had 96 Members and 30 EA Members
Last year memberships drew in £1862 Approx
This Year Memberships drew in £1719 Approx
This was from a member base of 145 listed members
Stuart Taylor raised the issue that he was concerned that this indicated that 49 members had not paid. David Hattersley assured him that all regularly attending members had paid. The 145 listed members included members who have attended in recent years but not this year, those who have retired recently, long term injured or those who attended as beginners but dropped out after only a couple of weeks.
EA membership will remain at £15 this financial year and EA memberships are due on the 1st April 2019
David Hattersley then stated the Club’s affiliation membership will go up to £150. A number of members in the room initially misunderstood and thought this was their own personal membership. The meeting was assured this is the fee the club pays to EA.
Rachel Muddimer won the London Marathon Place this year and we wish her good luck
Virgin London Marathon again gave out fewer club places this year. We again hope to receive a place for a club member in 2019.
The draw was well received at the time and everyone eligible had the chance to partake.
It was proposed keeping the eligibility rules the same.
Member of the club for a year
Member of EA
Been rejected from the VLM Ballot
Cannot have entered the VLM in 2018 in any way.
E: Treasurer
Bob Haskins mentioned the following
The clubs finances are in a good position.
He then presented a breakdown of the accounts. He highlighted that in 2017 the club made an overall profit of £999 for the year. This year the club had only made an overall profit of £74.23.
The club did make a profit of approximately £200 from hosting the Grace Dieu Cross Country Race. But we had additional cost of £430 to repair the hut. We also subsidised a number of social events namely £380 for coach hire for the Bakewell trip and £100 for the Christmas Disco.
Also money was spent on obtaining the Web address Domain name.
Due to this the clubs balance in 2017 was £2960 but this has increased to £3034.60 in 2018.
Due to this it was then proposed to keep club membership fees to £18 and the EA membership payment to £15 (this is paid direct to EA).
This will mean Membership to the club is £18
Membership to the Club and EA is £33
The Chairman proposed these fees and they were agreed.
The Treasurer then went on to discuss the Shepshed 7 Race account.
In 2018 the race made £10447.29 and the race expenditure was £5540.42.
In addition the club bought additional tents and a new start finish gantry. The club also donated money to local charities
Therefore overall the club made £2316.89 overall profit from the race. The account therefore holds £7592.76. It was noted by the Chairman that this is enough money to cover the race should it have to be cancelled
The Treasurer then noted that £1600 had been given away to local charities. However, as the Chairman mentioned earlier the Glenmore Centre had declined a £250 donation the club offered after they received a Lottery Grant.
The Treasurer had been in discussion with the Shepshed Camera Club who voluntarily take photos of the Shepshed 7 race. He stated as a way of saying thank you to them, he had asked if they had a local charity, they would recommend the unused £250 donation could go to. They had suggested the Shepshed Volunteer Centre.
The Treasurer proposed giving the £250 donation to them and to mention it was suggested by the Camera club but was from the Shepshed Running Club. The Chairman agreed with this proposal.
It was noted by the Chairman that the Camera Club do a very good job of taking the photos.
The Treasurer concluded that both accounts are healthy and the club was in a good position. He further stated that money was spent on Social events this year and this was for the club members and it was only right for it to be spent on them.
F: Kit Secretary
Rachel Muddimer stated
£670 had been spent on kit this year. £100 of this was on setting up the artwork for the club logos.
Rachel then stated two Tee Shirts had been given to members for taking part in Park Runs.
This year Rachel had organised Shell Tops which had gone well. Members were now asking for more Hoodies but stock was low on these and Tee Shirts
She would also ask generally if members were interested in more Tee Shirts and look at ordering more stock if there was a demand.
April Clough then asked what the best way of ordering kit was. Rachel stated that as she is not running with the club as much due to personal commitments the best way to order was by E mail and she could bring it to the club.
Rachel then suggested obtaining a locker that could be accessed by the Chairman and leaving the items in there when members ordered them. The Chairman agreed this was a good idea and they would look into it.
G: Entertainment
Stuart Taylor stated the following
The Quiz night in April 2018 was well attended and everyone enjoyed it. He stated he had the local pub on board and were happy for him to host events
Also in December 2018 we had the Christmas Disco, which all were well attended and everyone seemed to enjoy.
Stuart stated that he had no longer had Paul Tebbutt helping him which made it more difficult. Stuart stated he was still happy to continue in the role but felt someone else should help so more ideas could be developed. Alison Bibb volunteered to help.
Stuart stated that the Park Run Tour was going well and he would look at doing more around this.
He also stated that the Bakewell Trip went well and would look at this but not necessarily hiring a coach
H: Social Media Officer/Press Officer
Ray Draycott stated
He had been using the Shepshed Echo to place race reports and results. However the paper only has a 900 person circulation. He was going to look at using the Shepshed Eye Community Magazine as it has a wider circulation going as far as Hathern.
I: Maintenance Officer
The Chairman stated that Derek Butler was not able to attend but has maintained the hut and £430 has been spent on the hut. Guttering had been installed and it no longer leaks.
He thanked Derek for his hard work.
Elections
Chairman Richard Bibb
Secretary David Hattersley
Treasurer Bob Haskins
Membership Secretary Dave Hattersley
Social Media Officers Ian Martin, Ian Benskin, Richard Bibb, Stuart Taylor (April Clough offered to assist)
Race Director George Clarke (with advice from Ian Martin)
Press Officer Ray Draycott
Male Captain George Clarke
Female Captain April Clough
Kit Secretary Rachel Muddimer
Entertainments Officer Stuart Taylor and Alison Bibb
Maintenance Officer Derek Butler
Subscriptions
This was detailed earlier in the meeting
Any Other Business
It was discussed about using Whats App. It was felt that the club already uses Facebook and a Website. It was not felt necessary to add another social network for the club to use.
However it was agreed that a Whats App group be set up amongst the committee to make communication easier than E Mail.
It was also agreed that David Hattersley would send April Clough a list of members E Mail addresses so that information could be sent out to them. Continuing the system that Mike Leighton had used previously
Meeting closure
No other matters were raised. The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting.