Prior to the AGM a Special General Meeting, called by the ESMBA Management Committee, was held. Their proposal that the current two Committee Member posts be assigned to specific roles of Vice Chairman and the other assigned to the role of I.T and Social Media Officer were passed.
The AGM followed with the normal reports from various Officers. The Chairman’s Report, presented by Barry Hedges, highlighted the great success achieved by England teams this past year with the full squad narrowly missing out on the British Isles Team event on shots. Also mentioned was the unique achievement of Alex Kley winning back to back National Singles titles, British Isles Singles, World Singles and Open Singles. He also commented on the Treasurer’s Report which reported a deficit of around £9,000 and pointed out increases across the board from trophies to venues. The Treasurer’s Report presented by Simon Willies noted that registrations were slowly recovering to pre-covid levels, 2019-20 registrations were £67,500 compared to this year £57,500 but that there was a deficit of just over £9,000 following on from last years deficit of £16,700. His report included the information that the ESMBA Management Committee in June agreed to raise National Championship entry fees to £3 and raise the I.C.C entry fee by £25 to £75. Before covid the fee was £85. It was reported that a major expense for the ESMBA is maintaining the England Squads, Main Squad, Ladies Squad and Under 21s. It is getting harder each year to find affordable accommodation for the events they take part in. The report said that the ESMBA is investing in the development of short mat bowls and spent £6,000 this year. This included a £5,000 contribution to the Bowls Development Alliance (BDA). Simon Willies wrote that “Whilst being an advocate of the BDA it is getting harder to justify the investment given the lack of return.” The Registration Secretary’s Report revealed that membership breakdown shows the proportion of Male members at 57% and Female members at 43%. The largest county in terms of members is Devon with 1,495 members followed by Cornwall with 855 and Dorset with 830. Steve Bailey’s I.C.C Secretary Report told delegates that an updated code of conduct will be in place before the start of the new season which must be adhered to. This will include reinforcement of current rules and the penalties if not followed. The Umpire Directors report highlighted the fact that a third of member counties have no umpires. He revealed that while the ESMBA has run the semi-finals and finals of the I.C.C, and other events, at Solihull or Melton Mowbray for several years the West and East Midlands counties have no umpires. Therefore umpires have had to be imported from far and wide at great expense. He also said that the rule book will not be reprinted until 2025. Minor Constitutional changes proposed by the ESMBA Management Committee were approved. The change of most note was the date by which the annual subscriptions have to be received by the Registration Secretary. This has now been brought forward to 30th October from the previous date of 30th November. The ESMBA Management Committee had recommended an increase of £1 to the registration fee but after discussion a vote was taken to increase the fee by 50p for the next four years with a review after each year. This was agreed so the fee for ESMBA players registration for the coming year will be £4.50.
Report compiled from Officer Reports supplied by the ESMBA and meeting notes supplied by Elaine Willies