The NCSMBA AGM was held at North Wymondham on Sunday. Club delegates supported the Treasurers and Management Committee’s recommendation to extend the Norfolk portion of the player’s registration fee free of charge for another 12 months for players who registered for the lost 2020-21 season. In his report County Treasurer Jon Sparham reminded delegates that the Norfolk portion of the players registration fee has not increased for the last ten years and that the Norfolk Club Affiliation fee has remained unchanged for the last twelve years. In the Membership Secretaries Report Teresa Goldsmith explained that last year the ESMBA Membership Secretary in office at that time had notified her that if the season was disrupted the ESMBA Management Committee would discuss extending the fee to 24 months and this information was given to clubs. Whether the ESMBA Management Committee did discuss it or not is not known but in the event the ESMBA portion of the fee has not been extended and will still have to be paid. The Web Secretary’s Report again urged leagues and clubs to send information regarding any events that took place so that they could be featured on the Latest News page of the NCSMBA website. Probably the busiest Officer during the pandemic has been the Safeguarding Officer Teresa Goldsmith. In her report she said that she felt some clubs had been discouraged from applying for ESMBA Safe Club Status by the paperwork involved. Nevertheless she helped eleven clubs gain that status and eventually the county obtained Safe Status as well despite waiting months for a decision by the ESMBA. She finished her report by informing delegates that it would be her last report as Safeguarding Officer, the Assistant Safeguarding Officer Billie Barker also withdrew her nomination to be re-elected to this post. In his last report as Competition Secretary Chris Mann revealed that only one of the four qualifying National Pairs finalists will now compete on Finals Day at Melton Mowbray. In a year when it would have been thought that the National Body would be encouraging bowlers back to the sport their decision not to allow substitutes in the pairs has ruled out two of Norfolk’s pairs. One of the Norfolk Pair who finished as runners-up in the County Championships is on a long planned holiday on the week of the Nationals so her pairs partner is not allowed to compete. A member of another qualifying pair is not prepared to play in the Nationals due to the health risk of a close family member and therefore their pairs partner loses their place. A special request from Norfolk for the two qualifying players left without a partner to be allowed to play together in the Nationals was quickly rejected by the ESMBA and obviously no refund of their entry fees will be forthcoming. In his Chairman’s Report Selwyn Goldsmith said that hopefully short mat bowls in Norfolk can begin to return to something more like normal for the 2021-22 season despite the drop in member clubs and memberships due to the pandemic. But his report also said that these figures are likely to improve as clubs begin to meet again to plan a new season. The Chairman added that as we emerge from these troubled times there will be clubs who finally shut their doors for good due to declining numbers and this could mean that some leagues could become too small to function or to give their members the amount of competitive bowls they require. He highlighted the work of Secretary Jenny Walker and her value to the NCSMBA. He also said that the late Peter Walker would be sadly missed as Umpire Officer and spoke of how Peter had addressed what had been a serious weakness on the NCSMBA Committee when he took on the role of Umpire Officer. He spoke of Peter’s humour and his contribution to Norfolk. The Chairman said that retiring Competitions Secretary Chris Mann, and his Assistant Jon Sparham, would be a loss and they would be hard to replace in those roles and thanked them for all their hard work. In the President’s Closing Speech Brian Saunders urged players that as soon as they feel safe to do so they should return to their clubs and get back to normal. He said that during Covid we have lost many friends and that our sympathies are with their families and friends. His message was to move on but please be cautious and keep safe. The following Officers were re-elected unopposed. President Brian Saunders, Vice-President Bob Oatway, Chairman Selwyn Goldsmith, Vice-Chairman Simon Willies, Secretary Jenny Walker, Treasurer Jon Sparham, Assistant Treasurer Elaine Willies, Membership Secretary Teresa Goldsmith, Assistant Membership Secretary Billie Barker, Press and Web Secretary Selwyn Goldsmith, Assistant Press and Web Secretary Chris Mann and Records Officer Teresa Goldsmith. From the floor Elaine Willies was elected Safeguarding Officer. The positions of Assistant Secretary, Competition Secretary, Assistant Competition Secretary, Umpires Officer and Assistant Safeguarding Officer were left unfilled and will be discussed at the next NCSMBA Committee Meeting.
NCSMBA President Brian Saunders