CROQUET FEDERATION OF BELGIUM
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 17 MARCH 2002
Present: Bob Appels (BA), Koen Heidbuchel (KH), Tony Falcon-Uff (TFU), Jonathan Lamb (JL), Gabor Weiner (GW), John Swabey (JS), Bruno Eeman (BE), Dick Leonard (DL), Allan Morris (AM), Hilary Morris (HM).
Apologies were received from: Guy Monseu, Michele Perbal, Sylva van Hille, Stuart Anderson, Charles- Eric Vilain XIIII, Francis Cole, Celia de Borchgrave, Pam Lawson.
AGENDA
1. The meeting began at around 5.30 pm. The agenda circulated previously by e-mail was agreed, with the addition of the Treasurer’s report.
LAST MEETING RECORD
2. The record of the 2000 AGM was agreed nem con.
REVIEW OF 2001
3. The Secretary (JL) reminded the meeting of some of the principal developments in 2001, including a historical final shot from John Moore in the Golf Open, a Belgian victory over Australia in the World Championships, and Belgian participation in the successful Europe v England Golf Croquet match. He said the year had begun strongly, with a lot of fixtures in June, but had lost momentum in the second half of the season. Initiatives that had not borne fruit included a new club (Hulincourt), a new lawn (Chateau de la Hulpe) and a Scoobidou event. Thanks to TFU, however, the website had been a major achievement. The Committee had recently reviewed the role of the CFB, and had concluded that it needed to be preserved in the interest of playing international fixtures, promoting croquet in Belgium and attracting further clubs.
PROGRAMME FOR 2002
4. The meeting reviewed the main CFB events planned for 2001, which had started well with the second Indoor Open in the Chateau du Lac. The CFB had failed to provide a contender for the World Golf Croquet Championships in Florida, but JS was interested in going to the World Association Croquet Championships in New Zealand in December. Five international fixtures were in prospect: away matches against Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg, and home events against Austria and Wales. The next Indoor was slated for 2-3 November 2002 because of availability problems with the venue. The meeting took note of the Committee’s decision that the Belgian Championships would take place on one weekend (28-29 September) between the top five players in a season-long qualifier, not necessarily the BCCG season-long. Organizing the qualifier was for GW (Action: GW, see para 5 below). The Secrtary agreed to inform the Italian Federation that if the Coupe des Lacs were to become a Golf fixture, the CFB could not field a team: if it were to remain an Association event in 2002, which was preferred given the lack of notice, JS and JL hoped to be able to play (Action: JL).
ELECTIONS
5. The following were elected to Committee posts:
President – CE
Vice-Presidents – KH and JL
Secretary – JS
Treasurer – BE
Events Organizer – GW
It was agreed that BE would organize the Golf Open and JL would be player-manager; JL would organize the Association Open and KH would be (player-)manager; TFU would organize the Indoor Open and GW would be player-manager. TFU would continue as webmaster.
TREASURER’S REPORT
6. BE said that the CFB had started the year with about 60,000FB and had ended with 98,000FB. Expenses had however included investment in clothing, chocolate moulds and ball barrier improvements for the Indoor. It was agreed that a radio spot for the Golf Open should be maintained, but not invitations as before; that TFU would compile a list of clothing in stock (Action: TFU); that two Eurostar tickets should be offered as prizes for each Open; that anyone incurring expenses to be reimbursed by the CFB should present a written note of the expenses, supported where possible by receipts; and that all players representing the CFB should be members of a club that had paid the CFB the standard fee of 1000FB (25EUR) per head. The meeting also took note of the Treasurer’s advice to be careful with Open expenditure, since some events had failed to make a profit.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
7. There being no other business, the Secretary closed the meeting at 6.45 pm.
J C Lamb
Departing Secretary
Croquet Federation of Belgium