Croquet Federation of Belgium

 

DRAFT/ Minutes of the Annual General Meeting

held at rue des Trois Arbres 10, 1180 Uccle

16.00 Sunday, 19th March 2006

                               

Present:	Charles-Eric Vilain XIIII (president)	Apologies:	Bruno Eeman (treasurer)
	John Swabey (general secretary)		Arthur Forbes
	Bob Appels		Gabor Weiner
	Hugh Burton		Pierre Beaudry
	Wyn Burton		Sally Batten
	Dick Leonard		Guy Monseu
	Allan Morris
	Hilary Morris
	Anne White
	Fran
	Alex Jardine

               

The meeting was brought to order and all present were duly welcomed.

 

President’s review of the previous year.

The CFB had celebrated its 10^th anniversary in 2005, although as we were first recognised by the WCF in 1996 we might go to celebrate that in 2006. The two Open events organised by the CFB had both a success (the 14pt won by John Davis and the indoor won by Alex Jardine).  Numbers wishing to play in last year’s 14pt Open were down, but the event had not been listed in the CA handbook (it is again listed for 2006). The idea of reserving places for Belgian players was discussed in the context of wishing to maintain a good blend of attracting players from elsewhere as well as allowing keen locals to play. The pricing structure was discussed and will be reviewed by the Committee.

 

Treasurer’s report

In the unavoidable absence of the Treasurer, it was noted that the latest report to the CFB Committee had disclosed a very healthy positive balance in the accounts of both the CFB and the BCCG.  The Committee is to review setting up a division in the accounts between general funds and those earmarked for such purposes as development of more lawns / locations.

 

Election of Officers

The statutes when consulted were seen to provide for officers to be elected every three years. That means that the committee should have been open to election in 2005, which was not the case. It was agreed “nem con” that the existing officers being willing to stand be re-elected.

 

Future Activities

The fixtures calendar for 2006, previously circulated was agreed, subject to noting that as the S-W Germans had not responded to the Secretary’s invitation to consider dates for a return match, the tentative dates held for that event were now released. It was noted that discussions were taking place with the Egyptians about a possible visit by Belgium in November.

The importance of as many as possible amongst Belgian players taking part in the national championships was stressed even against the context of the WCF proposal to remove the automatic right of Observer status countries like Belgium to send one nominee to future WCF events. The Belgian national rankings are an important matter for us despite the above. The Committee is to consider how best to organise any qualifying event that may be required, for the 26pt advanced weekend especially.

 

Reports from Member Clubs

The BCCG reported a broadly stable membership, with the addition of several new members, although the departure of a few stalwart advanced players was a real loss. The feedback meeting planned with John Martin is to include reference to the state of the chalet floor, the possibility of erecting a lawn-side shelter for players, the creation of a link from the Chateau’s web-site to the CFB, etc.

 

Any Other Business

There being no further business, the Meeting was closed at 17.30.