OOASC Full Committee meeting 11th December 2023 – Minutes

Minutes of the Full Committee Meeting held on Monday 11th December 2023 at 7.30 pm in the Les Williamson Room at Old Owen’s Sports Ground.

In attendance:  I.Breeze(IB), A.Hunter(AH), P.Kennedy (PK), M.Oakley(MO), T.Lane(TL), K.Rowswell(KR),
                        John Clark

1. Apologies: E.Clark, Richard Hattrell, H.Nemko, V.Tanner, D.Webb 

2. JLC update (John Clark)

• Takings in October and November have been down due to the weather and football matches being cancelled. December takings are looking good. Had a Quiz Night last Friday which was well attended and there is a function this weekend due to be attended by personnel from South Herts. Golf Club.
• There are no Bookings until the New Year. The Club will be open on Christmas Day and maybe Boxing Day (days and times to be confirmed).
• Flat roof repair to the Bungalow has been completed (John is now living in the Bungalow). 2-3 panels require repairs to the Bungalow fence.  

3. Matters arising from previous minutes 16th October 2023

• None

4. Finance (TL)
   

• In the absence of Richard due to illness, TL reported that as at 11th Decenber 2023 there was £77.1k in the HSBC bank account, £11.1k in the Barclays account, £10.6k in the Owenians Alumni account.
• JLC rental payments are up to date.

• IB has sent out the invoices for Football pitch hire.
• Richard will produce current financial statements for distribution to the Committee.

5. The Ground (TL/IB)     

• Renovations to the ground were done 6 weeks late which has affected the condition of the Ground. There is no drainage on one side of Pitch 3 which has caused the pitch to be boggy on that side. Drainage of the ground will be investigated to sort out the problem.
• The Cesspit has been fixed and the Car Park lights have been done.
• The Football Foundation application has been submitted for the next grant of £18K. We are awaiting approval.
• A Valuation of the Ground is required at some point (probable cost 0.5k to 1k).

      5.1 Tractor (IB)

• IB pointed out that the Tractor requires serious investigation with regard to repair and was allocated up to £500 to do so by the meeting. Other Ground equipment also requires checking i.e. Quadraplay, Gang Mowers, Rollers etc.

      5.2 Car Park Charges (IB)

• IB stated that our Car Park Charges should be looked at as other establishments in the area are charging more that we do for parking. The Paper yard currently pays us £2400 a year and the Wood yard £1200 a year and these charges have not been increased for a long time.

      5.3 Cutting Back Trees (IB)

• IB stated that the trees behind the sightscreen on Cricket pitch 1 and the Padel Tennis Courts needs to be cut back by 2-3 metres in height as they are too tall (IB will get quotes from 3 tree surgeons).        

      5.4 Padel Tennis Project (TL)

• Padel Tennis is slowly taking off despite the weather. There was a problem with the surface of the Courts which has now been relaid and the Courts are now back in use. There will be a Christmas Padel Tennis tournament at the Ground on Sunday 17^th December 2023 starting at 10 am.
• The Padel Courts are free for use by the School on a Wednesday between 2-4 pm. 

• Padel Tennis UK will pay the 1st rent due of £2k when the legal paperwork has been completed.

• A few Padel Tennis players have become new members of the Association.

      5.5 New Cricket Net (TL)

• TL received 3 quotes for installing the cricket net(s) alongside the Padel Tennis Courts. A best quote of 21.6K (inc. VAT) for a single net and £32.4K (inc. VAT) for 2 nets was discussed. It was decided that the option of 2 nets would be best as we could hire any of them out. The Nets are enclosed and lockable and each measure 34m x 10m.
• The Cricket Club will also be obtaining the outdoor Cricket Net that is available from the School. A working party from the Cricket Club will dismantle the Net at the School and relocate the Net to Old Owens Sports Ground in February 2024. 

6. OOASC Sports Clubs

       6.1    OOFC Football Section (PK)

• PK reported that Owens 1^{st ,} 2^nd & 3^rd teams are doing well in the Herts Senior County League on Saturdays and player availability is good. The 1^st XI, 2^nd XI and 3^rd XI are currently top of their respective Divisions and the 4^th XI is also doing well in the SAL on Saturdays and is currently third in their Division.

• PK stated that Football at the Ground will end on Saturday 20^th April 2024 and the Football Dinner will be Saturday 27^th April 2024. 

      6.2    OOCC Cricket Section (TL)

• The Junior section U9/10’s and U13/15’s are currently training at the School on Mondays from 5.30 – 7.30 pm. The Seniors will commence Cricket Nets at Chancellors School in January 2024 from 8 pm onwards. 

• It is the Cricket Club 100^th anniversary in 2024. The Cricket Club will be touring St. Lucia in February 2024 for 8 days as part of its celebration. There will be a Cricket week at the Ground from the 8^th – 14^th July 2024. Fixtures booked are the 10^th July (The School) and 11^th July (MCC). 

• There will 4 Owens XI playing on Saturdays at the Ground next season (i.e. No hiring to other Clubs on Saturdays). On Sundays Sri Lankan 1^st & 2^nd XI and Rosslyn 1^st & 2^nd XI will be hiring the pitches. 

      6.3    Affiliated Clubs (MO)

• MO reported that the Club is in fine fettle and that some matches have been cancelled due to the weather. MO expressed his disappointment of the condition of some of the Football pitches at the Ground.

7. OOASC Membership (AH)     

8. Old Owens Website (AH)

• The website is running smoothly and is updated as and when necessary. Visitors and visits have increased since the October statistics.

• The statistics for the website as at 11/12/2023 are as follows:
  Last 7 days there were 314 visitors with 1.089 visits
  Last 30 days there were 1,369 visitors with 5,143 visits
  Last 90 days there were 4,228 visitors with 15,196 visits
  Last 365 days there were 25,247 visitors with 101,886 visits

9. ZOO Club (AH)

• The balance in the account as at 11/12/2023 is £965.35 (which includes £55 owing to the Harold Moore Luncheon Account).

      No draw was made at the meeting (An additional draw will be made at the next meeting).  

10. AOB

      10.1 None        

11. Date of next meeting

• Next meeting is scheduled for Monday 5^th February 2024, 7.30 pm at the Ground.

Meeting ended at 21.00 pm.

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