Cheltenham League Meetings

CHELTENHAM ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Minutes of the Management Committee Meeting at the Victory Club Cheltenham on Wednesday 30th August 2006.

Attendees: G Cook, J Crowther, R Attwood , N Oram, L Fisher, J Hunt, A.Stiley, B Hill, M.Lytheer, R.Overington, P.Tustain.

Apologies: T Onions (part attendance after 7.35 pm)

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 26th July 2006 were read and accepted

Matters Arising from the minutes.

The meeting was informed that matters relating to players wearing jewellery had progressed and that this would be covered in correspondence.

Belmore Jags had continued to transgress League rules on a regular basis, even subsequent to their appearance before the League at the last meeting.. The meeting was advised that it now had to be deemed highly unlikely that the club would start the new season on time, as it had significant debts to pay to the League and was currently suspended for failing to discharge these debts. It was acknowledged that this matter would be covered further under Rule Offences

Correspondence:

Reported for Discussion

Email from the Chief Executive of the GFA, in response to the letter sent by the League relating to the directive issued with regard to players wearing jewellery. The Chief Executive stresses that this directive is unlikely to be withdrawn but it has been qualified to an extent, with referees being allowed discretion to permit players to tape over wedding rings
Mr Arthur Stiley, the Referee's Secretary, showed the meeting a copy of the instructions that had been sent out to referees by the GFA with the GFA Handbook and Mr Mike Lytheer, a practising referee, confirmed that these instructions left referees very little room for manoeuvre. The meeting was informed that, in accordance with the instructions now issued, Referees were asked to exercise their discretion over plain wedding bands but that it was quite explicit that no other jewellery should be permitted under any circumstances whatsoever. It was acknowledged that this hard line was probably being enforced as an aid to consistency in referees but it was recorded that the League still harboured grave misgivings about the desirability of this instruction and, ultimately, its workability.
Letter from Rebecca Skinner, GFA Football Development Officer, asking the League to consider designating a weekend in the season as an anti racism matchday during the course of the "Kick it Out" campaign week of action. Letter also gives details of the relaunch of the GFA Coaches Association.
It was agreed that the Cheltenham League should have a designated anti racism match day and that the date of this day would be agreed by the General Secretary and the Assistant Secretary in time for the matter to be promoted at the clubs meeting in September.
Email from the Chairman of the GFA confirming that the instructions to referees with regard to players wearing jewellery had now been qualified and that players would now be permitted to continue to tape over wedding rings.
General satisfaction was recorded that the League's disquiet with these instructions had been acknowledged.
Letter from Bishops Cleeve Parish Council which is a copy of a letter sent to Gaffers FC, asking for payment for a match played at the Bishops Cleeve Playing Fields between Gaffers and Belmore Jags for which no booking nor advanced payment was made.
The Meeting expressed its disappointment that two of the League's member clubs should conduct themselves in this manner, particularly as it reflected badly on the League as a whole. The General Secretary was asked to highlight this matter and its undesirable nature in the next edition of the Newsletter.
Email from GFA listing clubs for whom affiliation had been suspended as the bank had returned the cheques used to pay for affiliation. These include Naunton Park
Email sent to Naunton Park pointing out the fact that, at the time of writing, the club was suspended by both the League and the County FA.
The General Secretary confirmed to the meeting that several clubs had still not communicated their affiliation numbers to him for the forthcoming season and that he would be contacting the GFA on August 31st to confirm whether or not these clubs had, indeed, affiliated. He assured the meeting that he would be checking whether or not Naunton Park had rectified this situation when he spoke with the GFA.
Letter from Mr W.D.Preston, a programme collector, asking for a list of contact names for League Clubs, so that he might approach them to attempt to obtain any programmes that they might produce. The letter contains a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Concern was expressed that this might be an attempt to garner information for illicit purposes and it was decided not to pursue this matter any further.
Letter from David Williams, of Cheltenham, asking for a copy of the League's latest handbook, when it becomes available. Mr Williams included a Stamped, self-addressed envelope for a reply.
It was acknowledged that the League's handbook was not available to the general public and the League's secretary was asked to communicate this policy to Mr Williams by way of a reply
Letter from Northway in response to a letter sent to the club dated 27th July, in which concerns about the control exercised over spectators at Northway home games was expressed. Northway inform the League that Ashchurch Parish Council have no objections to them roping off the pitch on match days and that the Parish Council were investigating bye-laws which related to the consumption of alcohol in open spaces.
The meeting asked the General Secretary to write to Northway to inform them that the League would continue to monitor this situation and, also, to write to Ashchurch Parish Council to make them aware of the League's concerns with regard to this matter.
Letter from Shipton Oliffe, asking for permission to display the name of a new sponsor on their shirts and, also, asking for confirmation that 25 registration forms, as submitted by them to the League, had been received as they have been unable to contact the Registration Secretary.
The request to display the sponsors name on Shipton Oliffe's shirts was approved and the Registration Secretary was asked to contact Shipton Oliffe as soon as possible

Correspondence Notified to the Meeting but not discussed

Email from Bourton Rovers confirming that the new address for their secretary is 25, Springvale, Bourton-on-the-water, Cheltenham, Gloucs, GL54 2ES.
Email from Tivoli Rovers confirming that the correct mobile phone number for their secretary is 07887 861730
Email from AC Olympia confirming that the correct mobile phone number for their secretary is 07855 276630
Email from Finlay Rovers requesting that the League send them two extra handbooks.
Reply sent informing Finlay Rovers that 2 extra handbooks would be sent to them in the mail on receipt of the necessary postage
Email from Finlay Rovers, containing the minutes from a recent Committee meeting. The minutes state that the date of the next meeting was to be the club AGM on Jun 24th.
Letter from Northleach Town containing the minutes from the Club's latest committee Meeting, held on Wednesday, 2nd August, 2006. The minutes state that the date of the next meeting will be 13th September, 2006.
Letter from the GFA containing the draw for the preliminary round of both the Minor and Primary County Cup competitions. This round is to be played on Saturday, 2nd September and will involve Charlton Rovers Reserves and Star FC III, both in the Primary Cup.
Invoice from the Big Yellow Storage Company, for £227.03, for the continued usage of the League's storage facility in Princess Elizabeth Way.
Letter from the GFA containing an Evidence of Public Liability Insurance Document to cover the League for season 2006/2007
Email from Finlay Rovers containing the minutes of a meeting held by the club on 8th August 2006

Rule Offences:

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 2B - non payment of Annual Subscription by July 31st: Belmore Jags (3 teams - fine £60), Bishops Cleeve (2 teams - fine £40), FC Electrics (2 teams - fine £40), Naunton Park (2 teams - fine £40)

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 5h - Failure to reply to correspondence.

i) No reply to request for club histories. Fine £15: Northleach Town, Tivoli Rovers

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 5(I): Failure to pay invoices by the due date

i) Invoices due on 31/07/06: Fine £30: Belmore Jags (Invoice 49, £685.32)
ii) Invoices due on 14/08/06: Fine £10: FC Electrics (Invoice 65, £15, paid 16/08/2006), Phoenix United (Invoice 67, £10 paid 17/08/2006)
iii) Invoices due on 14/08/06: Fine £15: Belmore Jags (Invoice 68, £20)

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 8F - non payment of fees due for Registration Books by July 31st: Fine £15 Belmore Jags, Bishops Cleeve, FC Electrics, Naunton Park

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with rule 8F - failure to submit 11 registration forms per team by August 24th: Fine £10 Belmore Jags, Gaffers, Northway, Smiths Athletic, Tewkesbury YMCA

The following clubs have been fined in accordance with Charities Cup rule 2A - non payment of entrance fees by July 31st: Fine £20 Belmore Jags, Bishops Cleeve, FC Electrics, Naunton Park

In considering the Rule Offences, it was noted by the Committee that fines imposed for transgressions under rules 2B, 8F (Registration Books) and Charity Cup Rule 2A were linked as they resulted from a failure to pay a single invoice. It was reported that all four clubs charged under these rules had been suspended from the League since July 31st but that FC Electrics and Bishops Cleeve had now had this suspension lifted because they had paid the necessary fees.

The Committee also noted, with extreme disappointment, the fact that, despite assurances that were personally issued by a club representative at the meeting of July 26th, Belmore Jags had failed to pay invoice 49 for £685.32. In addition, the committee considered the fact that Belmore Jags had also failed to pay an invoice that covered the fines imposed at the last meeting and that Belmore Jags had incurred £150 worth of fines as detailed above. This left Belmore Jags owing the League in excess of £850, a significant proportion of which represented monies due for pitch hire. It was also reported to the Committee by Mr Terry Onions, the League's Registration Secretary, that Belmore Jags had not registered any players at all for the forthcoming season by the date of the meeting.
In recognition of these facts, the committee felt that it was highly unlikely that Belmore Jags would be in a position to commence the new season. Profound disappointment that the club had reneged so quickly on promises that had been issued at the last meeting, when the club was called in to meet with the League to account for its poor administrative record, was also expressed. It was agreed that the League would be failing in its duty to other clubs, most particularly those who were due to play Belmore Jags in the near future, if no action were taken as it was believed that it was likely that Belmore Jags would not be able to fulfil fixtures at the beginning of the season. To avoid the prospect of being required to call matches off at the last minute, thus severely inconveniencing prospective opponents, it was unanimously agreed that Belmore Jags should remain suspended and that they would be given 7 days to remedy their affairs. As a result, the suspension would not be reviewed until Wednesday, 6th September and, consequently, all matches scheduled to involve Belmore Jags up to and including any games arranged for Wednesday, 6th September, were to be cancelled. The responsibility for cancelling these matches was accepted by Mr John Hunt, the League's Assistant Secretary.

Fixtures

The Assistant Secretary, Mr John Hunt, reported that there had been a number of matters relating to fixtures over the last couple of days but that all of these had now been remedied and the necessary amendments had been made to the fixture list. He stressed that all these amendments had been communicated to the League's Referees Secretary and undertook to pass the information required to the Results Secretary. He emphasised that a number of problems had been caused unnecessarily because he still was not receiving notification of County Cup draws and Mr Arthur Stiley, who sits on the GFA County Cups committee, undertook to attempt to remedy this situation. The Assistant Secretary also informed the meeting that a number of other, avoidable, problems had been caused by certain clubs leaving it very late before informing him that they didn't have the use of their ground, usually because of Cricket matches, at the beginning of the season. It was emphasised that this type of information should be entered on the Supplementary Information sheet and the General Secretary undertook to remind all clubs of the need to enter accurate information on this sheet at the clubs meeting in January.

Clubs Meeting 27th September

The meeting was reminded that the next clubs meeting was due to take place on September 27th and that it was proposed that the format should follow previous meetings, during which officers of the League submitted reports to provoke debate. This was agreed. The meeting was also reminded that it had been the stated intention of Rebecca Skinner, the GFA's County Development Officer, to attend the meeting and to address the clubs. It was stated that handbooks would also be distributed at this meeting. Members of the Committee were requested to pass any items that they required to be added to the agenda for this meeting to the General Secretary by Tuesday, September 19th at the latest.
The General Secretary informed the meeting that he had recently been in contact with Mark Halliwell, the Sports Editor of the group of newspapers, which included the Gloucestershire Echo. He reported that discussions had been convivial and constructive and that a number of suggestions for increasing the coverage afforded to the Cheltenham League had been put forward. It was agreed that these proposals should be brought up at the Clubs Meeting for further discussion.

Any Other Business:

The General Secretary informed the meeting that he had received an email from Smiths Athletic on the morning of August 30th, 2006, informing the League that the club was intending to withdraw one of its three teams from the Cheltenham League. The email emphasised the point that the rationale behind this drastic step was the clubs desire to remove all those players who had played for its second team the previous season from its ranks and quoted several reasons for wanting to do this. The meeting was reminded that this was the team that had played in the Senior Charity Cup Final in April and which had finished the game with only 9 players on the field. Smiths Athletic requested that they be permitted to withdraw their team from Division Two and continue with just two teams in the Cheltenham League, one in Division Three and one in Division Four.

This request was debated at length during which the committee formulated the opinion that it should be dealing with Smiths Athletic as a club and not a collection of teams. Concerns were also expressed that Smiths Athletic might be able to strengthen their Division Three and Four sides with those players from the Division Two side who did re-register for the club for the forthcoming season. Consequently, it felt that the most appropriate action would be for Smiths Athletic to withdraw their team from Division Four and continue with teams in Division Two and Division Three. This was agreed.

Further to this, the General Secretary reported to the meeting that he had been in receipt of an application from Andy Stevens to enter a side in the Cheltenham League for the forthcoming season. The meeting was informed that Andy Stevens had been the manager of Smiths Athletic Reserves last season and had anticipated that he would be the manager again this year until the club had decided not to run four teams. He proposed entering the side that had composed Smiths Athletic Reserves in Division Two last season as the senior side of Leckhampton Rovers. However, it was felt that it was inappropriate to pursue an application from a prospective new member club at this stage, especially, in this instance, as the decision had been taken to remove Smiths Athletic's division four side, thus only creating one vacancy in the League's ranks at Division Four level.

The General Secretary informed the Committee that he had been elected onto the Management Committee of the Northern Senior League and assured the Committee that he has accepted this appointment only on the understanding that it did not interfere with his commitments to the Cheltenham League.

The General Secretary further outlined the details of his discussions with Mark Halliwell at the Gloucestershire Echo and informed the meeting that, henceforth, information relating to forthcoming fixtures and Referees appointments would be appearing in the newspaper on Friday evenings. Every effort would be made to ensure that tables appeared every Tuesday and the General Secretary would endeavour to provide a preview of the forthcoming weekends matches every week.

Mr John Crowther, the League's President and Vice Chairman, used his capacity as President of the Cheltenham Referees Association to thank Mr Les Fisher for his attendance at the recent meeting of that organisation, at which Mr Fisher had provided information about the League's referees cards.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.37 pm

NEXT MEETING - WEDNESDAY 27th SEPTEMBER, 2006

AT 7-15 PM