Tonbridge Squash Club 2024 AGM in 30 seconds
Full AGM minutes are attached, here are the highlights in 30 seconds
Budget
The 2024 budget is based on membership subscriptions covering the annual running costs of the club:
School charge per member £ 121
Running costs:
Trophies £ 200 (includes sign writing for the honours board)
Social £ 200 (Includes drinks at the AGM)
Committee £ 350 (discount on school charge element and meeting)
Total £ 750
The subs of £136 per member will result in a break-even position and a bank balance of £846 at the end of the year.
In accordance with the decision at a prior AGM the club continues to make an additional charge of £25 to members
whose subs are received after 31st January. No member has been required to pay this in 2024.
Membership
We currently have 60 full playing members and a new membership list will be sent out to everyone with the AGM minutes.
We continue to make requests to the school for a drinking fountain downstairs and hopefully this year we might be able to
get the door code changed (!)
If anyone is interested in joining the club they are welcome to come along to the club night on Sunday evenings to meet some of the existing members and if they still want to join then they will be given an application form. We now have an in take in both June and January so no one will have to wait too long to join. New joiners pay at the rate of £12 per complete month remaining in the year.
Leagues
The leagues are now all online but a copy will be posted on the noticeboard at the school anyone interested in joining should contact Nick Dunton.
Competitions & Socials
Competitions will start in September, a social will be arranged in May.
Election of officers
Chairman – Nick Askey agreed to stand and was elected
Secretary – Nigel Thomas stepped down and Ben Stephenson was elected
Treasurer – Tony Hooper stepped down and John Lawton was elected
League Secretary – Nick Dunton agreed to stand and was elected
Social & Competition Secretary – Jake Wallis agreed to stand and was elected
Any Other Business
A request will be made to the school to see if we can have a defibrillator at the courts.
It was agreed that anyone with a membership of 50+ years at the club will become an honorary member.
Tonbridge Squash Club
Minutes of AGM 26th March 2024
Present: Nigel Thomas, Nick Askey, Tony Hooper, Ben Stephenson, Alan Kirk, Jake Wallis, Nick Dunton, Mark Bradshaw
Apologies: Peter Moss, Spencer Crooks
1 Minutes of previous AGM 2023
These were circulated in the week following the AGM by email and posted on the club website
2 Treasurers Report
2023 Finance Report
The annual accounts for the 12 months to 31st December 2023 are presented for consideration and approval.
The holding of £100 of Premium Bonds donated to the club by JG Utting many years ago no long appear in the accounts
as they were personally held by the family and NS&I have advised that they have been repaid.
The club usually budgets to break even on an annual basis because the school does not require any contribution towards
the maintenance of the courts or squash building and therefore only modest reserves are needed.
In 2023 we collected subs at £120 per member to utilise the surplus generated in prior years. The budgeted deficit was £650 with a budgeted bank balance of £340 at the end of the year. The actual result was surplus of £144 and a bank balance of £846. This occurred because the club did not run any competitions or social events and the honours board did not need updating. Members were advised that 2023 rates would revert to the previous basis and were expected to be set at £130 to enable the club to match income and expenditure.
2024 Budget
The 2024 budget is based on membership subscriptions covering the annual running costs of the club.
School charge per member £121.00
Running costs:
Trophies (includes sign writing for the honours board) £ 200
Social (includes drinks at the AGM) £ 200
Committee (discount on school charge element and meeting) £ 350
Total £ 750
The subs of £136 per member will result in a break-even position and a bank balance of £846 at the end of the year.
In accordance with the decision at a prior AGM the club continues to make an additional charge of £25 to members
whose subs are received after 31st January. No member has been required to pay this in 2024.
New members are to be charged a pro rata amount of £12 per month remaining, which reflects a full membership of
£144. New members joining during the year will contribute to the club finances as they are not billed by the school.
The 2025 price charged by the school will increase by between 2% and 7% increase in line with the Sports Centre pricing. The school will advise the price increase club in September which will then come into effect for the squash club members from the following January. We collect subs in January and pay the school in March.
Proposals for the AGM:
1. To approve the 2023 Accounts
2. To approve the 2024 Budget
3. To note 2025 subs of approximately £145
3 Secretary’s Report
We currently have 60 full playing members and one person on the waiting list for June, this is 4 down on last year.
A discussion was had around attracting new members to the club particularly youngsters which included thoughts about
putting an advert up at the sports centre, posting on Facebook and perhaps talking to Cliff about more youngsters joining.
All these ideas to be discussed more fully by the committee in due course.
We have asked the school for a drinking tap downstairs so we don’t have to use the sink in the toilet but despite
numerous requests from us and Chris Batterbee on behalf of the boys still no fountain!
Again I tried sooooo hard to get a new door code last year but despite contacting school security, the tech. dept. and
direct contact with the guy who actually changes the code no luck : ( Each time I was told the code had been changed but
it wasn’t, in the end I gave up and wish the next secretary better luck this year.
A new membership list was sent out to all members with the AGM minutes and I will do that again this year, although we will not be posting a membership list on the noticeboard at the school for security reasons.
4 Leagues
Leagues are going well, we are now up to 4 but are aiming for 5 boxes, Nick to email people post AGM to encourage
people to join. Nick also agreed to put the leagues up on the noticeboard so people can see them.
Sunday evening club night is doing well with new members coming along to club night before joining the club.
5 Competitions and Socials
Competitions will start in September when everyone has returned from their holidays.
A social event will be arranged for May and suggestions were received for other events including playing other clubs,
playing Tonbridge School boys which Jake will investigate
6 Chairman’s Report
Thank you to Nigel and Tony for 10 years each as secretary and treasurer
It’s good to see that the club is in a good place going forward
7 Election of Officers
Chairman – Nick Askey agreed to stand and was elected
Secretary – Nigel Thomas stepped down and Ben Stephenson was elected
Treasurer – Tony Hooper stepped down and John Lawton was elected
League Secretary – Nick Dunton agreed to stand and was elected
Social & Competition Secretary – Jake Wallis agreed to stand and was elected
The school have been notified about various court repairs and will schedule them in for work in due course
The question was raised as to whether we should have a defibrillator actually at the squash court as the closest one
outside of office hours is at the Porter Lodge which is a fair way away, secretary to raise this with the school.
Jake raised the suggestion that anyone who has been a member for 50 years+ should get honorary membership, this was
agreed and the Chairman will email Peter Moss who currently is the only member in this category.