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Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Carnon Downs Village Hall on Thursday 2nd June 2016

Printable version here. Includes accounts and officers' reports.
Present
H. Brown, M. Hill, D. J. Jenkins, D. R. Jenkins, R. Kneebone (chairman), J. Menadue, R. Nancarrow, I. Renshaw, R. Smith
Apologies for absence
A. Barkhuysen, S. Bartlett, C. Constable, J. Constable, I. George, M. Hassall, J. James
Minutes of the AGM 2015
The minutes, having been circulated before the meeting, were approved. There were no matters arising.
Officers' Reports
President (R Kneebone)
Report here.
Robin’s suggestion that a calendar of events should be organised and finalised by August was strongly supported. The 2015–16 season had been unsatisfactory in that events had not been organised in advance, including the congress.
The Meeting wished to record their thanks to Mark Hassall for his fine controlling of the Emigrant and Falmouth Cups, at relatively short notice. The congress was felt to have been a very enjoyable event, despite a low entry.
Secretary: (D J Jenkins)
DJJ wished clubs to note that the CCCA insurance policy does not cover the constituent clubs in respect of their separate activities. Venues should possess public liability insurance, but it would be prudent for club secretaries to confirm their extent of cover under this. The ECF offer a public liability/kit insurance policy for clubs, but it may be expensive for small clubs (approx. £95/year). Proposal 3 (below), if carried, would mean that all one-day events would formally be CCCA events and therefore covered by the CCCA’s policy.
Treasurer: (I George)
Report and accounts here.
Players failing to become individual ECF members was discussed. R.S. suggested that membership ought to be a condition of playing in CCCA competitions. DJJ disliked this idea because it might discourage new players from trying competitive chess. It was agreed that it should remain a matter for individual clubs, but that club secretaries and treasurers should be aware that clubs become liable for ECF game fees for non-members who have played for them during the previous season.
The treasurer’s suggestion in his report that the CCCA should not meet more than a £50 shortfall for the costs of participating in the national stage of the Counties Championship was discussed. DRJ felt that £100 was a more reasonable amount. It was agreed that substantial sponsorship or other fundraising would be necessary to meet the majority of the cost.
The accounts were approved (proposed R Smith, seconded D R Jenkins).
Match Captain: (D R Jenkins)
Report here.
DRJ was disappointed with the lack of ambition and commitment from many players in supporting the county team. RK noted that results had actually been very good, considering that Cornwall’s team was usually substantially weaker than the opposition. JM was optimistic and thanked DRJ for his substantial efforts in persuading more players to play for the county.
There followed a discussion about ways to improve the county teams’ performances. DRJ commented that youth development was good, but that training was perhaps not so good. He noted that in other sports training was taken as seriously as matches. JM’s suggestion of having a couple of “training days” for county players was enthusiastically received.
RK thanked DRJ for his outstanding captaincy over the past 3 years.
League Secretary: (I George)
Report here.
Most of the team competitions were still to be decided.
The County Shield was won by Truro (presented to M Hill) and the 500 League was won by Lerryn (Betty Roberts Cup presented to DR Jenkins)
It was noted that there have been many defaulted matches this season. This matter was discussed more fully under proposal 1 (below).
Junior Secretary: (R Kneebone)
Report here.
Election of officers
The following were elected:
President Robin Kneebone Nominated: R Smith, Seconded: M Hill
Secretary Vacant  
Treasurer Ian George Nominated: R Kneebone, Seconded: R Nancarrow
League Secretary Hugh Brown Nominated: R Kneebone, Seconded: DJ Jenkins
Match Captain Mark Hassall Nominated: R Kneebone, Seconded: R Smith
Deputy Match Captain Jeremy Menadue Nominated: R Kneebone, Seconded: R Smith
Junior Secretary Robin Kneebone Nominated: DJ Jenkins, Seconded: R Nancarrow
Consideration of Proposal 1
The following proposal was considered:

Rules Applicable to all Team Matches

  1. That the following be added as rule 14:

    "Where the distance between the venues of the two clubs in any match exceeds 50 miles, the away team has the right to insist that the match be played at a venue approximately equidistant between the two clubs or any other agreed venue. In such cases the away team is responsible for arranging the hire of and, if relevant, paying for the venue and is entitled to reimbursement of half the hire cost from the opposing club. It must notify home team and League Secretary of the intention to exercise this right at least 30 days beforehand, and of the venue arrangements at least 14 days beforehand. The match does not have to be played on the home team’s club night."
    Proposed: David J Jenkins, Seconded: Richard Smith
    Discussion:

    DJJ commented that this proposal was withdrawn after discussion at last year's AGM. However, this season there had instances when captains could not agree on arrangements, resulting in defaulted matches. Given that this proposal affects Bude more than any other club, DJJ invited John Constable to submit a response to it, which was read to the meeting:

    "In spite of having to travel further than any other team in the County Shield, Bude's players went to great lengths, often missing other regular commitments to ensure that Bude did not default a single game in this competition, indeed Bude were the only team to complete all their fixtures without even defaulting a single game all season.

    We are happy to play our home matches on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon if clubs do not wish to travel to Bude on a Thursday evening (and even provide lunch if required), or alternatively at a neutral venue on a Thursday evening provided that the away team arranges and pays for the venue as Bude will have increased travel costs for what should be a “home” match. Playing on any other weekday evening will result in too many clashes with other activities totally losing any remaining “home” advantage. This season we felt that a gun was put against our head to try and force us to play a home match at Liskeard on a Monday evening while our offer to play at a weekend was rejected outright. As stated above, our players are willing to go out of their way to play away matches on other nights but it is unfair to ask them to forgo their other activities for a “home” match on a different evening.

    For these reasons we believe that the proposal as worded should not be adopted."

    There was a lengthy discussion about the large distances now separating clubs and the number of defaulted matches this season. The possibility of an East-West split for all competitions was discussed. DJJ said that these discussions were more appropriate for consideration at the Secretaries’ Meeting, by which time the League Secretary would know which teams had entered which competitions.

    On the basis of Bude’s concerns, DJJ proposed an amendment to his proposal, deleting “and is entitled to reimbursement of half the hire cost from the opposing club” (i.e. the club “demanding” the alternative venue is responsible for both finding and paying for it) and changing the last sentence to “The home team has the right to decide whether the match is played on the home team’s club night or not.”

    The amendment (seconded R Smith) was carried (F9 A0), whereupon the amended proposal was carried (F9 A0).

    It was the feeling of the Meeting that arrangements under the new rule should be discussed and finalised early in the season.

League Rules

  1. That rule 10 be amended to:

    "Captains will toss a coin to determine colours at the first meeting between the teams; winner of the toss will be White on odd boards in the first match and the colours will be reversed in the return match."
    Proposed: Robin Kneebone, Seconded: Jeremy Menadue
    Carried

Grand Prix

  1. That all Grand Prix events be formally designated CCCA-organised events

    Proposed: David J Jenkins, Seconded: Ian George
    Carried
Any Other Business
There being no other business, the chairman declared the meeting closed at 21:30.
DAVID J JENKINS
Retiring Hon. Secretary