Tuesday 28th May saw an excellent turnout at Clydesdale Cricket Club for our Annual General Meeting, with all bar two clubs attending. The meeting was open to conversation on any topic that caught the imagination of member clubs, and also featured the presentation of trophies, reports from committee members, the election of office bearers, and a bye-law discussion.
The reports were well received and the election of office bearers went smoothly. Keith Joss will be continuing as President and will be supported by Greig Cunningham coming in as Vice-President to replace Morris Kelly who had chosen to stand down. Ally Scott will remain as Secretary along with Stephen Balmer as Treasurer; Gordon Black as Outdoor League Convenor, and Sheila Moodie as Indoor League Convenor. Ross McWilliams will continue as Youth Convenor; Grace Mulholland as Member without Portfolio; and John MacKenzie continuing to lead on all things website and social media.
Trophies were presented by Sheila and Keith, with Western 3’s winning West Division 1; Kelburne 3’s winning West Division 2; Hillhead 6’s winning West Division 3; and Clydesdale 5’s winning West Division 4. Kelburne won both the Indoor League and Cup; Giffnock the West District Plate, and Western 3’s did the double by securing the George Black Trophy (West District Cup). After a close-run contest Western were awarded the Whitecraigs Trophy for the team advancing furthest in the Scottish Cup.
During an open forum, clubs were reminded that there is always an opportunity to raise issues outside a General Meeting as West embraced electronic voting several seasons ago. Questions were also asked by a number of clubs about team strengthening. The meeting was advised that it is the responsibility of everyone to play matches in the correct spirit, and the committee will keep a watch for that type of problem next season. On the continuing subject of the Scottish Hockey Member Insurance Policy, two clubs advised they had been informed by Scottish Hockey staff that they are not permitted to see a list of the member benefits despite it being paid for within membership fees
Finally, the meeting moved to the elephant in the room: a discussion on the Scottish Hockey Survey and our relationship with the Scottish Hockey Board. The main problem for the committee was how to turn a survey that featured heavily leading and sometimes inconsistent questions into a positive discussion. This was achieved in the most honest and transparent method – by being open and telling the truth. The meeting was advised that a request had been made to the Board and Scottish Hockey staff to put the survey on hold whilst an attempt was made to find more meaningful and less leading questions, but this was refused. Scottish Hockey Board Chair Martin Shepherdson has agreed to meet representatives from the Committee along with other Board members, and it is hoped that this will lead to positive steps being taken in the coming weeks. Unfortunately a Scottish Hockey Board meeting clashed with our AGM, so it was not possible for Martin or another Board member to attend and listen to the views of member clubs.
West chose to make a workshop out of the responses received, comparing responses where that was possible. Discussions and suggestions for the future were instigated around communication, activities and opportunities, discipline, and inclusion. The thorny topic of differences in league structures and Bye Laws between West District Hockey and Women’s West District Hockey was also discussed. Once everyone was aware of the complexities in those areas it was unanimously agreed to continue with our independent, autonomous structure. Some attention of the discussion did focus on the Scottish Hockey Board and staff. One question was ‘why did they do this?’, with a number of clubs questioning ‘who had made the decision to go ahead with the survey and at what cost?’ Results from the workshop will be circulated and the committee will look to implement some or all of the ideas over the coming months.
The meeting closed with a thank you to all member clubs for their continued work to promote our sport, and encouragement to continue to have open dialogue with the committee and each other.
Overall the AGM proved to be really positive, with member clubs confirming their genuine belief and trust in the committee and a redoubling of efforts to ensure #WestisBest.
