Annual Report October 2011

POYNTON SPORTS CLUB

B o w l s - C r i c k e t – S e n i o r F o o t b a l l – J u n i o r F o o t b a l l - L a c r o s s e - T a b l e T e n n i s - T e n n i s

Annual Report

October 2011

POYNTON SPORTS CLUB London Road North,

Poynton, Stockport, Cheshire. SK12 1AG

POYNTON SPORTS CLUB Executive Report 2011.doc Page 2 of 23

Chairman's Report 2010/11 It has been a real pleasure and honour to Chair Poynton Sports Club for the last five years. My key aims at the start of my tenure were to:

• Broaden the income base of the Club, to reduce pressure on subscriptions

• Make the Clubhouse a high quality, welcoming, professionally managed social environment for all members and guests

• Further strengthen the role of Juniors in the Club and better integrate parents of Juniors into the Club

• Work closely with all Sections to help them continue to improve their offer

• Develop the sports facilities through a potential land sale There is always more to do but we have done well against those first four aims. With a serious decline in the housing market the final aim has been more difficult to progress but, with the right timing, there is still strong potential in the project Broadening the income base It has become increasingly clear that if the Club relies on income from subscriptions the cost of membership would soon become untenable. Similarly we could not continue to rely solely on clubhouse income from Sports members to drive traffic to the bar and social functions As a result we have focussed on improving the Clubhouse and its management in order to broaden our income base and increase the use of the social facilities by both sports members and new users. However what has become clear in my time as Chair has been the strong demands on the availability of volunteers with growing work and family pressures. All the Sections have strong teams of committed volunteers doing a great job and the Sports Club has a remarkable team of committed Officers (of which more later) but it is increasingly important that we back up voluntary efforts with professional management. To that end we have strengthened the position of Club Manager to provide a permanent, professional management resource which can both manage the Club effectively on a day to day basis and optimise income by professionally marketing the club. The result has been significant expansion in the use of the Club, bringing in additional rental income and a much broader use of the Clubhouse to enhance bar receipts. Improving the Clubhouse Broadening our income base has in turn has enabled us to fund further improvements to the social facilities to further enhance our marketability. We have made major improvements to the bar area, the catering facilities, the Function Room, the lounge and the catering facilities


Similarly we have revised our catering arrangements to effectively create a franchise opportunity which brings an income to the club as well as providing a high quality service. The addition of vending machines has improved our service to members and guests and we have added Sky TV and top quality screens to provide a great service to members and attract more trade. We have also sought to improve security for members through CCTV, door management and improved boundary treatment to the site Integrating Juniors and Parents We have worked hard to recognise the key role of junior sports members and the potential their parents represent as users of the Club. We have worked on the 'culture' of the Club to make it as 'junior friendly' as possible and to encourage parents to use the Clubhouse as their own There is always more work to do but we have made good progress and look forward to continuing to develop the Club as an environment welcoming to all who love their sport. Working Closely with the Sections We are lucky to have a real multi-sports offer with opportunities to enjoy a wide range of sports. Our Sections are well run and many are very successful, with Tennis and Bowls in particular succeeding in recent years. Inevitably at any given time some Sections will be stronger than others and its important the Sports Club provides support and guidance when needed. To that end I have been particularly pleased to see a core group of volunteers make real strides in taking the Football Section forward and have tried to offer support along the way. We are now in a position where Football can go from strength to strength and continue in its role as one of the key sports sections in the Club. I'm particularly pleased to see Football introduce an Under 21 team made up primarily of juniors from Poynton JFC. This is a great model for all sections as the retention of junior players into senior sections is something we all need to work really hard on to ensure senior membership stays strong. I would like to thank all the Officers of all the Sections for their support and friendship over the last five years. Development of Sports Facilities Alongside interim Clubhouse improvements we have put an enormous amount of effort into trying to improve sports facilities through a sale of part of the site and a re-arrangement and redevelopment of facilities to create a state of the art sports environment. The structure of that deal remains in place but unfortunately a serious decline in the housing market has dramatically reduced the potential receipt. We have undertaken a range of design options but in simple terms to create a housing development site we have to rearrange facilities which requires a minimum receipt for the land to relocate the clubhouse and rearrange sports pitches to everybody's satisfaction. With the market as it now is the offer for the housing site has continued to reduce to the point where that equation currently doesn't work.


We cannot afford to get a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' wrong so are now working with our advisers to look again at the options. We are proposing to go back out to the market but I am not optimistic in the short term that we can release a sensible sized piece of land that generates sufficient receipts. We therefore have three main options:

1. Sell a housing development site that generates insufficient receipt to credibly improve our facilities

2. Continue to work up proposals ready for an upturn in the market 3. Reconsider a wholesale move to a new site in Poynton

Assuming option one is not pursued and given the lack of enthusiasm for option three I would recommend we follow option two and I would be pleased to continue to work on this option if the new Executive Committee wish me to. Poynton deserves great sports facilities, I believe we have an obligation to try to deliver them and making best use of our assets is the only credible way of achieving this aim to any significant degree. Thanks Above all I would like to thank the Officers of the Sports Club (both past and present) for their support, friendship and hard work. From the outside looking in its easy to criticise aspects of the Club and of course there will always be more to do. But the reality is that a small team of Officers work very hard to try and make the Club as good as it can be for our members and guests. They do a fantastic job with little in the way of support or recognition and I would like to thank every one of them. In particular I would like to thank Howard Smith and David Holt who between them do a huge amount to keep the Club running successfully and who have guided me through my Chairmanship, particularly over the last 18 months when my availability has been limited. All of the Officers deserve a mention including Yvonne Spurrell, Simon Piggott, Alex Oswell, Lee Smith, Jim Wilde, Graham Edmunds and those, including Geoff Ireland, Phil Bailey and Mike Walton, who have also been in post during my tenure. Thanks also to Simon Reeder and his team for their hard work in the Clubhouse. Finally I'd like to thank all the Members who've supported me, befriended me and yes, criticised me - its all valid and I'm grateful to you all for your commitment to a great Club. Going Forward Its crucial the Sports Club retains a strong Committee. The Committee has to come from the Sports Sections so please ensure that as well as keeping your Section healthy you contribute to the running of the Sports Club - it's your Club to run. And now I'm going to make sure I play a little more cricket! Best wishes Kevin Bell, Chairman


TREASURER’S REPORT For the financial year ending: 31 st MARCH 2011 Headline results in this financial year: Total Income for the club fell by 0.8% to £243,347 (£245,308 in 2010) Total expenditure fell by 0.4% to £233,697 (£236,920) A Surplus was achieved for the year of £9,650 (£8,388) Factors affecting our performance: Sections: Match fees and subscription income were 5.2% lower than last year. Donations sponsorship and fund raising were 0.4% lower than last year’s figure. Overall Income from sections was 4.7% lower - £102,923 (£107,957) Sections expenditure, excluding transfers to the main club, fell by 20.0% to £40,005 (£49,985). The main component responsible for this large reduction appears to be a drop in Junior Football’s tournament costs. Deficits were evident this year in Tennis (£501) Senior Football (£933) and Table Tennis (£369) sections. The overall Section surplus was £4,832 (£6,977). Main Club: Bar trading income fell by 6.8% to £116,016 (£124,531) Our margin on bar sales also fell to 49.4% (54.1%) resulting in a contribution of £57,329 (£67,356). The increase in supplier costs and the VAT rate during the year were negative factors here. House Income increased to a very healthy £14,421 (£7,257). Costs for the main Club (excluding depreciation) increased by 3.7% to £122,741 (£118,404). The Balance sheet net worth of the Club increased from £162,681 to £172,331 across the year. Loans were paid down by £9,537. The original Brewery loan refinanced at the Bank 5 years ago will be fully repaid in November 2011 saving us £513 per month from cash flow.


Our thanks go once again to all the people who contribute to ensure that the house and bar function and catering facilities work smoothly and profitably, namely Yvonne Spurrell and Jean-Louis Jaas. Despite the boost provided by the Football World Cup in June 2010 trading has been difficult due to the general economic circumstances following poor summer weather last year. Our Bar Manager, Simon Reeder has brought in new initiatives which have resulted in a significant increase in House Income which has helped to compensate for the fall in bar trading profit. Our thanks go to Simon for his efforts. We will need to review our pricing structure in the light of the supplier cost increases which we have absorbed over recent months. 200 Club Eddy Reynolds has decided to retire from administering the 200 club and our thanks go to her for running the scheme over the last few years. The scheme which continues to raise useful funds will in future be administered by Alex Oswell who will be re-launching it shortly and I hope he can count on members support. Cash flow I am pleased to report a stable performance again this year. I would however draw members attention to note 12 in the annual accounts. This note explains why the Club’s bank overdraft is continually rising. Every year fees are paid into the club’s Development account which represents a sinking fund towards renewal of the all-weather playing surface. These monies are quite correctly unavailable to cover any general running expenses of the club. The result of this is that although the accounts indicate a profit, the cash flow in the club’s Main account is negative. Summary An interesting comparison with our accounts 10 years ago reveals that our income has increased by 70% and our expenditure by 138% over this period. The winners have been a 90% increase in bar profit and the losers a substantial fall in ground expenditure in the face of rising overheads relating to the clubhouse. This is an issue that will need to be addressed in the future. Membership support for all functions continues to be paramount in keeping increases in subscriptions to a minimum. D N Holt, Hon Treasurer


GROUND REPORT Much of my report this year revolves around budgeting and looking forward rather than back. 1. Overall Budget

The 2010/11 Ground Budget was set 20% lower than the previous year and it was agreed that for 2011/12 it would be kept at a similar level. This meant that the previous hopes of creating a sinking fund for replacement of the tractor would still not be able to take place.

2. Machinery

We have been fortunate to have on board the services of Bill Tierney who is an excellent retired motor mechanic and he has been able to service the tractor, refurbish the heavy roller and refurbish the large Mastiff mower at below market rates and to a higher standard than we have previously been able to achieve. My particular thanks go to him. We are currently looking at the winter equipment, some of which has not been used for some time.

3. Ground Security

Although it was not within the ground budget the Club spent money erecting some perimeter fencing which has been partially successful in keeping unwanted visitors out but has also highlighted other gaps which we need to try and block up.

4. Front Entrance to the Club

Within the budget was an allowance to redesign the Club front entrance, this is planned to happen over the autumn months. In the light of recent developments of sections placing banner adverts to support sponsors, the redesign also needs to accommodate a plan for such revenue generating activity.

5. All Weather

By the end of the last winter season it became clear that the surface needed refurbishment. Unfortunately, a lot of hard work by Alistair Nicholson to set this up was thwarted by bad weather and this project has been put on hold until next spring. In the meantime, we are proposing to purchase a motorised heavy duty rotary brush which should help overcome recent problems with slipping and sliding.

6. Probation Service

Whilst carrying out a useful service to keep the general appearance of the grounds in reasonable order, the Probation Service has not


attended on as many occasions because of other commitments. This is a situation that I will address next spring for next summer.

7. Sectional Interests 7.1 Bowls – The Green continues to receive plaudits. 7.2 Cricket – Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the cricket square

and the Section had to undergo a Ground Inspection by the Cheshire Country Cricket League in which it did not fare particularly well. More money will have to be spent renovating the outfield during the spring after the lacrosse season has finished. There has been good help from individuals within the Section which is encouraging.

7.3 Tennis – Tennis are looking to redevelop the shale/grass court area. 7.4 Senior Football – SF are still outside of the Ground Budget for this

year but have indicated that they are prepared to buy into a groundman’s services for next year.

7.5 Lacrosse – Lacrosse are contemplating creating a netted

practice/shooting area so that juniors can practice without endangering the clubhouse or using other sections’ facilities.

8. The Groundsman and Next Year’s Budget

We find ourselves at a crucial point in time as far as the Ground is concerned as the Groundsman Alan Wrend may retire in the not too distant future. We need to carefully consider what we need in terms of ground maintenance as currently we have a groundsman who averages a 20 hour week whereas 10 years ago we had 1/1½ full time groundsmen. I am in the process of looking back at previous ground spends compared to overall Club budget as my suspicion is that we spend nowhere near as much as a proportion of our total income on the Ground. We also need to address the issue of the overall Club Contribution (as opposed to Section contributions) which last year was reduced to 12.5% from 30%.

9. General Thanks

I would like to thank those bowlers and other members who have put plants and shrubs in and maintained the area at the front of the Clubhouse to a level that external contractors/probation service would never achieve. My thanks also to Alistair Nicholson for the work he has done regarding the all-weather.


Thanks also to Mark Fletcher and Pete Heath for their work on the cricket square.

Jim Wilde, Ground Chairman CLUB MEMBERSHIP 2010 – 2011 The table below summarises the membership numbers of the six individual sports sections that constitute the Poynton Sports Club, the membership is classified into eight main subscription categories. The overall total number of members has fallen over the past few years ago & this is in part due to closure of the Squash section & loss of the Ladies Hockey section a couple of years ago. The table below summarises the membership numbers & it is pleasing to note that the U9 membership has increased by 11% to 100 for the first time. The increase in the numbers in this section is encouraging as it is hoped that they will in subsequent years continue to support & remain active members of the Club. The growing numbers in this category reflects the continued efforts put in by the officers & coaches of the respective sections as it involves considerable organisation & supervision by senior members. This year the overall membership of the club has again fallen, by 52 from 751 to 699, though 65 of these members are playing more than one sport thus giving a combined Section Membership of 764.This year the senior membership has dropped slightly by 4% a decrease of 11 from 264 to 253, whilst the junior membership has rather alarmingly dropped considerably by 51 from 278 to 227 representing a drop of over 18%.

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY

Year 2010/11

Year 2009/10

Year 2008/09

Year 2007/08

Year 2006/07

Junior U9 100 90 95 85 - Junior 227 278 307 364 408 Intermediate 50 38 45 67 53 Senior 253 264 285 294 298 Vice President 7 10 16 18 25 Patron 27 35 29 20 20 Social 16 16 16 8 35 Club Life 15 15 15 15 13 Others 4 5 5 7 25 Total Individual members

699 751 813 878 877

Total (all sections)

764 820 892 965 954


The above table is only small but it summarises a considerable input of data. All membership data is held on a central database that without the invaluable help & assistance of the individual membership section secretaries would render it a near impossible task as each section sets its own subscription which includes the relevant capitation fee to the main club. Should a member join more that one section then the capitation fee is discounted from the subscription to any subsequent section in the same financial year ending on the 31 March. i.e. it does not extend over the financial year end. The data provided has proved valuable in assisting in setting the main Club subscription levels at the annual budget and through e-mail addresses, providing an efficient & time saving method of contacting Section &/or Club members. I would however request once again, that members write their e-mail addresses clearly & legibly on membership forms as I still find some are very difficult to interpret especially where hyphens & underscores are involved. Simon Piggott, Membership Secretary. House & Bar Report

During the past twelve months or so, Poynton Sports Clubhouse has hosted wedding receptions, wedding anniversaries, wakes, christenings, leaving parties, children’s parties, 18th’s, 21st’s, 30th’s, 40th ‘s plus a 70th, 80th and a 90th birthday party! This successful revenue stream through the hire of function room and top bar area continues to raise crucial funds Poynton Sports Club needs to survive during tough economic times. While the six sport sections are the heart of what Poynton Sports Club is about, there is a limit to how far each member’s purse strings can stretch. The first 12 months of my term as Club Manager working along side the last House & Bar Chairman saw a 28% increase in sales meaning money could be re-invested for the benefit of its members. That year saw a major face-lift of the Clubhouse as well as many cost saving changes, so last year needed to be just as good. The consistent number of Function Room bookings has been a key aspect to that target. This has been mainly achieved through the marketing of a “free of charge” hiring of the function room for parties, external advertising through local press and an increase in repeat business from satisfied users. With the excellent support team of hard-working, approachable, and most importantly honest bar staff we continue to serve both members and guests as professionally and attentive as possible, ensuring this repeat business can be achieved. The last year has shown evidence of this honesty in the stock reports from the external stock-taker we bring in every six weeks. Bar sales mean nothing unless they are profitable through good stock control. Neither can the bar staffs work-effort be questioned when they are often still working with me clearing up some quite impressive Function Room messes at 2am in the morning.


To maximise non-member income though, a new licence had to be applied for in order to allow non-members to legally use the clubhouse bar during these functions. Despite some local opposition, mainly through unfounded fear the club would become some sort of night rather than sports club, through the hard work of both Club Secretary and Vice-Chairman, the application was successful. This change has brought with it a much needed tightening of age control at the bar, opening hours and general security. The introduction of CCTV around the club, door security during functions, new perimeter fencing and better external lighting have all been implemented as part of the clubs commitment to ensure its members and guests are kept safe while enjoying the facilities the clubhouse has to offer. An under 21’s card scheme was also implemented in conjunction with the short-term employment of a security firm. This measure proved successful as it was introduced to combat the rise in troublesome non-member youths in the grounds, which for the time being as a result has been greatly reduced. Under law the clubs licence doesn’t just cover the Clubhouse building but in-fact the whole grounds and there is therefore both a legal and social responsibility to ensure the grounds are safe and welcoming. In financial terms, by identifying times when the hall was unused, I have been able to rent regular weekly slots for Shanti (Martial Arts Club), Ballroom-dancing classes, a U3A table-tennis group & family history group. Along with regulars such as PROBUS and Poynton Manchester City Supporters Club meetings, the last year has seen a big increase in this type of revenue. Money continues to be generated through use of the fruit machine, quiz machine, juke box, pool table and the not so reliable coffee machine (a replacement is in the pipeline). A monthly rental is also paid by Jean-Louis for his catering franchise, who continues to work hard to provide an important service for both members and functions. On a cost-saving front, the previously out-sourced contract cleaners have been replaced in-house hourly paid ones, all of them actually members. This has meant more cleaning hours have been introduced resulting in a much more thorough clean of the lounge, changing rooms etc., at a cheaper cost. In-fact they must be congratulated on the excellent job they continue to do. Despite January’s VAT rise, continued successful supplier negotiations have meant that although selling prices have risen, they are still well below that of local bars/pubs and still achieve a healthy gross-profit for the club. All this has meant money has again been reinvested into the clubhouse. Smart, new outdoor furniture was purchased proving very popular during our ever bizarre British summer. Also, a huge 12ft. HD screen was purchased just before the football World Cup with money from a beer supplier deal. Despite England’s run of just four games, over £10,000 was taken over the bar. Records show the club struggled to take much money during previous tournaments, so it justified its investment. Although the installed screen and sound system are used little during the weekdays because of the high usage of the hall, they are often used for presentations, weekend functions plus


Wednesday’s ballroom dancing classes and will be a key revenue generator during next summers Euro Finals. Overall despite the absence of either a House Chairman or Bar Chairman the past year, (a gap temporarily filled through the excellent support of both Howard and David), we will continue to work hard to support the clubs sections and make Poynton Sports Clubhouse even more successful for you, its fun-loving thirsty members! Simon Reeder, Club Manager Social Report This year the Social meetings have combined with the House and Bar meetings as we are still short of a House and Bar Chairman. The combined committee meets approximately every six weeks and includes one representative from each section, the Social Secretary and the Club Manager. The Club’s event’s being now advertised on the club website. A summary of Social Events is as follows:

• The Club walks and Carvery Lunch take place on the first Sunday of every month, members and friends participating varying between eight and twenty.

• The Winter Quiz nights run by Tennis, Table Tennis, Cricket and Bowls

prove very popular again with Jean-Louis providing a supper menu.

• Each section is asked to organise at least two events per year at the club in order to boost bar takings as well as increasing their own funds.

• The two Jazz Nights in November 2010 and April 2011, featuring “Four

to the Bar” have been very popular and well attended.

• November 2010 staged our Beer Keller night which this year was a sell out and lived up to its excellent reputation.

• Our Annual “Carols by Candle Light” event again proved very popular

and will feature again this Christmas.

• The Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day Lunch proved to be very enjoyable in a friendly atmosphere but both events could have been a little better attended.

• Our Annual “Burns Night” was this year oversubscribed with a waiting

list for tickets.


• The St Georges night on 23rd April was very well attended and very successful including reading English verse and traditional English songs.

• A Charity music night was arranged in February by Elaine Jaas in

February and it is planned to hold a similar event in November.

• During the months of June, July and August Jean-Louis arranged some really interesting and different events including a French night, a Tapas night and a night at the Opera. All these events being enjoyed by all who attended.

• There was a Club Open Day for local Primary Schools which appeared

to have been very enjoyable for children, staff and coaches but unfortunately there has been no feed back from the High School organisers.

• The Poynton Mental Health Group has used the Bowls facilities on five

or six occasions this year. As usual I would like more members to attend functions in order to improve income through ticket sales and bar takings. This helps to keep subscriptions down especially now we have lost two sections in Squash and Hockey. Yvonne Spurrell – Social Secretary Sports Reports BOWLS The green has once again proved to be one of the best in the North of England - as supported by all visiting team's comments - some of whom have played on hundreds of greens in their lifetime. This is not easily achieved and my thanks go to Alan our groundsman, the Ground Chairman and to our Treasurer Paul Mason who has assisted me many times in cutting and caring for the green. The Bowls section committee have worked diligently and among other things have replaced and painted the green's dilapidated surround timber plus painted the shelters. My thanks go to those precious few volunteers. We also sought to improve the very old floodlights and expended restrictive section funds. Unfortunately the light given to the green is not sufficient and the Bowls committee will have to discuss another way to find further funds for further improvement to maintain on green playing successes.


CCTV has been installed with a view to catching and prosecuting the scum element of Poynton society and it has been effective although some youths broke in through the Bowls Pavilion window and caused extensive damage to the bar area. We still await developments on prosecution from the Police! I am still fully committed to providing Junior Bowls Coaching and a future for youngsters at Poynton Sports Club. I particularly try to underline the message that our wonderful sport is a now a game for all ages. Youngsters are the future of our sport and without the transition it will disappear. To that end, we had coaching on Saturdays for all and during the week for local schools supervised by our own four fully qualified and licensed Crown Green Bowls Coaches and in 2012 we will expand ideas. In 2011 we now have 18 league teams with 18 captains working extremely hard and my personal thanks and appreciation go to them all - they know they have my full backing. To assist them we are now lucky enough have a past Waterloo Winner (equivalent of winning Wimbledon at Tennis)...among other many prestigious tournament wins ..... playing in our ranks, Tommy Johnstone. He is married to a local lady and member Pauline, and we more than welcome him to our club and wish him a long career with us. Tommy began bowling at a very young age - an example to future bowlers. After 2010 being our Most Successful Year Ever.... my closing remarks in 2010 were " Do you think you can better these successes? - I know that you are capable of just that! " and we have at least equaled that unbelievable feat in 2011! At the time of composing this report in late September (not end of season)

• One lady Kath Bailey and three of our men Mike McDonnell, Lee Fletcher and Paul Dooley represented Cheshire.

• Two men veterans Kevin Flannery and Malcolm Sims represented Cheshire.

• One lady Rhona Mason and two men Paul Mason and Bill Burn represented Cheshire indoors.

• Bill Burn won the coveted Stockport Festival individual trophy. • Mike Heald won the Alderley League mens individual Kenworthy Merit

Trophies for the second year. • Stockport League 1st team won the Bill Adshead Shield ... for the

second year successively. • Alderley League Ladies 1st team won the Division One title. • Alderley League Mens 1st team won the Division One title. • Alderley League Veterans 1st team won the Division One title ... for a

record 8th successive time. • Alderley League Veterans 2nd team came runners up in Division Two. • Alderley League Mixed 1st team won the Division One title ... for the

3rd year successively.


• Alderley League Mixed 2nd team won the Division Two title. • Stockport League veteran pairs team came 3rd in Division D ...... their

highest in recent years. In early season we entered the Cheshire Cups for the first time in years and the experience gained by all grades of our players proved invaluable. On the 25th September we held an all day Mr & Mrs bowls competition which was organised by Mr and Mrs Kevin Flannery. It was a massive success both on and off the green. Many competitors asked if it could be repeated and we intend to in 2012. Despite prohibitory signs being erected on the club's grounds I came across some dog excreta on the cricket/lacrosse outfield recently. What a sad age we live in when the general public - and possibly club members - do not even consider the devastating implications and place dogs more important than fellow humans. The club website is an excellent communication media to all - worldwide - and my congratulations go to the founders and maintainers. I urge all Bowls members to view it regularly and contribute news items. Dare I say again in 2011 that our section can do even better in 2012 - yes, I will with every confidence as a progressive and totally optimistic section. John Wilcockson, Chairman. CRICKET REPORT ON 2011 SEASON – CRICKET SECTION The 2011 season has proved to be a somewhat disappointing one for the Cricket Section overall although there were of course many high spots. First of all, we lost the services of Mike Walton due to illness. Mike had been doing a fine job as Acting Chairman (really Chairman in all but name) and we found it impossible to find a volunteer to replace him. As a result the Executive Committee continued to operate satisfactorily in a reactive way but apart from the valued input of Pete Heath, there was no player representation on the committee. Therefore there was little information flowing into the decision making body about the aspirations or concerns of playing members. In the last couple of weeks, Paul Gould has indicated that he is willing to take on the Chairman’s and/or the Performance Director’s role and a meeting is to be held tonight (29 September) to hear his proposals for the future direction of the Section. The condition of the wicket and outfield led to concerns being expressed by the Cheshire County League and an inspection of the ground was carried out


in July. It is greatly appreciated however that more assistance was given to Jim Wilde and the Groundsman, largely at the instigation of Mark Fletcher and Pete Heath, to improve the quality of the routine wicket repair and preparation work towards the end of the season. Moreover, a working party was formed and with the assistance of Geoff Hampson, the end of season scarifying, reseeding and top dressing programme has been completed at a record early date in September with the only cost being in respect of the seed and soil. It is anticipated that this volunteer help will be continued next year and lead to an improvement in the assessments recorded by umpires and visiting captains which left us in next to the bottom place in the pitch table. At the beginning of the year, we were also disappointed to lose our Ladies team. The principal reason was the high costs of membership in comparison to neighbouring cricket only clubs. Poynton maintain some degree of female involvement via the Girls Under 13 team who have joined together with Stockport Georgians and play their matches at their ground. We move on to the performance of our teams on the field of play. FIRST X1 Playing Record: - CCL Division 1 – Won 5, Drawn 5, Lost 10, Cancelled/Abandoned 2, League Position – 11 th out of 12; Cheshire Cup – Eliminated in 2 nd round; Cheshire Shield – Runners-up; League T20 Cup – Elim inated in 2 nd round A disappointing end to the season therefore as the First X1 were relegated to Division 2 of the Cheshire County League. After a run of poor results at the start of the season, the team picked itself up with a sequence of 4 wins in succession leaving them in mid-table. However, apart from against Bramhall, further wins proved elusive after this spell and the team gradually slipped down the table. Some compensation was gained by reaching the final of the Cheshire Shield but a heavy defeat ensued at the hands of Sale. Highlights from the year were seen in the performances of the following players:- Rhys Burke – our Overseas for the 2nd year - top scorer with 615 runs and 31 wickets. Josh Hampson – a Junior who scored a flawless 52 on debut and ended with 410 runs at an average of 30 and qualified for the League averages. Danny Williams – another Junior who batted and bowled well. 200 runs including a quality 62 against Sale plus 15 wickets from a number of over’s bowled which was restricted due to his age. Rick Clark – 40+ wickets and a good year with the bat. Simon Dunne – a highly satisfactory year as wicketkeeper.


SECOND X1 Playing Record – CCL Division 2: Won 11, Drawn 2, L ost 8, Cancelled/Abandoned 1. League Position – 5 th out of 12. The Second X1 missed out on promotion after a fluctuating season. An excellent start was followed by up and down form until a good spell of results revived hopes of promotion only to suffer two defeats out of the last three matches to thwart our chances. A total of 34 players were chosen for the 2nd X1 this year and Captain Jimmy Williams felt that the number of enforced changes contributed to the inconsistant form. As a matter of interest the age range of players who featured in the team ran from 13 (Chris Williams) to 63 (Jim Wilde) Jimmy is looking for individual players to take on more personal responsibility next season to ensure that there are fewer fielding lapses, batsmen score more heavily once they are ‘in’ and bowlers display the confidence to pressurise opponents in order to turn draws into wins. THIRD X1 Playing Record – Cheshire County League Sunday Divi sion 2 – Won 6, Drawn 2, Tied 1 Lost 6, Cancelled 3. League Position 6 th out of 10. Jack Gardener Trophy – Won group mini league, elimi nated at first Knock-out stage. The 3rd X1 finished in a mid-table position this year. Captain Pete Heath believed that the team played with confidence and commitment with heads rarely dropping in adversity. As a ‘nursery’ to prepare younger members for senior cricket, he felt that the 3rd team achieved this aim well over the season. The number of young players mentioned in the highlights of the season reflects the progression that was being accomplished. Maiden 50s were scored by Jake Haresnape, Matt Warburton and Elliott Moores as well as the more mature Brian Thompson. Other young players to make their mark were Chris Williams, Josh Noel, Andy Heath, Marek Heath and Adam Williams. Even more people played for the third team (38) and several had a sufficiently successful season to qualify for inclusion in the 2012 League Handbook. LEGENDS (OVER 40’s) X1 Playing Record – Cheshire County League SE Group: W on 9 Lost 2, Cancelled 1. League Position 2 nd out of 7


Under the leadership of new captain, Brian Kingham, the Legends had a successful season finishing in 2nd place in the League. Players had to accept a new method of learning of their selection – by text no less. The season went well with the mix of newcomers and established names blending well with the result that a run of victories was achieved. At the end of the season we were only 2 points behind the eventual winners, Bollington, who had cemented their position with a crushing victory against an under-strength Legends team. Batting was consistently good throughout the season with BK, Bryan Thompson, Doug Martin, Francis Turnbull and Jim Wilde all featuring strongly. The bowling was also sound with wickets spread between Dave Hollick, Francis Turnbull, Pete Heath and Nigel Potts. As ever the Legends team struck a good balance between playing hard and enjoyment. JUNIOR CRICKET The Junior Section had a good season under the continuing chairmanship of Jane Williams and 2 boys were selected to represent Cheshire and one to represent the District side. One girl was chosen for the Cheshire team. John Marsden, Secretary. SENIOR FOOTBALL ON THE PITCH Both teams had mixed fortunes throughout the season. The first team struggled to get a settled side through injuries; this in turn impacted on the second team therefore it was another inconsistent season for both sides. The first team hovered in the bottom half of the table for most of the season but managed to finish quite strongly and ended up in mid-table once again. They also were beaten in the semi-final of the Stockport Cup. The Second team started strongly but as players were called into first team action their form dipped, so for much of the season this saw them in and around the relegation zone, however, again they finished on a high and managed to pull clear of danger. OFF THE PITCH Again it has been a struggle to meet the sections financial commitments but we are pleased to report these were achieved. Not only did we pay our way, we did at least start the new season with some money in the bank enabling us to pay various league fees, insurance, etc. We


did this by organising various fund raising activities throughout the season culminating in a very successful day on May Bank Holiday Monday when we held a Beer Festival, 6 a side tournament and our Spring Raffle. We also have done some considerable work on the ground, including verta draining, replacing of divots on a weekly basis, mowing, and embarked on a reseeding programme, Mark Warburton done a great job of marking the pitch on a weekly basis, and before the season started the pitch surrounds were given a much needed coat of paint. Looking forward to the current season we have brought in an intermediate/youth side as a link to the junior section as they became too old to stay in the junior section, this side is being run by Paul Dawson the former junior section chairman and hopefully this will continue as players get to old to play for the junior sides. We have also brought in a veterans side who have already lent some very good support in fund raising and administration, and should provide an opportunity for some of the older lads to continue to play in there latter years. Colin Brooks, Chairman. JUNIOR FOOTBALL Junior football this season is currently running 10 teams from under 9’s to under 18’s. On the pitch it was a steady season with our u18s winning the Stockport metro Knock Out cup in their final season as juniors. No other trophies won but a few teams just missing out on promotion by a couple of points. We had 2 teams relegated. We have recently set up a partnership with Everton football club which allows us to go and watch and learn how they run the academy and train their young players to help them become better players and hopefully one day see a Poynton player turning out for Everton’s academy squads in the near future. We are starting our soccer school on 23rd Oct at Lower Park primary school on sun mornings. Our coaching sessions in the schools are still going ahead in partnership with SMS coaching. Finally I would like to say a big thank you to Paul Dawson who has finally left the junior section as the team he ran has now moved up to the senior section at Under 21 level. Hopefully they will continue to have as much success at under 21 level as in the previous seasons at junior level. Also I would like to thank Ken Chance-Larsson for his efforts in setting up last season under 8s unfortunately for the club Ken has been offered a job in Australia and he has accepted so he will be departing these shores in the new year. Jason Lees, Chairman.


LACROSSE Our club continues to progress both on the junior and senior fronts. We are in the fortunate position where we can field a B team for the coming season, this has been possible with a goodly number of our ex under 16’s graduating to the senior ranks, which demonstrates that our plans for securing an exit strategy for our juniors into the seniors is producing very good results. Our playing strength has also been boosted by an American college graduate, Zac Cecil, who is continuing his education at Manchester University. Both of our senior teams performed well with our first team just missing out on promotion and our A team finishing just above mid table, our aims are to go one better in the new season. Our first team contested their league cup final, although not winning all players gave their all, disappointing, yes, but we were there to compete, which we did. Our junior teams also enjoyed an excellent season with both our U14’s and U16’s contesting their cup finals with our under 16’s winning in some style. Our U12’s also enjoyed a good cup run reaching the semi finals. To have this level of success puts Poynton in the forefront of junior lacrosse with great credit to their coaches and managers. Our under 12’s also achieved great success and achievement as, for the first time in Poynton’s 122 year history, fielded two Under 12 teams, yes they are young, some just 7 years of age, but they are there every Saturday playing with great enthusiasm. This increase in playing strength at this age group has been our aim for many years and comes about by coaches and managers organising and participating in many externally organised events promoting the game of lacrosse. I have said it many times but is worth repeating, we have the best coaches managers and administrators in our game. We must now continue with these activities to grow our sport in Poynton. If we are to grow in the future we must realise that we are becoming a facility within the local community and not just a sports club, we must embrace other local organisations in the provision of sporting activities for children and young people. An example of this was the Poynton Primary schools sporting festival that was held at the club in July where, over 3 days, a total of over 1100 school children took part in 7 different sports. Feed back from the children voted it a huge success and really enjoyed their session trying different sports. It is my view that this event, and others like, should be an annual event were we can actively advertise our club and what we have to offer – first class sporting facilities. On the administration side of our club we have continued to maintain our financial and managerial stability with sufficient funds to meet our obligations and commitments. We have been helped with this by some innovations in raising funds which professionalise our club and help raise our profile in the local, and wider, community. During August, in conjunction with Wilmslow LC, we hosted Tennessee Wesleyan College with a three game series played at Poynton and Wilmslow. Poynton and a Poynton/Wilmslow select side won both games by a one goal


margin. Tennessee gained their revenge winning the last game against a select Poynton/Wilmslow Under 19 select team, in the end sport and friendship were the real winners. Following all the games the opportunity to socialise with our guests was eagerly taken in the usual lacrosse tradition. Check out our web site www.poyntonlacrosse.co.uk. Graham Edmunds, Chairman. TABLE TENNIS A mixed season for the Table Tennis Section overall but the outstanding success was the B Team who finished the season as runners up in the First Division within sight of the Division champions. An exceptional all round performance with Marcus McNulty and Jordan Potts winning 90% of their matches which could have been a Championship winning contribution but for the fact that Jordan was away and missed a number of matches and his father John was unable to play through injury. Mike Watson and Tom Roberts played their part with both winning almost 60% of their matches. The A Team put in their usual solid performance finishing mid- Division in the First Division but the real disappointment was the C Team which following relegation from the First Division the previous year was again relegated by a very small margin to the Third Division. The D Team had another good season finishing a close third in the Third Division thanks to Adam Rowland-Jones and Andy Aldridge winning over 70% and 80% respectively of their matches. The very sad news to report was that one of the most popular and longstanding members of the Section, Graham Bellis, suffered a serious injury during the close season and will be unable to play for at least the next season. All our wishes are for a speedy and full recovery and to express appreciation for Graham's considerable contribution to the Section. Bill Webb, Chairman. TENNIS The last year has been a successful one for the Tennis Section with increasing numbers of members, increased competition at all levels, remarkable successes at junior level and the section in a sound financial state. Development The floodlights on the new hard court have been recently upgraded using Tennis Section funds and should provide a much improved court for the winter months. An agreement has been reached with the main club to have the all-weather courts surface cleaned. This work is dependent upon a spell of dry


weather and has not yet been done. The tennis section has also replaced (with financial help from the main club) and painted a large number of boards on the all-weather court this summer. Cheshire LTA are still keen to help us develop the old shale and grass courts using grant and loan money from Sport England. To do this would require a change in the financial structure at PSC and the Tennis Section are currently investigating whether this might be possible. There is little or no sign of the major club redevelopment having an impact on the Tennis Section in the near future. Finance The section continues to be financially sound, meeting all of their commitments to the main club and repaying this year’s instalments of the loan obtained from East Cheshire. 80% of our subscription income is paid to the main club (levy, winter court hire and ground allocation), the remainder being spent on LTA and League fees and for the purchase of tennis balls and equipment. Monies for anything else, including development, have to be earned from social events and competition fees. Consequently, it is very difficult for the Tennis Section to accumulate significant amounts of capital to redevelop the shale and grass courts. Membership Senior membership has been relatively constant in recent years with between 50 and 60 members and currently stands at 57. Junior membership is the highest it has been for many years and stands at 73 (50 juniors and 23 minis). Coaching Michael Atherfold has a very comprehensive senior and junior coaching programme at Poynton Tennis Club and a schools link programme with the local schools. Breakfast clubs are being run at Lower Park Primary School to develop an interest in tennis at a young age. The extensive coaching of our juniors has resulted in outstanding success for our junior teams and for individuals in competitions up to County level (see below). One Poynton junior (Olivia Anderson) now has LTA support and has gone on to advanced coaching at the David Lloyd Centre. The Tennis Section now run junior camps in all the major school holidays, the biggest camp of the year being run for 3 weeks starting in the last week of July. This camp, which attracted 123 bookings (an increase on last year), is a major source of income for the section. My thanks go to Mark Costello and Mike Atherfold and all those who helped to make the camp so successful. Competition SENIOR - Poynton Tennis club ran 3 teams in the 2010/2011 East Cheshire Winter League and 3 men’s and 2 ladies teams in the 2011 North East Cheshire summer league. In the winter league the 1st team finished 3rd in Div 6, the second team 3rd in Div 9 and the 3rd team 8th in Div 10A. The 1st and 2nd teams were both promoted. In the summer league all of the teams finished mid-table in their respective divisions with the exception of the men’s 3rd team who finished 9th and may be relegated.


Junior - An exceptional year for our junior teams with 3 teams out of 4 finishing as Divisional champions (under 18 boys Div 2; under 13 boys Div 3; under 13 mixed Div 2). We regularly enter juniors in singles competition at club and County level with recent success in the Prestbury open (Natalya Smith winner of both min-red and orange groups and Oliver Graham runner up in the boys mini-red group). In-house we run competitions for both senior and junior players with winter and summer tournaments, bi-monthly American tournaments, singles ladders and a generation tournament (seniors and juniors playing together). We also regularly host LTA junior tournaments and inter-school tournaments at Poynton Tennis Club. Acknowledgements The Chairman would like to thank all the members of the committee for their hard work and dedication in running the Section. In particular I would like to thank coach Michael Atherfold, junior co-ordinator Mark Costello, the coaching assistants and all those senior members who help to make the junior section the success it is today. Trevor Green, Chairman.

Documents

Annual Report October 2011