This year's Annual General Meeting will be held on 20th July 2022 at Chandlers Ford Central.
Please get your Proposals in early to give everyone a chance to read and ponder on, I believe there will be quite a few this year so I have not specified 7.30 start yet as there may be a lot to get through.
Closing date for proposals is 8th July 2022
Proposal 1
Proposal for handicap adjustment: Andy Carter/Chris Bishop
Reduce all handicaps by 10% to shorten match times including moving minimum hc to 125
The aim of the proposal is to shorten match times as some of the finishing times are now getting quite late, not only is this deterring new teams from joining but is also becoming an annoyance for some current players.
Since I joined in 2016 the minimum HC has gone from 150 to 110 meaning some players had to score 80% more points each week thus pushing everybody else's HC gradually lower each season, this is now becoming critical as most games now take well over an hour each which in turn is making some matches nearly 4 hours long.
Proposal 2
Proposal for handicap adjustment: Tony Aldridge/Brian Cannons
Reduce all handicaps by a further 10% to 20%
The same as proposal 1 except players play off 80% instead of 90%
Proposal 3
*Proposal for players to play in HC order: Mark Spridgeon/Nick Wood
For one season, teams to play in handicap order.
Save a little time at the start of the evening sorting out the draw and allow higher handicap players to develop their games against similar ability players without accusations of being "bandits" every time they win a game or having games they simply cannot win. Hopefully encourage new players to join the league.
*Needs discussing same time as Proposal 5 & 6
Proposal 4
Proposal for dropping to 4 players: Terry Azor/John Mullane
Drop league games to 4 players per team
Purpose is to decrease match times.
Proposal 5
*Proposal for alternate draw: Terry Azor/John Mullane
Purpose is to change from a draw to a more tactical way of matching players.
There will no longer be a draw done to obtain pairings, the Home Captain will write his players on the board in the desired order of play, the Away Captain then adds his players in any order/matchup he wishes to give a more tactical advantage to away teams and allowing the match to be started if everyone is not available by 7.30.
*Needs discussing same time as Proposal 3 & 6
Proposal 6
*Proposal for Handicap Change: Chris Bishop
Proposal to change HC just twice a year.
I have proposed this change because if Proposal 3 or 5 get voted in it would throw the current handicaps out of kilter, if the best players are always playing the best, and worst players always playing the worst then you could quite easily end up seeing a 90hc player dropping to say 60 and a -20 player going up to +10, when these players come to meet each other in a competition the handicaps will be unrealistic compared to ability. The only way to counter this is to change handicaps at halfway and the end of season instead of the +/- 5 points currently used.
I am ok with the current method although it is a bit unfair for players with less ability moving 5-6% of the total needed every week when players that need to score 250 each week only change by 2% and its just over 1% for a -200 player (a comparable score change for a -50 player should be +/- 12.5 points each against the 5 points of a +100 player).
Also if it was changed twice a year it would create an equal playing field for all teams as everyone would play each cycle on the same hc rather than someone playing Park Gate off +20 then playing Totton 4 games later off +40, when actually every player should play each team off the same hc.
It would als do away with the scenario of 2 +100 players playing off of the correct handicaps and the scores ending 200-199 then having a hc swing of 10 points hc change when they only won by 1 point.
Despite the obvious unbalanced nature of the +/- 5pt system, I am ok with the way it is currently done, however it will not work being used with proposals 3 and 5.
*Needs discussing same time as Proposal 3 & 5
2021 AGM Minutes
MINUTES OF THE 2021 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SOUTHAMPTON & DISTRICT BILLIARDS AND SNOOKER ASSOCIATION HELD AT CHANDLERS FORD CENTRAL CLUB ON 25th August
PRESENT:
Sid Hunt President/Accounts Sec (Retiring President/Accounts)
Paul Adams (Churchills) Press Officer/Results Sec (Incoming Chairman)
Chris Bishop (St Denys) - (Incoming League Secretary/Website)
Andrew Carter (St Denys) - (Incoming Results Secretary)
Terry Azor (Chandlers Ford Central) - (Incoming President)
Mark McLean (Churchills)
Mike Thatcher (Totton Rec)
Mike Kunzi (Totton Rec)
Steve Allen (Totton Rec)
Chris Pullen (Park Gate RBL)
Nick Wood (Hamble Social)
Dave White (Chandlers Ford Central)
Korbin Lowe (Chandlers Ford Central)
ITEM 1 – APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from Mark Emm and Malc Willis (St Denys), Tony Aldridge (Totton Rec) and Peter Green (Churchills/Chairman).
ITEM 2 – MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGM (31 July 2019)
It was proposed by Chris Pullen (Park Gate), seconded by Terry Azor (Chandlers Ford Central) that the published Minutes of the previous AGM be accepted as the true record of the proceedings. Carried
ITEM 3 – MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.
ITEM 4 – ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Both the President (Sid Hunt) and Chairman (Peter Green) indicated that they were no longer willing to continue in their current positions due to personal circumstances. As a result Paul Adams was unanimously elected as Chairman and Terry Azor was unanimously elected as President.
ITEM 5 – RULE CHANGES
Proposal 1 (Chris Bishop, St Denys)
To reduce the number of postponed games I propose that if a team is one player short then they have the option of a player playing twice (said player to be nominated by opposing team). Not only will this relieve congestion from postponed fixtures, it will eradicate players travelling long distances to then not even participate in a game. Some teams struggle to field a full team at the best of times and with COVID it may prove even more difficult. If both teams can only field 4 players then the match can be played 4v4 but then the aggregate point would become 2pts.
If a team can only field 3 players then the match would be postponed as normal.
Chris Bishop stated that though he would prefer to see teams of five, this proposal might stop teams folding. It was mentioned by Terry Azor that captains could contact their opposite number in good time, and thus stop players travelling long distances who might then not even get a game. The difficulties of a player playing twice on a night were discussed: the player would probably have to be one of the first two of his team to play that night otherwise it would be difficult to make work. This led to a discussion (slightly off-subject) about games starting on time at 7.30pm, rather than closer
to 8pm. It was mentioned that some kind of handicap revision could occur in order to make games slightly shorter which would perhaps take 5 or 10 minutes off each game (A conversion chart will be put on the website shortly but this will be for information purposes only for now).
The motion was carried on the basis that those individuals willing to play a second game are put into a hat and drawn out before the match begins. If no individuals within a team are willing to play a second game then that game is forfeited 200-0.
Carried
Proposal 2 (Chris Bishop, St Denys)
To introduce a timed OPTION in the Gordon Lewis group stage. Currently the Gordon Lewis is 300 up in the group stages which is the best format based on highest placed runners up progressing so ideally would not be changed. However, with the new player ranking and the improved format it’s hopeful that this competition will start to grow and encourage a lot more players to enter which will bring its own problems of how long it takes to score 300 points. It’s therefore suggested that an optional 1hr 45minute time limit is introduced and a timer is set when match starts, when timer sounds the match is recorded at the current scores UNLESS the match is 90% completed (270 points) then it will be played through to the conclusion. Players would need to agree on this before match starts and if players fail to agree this rule would come into effect as the standard match rule.
Few people felt that the Gordon Lewis, as a scratch competition, would attract many players whose handicaps are on the higher side as these players would not see themselves as having much chance of winning a game.
Carried
Proposal 3 (Tony Aldridge, Totton Rec)
To reduce match nights to 4v4 for one season. For the coming season drop from 5 players down to 4 players then to be reviewed in 12 months. (As Proposal 1 and 3 are similar then they can be discussed, voted and concluded at the same time).
The proposer of the motion was not present at the meeting. It was pointed-out that teams with a good number of people “signed-on” (such as Chandlers Ford Central) would have more players unable to play regularly if this was brought into the league. It was also felt that we should be seeking to expand the number of people playing, if at all possible, rather than restricting the numbers.
Not Carried
Korbin Lowe raised the idea of league games being time-restricted in the future, and this is an option for the future.
ITEM 6 – ACCOUNTS
The balance sheet was produced by Sid Hunt. The league’s finances continue to be healthy. A question mark was put against the “League Entries” figure for 2019/20 which was shown as £200 but should be £400. Paul Adams will raise this with Sid Hunt.
ITEM 7 – CORRESPONDENCE
No correspondence was received
ITEM 8 – ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Having already shown their appreciation of Sid’s contributions over the years (Sid left the meeting before it concluded) with a round of applause, similar appreciation was shown to Paul Adams for all his work and time given as Results Secretary and Press Officer over 33 years. He will be contacted, infrequently we hope, for advice when it is needed.
The meeting then closed.
Minutes taken by Andrew Carter, Results Secretary August 2021