Club Information

We have now completed our first quarter as a new organisation and I’m happy to report that things are going well. Financially we have hit our targets and the membership renewal exercise has been successful with the majority of existing members renewing before the end of January. With the monthly income from BAE employees who pay through their salaries this has given us a cushion to help later in the year when various major items of expenditure are due.

Our biggest issue at present is the impending departure of our two long serving Groundsmen, Andrew and Mark. They are due to return to the shipyard at the end of May when our new Groundsman Lee, will be left to manage on his own with the assistance of a group of volunteers. I would like to thank the people who have stepped forward for this work and congratulate them on the great job they are doing. Unfortunately there are not enough of them and I would appeal to anyone else who can help to contact Eddie France. Lee will need all the help he can get because many of the tasks he carries out require assistance from one or more volunteers.

We are looking at ways to attract funding to create a second full time job, but the earliest we can expect any results from this will be July this year. We are also looking at additional labour through various community job creation programmes.

As you will see from the rest of the bulletin lots of activity is going on behind the scenes and hopefully this will come to fruition later in the year.

The work being carried out by Pulse Regeneration is progressing well and they are scheduled to complete their work in Early May. They wish to thank all those who responded to the survey forms that were distributed.

Unfortunately Kerry Dixon has reluctantly had to resign from the Board due to a change in her role within BAE that will make it impossible for her to devote the time she feels is necessary to make a success of her Events and Publicity role. I would like to thank her for the contribution she has made to launching the new club and wish her success in her new role.

Finally I’d like to congratulate the Bowling section on the successful competition organised at the end of March and thank them for the donation of Ł700 to club funds. The Soccer section also successfully organised a Sportsman’s Dinner and again I’d like to thank them for their donation of Ł250 to the club. These donations help to create a reserve should we encounter any major unexpected expenditure through the year.

Breaking News

2008 Membership cards are now available behind the bar. A signature will be required when you collect your card.

Finance

It is still too early in the year to derive meaningful information on the financial status of the Club. As you will all recall the Company’s withdrawal has left an annual funding shortfall of over Ł100k (or Ł2k per week). The “survival plan” actions presented at the SGM in November to mitigate this are being implemented and the benefits appear to be coming through although not without the associated pain. Nevertheless these actions must be sustained to give us the breathing space we need to introduce new revenue streams and implement the changes necessary to secure the long-term future. This cannot be done overnight.

As you are all also aware the Chancellor chose to increase Duty on alcohol in the March Budget. This coincides with the annual brewery price increases. We have decided that although we will absorb the brewers increase the increase in taxation imposed by the Government is completely outside our control. The result is that with effect from Sunday 13^th April bar prices will rise by 5p per unit i.e. per pint, glass of wine, spirit tot, etc. to cover the increased taxation.

On a brighter note we have now completed the Weekly Club Draw up to week-ending 22^nd March and the lucky winners names are displayed on the notice boards throughout the Club and hopefully by the time you read this, also on the BAE Systems intranet noticeboard.

Grants

The main project being progressed currently is the procurement of a sit on roller for ground maintenance.

The application for a grant for this item is in the final stages of preparation in conjunction with the local Sports Council Officer Chris Athersmith. Hopefully this will be submitted by mid April.

The only other item currently identified as a requirement is a scorebox for the Cricket. This is being progressed by the section itself through Jason Hipkiss.

Sections are reminded that Chris Athersmith and Jack Charnley are available to help regarding any funding issues. However, it’s essential that all the pre-requisites are in place before applications can be made. These are outlined in papers previously issued to sections and can be easily completed with advice mainly from Chris who has templates for them to be easily converted for our use.

The club and sections should be assessing their requirements so that a listing can be drawn up and prioritised as necessary to proceed, funding is not easy to come by.

Upcoming Events

Quiz Nights are ongoing on the last Thursday of every month. Posters are around the club giving the dates. It costs Ł6 for a team of 4 and all proceeds go to help the club.

Keswick to Barrow (Saturday 10^th May)– this is an event which brings us much needed revenue. However, we need a large number of volunteers on the day to man the bars and also on the Sunday morning to clear up. Please make yourselves available to assist and leave your name and contact details behind the bar.

Motorcycle Show (Sunday 18^th May) – a new event in the calendar, which promises to bring some new faces and much needed income to the club.

Sports Development

A number of potential changes to the playing areas have been considered such as making the current training area an all weather surface, although with the costing for this in the region of Ł500k making this a remote possibility at this time.

However changing the less used top tennis courts into two floodlit all weather five a side pitches is more achievable with an estimated Ł150k spend, this is currently undergoing some further costing prior to funding being sought.

Additional to that is the possibility of changing the old allotment area into a child safe play area with some seating is also a being looked the cost being Ł50k

Information from most of the sections has now been collated. It is now intended to set up some individual section meetings to discuss where we are going.

Some discussion has been ongoing with a view to giving Furness College access to club facilities. This may happen between now and the end of the College term, with the possibility of a three year agreement being discussed.

This will be an important source of income if it happens and all sections are asked to support this initiative, which may mean loaning equipment such as table tennis tables, badminton mats, cricket nets.

The potential for a summer school to run for a week in August has been discussed with some sections but as there is already a football event taking place this initiative will be placed on the back burner until 2009.

It is hoped this event will become annual and be supported through attendance by some of the professional clubs providing coaching facilities, this with an aim of building relationships and improving the profile of the club.

Bar Update

The requirement to man the bar with volunteer bar staff continues to present a problem. There is a need to have a number of volunteers available to cover shifts behind the bar at weekends –

The above is a minimum of names – the more the better for all concerned. With this number of volunteers it would mean 1 shift every 4 weeks.

To keep the bar open we need these volunteers – if you can spare a small amount of time every month then please let Andy know.

Health and Safety

The board are currently investigating the status of the clubs situation regarding the many issues involved in Health and Safety and would welcome volunteers to help in this area, previous experience would be of great advantage but not essential.

Memberships

Member Type	Total
Full	341
Junior 6 – 13	48
Junior 14-17	81
Retired	123
Social	552
Total	1145

The introduction of signing on nights in January appears to have been a great success with a big increase in the number of subscriptions received before the end of that month. Hopefully in 2009 we can increase the number even more.

There are still around 120 members from 2007 who haven’t renewed membership this year. These “Lapsed Memberships” have a potential value to the club of Ł3,490 which is a substantial amount. Lists have been provided to Sections of “Lapsed Members” and these will also be posted on noticeboards in the club. Sections have also been asked to ensure they operate a “No Pay – No Play” policy.

Hopefully in this way we can turn these ‘Lapsed Members’ into current members in the near future.

Business Development

A new pricing structure has been developed for the hire of both hall facilities and external facilities. This is to be ratified and implemented.

Discussions are ongoing with local food suppliers to identify a preferred supplier for catering on the premises. A final choice is expected to be made soon.

A potential need for doormen has been identified for certain types of function. We now have in place a means of obtaining door security when required.

Grounds

Essentially more volunteers are required to help with ground maintenance. To date the Rugby and Bowls sections are representing themselves well.

We are now in the busiest time regarding ground upkeep with the cross over between winter and summer sports.

For cricket and tennis areas the grounds need to be prepared in time for the start of their respective seasons.

Bar Prices

The board would like to issue a guarantee that members will see no further bar increases between now and April 2009

For future updates Ian Baker will be happy to include information about functions each and every section are putting on at the club. Also, we could have an element of input about sporting prowess, so accolades for players who participate at county, national levels – coaches that acquire a high standard of certificate, club referees that are doing well, etc etc.

Hawcoat Park Sports and Social Club

Chairman’s Message