Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Officials [GACO]
Minutes of sixth Annual [AGM] Meeting held on 24th February 2015
Held in the Pavilion, Stroud CC commencing 7pm
Acting Chairman, Tom Boore opened the meeting and welcomed 23 Members to the
sixth Annual Meeting of GACO –
present – Nick Andrew, Tom Boore, Deric Burns, Jeff Chandra, Les Clemenson, Malcolm Dody,
M Elsiey, Bob Hampshire, John Harper, Howard Hudd, Dave Hull,
John Lindley, Tony Lucas, Andrew Marson, Ray Parker, Karl Senior, Kiran Sakhamuri, Geoff Trett,
Darren Turl, John Wheeler, Tim Williams, Ian Wright
& Marlon Zoglowek.
Action
Agenda Item
1.Apologies(11) – Martin Brown, Adrian Bull, Trevor Crouch, Terry Deakin,
Sally Donaldson, Sue Drinkwater, Roger Gillam , Alan Heath,
Ian McHardie-Jones, Peter Sawyer & Les Stenner .
2.Minutes of last year’s Annual meeting
having been posted on the
website during the past year were taken as read; proposed by GT/BH,
agreed & signed as a true record
3. Chairman’s Remarks – TB thanked Stroud CC for hosting the meeting.
He then proceeded to make his remarks - see attached Appendix 1
Report adopted upon a proposal by HH/JW
4. Association’s Annual Report - see attached Appendix 2.
Report adopted upon proposal by JW/JC
5. Treasurer’s Financial Report – attached Appendix 3.
HH remarked that payment of expenses for GCB matches took a long
time to be received by members. JL said he was aware of this and would
endeavour to get GCB to make some ‘interim’ payment in future.
The Financial statement adopted upon a proposal from HH/KS
6. Election of Officers:
The Chairman said there had been one nomination for Scorers’
representative following Geoff Trett’s decision to stand down; no nominations
had been received for the other posts. However, all those Officers had
indicated their willingness to stand again and in the absence of any other
nominations, it was proposed by JW and GT to re-elect them en-bloc:
unanimously agreed.
Chairman – Tom Boore
Secretary – John Harper
Treasurer – John Lindley
Appointments’ Officer – Les Stenner
Educ/Train/Recrt – Bob Hampshire
Scorers’ Rep – Sue Drinkwater
Performance Officer – Bob Hampshire GCB Rep – Tom Boore
Website Administrator – Sue Drinkwater
7. Any Questions: none.
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8.
Guest Speaker – Les Clemenson, ECBACO South & West Regional
Chairman gave an informative and interesting presentation entitled
‘Change and the role of ECBACO – a personal view and changes in 2015 &
2016’.
At the end, he was thanked by the Chairman with members showing
their appreciation in the usual way.
There were no other questions and the
Meeting was closed at 8.35pm by the Chairman, thanking
Members for their attendance and wishing them a
successful and enjoyable season.
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GACO Minutes February 2015 – Appendix 1 – Acting Chairman’s remarks
Acting Chair Report at the 2015 A.G.M. of G.A.C.O.
When John Schofield relinquished the GACO chairman role in early 2014 in the light of his move to
Derbyshire your committee asked me to take over the post, a privilege I was happy to accept because,
having been the Gloucestershire Board representative on the GACO committee since its inception, I
knew that I was working with a group of committed members with the best interests of Gloucestershire
cricket at heart.
When asked recently to present awards at the County Cup Senior Clubs Final which was played at the
Frocester Cricket Club ground I was delighted to meet up with a few chaps from my playing days, now a
few years back, and also to enjoy a chat with a number of umpires who were also watching the game.
I was reminded about how much progress has been made since GACO was created seven years ago.
Though the natural North/South geographical still exists there has been a ‘coming together’ of all the
parties involved with the aim of achieving improvement in all aspects of the game of cricket, particularly
in the areas of scoring and umpiring.
Training, performance assessment and grading have all been introduced and have established a
pathway for any official, be it umpire or scorer, to achieve his or her aspiration whether it is to reach the
top of recreational cricket or just enjoy a day’s cricket.
So here we are seven years on and GACO is thriving. The committee comprises talented individuals from
both ends of the County who give their time and skills in the best interests of cricket players of all ages
and cricket umpires and scorers. It is my real privilege that having been asked to take the Chair I find
myself working alongside a team of officers who do not carry the baggage of past years and who look to
develop GACO into the very best County organisation in the UK. With your support that is an eminently
achievable ambition.
Finally I wish to thank all umpires and scorers in Gloucestershire, irrespective of whether they are
members of this organisation or any other, for giving their time and skills to the further enjoyment of
this delightful sport known as cricket. Without their presence cricket is a poorer game.
Tom Boore.
24 February 2015
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GACO Minutes February 2015 – Appendix 2 – Association Report
This Report is to provide an outline of the activities of the Committee during 2014.
Meetings – the Committee has met quarterly.
The Officers were
John Schofield – Chairman until May: Tom Boore – Acting Chairman from May & GCB rep;
John Harper – Secretary: John Lindley – Treasurer: Bob Hampshire – Training Administrator & CPO
Geoff Trett – Scorers rep: Les Stenner – Appointments Officer: Sue Drinkwater – Website Administrator:
Local Association reps – Peter Sawyer and Howard Hudd.
Steve Silk GCB CEO has also attended by invitation.
Scorer Training - Scorers at all levels have been trained over the last year but with very disappointing
numbers especially at the lower levels. John Lindley attended the ECBACO tutor training held last
Autumn and has been a great help as a L1, L1A and Introductory scorer tutor this winter.
The GCCL scorer training initiative has helped to boost numbers on the Introductory Courses, which are
as follows:- April 2014 – 6 people; Jan 2015 – 2 people; March 2015 – 4 people booked on so far with
more interest received
L1 course in Jan 2015 – 2 people both passed with very high pass marks
L1A – 2 of last year’s L1 candidates passed L1A assessment in Oct 2014.
L2 – Linda Collinson passed L2 assessment during the summer 2014.
Alan Heath attended the L2 Scorer’s course in High Wycombe in Feb 2014 but has not yet been assessed
at this level.
L3 – Andy Marson attended the regional L3 course in Taunton in Nov 2014 and is currently building his
portfolio of high level games ready for assessment.
Total Cricket Scorer course in Bristol in Nov 2014 was attended by 11 people, 3 of whom were GACO
members and have since received ECBACO certificates of attendance.
Scoring Apps (on Ipads and tablets) – Nov 2014 – 6 people attended. This is not an official course but
from scorers survey this was the most requested event and proved successful and enjoyable.
Regional DLS and Linear courses were held at Frenchay CC in Feb 2015 with 10 attendees from all over
the S&W Region and two more from other regions, as there were no other courses available.
On behalf of the region, Sue Drinkwater co-tutored the L3 course in Taunton in Nov 2014 and is lead
tutor on the L3 course in Cannock in March 2015.
There is plenty of activity at the higher levels of scorer training but little interest in committing to
training or membership at the lower level, despite a direct campaign to all Gloucestershire scorers this
summer. With the help of GCB a survey was sent out to all known scorers last summer. There was a
very good response rate and respondents have been kept up to date with direct e-mail shots about
training and events ever since. However, this list is far from complete and help in increasing it with
names/email addresses would be welcome.
Membership - at the end of 2014 GACO membership stands at a total of 186 members.
This comprises: Full members 163; Honorary 3; Junior 14; Associate 6; of these, 36 are Scorers.
Over the past year, 10 members did not renew their membership, generally being inactive as officials or
having moved away; however, new members from training courses and people moving in to the area
resulted in a net gain of 11.
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Umpire - Education – during the winter period 2013/14 a total of 23 umpires were trained to Level 1
with 21 passing. Of these more than 50% are now umpiring on a regular basis. These courses were run in
Bristol at The County Ground and at Hatherley & Reddings CC. A Level 1A course was held at the County
Ground which covered both Somerset and Gloucester with 10 GACO members attending. Many of these
are now being verified for course completion. A Regional Level 2 course was also run at the County
ground with 7 GACO members attending.
During the current training period (2014/15 close season) there are 3 Level 1 courses underway or
completed. A total of 30-40 new prospective umpires will be attending and it is hoped many with
umpiring in the coming season. 2 Level 1A courses will be run in March and April. These will be held at
Stroud CC and County Ground. About 20 are expected to attend. 3 GACO members are attending a
Level 2 course being held at High Wycombe and a further Level 2 course will be held in the autumn,
again likely venue at the County ground. Additionally, members have attended an out of county Level
3/3c course.
Umpire - Performance – before the 2014 season a Continuous performance (CPD) style of training was
rolled out across the county for all umpires. This included updating regulations in WEPL and other
leagues as well as Law changes that had occurred over the previous years. It was felt that many umpires
who had not attended courses may have overlooked these changes. It was presented to pre-season
meetings with the emphasis on G W L ’Getting the game on’. Umpires continue to be observed both by
their colleagues and at times by a Boundary Assessment (BEA). Although still in its infancy in some areas,
this is an important area that in time will hopefully lead to less emphasis on Captains’ reports in regard
to the development of umpires. A Development Programme is soon to be introduced following initial
funding from WEPL which hopefully will lead to the feeder leagues providing additional support. GACO
and the local Associations have already made commitments.
Grades are now beening advised to GACO Membership based on evidential information from 2014
matches. It may be worth noting that of the 50 WEPL panel umpires (P1, P2 & Dev) nearly 60% are
GACO Members.
Appointments - overall, it has been a successful season with many more games requiring appointments
than last year. The majority of these appointments were filled.
Umpires have been appointed to the following Competitions:
County Cup & Trophy Cup:
Gloucestershire Seniors: County Boys: County Girls:
District Games: School Finals & Festivals: Indoor Cricket at Gloucester & Cheltenham.
The job of appointing umpires has been accompanied with the same problems as previous seasons. In
fact, the job is now not seasonal but an all the year round job. To facilitate the work of the
Appointments Officer it would be helpful to reiterate the following points.
1. It is essential that the calendar on WTU website is kept up-to-date.
2. Some umpires do not want to umpire in youth cricket especially the younger age groups; others
do not wish to travel long distances. Any preferences you have can be noted on your calendar
and can be picked when completing the appointments. When you edit your calendar you will
see below a space to make general availability notes and another space to make more specific
notes for a particular month; if you prefer to opt out please advise.
3. It is likely that some are not confident with the WTU website and may need some help. If this is
true, please make contact for assistance. This becomes apparent when the a calendar is full of
red crosses but when contacted, the owner he is more than willing to umpire a game.
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4. The last ongoing problem and probably the most important affecting all of us is the lack of
venues and start times attached to some of the fixtures given to me by the GCB. It would also be
helpful to be told when a game has been cancelled for any reason. The good news for this
coming Season is that GCB has promised that communications will improve and accurate
information will be disseminated.
Members should also be aware that more and more County and District youth matches are
scheduled for Sundays this season. This will add pressure on availability for Sundays.
Observations aside, our customers were well satisfied with the services provided in 2014. However,
there is still scope for considerable improvement, especially in the field of communications.
Communications – Newsletter is issued quarterly following the committee meetings and keeps
members up to date with news and developments. Contributions are always welcome especially from
you the members so please let’s hear your views.
Website - The GACO play-cricket website is now fully up and running. News items and the newsletters
are added on a regular basis, including small news items on the home page. This saves visitors from
having to delve too far into the website to find things and also changes the home page on a regular
basis.
Members are asked to let the Website administrator know what they would like to see on the website in
the future. Is there anything that is being missed or would be useful?
In conclusion, further strides have been made by your Committee over the past twelve months to
ensure GACO gives full support to its members both Umpire and Scorer and provides them with every
opportunity to fulfil their aspirations.
This then completes the report for 2014
John Harper 24 February 2015
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GACO Minutes – February 2015 – Appendix 3 – Financial Report
Hon. Treasurer’s Report and Notes to the Accounts for 2014 Season
Accounting period: 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2014
General situation:
General situation:
The situation at the end of this financial year is generally positive with a current account balance of £5385.40
compared to £2980.35 at the end of 2013.
A number of cheques, unpresented as at 31st December 2014, lead to an effective current balance of £5073.40.
As reported at the last AGM, this is the first full year where the costs and income associated with running the
training courses for both Umpires and Scorers are now within the remit of GACO and it is also only the second year
that GACO has been responsible directly for the appointment of Officials to GCB competitions and ECB
competitions under the control of GCB. Whilst a considerable amount of work still needs to be done to improve the
stability and predictability of the situation regarding matches where appointments are required the overall position
is beginning to stabilise.
In 2014, the training courses and appointments activities each resulted in a small operating surplus of £366.90 and
£510.00 respectively.
The outline Budget submitted to GCB last year in principle still reflects the expected position for the next three
years. The situation regarding funding to support the proposed activity of “assessment” of officials has been
addressed with the Leagues and other interested parties and will be reflected in our request for their continued
financial support.
Income:
Income from training courses and appointments to GCB and ECB youth matches has been the major source of
funds in 2014.
ECB membership rebate, based on their record of Membership in 2013, and the £500.00 contribution from GCB
are the other main sources of income.
Expenditure:
The materials and overhead costs of running the Training Courses effectively neutralize the income from Course
Fees. Expenses for Appointed Officials, along with the associated costs, is also close to the income recovered from
GCB for these appointments.
This year the other expenses (covering day-to-day operation of GACO) were somewhat below predictions.
Current value of stock comprising Training materials (12 Umpire packs and 2 Scorer packs) along with 1 ’25 year’
Tie is £468.
J Lindley (Hon Treasurer):
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J Lindley
21 Jan 15
Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Officials
Accounts for period 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2014
Income
2014
2013
Balance b/f
2980.35
1333.17
ECB Membership rebate
GCB Subsidy
700.00
500.00
596.00
500.00
Misc (Law Books)
240.00
45.00
Training course fees
Appointments
2505.00
6840.00
3480.00
7290.00
Other
9.00
Sub-Total (Available funds)
13774.35
13244.17
Expenditure
Late presented cheques - issued previous year
257.90
Meetings and Travel
Secretariat
76.85
156.00
223.47
107.16
Training Courses
MCC Law Books
2138.10
3227.29
240.00
Appointments
6330.00
6905.00
Sub-Total (Operating Expenditure)
8700.95
10960.82
Operating Balance
5073.40
2283.35
Unpresented cheques
312.00
697.00
Year End Balance c/f
5385.40
2980.35
Performance and Assessment
Training
Scorers
Outstanding Liabilities
The above Income and Expenditure Account has been prepared for Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Officials
for the year ended 31st December 2014.
J Lindley (Hon Treasurer):
J Lindley
Date: 21-Jan-2015
Independent Examiner’s Report:
I have reviewed the receipts and payments of Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Officials for the year ended
31st December 2014 and in my opinion the above accounts present a true and fair view of the Association’s
Income and Expenditure.
J Parker (Independent Examiner) : J Parker
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Date: 21-Jan-2015