Club Committee Meeting – 2nd September 2013 – Notes

Apologies

• Ross

Diving Officer

• Brett has resigned. A new DO needs to be elected.
• Agreed to bring forward AGM (usually held in February) to Wednesday 6^th November, to be held at Cherry Garden School.
• All of committee will stand down at the AGM, and new committee shall be elected.
• The new committee could do a 15 month stint if they wish.
• Nominations to be opened, and motions invited, a month before AGM (6^th October).
• Lee and Victor to send email to club, announcing Brett’s resignation, the date of the AGM, and interim arrangements.
• Training shouldn’t be affected, although October lake dive will need to be cancelled.
• Chair to stay in post until AGM, as will rest of committee.
• Committee and DMs to carry out DO duties until AGM, Kim to be asked to help.
• Dive list to be maintained by Victor.
• Daniel to be asked to help maintain club website.

Dive list

• Lars thought 2013 has been good, and would like more day dives. Teresa would like a club holiday in 2014, plus possibly Plymouth at the August bank holiday weekend.
• Members seemed generally happy with Eastbourne, Brighton and Shoreham boats, although Shoreham has no lift and may not be so pleasant in bad weather, as it’s a small boat.
• Members have given Victor feedback on Lymington, which he will relay to the skipper. Getting fills was the biggest pain.
• Scubafest was good in many ways, although some members have said they wouldn’t go again in 2014. Scubafest doesn’t need to be booked until the new year, so the new committee can decide on whether to run a trip.
• Better co-ordination of accommodation and sharing of information would be helpful, so we all stay in the same place or close to one another.
• Agreed to carry on using “funded” and “unfunded” terms
• For 2014, agreed to again have a core of day dives and weekend trips (running May to September), which are funded dives. A similar number of trips as last year would be good.
• Agreed to have at least 2 full weekend and 1 day dive a month.
• A once-a-month training dive to be scheduled in between weekend trips and day dives, from April to September.
• Pat has already agreed to plot neaps and contact the Eastbourne skipper.
• Agreed to organise a club holiday, and a long weekend in Plymouth.
• Unfunded trips were discussed – possibilities include Scillies in August, Oban in May/June (possibly half term week), and a November or February trip to somewhere warm, possibly the Red Sea.
• For 2015, Ken is organising a trip to Shetland.

Training

• Training is going well, instructors are volunteering for jobs, training packs are being provided promptly. Training is generally being delivered when it’s needed.
• Ken, Frank, Chris and Victor are close to becoming Dive Leaders.
• The club will continue to fund half the Instructor Foundation Course, as long as the recipient then helps with training.
• The club has a limited number of active Open Water Instructors. More are needed. Lee felt it was unlikely the club would gain any more OWIs soon, but more DLs could complete the IFC.
• Skill Development Courses need working on, perhaps towards the end/beginning of the year.

Finances year-to-date

• Lars reported that finances were looking OK so far. Only 1 dive has had to be subsidised this year.
• The club is currently covering its pool hire fees, which increased from £85/week to £90/week in August.
• The committee discussed raising members’ contributions towards pool fees (i.e., increase the current £15/month). These have not been raised in over 5 years, despite Seven Islands increasing charges. Lars to check figures.
• Lars prefers paying for kit maintenance through training charges, rather than through pool fees.

Next year

• Possible co-opted committee posts were discussed. A trip organiser to organise day dives could be co-opted, as could a PR officer (reporting to the Chair).

Privacy policy

• Rather than wait for all members to sign and return their privacy policy form, an incomplete phone list will be sent out.
• The privacy policy and medical forms list will be added to the updated membership list.

Barry award

• Barry’s dive knife will be bronzed and mounted (£60 cost to be paid for by the club).
• The award will be given annually to the club member (not on the committee) who was gone beyond the call of duty. It will be awarded at the xmas do.

Xmas do

• Wednesday 11^th December was suggested as a good date. Lars will need to have the date confirmed before he makes the next 3 months of pool bookings (the club will definitely have no pool sessions on 25^th December and 1^st January).
• Choosing from the menu in advance could make it cheaper. A buffet was suggested.
• Jaflong was a good choice last year, and many members would be happy to return there.
• Clive won’t organise this year’s do. Jill and Tom to be asked to organise it.

Next meeting

• Tuesday 1^st October at Teresa’s, 7.30pm.