LOUGHTON CHESS CLUB
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Club’s premises on Wednesday 30th August 2023 at 8.00pm
Present: Kevin Bowmer (in the chair) plus 7 others: Martin Van Tol, Simon Moth, Graham Kershaw, Bill Stirling, Mick Smith, Stephen Middleton, Kestutis Gudovijus
Apologies for Absence: Dave Faulkner
Minutes of the Meeting held on 13th July 2022: These were approved.
Matters arising from the minutes: None.
Club Rapid Play Competitions
It was agreed that club rapid plays would be arranged for 20 September 2023 (The ‘Ken Groce Memorial Rapid Play’) and 20 December 2023.
Team Captains’ Reports
GK reported as Captain of the First Team:
· The team came 4th out of 8 teams in the 1st division of the Essex league.
· The team won 5 matches, drew 1 and lost 4.
SM reported as Captain on the Second Team:
- The team played in the 2nd division of the Essex League, coming last out of 8 teams with 1 win, 1 draw and 8 losses.
SM reported on the NCCL team in the absence of Captain Fred Collins:
- The team played in the B division of the NCCL, coming 4th out of 5 teams with 2 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses.
Program for 2023/24
It was agreed that Loughton would continue to enter 2 teams in the Essex League and 1 in the NCCL.
KB agreed to arrange all of the fixtures for the season.
The possibility of a pre-season friendly against Witham was discussed.
Club Championship
It was noted that Stephen Middleton won the club championship and Fred Collins won the club U1600 championship.
Treasurer’s Report
It was agreed that the fees would remain as follows:
£60 – Bowls Club fee applicable to all players.
£10 – League fee applicable only to player competing in the Essex & NCCL Leagues.
Election of Committee
The Committee was elected as follows:
Chairman: Kevin Bowmer (Unchanged)
President: Gordon Clarke (Unchanged)
Secretary: Simon Moth (Unchanged)
Treasurer: Martin van Tol (Unchanged)
Essex League 1st Team Captain: Graham Kershaw (Unchanged)
Essex League 2nd Team Captain: Simon Moth (Unchanged)
NCCL Team Captain: Kestutis Gudovijus (replacing Fred Collins who stepped down due to work commitments)
Webmaster: Kevin Bowmer (Unchanged)
Additionally, Martin van Tol was appointed Club Championship organiser.
AOB
KB informed the meeting of the sad news that long standing member Ken Groce had recently passed away. He added an obituary had been added to the club website. It was agreed that the 20 September rapid play would be named as the ‘Ken Groce Memorial Rapid Play’.
SM noted that the NCCL AGM was being held on 6 September and KG agreed to attend as the Loughton representative following his appointment to the NCCL Team Captain role.
SM noted that Dave Faulkner has asked for his thanks the work and time that club officials put in to enable us to meet up and play be it club nights or matches.
GK noted that the Essex Chess Association were holding a festival over the weekend of 2/3 September to celebrate their 125th anniversary.
The meeting closed at 9.31pm