The AGM was held on Thursday 9 June 2016 at The Green Man, Pilton, Barnstaple.
13 members attended, with one apology received from Paul Fleming.
Finances
Whilst there was still money being accounted for on the night that related to the year just ended, Giles reported funds in the bank and cash held of £1432.08. Whilst donations of £131 had been given to local sports clubs during the year, it was pretty much a breakeven over the period. THe use of email to distribute newsletters (combined with making them available on the website and link via Facebook) has reduced the postage costs significantly. Only a handful are posted out now.
No further donations were agreed to be made at the meeting. The club has to have reserves to meet the upfront cost of tickets for games, and no one should have to resort to paying from own funds, even if only a temporary measure.
Review 2015/16
As a club, 17 games had been attended – however, several had made other arrangements to go to many of the other games during the season.
Thanks were recorded to all those minibus drivers over the season.
Committee
The chairman (Giles), treasurer/membership secretary (Gary) and club secretary (Kevin), all agreed to carry on in those positions. The other committee members were also re-elected -Andrew Wooff, Lisa Smale and Guy Cable.
2016/17 Season
A look forward to the coming season indicated that getting tickets is likely to be difficult. Some 4,000 seats have been removed already for the development so there is a reduced capacity. The club will have to go into a ballot along with other supporters clubs for tickets, and even then there is no guarantee that all tickets applied for will be allocated. Tickets could also possibly be anywhere in the ground. Members may therefore have to resort to applying online as soon as tickets go on sale.
Prices for matches will remain the same (but the club reserve the right to review this during the season). The price has been generally fixed based on the “normal” seating area of South Stand Lower, however, ticket prices can be more expensive elsewhere and this may eat into club funds.
Category A – £70, Category B – £65, Category C – £60.
The club policy of free transport for under 16’s is to continue for 2016/17.
Champions League matches will be on a Tuesday or Wednesday at Wembley – it is hoped that tickets will be more readily available for these matches.
Any Other Business
Membership – For the coming season, any member travelling to matches with the club HAS to be a member of North Devon Spurs – even if this means they “join up” on the day and pay their £10 membership fee! (So those going to a Category A game pay £80). (This is in line with the policy in place in other supporters clubs).
Minibus – A discussion ensued regarding the possibility of the club purchasing its own mini-bus. This would make it more flexible as regards timings – not having to return it late at night (often out of the way for some drivers), and could ultimately be cheaper in the longer term. It currently costs £80-£90 each time. This will be kept under review and Jamie is keeping his eye open for a suitable opportunity. Insurance would need investigating before any decision is made however.
Fantasy Football – Guy will once again arrange the Fantasy Football-keep an eye on Facebook for more details (and the rules for 2016/17). A £25 shop voucher will be purchased for last year’s winner.
Golf – if anyone is interested in a golf match v Somerset Spurs, please email in and your details will be passed on. Date yet to be confirmed.
Fixtures – there appears to be a “leaked” fixture list going around- we are not sure if this is accurate or not- the official list comes out in the next few days. Once again watch the Facebook group for details or email Giles directly to be kept up to date with planned matches.
Membership
You can download your membership forms here. Remember we need new ones completed for the 2016/17 season.
https://www.northdevonspursclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/membership-form.pdf
Next meeting 4 August at The Green Man, Pilton, Barnstaple