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Committee meeting minutes

No previous minutes were available, neither were minutes from the recent AGM.

As previous minutes were not available ideas were requested for an agenda. These were as follows

• Coaching
• Venue
• Cost of Membership
• Beginner courses
• Calendar
• Marketing

JN felt that the club needed an aim to work towards. PW brought up that this was laid down in the Constitution. A discussion was held whether this needed amending resulting in the decision to not alter the Constitution "Aim" and use it as something to work towards.

CH said that with regards to coaching the club needs to cater for a variety of people and felt they could be broadly split into the following groups:

• Beginners
• Fencers who wished to improve their fencing
• Members who fenced purely for pleasure
• Members who wished to compete
• Experienced fencers

Members may fit one of the groups or a number of them. The club also needs to cater for a number of skills groups:

• Beginners
• Novices
• Intermediates
• Experienced

After some discussion regarding different ideas of what coaching to offer and the means to provide it the following suggestions were put forward to be decided upon at a later meeting once the venue has been decided upon:

• Beginners course to be run over 6-8 weeks, shorter than before but to provide the opportunity to take Grade 1 Foil test in the first few weeks following finish of beginners course.
• "Taster" sessions to be provided in one of the weeks between beginner courses starting and finishing to provide prospective beginners an opportunity to decide to commit to the beginners course. This with a view to reducing the drop out rate.
• Novices - fencers who have completed the beginners course and passed Grade 1 Foil. Be given the opportunity to carry on with the Grading scheme either purely for pleasure or to obtain "Grades". Coaching may be included with Intermediates coaching.
• Idea of using first hour for coaching and the second hour for "free play" to be suggested to members. FC- Questionnaires previously suggested a "Key Skills" option was popular. GB to look into feasibility of this. CH prefer to stay "flexible" and not commit to rigid coaching structure.
• Individual lessons to be offered, maybe 10 min slots, by coaches.
• Incorporate judging into the coaching.

It was felt by the majority of the committee that a more rigid approach to the coaching was needed to ensure members are aware of what is happening each week and not leave it to a "on the night decision" to do something. If members are aware that, for instance, next week will involve footwork coaching they have the opportunity to attend and be coached. If they have no idea what is happening the following week they have no incentive to attend. Warm up and some fitness work to be incorporated into the first hour.

Marketing:
Website to be updated - new committee, coaching, "Aim" of the club, "Sword Doctor". ** PD to get together with MR asap to discuss what is needed and report back**
**MB to investigate advertising on NBC and NCC websites. CH to email MB asap with entry he is aware of**
Venue: It was felt that with January fast approaching the committee needs to act quickly to discover what options are available. AH had previously suggested Unity would be ready in January and costs would rise by only a small amount. Confirmation that cost per hour would be in the £30 region has been confirmed. Is Unity still available in January as previously suggested? Questions that need to be answered :

• Is £30 an hour definite
• How many weeks a year will the venue be available?
• Half hall option available?
• Storage available?
• If storage is available is it secure?
• How available will the hall be for competitions etc?

**MB to investigate and report back asap**
(See below for answers to these questions)

Competitions
It was decided that without a firm decision regarding the venue it was not possible to set any dates for competitions.

Membership Fees:
FC explained an Extraordinary General Meeting was needed to alter the cost of membership. A number of calculations were carried out and it appears that membership may not have to rise as much as was previously suggested if costs for a venue increased to £30 an hour.

AOB
Equipment needs to checked and old/damaged items disposed of.
** PD to gather equipment together and produce inventory. Also to investigate and report back with costs for repairs and replacements.** FC suggested putting together a budget and allocating money for specific projects. FC felt it would be easier to justify to members the increase in membership if they were able to see where the money is spent. **FC to compile draft budget and report back**

PW suggested some social engagements should be organised for xmas and after.
**PW to investigate cost and venue for meal**

It was felt by majority of committee members that the meetings should be "open to all" and members should be aware of when the meeting will be held and given opportunity to attend if they wish. This would be on the understanding that they bring any questions to the attention of the committee prior to the meeting. Minutes of meetings to be posted on the notice board also. The offer of attending meetings would also be extended to Honorary members of the club. Therefore it was agreed that to ensure all members are aware of when meetings would be held the next meeting would be held on the 2nd February at Highfield House and henceforth every first Wednesday of every second month thereafter.

The meeting closed at 10:45