Thank you all for coming this evening for a re-run of the AGM. Thanks in particular to Jerry Roodhouse for arranging the use of the Council Chambers at the Town Hall as the KMLC is closed for maintenance.
Not quite such an active year as perhaps we would have liked, however, we have been diving, training and socialising! Membership is continuing at a level state with the usual comings and goings or so I thought until Margaret told me we now have 84 members.
Firstly to pick up on a point raised at last years AGM, just to prove I did read the minutes! I think it was Mike Singleton who raised the point of using the, at the time, new local radio station to advertise try dives and experience scuba events. Well, we did use Rugby FM for the recent try dive and it seemed to generate quite a lot of interest although I'm not quite sure how many turned up on the night. Whilst I am on this subject, it has recently come to my notice that the Club's contact points have maybe become a bit fragmented. I would recommend the new Committee addresses this issue and adopts a single contact point and/or knowledgeable person for queries regarding try dives and the like as well as new membership questions and general interest in our sport. This should be passed to all outlets where we are advertised.
A couple of issues have been raised during the past year and I'll say now, as I said this time last year, that if you do have a suggestion or gripe, do mention it to one of the committee because we can't always see the seabed for the kelp! All to often we hear about things second or third hand when an issue has been festering for some time already.
Last year I talked about new members and how we deal with them and harmonise them into the Club. I think we have improved but I don't believe we are perfect yet. Some of you are, as always, a great help in taking people under your wing and shepherding them (Please do carry on doing that!) but we do need to make sure we don't miss anyone. I suspect we have in the past. One of the greatest difficulties from a new member's point of view, pre-trained or total novice, is finding out who to talk to. I still believe that the Club needs to make itself more accessible. We have started, in that unfamiliar faces in the crowd on a Monday night are targeted, for want of a better word.
The other issue, also touched on last year, is a twofold thing. Instruction and dive trip organising. Unfortunately, quite a few of our regular instructors and trip organisers have drifted into the background over the last 12 months leaving the burden, if I can call it that, to just a few people. Trip organising and instruction is not the sole job of committee members. I am very conscious of the fact that there have been a few rumblings from the sidelines recently about the amount of diving going on, or not as it seems. I am fairly confident that most people are doing the diving they want to do, but if not, let us know. Remember the RIB is there for your use - it only needs a minimum of 4 people to make a trip viable and safe, and provided at least one member is a competent boat handler, away you go - normal diving safety guidelines having been taken into account, of course.
There is no doubt that we have been stretched on the Instructor front this year. So, apologies if you think you are not moving along as quickly as you think you ought to. It has been a busy year clearing up the stragglers from the old scheme and bringing the new training scheme up to speed in the Club. It is pleasing to see a couple of people heading down the instructor route. But do remember instructors give up their own time and money to teach so please, bear with us! If on the other hand you want to become an instructor, have a chat with Claire.
I'm sure Pete will have some more to say about the diving and training that has been going on over the last 12 months. What's happened this year to the RIB, which is probably the clubs largest asset after you the membership of course. Basically you haven't used it enough, it's been sat in the garage doing nothing. So as I said before it's there for your use - use it. Mark has had the new bottle rack made and fitted to replace the existing one, which was deteriorating rapidly. We now have fitted a new console mounted VHF radio to replace the ageing and unreliable hand held units. Still to be actioned is replacement of the 'A' Frame, which may be carried out over the closed season ready next year's diving. Using the RIB goes a long way to paying for it's upkeep and it has not really covered itself this year, hence the delay in fixing the 'A' Frame. The boat trailer also needed some attention and this has also been dealt with.
The next committee may, once again, have to look into the possibility of the Club becoming an associate member of Draycote Water, enabling us to use their facilities more. We started to investigate this but didn't get very far this year. With Stoney getting busier all the time, even getting relegated to the outer car park on Wednesday evenings, it's perhaps the time to revisit Draycote as a training and occasional club diving venue. The use of Draycote as a transitional diving environment pitched somewhere between Stoney and RIB diving in the sea could be seen as a benefit to our training and preparing divers for that. Draycote is also useful for training courses such as PRM, which can be run in Branch.
We continued to attend the KMLC User Forum, which had been extended to gain views of regular hirers of the facilities. It has been interesting, the only item that has directly affected us is the use of cameras in the Centre. May I remind you that you will need to let Reception know if you intend using a camera on the premises. They are still adamant they do not want to ban cameras as most other Leisure Centres in the area have, but do need to police it. Discussions at most meetings revolved around maintenance, or the perceived lack of, around the Centre. For the future, as you probably know the KMLC is council owned but the management is contracted out, currently to DC Leisure. The contract is up for renewal in April next year and there are currently 4 bidders including DCL. The new committee should remain vigilant with regard to this, as it is unknown how other management companies may affect us, and the facilities we currently have.
And so to the social scene: darts and skittles, gliding, ten pin bowling, greyhound racing, barbecue an annual dinner to name but a few. Annette has excelled herself once more with more planned for the future.
BS-AC
Once again I have seen very little communication from BSAC this year other than 50th Anniversary items which I think must have concentrated their minds as very little else has come out.
As well as the Officer's Reports AGM's are also the time to elect members for positions on the Club Committee. As always, some of the current Committee members are willing to stand for re-election; others will want to stand down. That in no way means to say that some positions are already filled and some are vacant - every position is available and competition is always healthy. I make no apologies for repeating what I say most years. So if you feel you can offer something valuable in helping with the management of the Club why not get yourself involved. As last year, we have had a volunteer shadowing one-committee member to grasp the reins for this year and the same can happen this coming year. If you want to know more about a particular Committee position and what is involved, talk to the present incumbent.
Some thank you's:-
Pete and Claire have both put a lot of effort into organising diving events and training sessions so thanks must go to them. Mark and Michael have continued to look after the equipment with very few major problems coming to light. Margaret and Joy have held the admin side together and Andy's once again held the purse strings And, of course, Annette organised us so many social events that I think she could have a job for life.
And, of course, you lot should not be forgotten, as it is you as much as the Committee who keep things ticking over. Special thanks again to Dave Mead for producing a couple of "What’s Bubbling" newsletters earlier in the year, and to Malin Dixon for maintaining the Web site. We have continued the occasional e-mail newsletter but I do have to say that electronic news has been minimal again this year, other than DJ's jokes of course!. Keep your contributions flowing
As most of you are probably aware I am retiring as Chairman today and handing over the reins to a younger model! On the whole I have enjoyed the last 4 years in the chair but I feel it is time for some new influence and ideas and I wish my successor well in his task. The club is in very good shape at the moment and has the potential to go from strength to strength with everyone's support. I would also like to thank the various members who have been on the committee for their help and support over the time. My only real disappointment is the difficulty in filling committee places in general. It is a long time since we had any competition for positions. I shouldn't really have had to go around coercing people to help run the Club. But if that was the only whinge it couldn't have been so bad. Any way enough of me.