AGM 2018

 Present                  East End Liberal Club, Byker, The Bene, Saltwell SC, St Teresas, East End Nomads, Key Club,  The Wolsy, Britannia Inn, Darlington Snooker, Heaton Rifles, Washington CC

 Apologies             Philadelphia CC  

                 The Chairman welcomed everyone and asked if everyone had read the Minutes of last years AGM and if they had were there any matters arising. There being none the acceptance of the minutes was proposed by Key Clubb and seconded by St Teresas and carried unanimously.

 Secretary’s Report            

                 The Secretary reported that there had been two matches unfulfilled during the season which was unfortunate but unavoidable in both cases. However this had not detracted from what had been a very enjoyable and competitive season. He commended the two teams in the A League who had made the Title so hard fought with East End Liberal Club again winning the League but only by having a slightly superior average than Britannia who pushed them all the way. He also complimented the B League which again had been very competitive with at one stage of the season only two points between top and bottom, although ultimately Saltwell triumphed once again to become Champions. The Secretary then related his sadness at having to resign as League Secretary and also end his participation in the League. He reported that he had recently retired from work and moved to Whitby so could no longer commit to fulfilling his role in the League or his taking part in the quiz. He said it would be a huge wrench to leave and he would miss it greatly but that he would be still eager to play the occasional game if any team was struggling to get four players on a regular basis.One of the consequences of this move was that Byker were also resigning from the League as were East End Liberal Club and Northern Rock. This would unfortunately mean there would only be twelve teams competing next season.

 Chairman’s Remarks 

                The Chairman thanked the Secretary and paid tribute to his years of service to the League. He called upon the attendees to give a round of applause for the Secretary which they did. The Chairman also expressed his sadness at the teams leaving the League especially East End Liberal Club who had been a long standing member of the League and reported that with them and the Secretary leaving it was definitely the “end of an era”. He went on to thank the Committee for their work and all the teams for their contribution to the League. He finally reported, with sadness, that another old League member had passed away. Tom McCallum, who had played for |United Services Club for many years had sadly died  recently and the Chairman along with a few other past League players had attended Tom’s funeral last week.

Treasurers Report 

The Treasurer asked if everyone had seen the Balance Sheet and said that he had made a mistake on the sheet. He had thought he was missing £60 of income and had put the money in himself from his own pocket. However after reading last years minutes and re-examining the balance sheet, he discovered that the £60 had actually been paid by three teams subscriptions for this season which should have gone on to this years sheet. He advised the meeting he would retrieve his £60 from the League account and indicate such on next years balance sheet. He then asked if there were any questions. There being none the acceptance of the balance sheet was proposed by Saltwell SC, seconded by Darlington Snooker Club and passed unanimously.

 Election of Officials

                                                 The Chairman announced that with the Secretary leaving, he, Dave Westerby, would become League Secretary for next season. The post of Chairman was therefore vacant and was open to volunteers. Trevor Ford was the only volunteer and he was therefore elected as Chairman. A discussion took place regarding the relevance of a Publicity Secretary roll. This had been a long standing roll relating to the days when communication was performed by the use of newsletters. With all information and communication now done via either the website or e-mail, it was felt that there was no longer the requirement for a Publicity Secretary so the meeting voted to dispense with the Official Role.

 Election of Committee 

                                All of the current Committee had indicated that they were happy to carry on and all were unanimously accepted by the floor.

 League Structure 

                                The following League structure was proposed by the Committee for the 2018/19 season:-

 A Division: Britannia Inn, Saltwell SC, Key Club, The Bene, Darlington Snooker Club, St Teresa's.

 B Division: East End Nomads, Philadelphia CC, The Wolsy, Washington CC, Winlaton Vulcans, Heaton Rifles.

 There being no counter proposals, the structure was accepted by the meeting

 Any Other Business

                 The Chairman asked if there was any other business. Malcolm from St Teresa’s asked whether it would be possible to extend the Challenge Cup competition due to the fact that the Table Top Quizzes wouldn’t be needed. A few people commented that it was a shame that the Table Top Quizzes would be no longer played and would it be possible to still incorporate at least one into the season. Leo Ford commented that he would rather have a Table Top Quiz than the Challenge Cup extended. Dave Morrison suggested a Table Top Quiz for each League with the winners of each progressing to the Challenge Cup Semi Finals along with the Handicap League winners. Geoff Johns added that the Table Top Quizzes should be run on a handicap basis to give every team a chance. A discussion took place with Brian Neal commenting that there could be difficulty if the Table Top Quiz winners were also the Handicap League winners. Malcolm said it would be difficult to set a handicap for the Table Top Quiz as it wasn’t contested over the full League format quiz. After much debate, the Chairman brought the discussion to a close and a decision was made to scrap the Table Top Quiz as part of the League and to continue with the Challenge Cup with only the two Handicap League winners progressing straight to the Final. Dave Lowther suggested that if the Table Top Quiz nights were going to be scrapped then the League should arrange a “fun night” where all teams got together and maybe played a team or pairs competition where names were drawn at random to play together rather than the usual teams playing together. There was a discussion around this and it was generally thought that an additional night where all teams came together was a good idea. Leo Ford pointed out that although it was a good idea in principle, it was putting more pressure to create more quizzes on the question compilers. Chris Bone suggested a “Mastermind” type competition where contested indicated their desire to play in advance and the quiz consisted of fifteen specialist subject questions followed by fifteen general sport questions with the winner progressing to the next round. This idea had some support but again this was asking more of the question compilers. The Chairman brought the discussion to a close and advised that all suggestions for additional quizzes would be looked at by the Committee during the season.

 Dave Morrison suggested that as the Table Top Quizzes were being scrapped and the only time all teams would be together was Finals night, could a Buffet be put on for that night. Malcolm asked if the League Handicaps could be re-calculated due to there now being only two Leagues. Brian Neil asked if the question compilers of the B League could be advised to make the questions easier than the current B League as the majority of teams in it next season were from the current C League. The Chairman responded saying that it was in everyone’s interest to ensure all teams enjoyed the quiz and the compliers were experienced enough to know what a decent standard would be. However the early quizzes and results next season would be monitored to ensure the standard was set so that all teams were able to enjoy the quiz.

Chris Bone brought up the subject of first names being asked for, or not, in questions. He reported that on a couple of occasions this season, there had been controversy in games and a bad feeling had existed between teams due to a question being given as correct when in actual fact it was wrong. Steve Westerby said that there shouldn’t be any controversy as Rule 10 clearly stated that in matter of dispute over questions, the Question Master’s decision is final. Dave Morrison agreed with Chris that there had been an incident or two this season but that generally the rule was ok and should continue. John Swan said that if the question compiler asks for a first name it should be give, if they don’t then a surname was fine. It was agreed that this a grey area and that there’s no ideal solution but Steve did say it would be nice if teams played in the spirit of the League and reached an amicable compromise over disputes but if not, he reiterated that the Question Masters decision must prevail. Malcolm commented that as there are hundreds of questions asked over a season and the disputes arose over no more that two or three, was it worth even discussing. It was therefore agreed to leave the rule unchanged. There being no further business, the meeting closed and the presentation of trophies commenced.