AGM

Annual General Meeting

Held on September 9th 2009 at the Bread and Roses Pub

Apologies: Dave Dines (St Josephs), Simon Allen (Clapham Manor) and Arthur Williams (President)

Election of Officers:
President: Arthur Williams
Chair: Matthew Griffin
Treasurer: Graham Lane
Secretary: Paul Thomas
These were all elected unopposed and all were reminded that anyone could put themselves forward to be on the committee.
Committee members: Sally Cornforth, Val Martin
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2008 AGM Minutes

Thanks were expressed to Arthur Williams in regard to organising the Fair Play trophies and certificates. As well as this he took the time to go in to schools to present the trophies in assemblies.

Review of 2008-09

Gary reported that:
34 schools took part in three leagues. Not every school played all their games but the vast majority were played. We may have to have four smaller leagues this year as at least one new school is joining. A decision will be made in the next week or so with the aim of starting league games by the last Saturday in September. Any teams wishing to play friendly matches before the league starts should contact Gary as soon as possible.

There is also a good chance we will lose Rosendale possibly at Easter due to the redevelopment work. We can only use Southbank University Ground until Easter as well because they then take the pitches down for cricket to begin. The Rosendale ground is an ongoing issue not helped by the lack of communication between the league, the school and the council despite Gary and others from the league bringing it in to the spotlight constantly through local councillors. Gary urged everyone to continue to write to councillors and that the website would be kept up to date with any progress.

The aim is to get the majority of games played by April and so Gary urged teams to play all scheduled games and to inform him of any difficulties early so other teams can play instead.

Last season had gone well with the vast majority of games being played. The season once again went right up to the end of the summer term. The young referees did well and it was said again about the importance of supporting these youngsters (as well as the older referees) even if they have made mistakes, as without them the schools would have to provide referees.

The standard of play had been good in most matches as had the standards of fair play (see below).
Fair Play Awards were again given out with the majority of teams scoring 9 points or more. The winners and runners up were:
League Winner Runner-up
Red St Mary’s Fenstanton
Blue Streatham Wells Richard Atkins
Green Macaulay Oliver Goldsmiths

Arthur had once again gone in to the schools and presented the awards in assemblies. This had gone down very well in the schools and a big thank you to Arthur for this.

League Champions
League Winner Runner-up
Red St Judes Fenstanton
Blue Corpus Christi Lyndhurst
Green St Bernadettes Francesca Cabrini

Magazine Cup
The final was played between Francesca Cabrini and Loughborough with the former coming out on top 2-0. This made up for finishing runners up in the leagues other two competitions.

7-a-side Tournament
We were once again blessed with sunshine and 20 schools took part in another successful day. As usual there were a lot of supporters as well as a growing number of scouts from league teams.

In the main competition, the Walcott Cup, St Bernadettes beat Francesca Cabrini 3-2 after extra time in a very exciting final.

The Newcomen Collett Shield was won by Glenbrook 3-0 against St Joseph’s.

The St Olaves and St Saviours Schools Foundation Plate was won by Camelot 1-0 over Victory in an all Southwark affair.

Sadly the day was marred by one coach verbally abusing a referee both during and after the game. Parents and children from the school also followed his bad example and joined in. The coach has been banned from all future competitions and the school has dealt appropriately with all concerned.

This should not overshadow the well organised tournament with 200 children taking part from the 20 schools. A big well done to Gary and his team. Gary did say that more volunteers on the organising committee and on the day would be very welcome.

South London Representative Team

This side is made up of children from Lambeth and Southwark primary schools most of who play in our league. The team has been successful over the years. They play 8-10 games per year including the Finch and Kay trophies. They also participate in an International 9-a-side tournament in France. Dates for district trials will be sent out in the next couple of weeks and will take place at Rosendale.

Finance

Graham gave a comprehensive review of the finances. Although they look okay on first read, we have drawn on reserves during the year and this will have to happen again next year unless we can produce greater income from somewhere. Schools agreed that the yearly fees should rise to £275 per school.

It was also suggested that flyers be sent to all schools advertising the web shop that can be accessed through the leagues website. Gary would e-mail schools.

Copies of income and expenditure were given to all those present.

Change of name

Gary proposed that the league should change its name to Lambeth & Southwark Primary Schools Football. This was agreed unanimously. The website and other advertising currently used would still have the old name on it.

Volunteers

Gary asked for schools to seek volunteers to run the refreshments at Rosendale. This bought in a good amount of money for the league but does rely on two people to run it. Schools agreed to try and find people. Thanks were given to Sally and Val for their continued hard work and their excellent bacon rolls!

The meeting finished at 7:30p.m in plenty of time for an England win!