REPORT FOR SEASON 2008/09
Membership: We had 30 Full Members for 3 teams, an increase of 10 on the previous season but the same number as in 2006/07 when we only ran 2 teams. However, we had more Casual Members – 13 – compared to 9 the previous season and 3 before then. We had 13 Honorary Members, 1 more than the previous season. That gave the Club a total of 57 members, compared to 40 for the previous season, an increase of 17. As envisaged by running an extra team, membership income increased to £2,310, breaking the £2,000 mark for the first time ever. It was an increase of £880 on the previous season. There were 3 membership refunds (C.Braverman, A.Heller and S.Scop), trebling the figure for the past 2 seasons. Given that the average is normally around 15 Full Members per team, although this has been reduced by having more Honorary Members, 30 represents an insufficient number for 3 teams, highlighting the shortage of players on the Old Boys front.
Registrations: We had 27 registered MSFL players, one more than the previous season. The Masters team had 41 registered players, compared to 22 for the previous season, but 3 players were released and one (A.Davidoff) did not play once. We had 22 registered for the Old Boys A team (of which 12 didn’t play or hardly played) and 19 for the B team (of which 5 didn’t play or hardly played).
Pitches: We hired Hatch End Playing Fields for the MSFL team and used it 11 times out of 18 (which is usually 15 permits), although we hired it out once, bringing in £48 income. A run of 5 away games in January and February, plus bad weather, left us with 4 home matches to complete at the end of the season. We managed to get an extension at Hatch End for 3 of them for which we only paid for one, and hired one pitch at Rowley Lane for the final match. Not surprisingly, the additional Old Boys team meant an increase in Masters pitch hire, amounting to a record high expenditure for any one item of £2,540. This was over £1,100 more than we paid for Masters pitches last season. We had to pay £240 for unused pitches due to Old Boys A team twice cancelling at short notice.
Discipline: Our disciplinary record improved which was very pleasing. We had only 10 cautions between the 3 teams, which is very acceptable given that the our 3 teams played a combined total of 54 competitive matches. The previous season we had 18 cautions for 2 teams, compared to 12 cautions collectively the previous season. I would like to congratulate the team secretaries and their assistants and the players for a welcomed improvement in our disciplnary record.
League fines: The MSFL team collected no fines compared to £42 the previous season. Well done to Andy Souber, Lee Fegan and Mike Shorvon for managing to avoid fines, an excellent achievement of efficiency. The Old Boys A team collected £85 and the ‘B’ team nothing. The Old Boys fine total for the previous season was £30.
Subs collection: Although our subs income increased as expected, the First Team collected an average of £53.23 per match, down on £55.69 per match the previous season. The Old Boys A Team collected £58.81 per match on average and the B team £62.36 per match. Both Old Boys averages were down on £64.36 from the previous season. The Treasurer’s Excel spreadsheets were accurate in recording our income and expenditure throughout the season and saved a lot of time in compiling the accounts, more than other other season.
Events: We held the awards presentation event for 2007/08 at Hillingdon in September 2008 and the awards lunch on 31 May for season 2008/09, which was successful and well attended. Now that we are returnng to running 2 teams again, the awards presentation should stay as an end-of-season event.
Equipment: James Ryan sponsored an excellent yellow and red kit which was used by the Old Boys B team. The other 2 teams had good kits as well and we have 2 spare green and white kits in store plus several sets of shirts if required. At the Jack Kyte Cup match on 24 May, neither Old Boys team had a first aid kit which is unacceptable and must be addressed next season. Peter Kyte had a nasty head injury and we were unable to treat him. That’s not good enough and the team secretaries and assistants MUST ensure the first aid kit is always present.
Conclusion: On the income side we brought in record membership and subs fees as predicted, but our expenditure was a record high too. This was mainly due to the huge Masters pitch bill. All in all, we had a difficult season but on the upside, discipline and our organised events were very good. Again, we must improve subs collection which fell below average and contributed towards a loss this season. I am sure the Treasurer will be looking to returning to profit during the 2009/10 season, because 2 successive losses is an all-time low for the Club.
NIGEL KYTE (on behalf of the General Secretary), June 2009
Membership: We had 30 Full Members for 3 teams, an increase of 10 on the previous season but the same number as in 2006/07 when we only ran 2 teams. However, we had more Casual Members – 13 – compared to 9 the previous season and 3 before then. We had 13 Honorary Members, 1 more than the previous season. That gave the Club a total of 57 members, compared to 40 for the previous season, an increase of 17. As envisaged by running an extra team, membership income increased to £2,310, breaking the £2,000 mark for the first time ever. It was an increase of £880 on the previous season. There were 3 membership refunds (C.Braverman, A.Heller and S.Scop), trebling the figure for the past 2 seasons. Given that the average is normally around 15 Full Members per team, although this has been reduced by having more Honorary Members, 30 represents an insufficient number for 3 teams, highlighting the shortage of players on the Old Boys front.
Registrations: We had 27 registered MSFL players, one more than the previous season. The Masters team had 41 registered players, compared to 22 for the previous season, but 3 players were released and one (A.Davidoff) did not play once. We had 22 registered for the Old Boys A team (of which 12 didn’t play or hardly played) and 19 for the B team (of which 5 didn’t play or hardly played).
Pitches: We hired Hatch End Playing Fields for the MSFL team and used it 11 times out of 18 (which is usually 15 permits), although we hired it out once, bringing in £48 income. A run of 5 away games in January and February, plus bad weather, left us with 4 home matches to complete at the end of the season. We managed to get an extension at Hatch End for 3 of them for which we only paid for one, and hired one pitch at Rowley Lane for the final match. Not surprisingly, the additional Old Boys team meant an increase in Masters pitch hire, amounting to a record high expenditure for any one item of £2,540. This was over £1,100 more than we paid for Masters pitches last season. We had to pay £240 for unused pitches due to Old Boys A team twice cancelling at short notice.
Discipline: Our disciplinary record improved which was very pleasing. We had only 10 cautions between the 3 teams, which is very acceptable given that the our 3 teams played a combined total of 54 competitive matches. The previous season we had 18 cautions for 2 teams, compared to 12 cautions collectively the previous season. I would like to congratulate the team secretaries and their assistants and the players for a welcomed improvement in our disciplnary record.
League fines: The MSFL team collected no fines compared to £42 the previous season. Well done to Andy Souber, Lee Fegan and Mike Shorvon for managing to avoid fines, an excellent achievement of efficiency. The Old Boys A team collected £85 and the ‘B’ team nothing. The Old Boys fine total for the previous season was £30.
Subs collection: Although our subs income increased as expected, the First Team collected an average of £53.23 per match, down on £55.69 per match the previous season. The Old Boys A Team collected £58.81 per match on average and the B team £62.36 per match. Both Old Boys averages were down on £64.36 from the previous season. The Treasurer’s Excel spreadsheets were accurate in recording our income and expenditure throughout the season and saved a lot of time in compiling the accounts, more than other other season.
Events: We held the awards presentation event for 2007/08 at Hillingdon in September 2008 and the awards lunch on 31 May for season 2008/09, which was successful and well attended. Now that we are returnng to running 2 teams again, the awards presentation should stay as an end-of-season event.
Equipment: James Ryan sponsored an excellent yellow and red kit which was used by the Old Boys B team. The other 2 teams had good kits as well and we have 2 spare green and white kits in store plus several sets of shirts if required. At the Jack Kyte Cup match on 24 May, neither Old Boys team had a first aid kit which is unacceptable and must be addressed next season. Peter Kyte had a nasty head injury and we were unable to treat him. That’s not good enough and the team secretaries and assistants MUST ensure the first aid kit is always present.
Conclusion: On the income side we brought in record membership and subs fees as predicted, but our expenditure was a record high too. This was mainly due to the huge Masters pitch bill. All in all, we had a difficult season but on the upside, discipline and our organised events were very good. Again, we must improve subs collection which fell below average and contributed towards a loss this season. I am sure the Treasurer will be looking to returning to profit during the 2009/10 season, because 2 successive losses is an all-time low for the Club.
NIGEL KYTE (on behalf of the General Secretary), June 2009