Chairman’s Report for AGM

Chairman’s Report for AGM - 13 th September 2008

Contents

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Current Review

3.0 Current Organisation

4.0 Conclusions

1.0 Introduction

1.1 It has been a busy summer for those involved with planning for the coming season

and at the outset I wish to thank everyone who has contributed to the many exciting

developments around the Club, and also to those who helped get us this far.

1.2 Matt Simpkins has stood down as Club Treasurer and I wish to thank Matt for his

many years of work on the Executive Committee. Matt has led by example and has

already paid his subs for the coming season and I hope we see him playing regularly

for the Club this season.

1.3 More about the Club House later, but a huge thank you to those who have rolled their

sleeves up and got involved with the new Club House Committee (run with the OGA)

and more importantly who have physically helped undertake the works to the Club

House. Thank you to Chris Timmins, Lou Needle, Noel and Adele Doran, Martin and

Marianne House, Toby Fenton, Neil Twist and John Champion.

1.4 This success of the OGHC on and off the pitch is not achieved without the

considerable efforts of many people throughout the Club. All those involved with

running the club and its teams should be very proud of their achievements. The Club

wouldn’t function without you.

1.5 The purpose of this report is to review the current status of the Club. The sections

that follow will focus on some important topics. Firstly I intend to comment on the

current situation and the aims for the coming season. Secondly I will review the

organisational structure within the Club and thirdly there will be some brief comment

on some of the important issues for the coming season along with future planning.

2.0 Current Review

2.1 Here follows a brief review of our various teams starting with the Men’s 1st Team.

2.1.1 The Men’s 1st team have been placed in the Western league which provides a

great opportunity for achieving promotion, but also means a lot of travelling

to the West Country!!

2.1.2 A committee has been set up to assist with the administration of the men’s

first team and this is a big step forward as we strive to create a sustainable set

up for elite hockey at the Club.

2.2 Men’s 2nd Team

2.2.1 The Men’s 2nd team will again be competing in the Premier League of the

London Leagues and last year was a steep learning curve for the team. The

Club intends to provide greater support to the team on their match days and

by improving the structure I am confident the team will be very competitive in

this league.

2.2.2 By competing at this level it is hoped that over time the gap between the mens

1st and 2nd teams will be reduced and further work is required this season to

narrow bring these teams closer together.

2.3 Men’s 3rd and 4th Teams

2.3.1 Both teams are aiming to achieve success in their respective leagues this

season. Good communication is required between the team captains to

ensure the best squads are selected each week and to make the best use of

the players available.

2.4 Old Georgian’s Fire

2.4.1 The Vets enter their fourth season in good shape with a number of new

players being attracted to the squad. The team is now established in their

league and I look forward to another successful season.

2.5 Ladies 1st Team

2.5.1 The Club has appointed a Ladies Coach to help provide continuity between

training and the management of the side on a Saturday. It is clear that the

Ladies 1st team have the players to complete will in Surry Division 1 and by

providing the recourses needed to effectively manage the team on a Saturday

I am sure the team will have a more successful season this year.

2.6 Ladies 2nd Team

2.6.1 The Ladies 2nd team again achieved promotion last season and I am sure they

will be aiming for the same this year. The success achieved by the ladies 2nd

team in recent seasons helps achieve an important goal of closing the gap

between the ladies 1st and 2nd team.

2.7 Ladies 3rd Team

2.7.1 The Chairman was right to tip the ladies 3rd team for promotion last season and

the team had a great season and are now a well established team in the Club.

The quality of hockey being played continues to improve and I think it is only

a matter of time before this team makes another move up the leagues.

2.8 Neo Georgians

2.8.1 The Neo’s are one of the great success stories of the Club. The OGHC has

been built on an ethos of friendship, support, and generally having fun and

the Neos typify this approach. I think the Neo’s have set themselves the

challenge of a tour to the Ukraine this season and I have no doubt this tour

will be the highlight of another enjoyable season.

2.8.2 The Neo’s have also stepped up to the plate and form the backbone of the

Club House Committee. The Club is truly lucky to have such committed

members as we have in the Neo’s and since the formation of this team they

have led by example.

2.9 Dragons

2.9.1 The funding of the Dragons has been reviewed since last season and members

now pay a flat membership fee of £50 rather than a lower membership fee and

weekly payments. Also I am delighted to report that the Dragons will benefit

from a £1,000 donation form the OGA and the combination of the above helps

provide the foundations on which to develop this section of the club.

2.9.2 Where possible members of the mens 1st team squad will continue to assist

with the coaching at these sessions in advance of home league or cup games.

2.9.3 More work is required in order to continue the development of the Dragons,

and in particular in recruiting boys to the U14 and U16 sides, but on the whole

this section of the Club continues to develop very well.

3.0 Current Organisation

3.1 The Executive Committee is in good shape to help move the Club forward this season

and I welcome Sara Warby and Brain Chester to the committee.

3.2 I also thank two committee members, Louise Alyward and Matt Simpkins, who have

stood down from the committee this season.

3.3 The Executive Committee continues to work towards the development of the Club

and this season a major focus will be the production of a five year Development Plan

for the Club. The continued success of the Club depends on us identifying where the

Club should be in five years and putting in place the correct strategy to achieve this

outcome.

3.4 Emily Stather continues to run the Hockey Committee and this committee aims to

provide the help and support that our team captains require. If the captains engage in

this committee the Club will be able to build a successful network that will help

achieve success on the field and support off the field for all our teams.

3.5 I wish to comment on three further points in respect of current organisation of the

Club.

• Subs. Linsey Meredith has been overseeing the issue of membership subscription

invoices. It continues to be of the utmost importance that ALL playing members pay

their annual subscriptions. This is the case for two reasons firstly in order to be

insured a member must have paid their subs and secondly, subs revenue is an

important part the Club’s income. I understand that we still have circa £1500 in

outstanding subs payments from last season and this is not acceptable.

• Club House.

I am pleased to report that a joint OGA and OGHC committee has been set up

implement plans to refurbish the Old Georgians’ Club House, which has been the

clubhouse and home of the OGHC since the hockey club began.

In summary the profits generated by the careful management of the Club House bar

are to be used to fund refurbishment works, and the OGA have very kindly put up

£10,000 in order to kick start this initiative over the summer. By appropriate

promotion of the venue for functions the aim is to the increase revenue to a similar

level to a few years ago when John Champion ran the bar for functions and generated

profits of roughly £10,000 annually.

As you can see today the Club are already reaping the benefit of these works and I am

sure the Club Membership will make the best of the improved facilities on offer.

• Men’s 1st Team

As stated previously a Committee has been set up to assist with the administration of

the Men’s 1st team and I this is a very important development for the Club. As such I

think it important to reflect on the current status of the team along with the aims and

objectives.

When the OGHC was formed one objective was to becoming a Premier League

Hockey Club. The Club continues to strive to achieve this objective to sustain Premier

League hockey for our men’s first team.

What are the benefits of playing elite hockey?

Home fixtures generate genuine excitement and atmosphere

The Club is involved with high quality hockey and we get to see international players

Provides a focus and hockey panicle for the Club

Increases the exposure of OGHC (and SGC)

The Club is recognised as a centre of excellence for hockey

Facilities and coaching have been developed with elite hockey in mind and are both

of a very high quality

Against the background of a Club that is reaching maturity, and that has grown

significantly over the past five years, our challenge is to continue to sell the vision and

benefits of elite hockey to the Club while also building a structure that can sustain this

level of hockey (and its associated commitments) going forward.

I will be writing to the Club in respect of the importance of the forthcoming season

for the men’s 1st team and I am confident that all our members and supporters will get

behind the team as they aim to make this an historic season for the Club.

• Club 1st Accreditation

Sara Warby is progressing our application for Club 1st accreditation and I understand

we are well on the way to achieving our Bronze accreditation, which is a fantastic

achievement.

Achieving our Gold accreditation will be another important milestone for the Club.

This level of accreditation reflects current best practice in running the hockey club

and will be an essential factor in the continued development of the Club.

I wish to thank Sara for her efforts to date in helping progress this important item.

4.0 Conclusions

4.1 My aspiration is to improve the Club over time. Our facilities are the best in the area

and the envy of most Clubs and we are on the way to having a Club House to match.

The Club is very lucky to have top quality coaches and by working with them the

standard of hockey will continue to improve throughout the Club.

4.2 More work is needed to improve the financial situation at the Club, but this situation

is improving and will continue to improve over the coming seasons.

4.3 This Club has been built on an ethos and friendship, support for one another, and the

enjoyment of hockey and other social events. These values remain hugely important

to the Club and we must ensure that they continue to be the basis of the Club.

4.4 It is an honour to serve the Club as Chairman and I believe we have a tremendous

opportunity to create a lasting hockey club that will bring enjoyment to many people

(Dragons through to Vets) and promote the game of hockey in this area.

4.5 Finally I firmly believe that the current men’s first team squad and its supports have

the momentum (from the massive success of last season) to build a sustainable set-up

to meet the aspirations of the Club both in terms of achieving premier league hockey

and in securing the support of the entire club for this endeavour.