Athletic Union Council
date:
time:
location:
05.02.2015
5.00pm
S3.04
Minutes
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Present: Matt Gilbert, Catherine Lymer, Holly Furniss, Jake Smart (Chair and Football),
Lizzi Fabisz (Cheerleading), George Peryer (Volleyball), Maya Lodge (Badminton), Evie
Hoslett (Netball), Agnes Köpberg (Taekwondo), Sean Hugo (Snowsoc), Sam Connolly
(Swimming), Jean-Luke Laister (Rowing), Karolina Jarmuzewska (Basketball), Sam
Wheeler (Cricket), James Webb (Golf), Freya Harrison (Ladies Football), Max Le CountWard (Rugby), Siân Barrett (Ladies Hockey), Chris Johnson (Men’s Hockey), Elena
Christodoulou (Dance).
In attendance: Janet Gladstone
Apologies for Absence: Mark Sweeney, Bobby Dickinson (American Football), Alex Mook
(Golf)
Absent without apologies: Athletics
2
Minutes of the Last Meeting (15.01.2015)
Approved with no amendments.
3
Elections
Nominations were still open, and closed on 13th February 2015. Everyone was asked to
make sure that any nominations made were in on time. The following clubs were still
missing nominations for some (or all) of their committee posts:
Athletics, badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Golf, Men’s Hockey, Netball, Rowing, Snowsoc,
Swimming, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball.
Everyone was asked to start talking to individuals that they thought would do a good job.
4
Feedback
HF said that she was going to be visiting training sessions over the next week to hand out
feedback sheets to team members. She also asked if captains could drop in to the SU
office to collect them if they were passing. She needed as many as possible to be
completed and returned.
5
Varsity
This was on the 25th March and tickets were now available on line. Lots had already been
sold. Ohio Orumen (Rugby) and Grace Shiels (Football) had been elected as Varsity
captains. The venues were now all confirmed and more information would be given at a
team captains meeting on 5th March. More details would also be confirmed by email shortly.
People were encouraged to buy tickets earlier rather than later as there were a set number
of player tickets for each team and a set number of spectator’s tickets. There was also a
need to make sure that the right people bought the right type of ticket.
It was confirmed that unfortunately, Roehampton were not fielding a golf team this year,
which was a great shame.
Darts4Rag / Volley4Rag
6
Darts4Rag was being held on Sunday 15th February and everyone was asked to email Tom
Badger for details. There would be teams of two, and costs would be £3.00 for each team
and £1.00 for spectators.
Volley4Rag was on Tuesday 24th February from 6.00pm – 10.00pm. Entry for teams (single
sex teams only) was £10.00 and everyone was asked to start getting their teams together.
There would be prizes for the best fancy dress as well as other categories and everyone
was asked to encourage their teams to take part. A training session was being held on
Saturday 7th February at 12.00pm if anyone was interested in attending. The £10.00 entry
fee could be paid at SU reception and CL said that the team name and the team members
names and ID numbers would be required when entering. Depending on the number of
teams that entered it was hoped that every team would get lots of games. There would be
an event in the SU bar afterwards to encourage people to stay around for the final. The cutoff date for entry was Tuesday 17th February. Each squad needed to have 10 members – 6
to play at any one time and four subs.
Takeovers
7
The recent takeovers by Rugby, Cheer and Netball had all been successful and everyone
was thanked for attending. Football’s takeover was next week, and the theme was ‘Dress to
Impress’. People could look at the Facebook Group for information or email Jake Smart if
they had any questions.
Committee Responsibilities
8
CL said that it was possible that some of the sports committees had members with no real
responsibilities. The committee structures would be revisited over the summer and possibly
reorganised. Everyone present was asked for their views on this.
Football commented that they had dropped the positions of fundraiser and social secretary
last year and had found that consequently, the committee had run a lot better. It was felt
that in general, the larger the committee the more difficult they were to run. Snowsoc had
also recently cut out two committee positions.
There would be more training available for committee members about the responsibilities
attached to their position. It was hoped that if people took more responsibility then their
ownership of the committees would also increase. It was thought that better outlined roles
would help as everybody would then know what their particular responsibilities were. There
was also a need to pick the right people for the right roles to make sure that the committee
continued to work well and do a good job. Cutting down on the number of members would
also hopefully ensure that all post holders would be active and engaged.
The four key positions were Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Captain. Anything else that
needed doing could be shared out. If it was found that a particular position that had been
dropped was really needed, then it could always be added in later.
It was asked if clubs that held fundraisers knew what they were raising funds for, or knew of
any plans for the sums raised. Rugby had just raised almost £800, and already had
unspent funds in the bank. It was asked that clubs in profit should mention this at their
committee meetings and plan what they wanted to spend the money on, or what they
wanted to save for (e.g. attending a non-Bucks event somewhere). However, any funds
available should not be spent on Tour – money for this needed to be separate. General
club funds should not be spent on those who chose to attend Tour. JS suggested that each
club in profit should come back to the next meeting with two or three ideas of where to
spend their available funds.
9
9.1
9.2
Any Other Business
Fixtures/Competitions
 Dance had a competition on Saturday 7th February.
 Rowing on 14th February
 American Football were playing at BCA on the weekend of 7th / 8th February.
Results
 Losses were still slightly higher than wins.
 Football and Men’s Hockey had both won this week.
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
 Futsal were in the last 15 of the National Cup.
 Golf were currently second in their league.
Training/Development Opportunities
 Taping Course – This was coming up soon on the last Friday of Activities Week. It was
free to go, but there would be a refundable deposit of £20.00 to secure a place. Third
Year students would not be permitted to go due to there being limited benefit to teams.
There were 20 places and teams would be given priority (one member per team). The
trainers would be bringing tape with them so this was an opportunity for teams to buy
some from them and store it in their first aid kit.
 Midas Test – 18th February was the next test. It would be available to first and second
year students provided they were over 21 and had two year’s driving experience. There
would be two hours practice/tuition in the morning followed by a one hour test either in
the afternoon or on Thursday 19th February. About 20 places were available.
 First Aid Course – This was running on 11th March. It was hoped that it would be
possible to have at least one first aid trained person on every sports team. If there was
enough interest Sophie Neville would put on a first aid course specifically for sports.
The qualification lasted three years before it had to be renewed.
 Safeguarding Training – This was also available and lasted for three years. It was a
requirement for anyone wanting to do a Level 2 coaching qualification.
Elections
HF had a list of everyone who had registered their membership of a club on the SU
website. In order to be eligible to vote all club members needed to log onto the website and
add their sport to their basket and then check out. It did not cost anything to do this. HF
said that she would send the current list for their sport to each captain so that they could
check that everyone in their team was registered, and also that those registered were
actually members of their club.
AU Dinner
This was on the 29th April. MG reported that they were currently looking for a guest speaker
and asked everyone to let the SU know if they were aware of anyone suitable. Tickets were
likely to be the same price as last year and 250 spaces would be available. Each team
would be allocated places based on a percentage of their members. Any spaces still
available a week before the event would then be released and could be booked on a first
come, first served basis. Clubs could allocate tickets to committee members and players as
they chose.
Union Awards Dinner
This was on the 14th May and would be a two course meal plus wine. It was usually a more
formal event that AU dinner.
Everyone was asked to let CL or HF know if they were aware of anybody who played sport
to a high level outside of the University teams.
10
Date and time of subsequent meetings:
5th March 2015 – 5.00pm