AGM 2019

Eldon Leisure Squash Club

Annual General Meeting

14th May 2019, 8:30pm @ Frankie & Benny’s


1. Present

Adam Coates

Alan Coates

Mark Manuel

Mark Steven

Shef Popat


2. Apologies

Andrew Webber

Guy Eniona

Richard Adamson

Steve Drummond


3. Minutes of previous AGM, 12th July 2017

Minutes of the AGM from 12th July 2017 were discussed and agreed. The following motions from the 2017 AGM have been put in place: new league system, membership fee raised to £20, water fountain installed on the floor below and committee whats app group setup.


4. Treasurer’s Report- Shef Popat

The account balance on 14/06/19 was £3,411.28 which shows a health increase of £1924.76 over the 2 years  since the 01/06/17 balance of £1486.52 at the 2017 AGM. The committee agreed to be more proactive in looking for places to spend the club money in a way that would benefits all members, while maintaining a reserve in case of any emergencies. 


5. League/Membership Report- Adam Coates

As of 14/06/19 we have 68 members of Eldon Leisure Squash Club, down slightly from 81 last year. 29 members are Eldon team players and 11 are ladies.  We are getting some new members but not a lot, usually around 2 or 3 new players every few months.


We have 40 players in the current league period, this is a reasonable down turn from 68 when we first started using the new league system in Oct 2017. However, those who are in the league seem to be more active, with some divisions regularly having all or close to all games being played. Haven’t had any issue with Wazygoose, the new league software, so far and have been using it for over a year now. Much quicker to update and if there are any problems or suggestions for improvement the developer is quick to act.


6. Election of Officers

The following officers were elected;

Secretary- Steve Drummond 

Treasurer- Shef Popat

League Secretary- Adam Coates

General Members- Alan Coates, Guy Eniona, Mark Manuel, Mark Steven, Richard Adamson


The following positions were removed:

Team Managers

Social Officer

7. Discussion of Proposals


The software used to create and update the Eldon Website, classic google sites, is no longer being updated and will be phased out by the end of 2021, so all users are having to move over to new google sites. This is means we have to adopt the replacement software, so over the last few months Adam has been re-creating the site using the new software. Looks better and more modern and it has given Adam the chance to remove some unused features of the current site and streamline the website. All that is left to do is make some final additions and then make sure that web addresses of the current site are properly migrated to the new sites for a seamless transition. Don’t want people going to the same web address they always go to and getting an error.

It was agreed that the committee would look over the new site and give comments, then we will progress to adopting the new website when completed.


During the course of the team season Mark M had suggested having a whiteboard to record team orders and results for team games, after seeing various other clubs use them. Adam designed a custom whiteboard, using other club boards as inspiration. The size is 120cm x 90cm and it will be put on the sidewall of court 2. The cost for printing this will be £50, paid for by the club. Will also have to buy pens, erasers and command strips (which will be used for hanging the whiteboard). Adam got approval from the centre to put it up.

The design was approved by those at the meeting and by the team captains, who approved via email. Alan will use his printing connections to get the board printed and will hopefully be installed in time for the summer leagues in early July.


Potential to integrate membership using the Wazygoose membership system, rather than the current outdated database Adam currently uses to record members details. This could make membership easier to manage, as all membership details are stored online and can be updated by the member or by us. Members also get automatic reminders to renew their memberships online, through paypal, and we would get a notification whenever a member renews. Also, as it’s linked to the Wazygoose leagues anyone who doesn’t renew will be unable to play in the leagues. Would be £13 per month (£156 per year), which includes the costs of the league software, so may be a bit expensive. Possible to just have the membership system without the online renewals but not sure of the cost.

Shef raised concerns about the online payments system as not everyone has Paypal and they may take a small cut of all transactions. It was agreed to enquire about just using the membership system and not the online payments, and also to continue looking for a more streamlined membership system.


An update to the league rules was suggested, as there have been a few issues with players playing 1 or 2 games then being unavailable for the rest of the league session. This gives some players less chance of getting promoted and there is no rule that addresses what happens in this situation. Also, to keep league numbers high, it was suggested that we revert to removing players after 2 sessions of inactivity, rather than after just 1.

Adam agreed to add/change these rules, as well as do a general update of the rules which haven’t been changed since 2016, before the new league system was implemented.


Mark S suggested having an incentive giving potential new members the chance to try out the leagues for 1 session (8 weeks) before committing to joining the club. This would be a potential way to increase the number of league players and therefore increase membership numbers.

It was agreed to pass this motion through all committee members before putting it in place.


Adam brought up the idea of having a storage box behind reception to store team equipment (i.e. marking pads, balls & pens) as well as the markers and erasers needed for the whiteboard. There were a few situations last season where marking pads/pens were missing or team captains were running short of squash balls for team games, which isn’t ideal.

Club will purchase a storage box subject to approval from the centre.


Shef pointed out that the club notice boards are looking outdated and uninspiring and don’t advertise the leagues, teams and pay and play sessions very well. Club would also pay to have more recent photos added to the photo boards. Shef also asked if the leagues could be printed out every session.

Adam agreed to refresh the posters on the notice boards and around the club and to print out the leagues. Would also look into getting recent photos and team photos printed.


Mark S mentioned how the team training with Dave Barnett last summer was very well received and would be good to have them again this year. Adam seconded this, saying the 3rd team thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the sessions we attended. It was suggested that the club could subsidise the costs of the training to keep the session charges fixed, rather than it depending on how many attend.

Adam would contact Dave Barnett about his availability and prices, then feedback to all team captains who could contact their players to sort out sessions from there.


Alan pointed out that there is a perception of the club having a lack of free parking due to the city centre location, so information should be added to the website about the nearby parking facilities. There are 7 multi-storey car parks in walking distance of the club that are free after 5pm Mon-Sat, which covers the majority of the peak court times, and those are also £3 all day on a Sunday.

Adam would add the above parking information to the website.


The meeting finished at 9.45pm.