Presidents Report - July 2006
I am pleased to be able to present my second annual report as President of the Adelaide Hills Pétanque Club for the financial year 2005-2006.
It has been another year of progress and change, which has helped the club to grow further in size and strength. Our membership at June 06 reached a record of 58, and the committee hopes that this is an indication that we have been steering the club in the right direction. Attendances for our social games on Sunday and Wednesday mornings are strong, and the numbers on Wednesdays in particular have snow-balled.
Once again the Wednesday night competitions were extremely well patronized; despite inclement weather on a couple of occasions we managed to reach a record attendance on the final night of 72 registered players. Many of the players are regulars who really look forward each year to the summer sessions, but there have also been quite a few new players drawn in, and we hope they too will become regular attendees. The splitting of the teams into two divisions during the second half of the series proved a popular move, giving the less experienced teams the feeling that they had some chance of winning, when they did not have to compete against the more serious players, some of whom compete at League level.
During the year, we hosted two League days, one in November and the other in March, as well as the second of our Derrick Rowley Trophy days in April. All of these sessions were very well attended, and it seems enjoyed by all, and were financially beneficial to the Club. We also participated in the Tri-State Disability Games last November, which was much appreciated by the games organisers, and well-received by the participants; we will be repeating that exercise again this November. I must highlight that all of these activities have been made possible, as always, by the contribution of several Club volunteers, who have given freely of their time to assist in the running of the functions, and I personally would like to extend my thanks to all of them for their valued help. One of the Club’s strengths is the number of dedicated members who are prepared to expend quantities of time and energy on helping run the Club’s projects.
We hope that over the last few months members have appreciated the changes which have been instituted in the running of the social mornings: more varied morning tea, more frequent weekly prizes, and in particular the development of our facilities in the shed, effectively turning what started as a storage shed into an operational catering and working centre. I don’t believe there are any members who would suggest that having everything beside the playing area is not a good thing; not only is it convenient, the social atmosphere of the sessions has been greatly improved by players not having to disappear down to the Tennis Clubroom for their mid-morning break.
This committee is pleased that during the last twelve months we have steered our Club into this position, and are seeking the support of all members to further advance this progress towards our vision for the future, which is to be independent of the Tennis Club and have our own clubrooms next to the pistes which are the focus of our activities. The shed is the first step towards this goal, but we hope that soon we will be able to make more definite plans for a proper full-size clubhouse. Unfortunately we are very dependent on the Tennis Club, who have their own difficulties with their plans for future development, but we hope that soon they will be able to make a decision on which direction they are heading which will leave our own way clear. Financially we have a sound basis from which to advance, and there are many sponsorship options available to us which we will pursue when we are in a position to do so. In the meantime, we trust that our members will continue to help us whenever they can in our efforts to raise funds to speed up the realization of our objective.
For now, I trust all members will continue to enjoy their membership, and hope that they will allow me to continue to serve, to the best of my ability.
Brenton Key - President