Presidents Report - 2006-2007

Once again, I am pleased to present my report to the members as the President of the Adelaide Hills Pétanque Club for the past twelve months. It’s been an interesting year, which has ended quite differently from expected.

Our membership has increased from 58 at this time last year, to 76 at the moment, and about half of those are people who play on Wednesday mornings. The social atmosphere of our Wednesday morning games is proving to be a big draw card, and justifiably so. People like to win, but it is secondary to the enjoyment of playing a good game in our lovely setting, sharing a cup of coffee, a few jokes, and not a little interesting conversation with fellow players. We are pleased, too, that many of our newer members are enjoying the game enough to feel that they want to move forward to a more competitive level and have joined the SA Pétanque League. There is a greater challenge in playing against members of other clubs, on different surfaces from our own, and it is good for the Club to have a good representative number of players in League events. We are also, particularly on Wednesdays, attracting quite a few casual players, many of whom subsequently join as members, so the appeal of our Club is reaching out to more people all the time.

Last October, for the second year running, some members of the Club helped out at the Tri-State Disability Games, extending the community involvement of the Club again into the important area of catering to those less able to help themselves than we are. This is one aspect of the Club’s activities which I would very much like to expand.

Our Wednesday evening competitions, which we continued to operate for six weeks before, and six weeks after Christmas, are also still growing in popularity. This year we reached a record attendance of 75, and in spite of a couple of evenings of very poor weather, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The continuance of the policy of having two divisions proved popular, and this will remain for future competitions. Not only are we providing a valuable public service with these meetings, we are also attracting new members, and at the same time earning the Club a good income. There is, of course, a lot of work that goes into the running of these events and our thanks must again be expressed to those hard-working members who make it all possible and ensure its smooth running each week: Llianne Healey, Jim Mattock, Christ Carter, Roger Porter and a number of other members who helped out on different nights.

This year we hosted only one League day, in March, as well as our annual Derrick Rowley Trophy day in April. The latter day unfortunately turned out extremely wet, which reduced the number of participants substantially, but the day still went well for those who did come. We are hoping that this coming year we will be able to slot the Rowley Trophy into the League calendar earlier to avoid a similar problem again. Again, the success of both days goes in large part to the members who worked hard to put everything together and ensure all went well on the day, so my thanks go to them on behalf of the whole Club.

The biggest issue for the year was of course the crystallisation of our position with regard to our occupation of the site here at Stonehenge Reserve. Looking at my report from last year, I ended on an optimistic note that we were well on track, with the co-operation of the Tennis Club, to installing our own clubrooms adjacent to the pistes at this location. That situation has, of course, not progressed substantially over the last twelve months. After many months of concentrated lobbying and meetings with the Adelaide Hills Council by a number of the committee members, we reached a stalemate with them and Stirling Tennis Club, as a result of which it was decided to actively seek an alternative location for the Pétanque Club. Most of you were at one of the Special General Meetings which were called to appraise members of the situation and apply to them for approval to start the wheels in motion. None of us wants to make the move, but having taken the decision, I am sure the incoming committee will continue the pressure to achieve the best result for the Club at the least expense to it. As you can see from the Financial Statements, we are in a very healthy position and all members, I am sure, are looking forward eagerly to the day when we can use our substantial reserves to create our own proper home.

In closing, I would to thank personally my very supportive committee who have worked so hard throughout the year to bring the Club to this position, and assure the Club that I will continue my own efforts on its behalf as long as I am able.

Brenton Key
President
30 June 2007


Home Calendar Jul - Dec 08 Jan - Jun 08 Jul - Dec 07 Jan - Jun 07 Jul to Dec 2006 Jan to Jun 2006 Comp Results Press Articles Latest Articles Night Competition Super Summer Series Contacts Club Info Reports President's Report - 2008 President's Report - 2007 President's Report - 2006 President's Report - 2005 Membership History Newsletters SAPL Information Rules Official Rules Social Rules Galleries 2007 General Photos 2005/6 General Photos 2006 Rowley Trophy 2006 State Triples 2006 Nationals 2005 Disability Games 2005 Rowley Trophy FAQ's Petanque Links Members Contributions VIDEO - Petanque Fun Petanque is Dangerous! Petanque - All too true!		Presidents Report - 2006-2007 Once again, I am pleased to present my report to the members as the President of the Adelaide Hills Pétanque Club for the past twelve months. It’s been an interesting year, which has ended quite differently from expected. Our membership has increased from 58 at this time last year, to 76 at the moment, and about half of those are people who play on Wednesday mornings. The social atmosphere of our Wednesday morning games is proving to be a big draw card, and justifiably so. People like to win, but it is secondary to the enjoyment of playing a good game in our lovely setting, sharing a cup of coffee, a few jokes, and not a little interesting conversation with fellow players. We are pleased, too, that many of our newer members are enjoying the game enough to feel that they want to move forward to a more competitive level and have joined the SA Pétanque League. There is a greater challenge in playing against members of other clubs, on different surfaces from our own, and it is good for the Club to have a good representative number of players in League events. We are also, particularly on Wednesdays, attracting quite a few casual players, many of whom subsequently join as members, so the appeal of our Club is reaching out to more people all the time. Last October, for the second year running, some members of the Club helped out at the Tri-State Disability Games, extending the community involvement of the Club again into the important area of catering to those less able to help themselves than we are. This is one aspect of the Club’s activities which I would very much like to expand. Our Wednesday evening competitions, which we continued to operate for six weeks before, and six weeks after Christmas, are also still growing in popularity. This year we reached a record attendance of 75, and in spite of a couple of evenings of very poor weather, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The continuance of the policy of having two divisions proved popular, and this will remain for future competitions. Not only are we providing a valuable public service with these meetings, we are also attracting new members, and at the same time earning the Club a good income. There is, of course, a lot of work that goes into the running of these events and our thanks must again be expressed to those hard-working members who make it all possible and ensure its smooth running each week: Llianne Healey, Jim Mattock, Christ Carter, Roger Porter and a number of other members who helped out on different nights. This year we hosted only one League day, in March, as well as our annual Derrick Rowley Trophy day in April. The latter day unfortunately turned out extremely wet, which reduced the number of participants substantially, but the day still went well for those who did come. We are hoping that this coming year we will be able to slot the Rowley Trophy into the League calendar earlier to avoid a similar problem again. Again, the success of both days goes in large part to the members who worked hard to put everything together and ensure all went well on the day, so my thanks go to them on behalf of the whole Club. The biggest issue for the year was of course the crystallisation of our position with regard to our occupation of the site here at Stonehenge Reserve. Looking at my report from last year, I ended on an optimistic note that we were well on track, with the co-operation of the Tennis Club, to installing our own clubrooms adjacent to the pistes at this location. That situation has, of course, not progressed substantially over the last twelve months. After many months of concentrated lobbying and meetings with the Adelaide Hills Council by a number of the committee members, we reached a stalemate with them and Stirling Tennis Club, as a result of which it was decided to actively seek an alternative location for the Pétanque Club. Most of you were at one of the Special General Meetings which were called to appraise members of the situation and apply to them for approval to start the wheels in motion. None of us wants to make the move, but having taken the decision, I am sure the incoming committee will continue the pressure to achieve the best result for the Club at the least expense to it. As you can see from the Financial Statements, we are in a very healthy position and all members, I am sure, are looking forward eagerly to the day when we can use our substantial reserves to create our own proper home. In closing, I would to thank personally my very supportive committee who have worked so hard throughout the year to bring the Club to this position, and assure the Club that I will continue my own efforts on its behalf as long as I am able. Brenton Key President 30 June 2007

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