Showing posts with label Club Organisation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Club Organisation. Show all posts
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Committee Minutes
Last night was the first Committee Meeting of 2010. Would it be possible to have the Minutes of all Committee Meetings - even in an abbreviated form - on the Blog? I made the suggestion once before but I believe it would help communication within the club, raise the profile of the Committee and its members as well as maybe encouraging more members to attend the AGM and stand for election themselves.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
A Request to the Committee
This Friday sees the first Committee Meeting since November and in the intervening period two more local clubs have been presented with their clubmark award. We are now surrounded with clubs who have it - Garscube, Victoria Park/City of Glasgow, West Dunbarton on this side of the Clyde, Inverclyde and Giffnock North on the other side and several other Glasgow clubs also have the award. It doesn't make the club better to have it but it is seen to be a benchmark of where a club is, it has been well advertised by now, schools know about it and when it comes to Phil, Donald or any other club member being asked about it by a teacher or parent and they are the only local club who can't answer in the affirmative - well, it's not too good. The request to the Committee is that they deal with this as a matter of importance.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Officials
I have just noted the replies to the blog on the Parkrun from Marie and Christine. I totally agree with them that all events need officials, stewards, trail markers and helpers generally and it is great to see them doing it. It has been a wee disappointment that the club has not had as many officials as in the past and that we have not always had our quota of helpers at things like County Championships. This is not of course limited to Clydesdale Harriers - all or most clubs have more difficulties providing the workers at events.
I'm still going through James P Shields's papers and this week it was a collection of Athletics Weekly magazines for 1975 and 1976 but more important from the point of view of this discussion there was about 20 or 21 annual SAAA Yearbooks to look at. The SAAA and SWAAA provided different yearbooks and they contained as well as a list of Committee and Sub Committee members, the rules of competition, the laws of the sport, a comprehensive list of coaches with their events, their qualifications and their addresses (and a note that they should always be offered their travelling expenses by the athletes) as well as a list of officials, with their grades and their addreses and telephone numbers. There is no equivalent publication nowadays - the downfall came when they were not encouraged to put in addresses and telephone numbers of individual officials or coaches and the final nail went in when the sport became more professional. The last book I looked at yesterday was for 1982 and the club had four graded officials - David Bowman who was a Grade 1 for Track judging, Throws and jumps; Frank Gemmell who was a Grade 1 Throws Judge; Willie Howie who had a Grade 1 Track Judging qualification and Jim Shields who was like David Grade 1 for all three disciplines. They didn't of course stick to their disciplines - they worked as marksmen, officials or athletes assembly officials and had many other roles. In the 60's men like Johnny Morgan (who was an official starter) and Andy McMillan also were graded officials, in the 70's Bob and Ishbel Peel were both employed in the centre of the arena, in the 80's and 90's Isobel and Scott Govan plus Carole Baillie officiated at summer and winter events as field events officials and in recent years Raymond Farrell and I were timekeepers. That's quite a lot but is only a faction of club members who were prepared to steward, dish out numbers and so on at club, county and district level. The question - to Scottish athletics as well as CH - is "Where have all the officials gone?" For a start the club is required to provide two (only two) for the DAAA Championships on 28th November.
And thanks to Christine and Marie for the work done at the Parkrun!
I'm still going through James P Shields's papers and this week it was a collection of Athletics Weekly magazines for 1975 and 1976 but more important from the point of view of this discussion there was about 20 or 21 annual SAAA Yearbooks to look at. The SAAA and SWAAA provided different yearbooks and they contained as well as a list of Committee and Sub Committee members, the rules of competition, the laws of the sport, a comprehensive list of coaches with their events, their qualifications and their addresses (and a note that they should always be offered their travelling expenses by the athletes) as well as a list of officials, with their grades and their addreses and telephone numbers. There is no equivalent publication nowadays - the downfall came when they were not encouraged to put in addresses and telephone numbers of individual officials or coaches and the final nail went in when the sport became more professional. The last book I looked at yesterday was for 1982 and the club had four graded officials - David Bowman who was a Grade 1 for Track judging, Throws and jumps; Frank Gemmell who was a Grade 1 Throws Judge; Willie Howie who had a Grade 1 Track Judging qualification and Jim Shields who was like David Grade 1 for all three disciplines. They didn't of course stick to their disciplines - they worked as marksmen, officials or athletes assembly officials and had many other roles. In the 60's men like Johnny Morgan (who was an official starter) and Andy McMillan also were graded officials, in the 70's Bob and Ishbel Peel were both employed in the centre of the arena, in the 80's and 90's Isobel and Scott Govan plus Carole Baillie officiated at summer and winter events as field events officials and in recent years Raymond Farrell and I were timekeepers. That's quite a lot but is only a faction of club members who were prepared to steward, dish out numbers and so on at club, county and district level. The question - to Scottish athletics as well as CH - is "Where have all the officials gone?" For a start the club is required to provide two (only two) for the DAAA Championships on 28th November.
And thanks to Christine and Marie for the work done at the Parkrun!
Monday, 16 November 2009
GW meets EAC
This evening Scottish Athletics Chief Executive Geoff Wightman meets the Committee of Edinburgh AC in Edinburgh. The meeting is in response to a letter sent to SA bu the club Committee with no fewer than nine points for clarification or explanation. For instance they start with the point that motions for debate at the AGM must be in 60 days before the meeting BUT the SA only have to give clubs 42 days notice! How does the one square with the other?Lack of consultation is also the basis for two separate items - specifically there was no consultation about the 6 year plan and also there was no consultation about curtailing the competition opportunities for Under 13's at National level. There is also a lot of greeting about bad English clubs luring Scots athletes to compete for them down South when Scottish clubs can't afford to compete - but they themselves are often accused of just that within Scotland. What's sauce for the goose, etc. Their last point is about the lack of courses for coaches in Scotland and the appropriateness or otherwise of what there is.
The meeting of individual clubs seems to be GW's chosen method of getting his way - divide and rule and that kind of thing. Remember the meeting with Pitreavie AC a few months ago??? Why does it matter for us? It matters because it affects all Scottish athletics when the executive gets away with what is unelected dictatorship and the results of their activities affect our athletes. If you go to the Edinburgh AC website (edinburghac.org.uk) and then click on Club Executive Meeting.
The meeting of individual clubs seems to be GW's chosen method of getting his way - divide and rule and that kind of thing. Remember the meeting with Pitreavie AC a few months ago??? Why does it matter for us? It matters because it affects all Scottish athletics when the executive gets away with what is unelected dictatorship and the results of their activities affect our athletes. If you go to the Edinburgh AC website (edinburghac.org.uk) and then click on Club Executive Meeting.
West Dunbartonshire Newsletter
The November edition of the West Dunbartonshire Sports Club Newsletter has just appeared and as far as I am aware copies only go to the club secretary and other selected recipients. I was selected because I was on the Local Athletics Partnership Committee. It's fairly interesting and there is actually some useful information in it as well as at least one mistake. The front sheet of seven brightly coloured sides of A4 has information about a new booklet on Coach Education Courses which will be ready for March 2010. This is something that we should keep an eye on and something that we should be promoting to parents and senior club members - like all clubs we will need coaches and the situation at national level is dire! Courses are available only for Level 1 coaches and people are crying out for the next three levels to be tackled - as one chap said on a forum the Level 1 is nowadays as useful as a chocolate watch for new coacches. Throughout the newsletter there is information on funding opportunities for clubs and on the front page clubs are encouraged to contact Laura Young if they have any specific funding needs.This is carried on on page two with Sportsmatch, the 2014 Communities Grant, Cashback for Communities and the Strathclyde Police Communities Partnership Fund all being prominently displayed. The big item on Page 3 is that there will be new procedures for Disclosure Checking Volunteers - Donald should know about this one already if what is said is right. There is a plug for the WD Quality Club scheme which is a lower level version of the Scottish Aathletics Clubmark scheme. (Incidentally, where are we on the submission for this one?)
Without going through the whole document it has information on individual clubs, on how to promote your club and so on. The one mistake is in the bit about Clydesdale Harriers. I was asked in May for some information about something we were doing and since we had started the long and high jumping in Postie's Park at that time I told them about it. It is now there - 6 months late and so it is just wrong! We don't go to Postie's on Mondays any more! Finally I would like to highlight the item about the West Dunbartonshire Sports Council. This is a body that has proved very useful to us in the past and could be so again. We were founder members of the predecessor body - the Clydebank Sports Council - and Phil was on the WD version for some time. Membership has many uses as well as being available for grants at club level, it also gives out individual grants and I reckon that if we had let the membership lapse, we should resurrect it and rejoin.
Without going through the whole document it has information on individual clubs, on how to promote your club and so on. The one mistake is in the bit about Clydesdale Harriers. I was asked in May for some information about something we were doing and since we had started the long and high jumping in Postie's Park at that time I told them about it. It is now there - 6 months late and so it is just wrong! We don't go to Postie's on Mondays any more! Finally I would like to highlight the item about the West Dunbartonshire Sports Council. This is a body that has proved very useful to us in the past and could be so again. We were founder members of the predecessor body - the Clydebank Sports Council - and Phil was on the WD version for some time. Membership has many uses as well as being available for grants at club level, it also gives out individual grants and I reckon that if we had let the membership lapse, we should resurrect it and rejoin.
Friday, 10 July 2009
Club Memorabilia
Club Memorabilia will go to the Clydebank Library later this month. Pat Maslcolm of the Local History department will come up to Lochearnhead on 18th July and take as much as she can get into her car. Anything left over, I will take down the following week. There are the posters, handbooks, minute books, cash books, letters, etc. I received a lot of stuff from David Bowman's family after he died and then last week after Jim Shields died, his son asked if we would take his father's Harriers mementoes - letters, files, photos, badges, etc. So I agreed and Billy Hislop went down and took them from the house and has them at his house until I can make it down. Then there was another phone call tonight - they have found more - about a bin bag's stuff - including the silver lapel badge and some books with significant information about the club. I haven't told my wife yet that there is more to come - about enough to overfill the boot of a Peugeot 207. If I can get it sorted, it will go to the Library. It is a real shame that the club history will never be seen by current club members without going to the Library and Museum. With the separate venues, traditions are not being passed on orally either and the last remaining method of informing members of their own club is but a shadow of its former self. I speak of course of the Presentation. The current format is one which is a well organised presentation combined with a good social night: a good time is had by all and the seniors at least get to see the younger members. BUT... there is a school of thought that says there should be no speeches. It is not one that I belong to. It is a valuable exercise in passing on club traditions. I mind wan time (as Cyril used to say) when we had a guest of honour at these functions who spoke of our club and its traditions, when the President had a few words to say of the nature of Clydesdale Harriers, and although we moaned at the time we subsequently knew more about Clydesdale Harriers than we did beforehand. That's where club spirit, loyalty and feeling comes from - without it we might as well be Anster Haddies or Arbroath Footers. Clydesdale Harriers is different and we need to work hard to get it back where it wasnine or ten years ago and where it should be.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Scottish Championships
The second day of the Championships benefited from better weather than the first day and bigger crowds which meant that the overflow car park - a three day camel ride from the stadium - was called into action. Mind you, most of the spectators needed the miles!!! Johnathan Farrell had nothing in his favour in the 200 metres Heat - drawn in the same race as Oscar Pistorius and in the outside lane he ran a creditable 23.42 seconds. Big Oscar did his reputation in Scotland a bit of good by signing lots - and I mean LOTS of autographs over quite a long period of time and chatted away to the youngsters. Johnathan's consolation was that he will probably appear in the TV coverage of the race which was covered by Sky and Channel 4.
His next race is in Gothenburg next week. Phil Dolan is taking a group of 7 athletes to Sweden for one of the biggest open meetings in Europe which usually has 7500 athletes competing. The group is being subsidised by the club and are grateful for that. The athletes should benefit from the competition and the experience of racing against athletes that they have never seen before. Everybody needs a challenge if they are to succeed and many races in Scotland are so predictable. Phil is to be commended on his initiative and the committee on their generous backing.
His next race is in Gothenburg next week. Phil Dolan is taking a group of 7 athletes to Sweden for one of the biggest open meetings in Europe which usually has 7500 athletes competing. The group is being subsidised by the club and are grateful for that. The athletes should benefit from the competition and the experience of racing against athletes that they have never seen before. Everybody needs a challenge if they are to succeed and many races in Scotland are so predictable. Phil is to be commended on his initiative and the committee on their generous backing.
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Not What They Used To Be
I went to the Scottish Schools Athletics Championships at Grangemouth on Saturday. They have been held on this weekend (Friday and Saturday) since I was at school but the meeting is nothing like what it used to be even nine or ten years ago. Numbers of competitors and spectators have dropped disastrously. For instance at local level, there were only four (FOUR) athletes entered from Clydebank schools and I didn't see one there - this might have been my eyesight but to the best of my knowledge no Clydebank school pupil actually competed. This is quite a comedown when you remember that St Columba's and Braidfield used to send a bus each on both days, that Clydebank High and St Andrew's used to send at least a minibus, often a bus. If you head towards Bearsden and Milngavie, the situation is almost as bad with Boclair which on occasion sent two whole buses of athletes entering fewer than ten pupils. Peter Bowman told me that Bearsden Academy had only three boys competing om Saturday.
When you see and hear Scottish Athletics boasting about the quality of the sport in the country and then look at the reality it is a bit like inhabiting a parallel universe or talking to Alice in Wonderland.
Where does it put us as a club?
The first and biggest message is that we have to do our own recruiting and coaching and not rely on anyone to do the work for us. We need to sharpen up our act in this respect.
Second and partly emerging from that, we really need to be ready for a whole club approach to making the most of the new track at St Peter the Apostle when we finally get access to it. I say whole club because the seniors need more new blood and they won't get it if they are training elsewhere away from the new blood; I say whole club because the youngsters need the senior role models on the same site. The Committee might have to take a hard decision when some of the seniors refuse to leave the comparative comfort of their own wee howff in the Antonine but will surely have to nominate the new venue as the 'official' club training venue.
Third it tells us that we will have to make greater efforts to cultivate the local schools as recruiting territory - re-enthuse them with athletics as the base sport for all other sports. Rugby, hockey, football and even lacrosse (I suppose) all have athletics as their basic fitness sport and this should be made apparent to all schools.
Fourth it tells us that with the shrinking pool of available talent we need to realise that we are in a competitive world where all sports and all athletic clubs compete for the same talented individuals. The coaches have to take it on board and I believe that they have already done so - it is also incumbent on the Committee however to make sure that they are not operating with one hand behind their back. eg if Vicky Park and West Dumbarton have the clubmark, we must have it too.
From 250+ members in centenary year of 1985 down to 60+ is largely down to the lack of a proper track facility in the burgh as well as the other underlying national factors. We need to get back there.
When you see and hear Scottish Athletics boasting about the quality of the sport in the country and then look at the reality it is a bit like inhabiting a parallel universe or talking to Alice in Wonderland.
Where does it put us as a club?
The first and biggest message is that we have to do our own recruiting and coaching and not rely on anyone to do the work for us. We need to sharpen up our act in this respect.
Second and partly emerging from that, we really need to be ready for a whole club approach to making the most of the new track at St Peter the Apostle when we finally get access to it. I say whole club because the seniors need more new blood and they won't get it if they are training elsewhere away from the new blood; I say whole club because the youngsters need the senior role models on the same site. The Committee might have to take a hard decision when some of the seniors refuse to leave the comparative comfort of their own wee howff in the Antonine but will surely have to nominate the new venue as the 'official' club training venue.
Third it tells us that we will have to make greater efforts to cultivate the local schools as recruiting territory - re-enthuse them with athletics as the base sport for all other sports. Rugby, hockey, football and even lacrosse (I suppose) all have athletics as their basic fitness sport and this should be made apparent to all schools.
Fourth it tells us that with the shrinking pool of available talent we need to realise that we are in a competitive world where all sports and all athletic clubs compete for the same talented individuals. The coaches have to take it on board and I believe that they have already done so - it is also incumbent on the Committee however to make sure that they are not operating with one hand behind their back. eg if Vicky Park and West Dumbarton have the clubmark, we must have it too.
From 250+ members in centenary year of 1985 down to 60+ is largely down to the lack of a proper track facility in the burgh as well as the other underlying national factors. We need to get back there.
Monday, 18 May 2009
Retention Revisited!
In the first bit about retention of athletes the subject was keeping new young athletes in the club and in the sport. This time I want to talk about the importance of keeping our best athletes in the face of competition from other clubs. In 1985 we entered the Scottish League for the first time and for the first couple of years or so we had to requalify for the League which had three divisions. By 1995 we were ranked in the top six clubs in Scotland and were either at the top of Division Two or the bottom of Division One of a five division league (8 teams per division). How did we get there? The first thing we did was to set out a clear vision of where we wanted to go so that the athletes knew what was planned. The second thing we did was organise the coaching to cover every area that we would need to cover. The athletes helped organise the teams.
We were helped by the fact that several top class athletes did not leave the club despite approaches from other clubs. For instance Lachie Carter was a 50+ metre hammer thrower and a 13 metre shot putter on a regular basis, Craig McDaid was a 6 metre + long jumper and a first rate 400 metre runner who both stayed with us. In fact Lachie even told us when he was approached by another club and Phil Dolan and I took it all the way to the SAAA Rules and Regulations Committee. If you have athletes who are (a) very talented and (b) good role models then they attract others to them. Do we have any Lachie Carters/Craig McDaids in the club just now? I would suggest for a start that we have Johnathan Farrell, Ryan Savage and Peter Bowman who could easily become such star players. One of the best would be Paul Doherty if he gets fit and can start competing again. So we have the framework. Second, do we have a clear vision where we want to go? A club wandering aimlessly along is not very attractive; just as passengers need to know the bus's destination so athletes need to have a clear goal. Well, Phil, Donald and I all know what we are trying to achieve and I think if there is something that could be put right here it is in communicating with the athletes. There was also a desire among all the athletes to turn out for the club.
There are also tangible signs of support and good will from the club committee - they pay the not inconsiderable subs for the SYAL and the Scottish League and they have also agreed to make a sizeable contribution to the squad that Phil is taking to Gothenburg for a week in June. We have the targets, we have the athletes and the coaches to go a fair way along the road. We need more athletes because the turnover is great, we need the good ones to stay with us to attract others, we need athletes (including distance runners tempted by the Auchenshuggle 10K) to want to compete for the club and we also need officials as part of the team. Given those we will be back where we should be. If anyone wants a copy of the club ranking lists done by John Lunn in Sheffield, they are available from me.
We were helped by the fact that several top class athletes did not leave the club despite approaches from other clubs. For instance Lachie Carter was a 50+ metre hammer thrower and a 13 metre shot putter on a regular basis, Craig McDaid was a 6 metre + long jumper and a first rate 400 metre runner who both stayed with us. In fact Lachie even told us when he was approached by another club and Phil Dolan and I took it all the way to the SAAA Rules and Regulations Committee. If you have athletes who are (a) very talented and (b) good role models then they attract others to them. Do we have any Lachie Carters/Craig McDaids in the club just now? I would suggest for a start that we have Johnathan Farrell, Ryan Savage and Peter Bowman who could easily become such star players. One of the best would be Paul Doherty if he gets fit and can start competing again. So we have the framework. Second, do we have a clear vision where we want to go? A club wandering aimlessly along is not very attractive; just as passengers need to know the bus's destination so athletes need to have a clear goal. Well, Phil, Donald and I all know what we are trying to achieve and I think if there is something that could be put right here it is in communicating with the athletes. There was also a desire among all the athletes to turn out for the club.
There are also tangible signs of support and good will from the club committee - they pay the not inconsiderable subs for the SYAL and the Scottish League and they have also agreed to make a sizeable contribution to the squad that Phil is taking to Gothenburg for a week in June. We have the targets, we have the athletes and the coaches to go a fair way along the road. We need more athletes because the turnover is great, we need the good ones to stay with us to attract others, we need athletes (including distance runners tempted by the Auchenshuggle 10K) to want to compete for the club and we also need officials as part of the team. Given those we will be back where we should be. If anyone wants a copy of the club ranking lists done by John Lunn in Sheffield, they are available from me.
Monday, 20 April 2009
Officials
The following advert appeared on the back page of the Men's League programme:
ATHLETICS NEEDS YOU FOR 2014!!! If you are reading this and not actively competing or officiating, then we need your help! There are many ways to get involved with athletics events and enjoy a rewarding experience as an official.
We urgently require new track and field officials in the build up to Glasgow hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Previous experience is not required as free training and guidance will be provided. Be part of a winning team and be part of our future success! Want to know more? Email volunteer@scottishathletics.org.uk
Or you could just tell Donald that you want to help out at League Meetings and if you like it then go on to do the relevant training. It's straightforward and not too complicated. Two Clydesdale Harriers who joined the club as parents of a secondary schoolgirl in 1966 were officials at the 1970 Games in Edinburgh!
ATHLETICS NEEDS YOU FOR 2014!!! If you are reading this and not actively competing or officiating, then we need your help! There are many ways to get involved with athletics events and enjoy a rewarding experience as an official.
We urgently require new track and field officials in the build up to Glasgow hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Previous experience is not required as free training and guidance will be provided. Be part of a winning team and be part of our future success! Want to know more? Email volunteer@scottishathletics.org.uk
Or you could just tell Donald that you want to help out at League Meetings and if you like it then go on to do the relevant training. It's straightforward and not too complicated. Two Clydesdale Harriers who joined the club as parents of a secondary schoolgirl in 1966 were officials at the 1970 Games in Edinburgh!
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Club Officials
Donald Macleod had the difficult task on Friday night of trying yet again to get officials for the League Match on Sunday at Meadowbank. The usual suspects were unavailable - myself for family reasons and Phil because he is attending a christening. All clubs in 2009 are short of officials. We are no different. It is not a difficult task and is one that can be very pleasant. You get up close to the action, see what the competitors are really like and learn more about your favourite event. More club members should volunteer for this: Raymond Farrell learned a lot about the workings of the sprints when he became an official graded timekeeper.
In the 1980's and 90's Scott and Isobel Govan became Field Events officials and we were complimented on their being part of the team. Bill Scally of Shettleston on one occasion said to me that he was having trouble getting officials but he said "You're lucky, you have that family!" When I joined the club the main officials were all former cross country runners: Jim Shields and Willie Howie were timekeepers and judges, David Bowman was a recorder and organiser and John Morgan was a starter.
So how about it? Why don't you volunteer your services to Donald as an official? It's as easy as that. You don't have to become a graded official but you might want to go on to that. What's involved if you do want to become graded? One day at an official's course. They are held at Scotstoun and Grangemouth and you can pick from field events, track judge, timekeeper or even starter or wind guage operator!
In the 1980's and 90's Scott and Isobel Govan became Field Events officials and we were complimented on their being part of the team. Bill Scally of Shettleston on one occasion said to me that he was having trouble getting officials but he said "You're lucky, you have that family!" When I joined the club the main officials were all former cross country runners: Jim Shields and Willie Howie were timekeepers and judges, David Bowman was a recorder and organiser and John Morgan was a starter.
So how about it? Why don't you volunteer your services to Donald as an official? It's as easy as that. You don't have to become a graded official but you might want to go on to that. What's involved if you do want to become graded? One day at an official's course. They are held at Scotstoun and Grangemouth and you can pick from field events, track judge, timekeeper or even starter or wind guage operator!
Annual General Meeting
The club's AGM was held on Friday in the Town Hall and was the best attended for some time. In the absence of Peter Rudzinski, Yvonne Green chaired the meeting very efficiently and the full agenda was completed quickly and with no awkward moments. The main office bearers remain the same with Peter Rudzinski remaining as President and Yvonne and Jim Wright continuing as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Continuity is always a good sign at the top end of the club. The club accounts were as well laid out as usual and explained comprehensively and in a very professional manner by Jim Wright. The best news from Jim was that club subs are NOT going up this year.
The Magnificent Four (Paul Carroll, Gary Dick, Brian Gallagher and Ian Robertson) were there to see Gary be elected as Club Captain with Paul and Ian going on to the Committee for the first time. Brian pleaded that his shift work made it difficult but he is more than welcome to attend committee meetings as well.
The youngest member in attendance was Under 20 athlete Ryan Savage and it would have been good to see more in attendance from the younger age groups. The Parents Rep is again Mary Ann Savage who took over the post from Donald MacLeod a year ago.
The other major position on the Committee that must be noted is that of Club Welfare Officer. Donald MacLeod has that honour and is responsible for all issues to do with the welfare of club members - he is not simply a Child Welfare Officer - his remit includes that but is wider than that.
So - congratulations to last year's Committee for the work that they have done and the best of luck to the new committee in 2009/2010.
The Magnificent Four (Paul Carroll, Gary Dick, Brian Gallagher and Ian Robertson) were there to see Gary be elected as Club Captain with Paul and Ian going on to the Committee for the first time. Brian pleaded that his shift work made it difficult but he is more than welcome to attend committee meetings as well.
The youngest member in attendance was Under 20 athlete Ryan Savage and it would have been good to see more in attendance from the younger age groups. The Parents Rep is again Mary Ann Savage who took over the post from Donald MacLeod a year ago.
The other major position on the Committee that must be noted is that of Club Welfare Officer. Donald MacLeod has that honour and is responsible for all issues to do with the welfare of club members - he is not simply a Child Welfare Officer - his remit includes that but is wider than that.
So - congratulations to last year's Committee for the work that they have done and the best of luck to the new committee in 2009/2010.
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Committee: The Club Executive
In any organisation - Social Club, Sports Club, whatever - the President, Secretary and Treasurer are known collectively as the club executive. There are times when a matter has to be decided quickly and there is no time to call the wole committee together, there are times when something is so unusual (the John Tonner situation)that you don't want too many folk knowing about it and these are the kind of situations where the club executive can take a decision on behalf of the club. It follows that the three people involved have to be fairly experienced and trusted by the club. They may go for a year or even two without taking an executive decision but on the occasions when one has to be made, the power is invaluable.
We are fortunate in the club this year to have a very good trio looking after the fortunes of the club. All positions are up for grabs at the AGM although the committee does have its own nominations. This is not to stop any counter proposals but rather to make sure that by the end of the AGM there is a name at every position. My own position would be to seriously ask the top trio to stay in post and then look for alternative nominations for all ther posts. This is not because the current holders are not up to the job BUT it is a sign of a healthy club that there is competition for the committee posts and it also gives the holders of the offices after the meeting a bit more confidence knowing that they have been elected.
The big posts for me this year are Men's Captain - with no disrespect at all to current holders or those in the recent past we really need an active Captaian on the Men's side - and a team manager for the Ladies who will look after the young girls, enter their teams, collect their numbers and take them round the course at races. I also feel that the old idea of having associate members who will not be running members but who are prepared to help the committee or the club in some way should be resurrected. David Bowman's wife's brother was Jack Picken and he came to committee meetings and attended Dunbartonshire AAA Meetings with David on behalf of the club; Doug Gemmell's Dad was club secretary for many years in a similar capacity of associate member. Just as we recruit runners, so we should maybe recruit committee members. Not being a runner should not ba a bar to committee membership.
Anyway, that's just me - the meeting is on Friday at 6:30. Members should make every effort to attend. If you don't want to come you will find a reason - it's too wet, the weather is too good to be indoors - but we are only asking for an hour or an hour and a quarter once a year to attend to the business of your club. If you really, really can't come at least send an apology for your absence.
We are fortunate in the club this year to have a very good trio looking after the fortunes of the club. All positions are up for grabs at the AGM although the committee does have its own nominations. This is not to stop any counter proposals but rather to make sure that by the end of the AGM there is a name at every position. My own position would be to seriously ask the top trio to stay in post and then look for alternative nominations for all ther posts. This is not because the current holders are not up to the job BUT it is a sign of a healthy club that there is competition for the committee posts and it also gives the holders of the offices after the meeting a bit more confidence knowing that they have been elected.
The big posts for me this year are Men's Captain - with no disrespect at all to current holders or those in the recent past we really need an active Captaian on the Men's side - and a team manager for the Ladies who will look after the young girls, enter their teams, collect their numbers and take them round the course at races. I also feel that the old idea of having associate members who will not be running members but who are prepared to help the committee or the club in some way should be resurrected. David Bowman's wife's brother was Jack Picken and he came to committee meetings and attended Dunbartonshire AAA Meetings with David on behalf of the club; Doug Gemmell's Dad was club secretary for many years in a similar capacity of associate member. Just as we recruit runners, so we should maybe recruit committee members. Not being a runner should not ba a bar to committee membership.
Anyway, that's just me - the meeting is on Friday at 6:30. Members should make every effort to attend. If you don't want to come you will find a reason - it's too wet, the weather is too good to be indoors - but we are only asking for an hour or an hour and a quarter once a year to attend to the business of your club. If you really, really can't come at least send an apology for your absence.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Committee: The President
The Club President is posibly the most important job in the club. The President is the person who sets the tone of the club and who decides the direction in which the club is going. These often depend on the state of the club - and at times of the society - in which he/she holds office. For instance during the Second World War Charlie Middler was president and his job was clearly to maintain the club as a going concern so that it would start up efficiently and smoothly on the cessation of hostilities. In the Thirties when the club was not successful athletically and society was riven by the Great Depression with members out of work and many leaving the area to find work, the task was to keep up spirits, keep any momentum going and there was as great a concentration on the social life as on the athletics.
Presidents tend to be of two kinds - those who push and prod the club in a particular direction and those who take a steadier approach and concentrate on keeping the club on an even keel. As I said the function is dependant on the state of the club, the demands of the time and also on the personality of the president. David Bowman was a canny mixture of both and when I joined the club he was a superb example of what a president should be. Our President this year is Peter Rudzinski, a man of vast Committee Experience having held most of the significant posts on the Committee. This year he has been an excellent example of the 'steady as you go' president. If everyone else does their job properly, he could do a good job next year as well.
Some clubs have a President who is a leader and figurehead and who is separate from the chairman. Our version is a president who also chairs meetings. Some clubs have two vice presidents along with the president himself: one of them is the immediate past president, the other is the prospective next holder of the office. This has a LOT to commend it. Keeping the immediate past president ensures an element of continuity and we have not had that at times in the recent past when three presidents that I can think of, left the committee completely the minute their term of office is over. So there are two alternative models of the top of a club: (a) separate the president and chairman functions - I doubt whether we have enough to do that yet; (b) elect two vice presidents with the immediate past president as one to ensure some continuity and another who will take on the job next.
President, Scretary and Treasurer are usually referred collectively as the club exeutive and I'll have a look at the executive as a whole next time.
Presidents tend to be of two kinds - those who push and prod the club in a particular direction and those who take a steadier approach and concentrate on keeping the club on an even keel. As I said the function is dependant on the state of the club, the demands of the time and also on the personality of the president. David Bowman was a canny mixture of both and when I joined the club he was a superb example of what a president should be. Our President this year is Peter Rudzinski, a man of vast Committee Experience having held most of the significant posts on the Committee. This year he has been an excellent example of the 'steady as you go' president. If everyone else does their job properly, he could do a good job next year as well.
Some clubs have a President who is a leader and figurehead and who is separate from the chairman. Our version is a president who also chairs meetings. Some clubs have two vice presidents along with the president himself: one of them is the immediate past president, the other is the prospective next holder of the office. This has a LOT to commend it. Keeping the immediate past president ensures an element of continuity and we have not had that at times in the recent past when three presidents that I can think of, left the committee completely the minute their term of office is over. So there are two alternative models of the top of a club: (a) separate the president and chairman functions - I doubt whether we have enough to do that yet; (b) elect two vice presidents with the immediate past president as one to ensure some continuity and another who will take on the job next.
President, Scretary and Treasurer are usually referred collectively as the club exeutive and I'll have a look at the executive as a whole next time.
Friday, 27 March 2009
Some Gossip
The new Scottish Athletics Fixture List is now out along with the PB magazine and booklet of Championship Entry Forms. If you intend to compete in any of the District or National Championships, you had better make a note of the date NOW and put them on the big calendar that every family has in the kitchen as well as in your training diary. Don't be caught unawares - you should be starting to shape your training for them now. The other thing though is that you should be registered with the membership scheme. If you have been racing in past years and don't have the package of stuff referred to above, you probably need to renew your membership; if you are starting back after a layoff, get yourself registered and you will get all the info sent to you. You can register by phone using a credit card at 0131 476 7321 or online at www.scottishathletics.org.uk. Don't go rushing to Donald, Phil or Yvonne two weeks before a championship asking them to check or even to do it for you!
James Austin was on the phone last night - apparently he has been ill since the Dunbartonshire Championship in Kirkintilloch and is still on medication although he hopes to be racing during the summer.
Continuing the comments on Committee Organisation, the two people who really keep any club going are the Secretary and Treasurer (Yvonne Green and Jim Wright). The Treasurer's job is self evident but there are lots of wee additional bits that go to making it more difficult than Jim makes it look. There is the monthly statements and cash book entries that we have before us at every committee meeting, there is chasing up money that should be in the bank but is not - like the Puttnam Dividend that Jock Semple left us and which produced a monthly sum for the club but which disappeared off the radar for a bit. The Secretary is supposed to be the person who organises the agenda, does all the club correspondence and often has to guide a president through the meetings. The secretary is actually there to smooth the path of the club's journey through athletics. It is important that both Treasurer and Secretary are in post for some time so that they get to know the routines, set in place their own ways of dealing with problems and make the necessary contacts throughout the world of athletics. We are exceptionally lucky to have Jim and Yvonne filling these posts for us and it is to be fervently hoped that they will continue for some time to come.
Incidentally, Yvonne is the first woman secretary the club has had in all its time from 1885 and has been in post now for three years. Aileen Scott was the first woman president and was a really good and innovative president as well as chairman of the meetings. The only other woman holder of any of the main posts was Jan Shields who was assistant secretary in the 1980's/90's. She it was who started typing the club minutes instead of writing them out properly in longhand. It seemed like a good idea to us all at the time.
Some new club coaches - Donna Campbell, Paul Doherty and David Brown - are going down to Postie's Park in mid April to have a look at their new field events facility with a view to doing our field events training there. David of course has never been away but is is really good to see Paul and Donna back in action. Mary Ann Savage will basically be in charge of the group.
James Austin was on the phone last night - apparently he has been ill since the Dunbartonshire Championship in Kirkintilloch and is still on medication although he hopes to be racing during the summer.
Continuing the comments on Committee Organisation, the two people who really keep any club going are the Secretary and Treasurer (Yvonne Green and Jim Wright). The Treasurer's job is self evident but there are lots of wee additional bits that go to making it more difficult than Jim makes it look. There is the monthly statements and cash book entries that we have before us at every committee meeting, there is chasing up money that should be in the bank but is not - like the Puttnam Dividend that Jock Semple left us and which produced a monthly sum for the club but which disappeared off the radar for a bit. The Secretary is supposed to be the person who organises the agenda, does all the club correspondence and often has to guide a president through the meetings. The secretary is actually there to smooth the path of the club's journey through athletics. It is important that both Treasurer and Secretary are in post for some time so that they get to know the routines, set in place their own ways of dealing with problems and make the necessary contacts throughout the world of athletics. We are exceptionally lucky to have Jim and Yvonne filling these posts for us and it is to be fervently hoped that they will continue for some time to come.
Incidentally, Yvonne is the first woman secretary the club has had in all its time from 1885 and has been in post now for three years. Aileen Scott was the first woman president and was a really good and innovative president as well as chairman of the meetings. The only other woman holder of any of the main posts was Jan Shields who was assistant secretary in the 1980's/90's. She it was who started typing the club minutes instead of writing them out properly in longhand. It seemed like a good idea to us all at the time.
Some new club coaches - Donna Campbell, Paul Doherty and David Brown - are going down to Postie's Park in mid April to have a look at their new field events facility with a view to doing our field events training there. David of course has never been away but is is really good to see Paul and Donna back in action. Mary Ann Savage will basically be in charge of the group.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Committee: Club Captain
Communication between the runners and the club committee is all important if the club is to prosper. In the beginning the club had five Glasgow Sections plus Sections in Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire. Each Section had two members on General Committee and the General Committee had one rep on each Section Commmittee. There was also communication with athletes from outwith that area - eg Hugh Barr came from Edinburgh, Stewart Duffus from Arbroath. There was someone resposible for communication with each runner. When I joined the club, the club captain filled that role: he discussed places on the Edinburgh-Glasgow team, he knew who was fit and who was not, he was in fact the go-between between the Committee and the athletes. It worked well. In recent years the position has not been filled effectively except for the short time that Gus Cairney did it.
The team captain was responsible for finding out who was able to run, persuading the reluctant, assisting the important but unfit runners and going to the Secretary with the team and probable runners. The Secretary has plenty to do without selection being one of the extra duties! The captain picked the team, the secretary filled in the form and the treasurer wrote out the cheque. Who is the best candidate for club captain at present? With the AGM coming up, thoughts should be turned to who is the best person for the job so that the club gets the best man for the job.
Tied in with the captain is the issue of whether we have a team manager or not. In the past there have been team managers at some times, at other times not. By and large a non running team manager is an asset. He is available for consultation by the captain about doubtful selections, provides support at committee meetings and enters the teams on the day. The captain has too much to do on the day to collect numbers. We only have to look back at the last cross country season and note that four different people were responsible for collecting the numbers etc for the Senior Men's Team. The club really needs a conscientious team captain, selected by the runners and elected at the AGM.
The Ladies and Girls are slightly different and I will return to them very soon.
The team captain was responsible for finding out who was able to run, persuading the reluctant, assisting the important but unfit runners and going to the Secretary with the team and probable runners. The Secretary has plenty to do without selection being one of the extra duties! The captain picked the team, the secretary filled in the form and the treasurer wrote out the cheque. Who is the best candidate for club captain at present? With the AGM coming up, thoughts should be turned to who is the best person for the job so that the club gets the best man for the job.
Tied in with the captain is the issue of whether we have a team manager or not. In the past there have been team managers at some times, at other times not. By and large a non running team manager is an asset. He is available for consultation by the captain about doubtful selections, provides support at committee meetings and enters the teams on the day. The captain has too much to do on the day to collect numbers. We only have to look back at the last cross country season and note that four different people were responsible for collecting the numbers etc for the Senior Men's Team. The club really needs a conscientious team captain, selected by the runners and elected at the AGM.
The Ladies and Girls are slightly different and I will return to them very soon.
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Annual General Meetings
Although the club's Annual General Meeting has tended to be in the Town Hall in recent years, this has not always been the case. When I joined it was held in Kilbowie Primary School and the same classroon was allocated every year. It was in fact used twice each year - we had a Half Yearly Meeting as well. The AGM was in September/October and the Half Yearly in April. The winter fixtures were produced by the club captains (men and women) at the AGM and the track championship details were divulged by the captains at the April Half Yearly. No last minute jiggery pokery - the captain was responsible for producing the details and dates with the Committee ratifying them. The swankiest venue for the AGM in my time was when Gerry Kennedy had it in the Beardmore Hotel at Dalmuir. The corridors were of a higher standard of furnishing than most venues have been and as for the room for the meeting! There was even a table at the rear with various fruit squashes and coffee and tea available for those attending. The least salubrious was the Hut in Thomson Street.
In the beginning, the meetings were held in Miss Cranston's Restaurant, the Bath Hotel and other such establishments but the one I would MOST have liked to attend was when the club hired a steamer, had the AGM on board as it headed down the Clyde and then a sports day was held at Rothesay before having dinner on the boat back. Are you listening Peter, Yvonne, Jim? It's probably too late for April 17th this year, but see next year????
In the beginning, the meetings were held in Miss Cranston's Restaurant, the Bath Hotel and other such establishments but the one I would MOST have liked to attend was when the club hired a steamer, had the AGM on board as it headed down the Clyde and then a sports day was held at Rothesay before having dinner on the boat back. Are you listening Peter, Yvonne, Jim? It's probably too late for April 17th this year, but see next year????
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Livingston AAC
I don't know how many club members look at the Forum on the scottish athletics website (www.scottishathletics.org.uk) but there was a post on the 'Non Athletics' bit. It was from Livingston seeking a secretary and treasurer - the posts would be paid with the fee to be negotiated and anyone living in the Lothians or close who was interested was to reply as soon as. This is quite a serious state of affairs - Livingston is a good club with athletes in all the league and open meetings as well as highland gatherings. Given that they have no one willing to take on the posts is a reflection on the state of Scottish Athletics as a whole. The jobs in question require someone prepared to take some trouble and do some work on behalf of their own club and it may be that we at Clydesdale take our own officials too much for granted. The work done by Jim Wright and the care he takes over the books, the time spent by Yvonne Green (and David) on club business as well as on the club website is considerable. Other Committee Members put in time as well and should be thanked. At one point in the very recent past the club paid an honorarium (about £125 a year?) to the holders of significant posts as a signal of how much we appreciated what they did. Maybe we should revive the practice. How can we help them? It would be a useful first step for as many club members as possible to go to the Annual General Meeting and at least show some interest in what they do.
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