23/04/2024 : Kent Football Association Walking Football League AGM

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Kent FA Walking Football League

AGM – Tuesday 23rd April 2024 commencing @ 6.30pm

Kent FA HQ Invicta House, Cobdown Park, ME20 6DQ

 

Chairman: Vince Luckhurst Secretary: (Minutes) Colin Feaver Scrutineer: Nigel Gomez-Lee

Kent FA Representatives in attendance: Harry Burgess, Kelvin Newell & Matt Dixon

The meeting began at 6.40pm

 

MINUTES

• In summary 17 Clubs were represented & eligible to vote, apologies were received from 3 clubs & therefore not eligible to cast votes & 1 other Club failed to attend & therefore lost the right to vote. 
• Apologies were received from: Gordon Hatt (Bay City Strollers), Rob Cheshire (Ramsgate) & Harry Roberts (Herne Bay) – * Anchorians also weren’t represented.
• Attendees: Vince Monticelli & G Livett (Ashford Internazionale), Jason Lynch & Mike Saunders (Aylesford Amblers), Gary Seymour & Eddie Arnold (Bexley), Jan Knott & Paul Jones (Canterbury Mariners), Dave Elson & Nigel Gomez-Lee (Chatham Town), Chris Judge (Ebbsfleet), Brian Chatfield & Ian Wickens <+ Nick Palmer (Ethelbert Wanderers), Andy Freeman & Jon Gandell (Insulators), Greg Burnard (Kings Hill), Dave Abbott (Maidstone United), Frances Empson (Margate), Darren ‘Skippy’ Madden (New Romney), Paul Chalk & Neil Irving <+Andy Morton> (Range Rovers), Nigel Bragg (Tonbridge Angels), Fran Milne & John Gardener (Whitstable), Tim Wilson & Pete Coles (Woodchurch), Terry Mulholland (Woodnesborough).

 

1. The minutes of the last AGM were confirmed as a true & accurate record:

*Proposed: Neil Bragg / Seconded: Neil Irvine

 

2. The Receipts & Payments account for last season  prepared by Nigel Gomez- Lee, (showing

receipts of £340.00 less payments of £284.81 (for ‘finals’ pitch hire & medals) leaving a balance in hand of £55.19) – was adopted.

*Proposed: Gary Seymour / Seconded: Vince Monticelli

 

3. Chairmans Report: VL thanked the committee for their input over the season & felt overall had done a good job, especially in view of the short lead time prior to last season beginning on 1st July 2023, whilst also acknowledging that inevitably some mistakes had been made. In his capacity as Fixture Secretaryhe was disappointed with the level of communication regarding the arrangement of fixtures & not being advised of fixtures that had been arranged until the result filtered through. He also expressed frustrationat some Clubs being unable to send a representative to the AGM & the lack of people stepping forward to offer their services for committee positions, bearing in mind the amount of people involved throughout the league. VL stressed the importance of everyone in attendance having the opportunity to express their views during the evening & raising their hand when necessary.

 

Secretary’s Report: CF echoed the sentiments expressed by VL & thanked committee colleagues & especially VL for his work. CF then explained the pressure of preparing for the season to start on 1stJuly 2023 amounting to a ‘baptism of fire’ due to the following reasons: The FA administrative process is aligned with the traditional season running from September to May & the FA affiliation window opening early in June meaning that to get all clubs & the league as a whole affiliated in time for the season to start on 1st July was a huge task, especially with the new process that had be introduced using the FA portal & whole game system which was new to everyone. On the 27th June the KFA (Will Sanderson) advised that for the season to begin on 1st July all clubs must complete the affiliation process by 5pm on 30th June – just 3 days away. At this stage only 7 of our 21 Clubs had completed the process, which included payment of the relevant fees. Following numerous emails & phone calls & with the considerable help of Kent FA’s Will Sanderson & Harry Burgess the remaining 14 Clubs miraculously completed the process with just hours to spare. Player Registrations then had to be completed.

CF emphasized the importance of good administration & encouraged all clubs to identify good administrators within their ranks, or parent clubs where appropriate.

 

4. Election of Competition Officers and Management Committee members 

The following members of the current committee had notified their intention to stand down for the 2024/25 season: Vince Luckhurst (Chairman & Fixture Secretary), Colin Feaver (Secretary), Dave Abbott (Registration Secretary), Dave Elson & Nigel Gomez-Lee (Joint Treasurers)

Frances Empson had confirmed he was prepared to continue as Discipline Officer.

 

Jason Lynch, Darren Madden & Terry Mulholland had notified the committee in advance that they were willing to stand for the positions shown below & subsequently elected. Nigel Bragg offered to stand as Registration Secretary during the meeting. Before the AGM started CF was asked if he would be prepared to act as Temporary Chairman until such time a replacement could be found.

 

The following were then voted in as the new committee:

Chairman (Temporary): Colin Feaver

Secretary: Terry Mulholland

Treasurer: Jason Lynch

Registration Secretary: Nigel Bragg

Fixture Secretary: Darren Madden

Discipline Officer: Frances Empson

*Proposed: Dave Abbott / Seconded: Nigel Gomez-Lee

 

5. Alteration of Rules, (if any): 

Full details of each proposal are shown below

i) Proposal received from Bexley (Mark Sidders) re: Restructure / format

In summary to form:

• 2 Divisions of 8 teams with promotion/relegation (can be adjusted if new teams join)
• 3 league games played once a month, on pre determined dates at one or more pre–determined venue(s) across 4 pitches, so no more trying to arrange games with other teams.
• Teams from the East & West get to play each other and everyone gets to play each other twice.
• Season completed in 5 match days/months
• Calculations based on 50+ divisions for 2023/24 season

 

Following considerable & constructive discussion regarding the pro’s & cons the Chairman asked the floor to vote: 

Votes: Those in favour: 1 Those against: 15 Abstain: 1

Further discussion ensued regarding the adoption of parts of the proposal but not others & finally concluded that the league would continue in the existing format.

 

ii) Proposal received from Aylesford Amblers (Jason Lynch) re. Provision of Assistant Referees / Linesman using players from each team

Considerable discussion evolved & while there were reservations about the practicality of implementation at certain venues, the overall consensus was positive. 

The conclusion was that providing it was possible, practical & applicable to use a player from each team & with both teams & the referee in agreement the proposal would be voted on this basis:

# Votes: Those in favour: 14 Those against: 2 Abstain: 1

 

iii) Proposal from League Secretary (Colin Feaver) re.Team size variation agreement (currently not documented) to be at the discretion of the home side & parameters published within the Club Directory at the beginning of the season.

Following discussion the proposal was voted by the floor:

 # Votes: Those in favour: 17 Those against: 0 Abstain: 0

# Harry Burgess confirmed that the proposals carried relating to alteration of rules can be implemented subject to ratification by the Kent FA

 

6. Agree on the date for the beginning of the Playing Season: See below

 

7. Agree on the date for the end of the Playing Season: See below

 

Regarding items 6 & 7 CF proposed that the season should begin in September & end in May – explaining the reasons to fall in line with FA structure, the fact that there are an abundance of tournaments to enter during the summer months. CF suggested that the holiday season can disrupt player availability & alluded to fixtures last season being cancelled as early as July. Harry Burgess explained the FA administration processes (referring to  wholegame system & Club portal) in more detail.

​The proposal for the season to run from 1st September to 31st May was put to the vote:

# Votes: Those in favour: 17 Those against: 0 Abstain: 0 

 

8. Constitution of the Competition for the ensuing Season.
• Following discussion & clarification on player eligibility, Vince Monticelli confirmed that Ashford would enter 2 Over 60’s teams & Chris Judge advised that Ebbsfleet would enter an Over 60’s team in addition to an Over 50’s
• Gary Seymour provisionally suggested that Bexley would enter  2 Over 50’s & 2 Over 60’s teams
• Terry Mulholland felt that Woodnesborough may wish to enter a second Over 50’s team

It was agreed that the final constitution should be confirmed by 31st May at the latest

 

The table below shows the current position (with various team names to be advised in due course):

Kent FA Walking Football League 

2024/25 Season

Entries to date as at 23/04/24

No

9 (+1?)

 

9 (+2?)

 

12

 

6 (+2?)

 

–

EAST 50’S

 

WEST 50’S

 

EAST 60’S

 

WEST 60’S

 

1

Bay City Strollers

1

Anchorians

1

Ashford Internazionale A

1

Anchorians

1

2

Canterbury Mariners

1

Aylesford Amblers A

1

Ashford Internazionale B

1

Bexley C

+1?

3

Ethelbert Wanderers

1

Aylesford Amblers B

1

Bay City Strollers

1

Bexley D

+1?

4

Herne Bay

1

Bexley A

+1?

Canterbury Mariners

1

Ebbsfleet

1

5

Margate

1

Bexley B

+1?

Herne Bay

1

Kings Hill

1

6

New Romney

1

Chatham Town

1

Margate

1

Maidstone United

1

7

Range Rovers

1

Ebbsfleet

1

New Romney

1

Tonbridge Angels A

1

8

Woodchurch

1

Insulators

1

Ramsgate

1

Tonbridge Angels B

1

9

Woodnesborough A

1

Maidstone United

1

Whitstable

1

 

 

10

Woodnesborough B

+1?

Maidstone United

1

Woodchurch

1

 

 

11

 

 

Tonbridge Angels

1

Woodnesborough Reds

1

 

 

12

 

 

 

 

Woodnesborough Bees

1

 

 

 

 

9. AOB – Other business of which due notice shall have been given and accepted by the Chair/ Secretary as being relevant to an AGM.

 

i) Fixture cancellation 

A number of attendees expressed frustration surrounding the cancellation of matches at short notice experienced last season.  This potentially results in the home club incurring costs for pitch / facility hire. Also the appointed referees who have set the time aside are inconvenienced.

After much discussion it was agreed that a meaningful penalty for offending clubs needed to be introduced, in order to act as a deterrent. 

This resulted in the following proposal being put to the vote:

• Notice of cancellation of any arranged match must be sent to the league fixture secretary & the opposing club by email only in order to confirm the timeline. This following initial with the opposing advising of the cancellation – no later than 48 hours prior to the arranged date & kick off time.
• A valid reason for the cancellation must be provided & stated in the email.
• Should less than 48 hours notice of cancellation be given the management committee will investigate the circumstances & act accordingly.
• The defaulting club could be liable to cover the costs & expenses incurred by the cancellation (to potentially include the costs of pitch / facility hire & referees costs).
• The Management Committee also reserves the right to deduct points from the offending club & award points to the innocent Club if deemed necessary.
• Any costs incurred must be proven & invoiced to the league who will pay the innocent party & in turn invoice the offending club for prompt payment.

 

ii) League fees – proposal to increase

The cancellation debate lead on to the level of joining fees charged to each club at the beginning of the season (currently £10.00 per team). It was proposed that the fee be increased with immediate effect to £20.00 per team.

Proposal to insert (i) cancellation clause into standard rules & (ii) to increase league fee

• # Votes: Those in favour: 17 Those against: 0 Abstain: 0 

 

iii) Arrangement of matches

Discussion ensued regarding the confusion over the rule surrounding the arrangement of fixtureswithin a two week window. The conclusion was to amend the rule (within 20.E.1) which were set out at last season’s AGM. Final details of the amendment will be agreed by the new management committee & circulated to all Clubs in due course.

iv) Referees courses – HB & KN outlined the FA’s plans to introduce a formal qualification specifically for ‘Walking Football Referees’. At some point next season the FA intend to launch training courses for delegates to attend in order to acquire the qualification.

 

v) The meeting closed at 8.35pm

Footnote

• The outgoing committee wish to express sincere thanks to all Club Secretaries / Administrators for their input over last season.
• Huge thanks to Mark Sidders of Bexley who at short notice stepped forward to do a fantastic job arranging the regional preliminary rounds for both the Over 50’s & Over 60’s of the ‘Walking Football League’s Alliance’ National Cup Competition. 
• Finally, special thanks to the Kent FA’s Harry Burgess, Kelvin Newell & Matt Dixon for their input at the agm & support throughout the season, together with Will Sanderson.

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