Annual General Meeting 2017 - Peterborough Mens Senior Slo Pitch

Executive Pre-Meeting   9am

Present: B. Balcombe, S. Gardner, B. Young, J. Glynn, D. Dettman, V. Bowe, J. Russo, W. Withers, J. Holmes

Absent: P. McCrea, C. Lauer, B. McKnight

Steve outlined the agenda for the AGM, and discussed the By-Law amendment for changing of by-laws, his intention to seek input on the willingness to attend an AGM without a draft, and the idea of team balancing.

John Holmes reported that he has 16 players who would be willing to move up to Tuesday-Thursday if asked, and another 23 who might be willing.

Materials for the Managers and the Draft are ready.

Manager Meeting   10 am

All managers were present.

Information from the President involved:

- 13 players per team and why

- need to rotate players to ensure equal time at bat and on the field - managers have a 2 week window to create a line-up, then it        should be fixed for the remainder of the regular season

- rides for Peter Flemons - 8am home team to pick him up; last game home team to take him home, if needed

- 8am home team is responsible to set up the field

- last game home team is responsible to pack up the equipment

- question arose as to the existence of a batting box  (players getting too close to pitcher?)

- Dave had sweaters for the teams and the umps - Webmaster asks that managers supply sweater numbers to him

- President requests that all concerns be addressed to him via email; he will consult with Executive, and reply to originator

- Jim Glynn to have summary sheets and line-up sheets in the hands of managers today

Umpire Meeting  11 am

Present - approximately 20 umpire volunteers

Bill Young addressed "4 highest priority" umpiring concerns from 2016:

1) game length -  "Be Prepared"

2) Calling strikes - fielders and other ump can't hear sometimes - recommend that the right arm be raised "L" for strikes

3) extra bases when ball goes OB:

 a) hit ball - 1 base

 b) base runners when ball is thrown OB - base runners get the base that they were heading to plus 1 base , from the base that

      they were running to at the time of the throw - umps need to pay attention to where players are at that time

4) Pitch height - umps are asked to make quick, loud calls when illegal pitches are coming in

Other suggestions

- it is good practice to call "time out" when the play is over

Annual General Meeting   1 pm

The president welcomed the membership, and acknowleged old and new sponsors, the new sweaters, and the old and new managers. Steve also aknowledged that ours is a league run by volunteers, and we should remember that when it comes to complaining about minor issues.  Notwithstanding that, Steve has indicated that the process for making a complaint or seeking clarification that he would like to see followed involves the person writing him an email.  He has indicated that he would consult with the Executive and get back to the individual by email.

Steve discussed the idea of forgoing a formal banquet in the fall in favour of a more informal "beer and pizza (or subs)" type of venue .  The straw vote indicated a 50:50 split on the issue.  Vinnie will look into cost options for both.

Steve sounded out the audience in regards to developing a process to balance teams after the initial draft.  This did not find much support.  A suggestion from veteran player, Ray Clifford, that there be an opportunity for managers to make post-draft swaps of equally ranked players in order to re-distribute fielders and non-fielders is noted here for future consideration.

Reports were made to the members:

Equipment - some new helmets (batting and pitching), no new bats, 9 teams with new sweaters

Social - golf, Euchre, and maybe bowling will be organized by Vince Bowe

       - banquet options will be investigated

Financial - we're in good shape, but revenues are down as sponsors were not asked for the $140 fee this year as they bought

              new sweaters, and the total number of players is down by 10 for T-T  ($1000)

President Gardner discussed a request from the Executive to effectively delete By-Law 12 from our By-Laws.  This clause created a requirement that even simple clause changes required a vote of the entire membership at the AGM.  Over the years, certain clauses have become contrary to the way that has become standard practice.  The Executive was requesting that the change be made to allow them the flexibility to amend the By-Laws as need dictated. (One glaring example was the dropping of Wednesday players from the league if they refused to go to T-T league (By-Law 16))  A show of hands indicated that the members were at least 2/3 in favour of the motion that reads (more or less)  "The Executive have the permission of the membership to amend the By-Laws to bring them up to date with the current reality of league operations"

The DRAFT took place and the 130 players were sorted into 10 teams, a job well executed by the P, the VP, and the various minions who jotted down names on the sheets.