CENTRAL YORKSHIRE CRICKET LEAGUE ALLIANCE

Notes of the Meeting of Steering Committee held at OSSETT CC on 25th June 2008

Present

David Clegg, Mark Heald, Paul McFarlane ( CYCL).

John Finch, Ernest Holstead, Ron Mackenzie, Gary Newton, Bernard Simpson, Jon Tubby ( LWRCL)

Apologies: -David Charlston, David Morris, John Stabler.

Following the resignation of Chris Madden it was agreed that for this meeting John Finch would take the chair.

1. Chris Madden

The Leeds West Riding representatives sought clarification ofthe reasons for Chris Madden's resignation and reassurance that there was still full commitment to the merger.

David Clegg confirmed that Chris had stated only that he had resigned for " personal reasons related to Cricket". John Stabler had been appointed as Acting Chairman of CYCL and as all the Clubs are in favour of the merger he will do all he can to ensure it proceeds to a successful conclusion.

Those present wished to record their debt of gratitude to Chris Madden for his efforts in steering the merger this far. John Finch will convey this to Chris formally.

Following a short discussion it was agreed that David Clegg would be Chairman of future Steering Committee meetings and would be our nominee for this post in the Alliance.

2.Minutes of last meeting

The minutes of the meeting held on 21st May had been circulated previously. They were taken as read and were approved as a true record of proceedings on that occasion.

3. Matters arising

There were no matters arising not covered by the present agenda.

4. Progress reports

a) Ground inspection

David Clegg noted he had received reports on about half the grounds. A further four visits were due within the next week. Groups 1,7 and 9 were still outstanding. Two new inspectors were mentioned, but there was a possibility that David and John Finch could cover many of these in a concerted effort on one day in the next week. The Swillington return had been received, and Gawthorpe St Mary's needs to be added to the list as they have eventually decided to join the Alliance.

There is now a determination to finalise the gradings at the next meeting.

b) Website

The feedback was the sub-committee were making progress. They had recognised some problems in the solutions suggested earlier and were examining alternative options. Their next meeting was scheduled for week beginning 7th July when, amongst other items , they will consider entries in the Logo Competition. They will also be discussing a site Forum.

As a ground rule we feel there should be strict vetting before users are registered and their details should be recorded so that "flaming" may be controlled by the moderators. Club affiliations should also be recorded and Clubs should be held responsible for postings by their members. We will take the sub-committee's advice on the best way of meeting these objectives.

As an initial input it was suggested these minutes might be posted on all three sites.

c) Rules

Jon Tubby reported he had not made much progress recently and David Morrris was currently on holiday but they have their own deadlines and Jon is confident they will have covered most major points before the next meeting.

d) Management Structure

David Clegg discussed several of the outline suggestions for the management structure following Chris Madden's resignation and suggested a possible alternative to himself as Chairman of the Grounds sub-committee.

We attempted to clarify our thinking on the role of the Alliance League Secretary as it was a key position in the new structure and will to a great extent be the "Public face of the new League". Various ideas were put forward which might be incorporated in the Job Description for the post. David Clegg and John Finch will discuss these ideas with potential candidates.

Current Vice- Presidents may be invited to contribute to the Management Committee but would have no voting rights per se.

The roles of the potential members of the Disciplinary sub-committee may need a little refinement. Access to e-mail will be critical for key members.

e) Match Balls

It is understood Readers will be meeting a representative from CYCL at Ossett on 2nd July. Paul McFarlane has been asked to set up meetings with Oxbridge about their Windsor and Buckingham products which use English leather. Other producers were discussed and the availability of two qualities of Grade A ball was felt to be important. Where recent experience of a manufacturer has been poor it is unlikely they will be considered.

5. League Sponsorship

John Finch led a discussion on sponsorship. He and David Clegg will lead a sub committee to develop this topic further.

A couple of major local businesses had been approached to sponsor the Alliance. One had turned down the idea and an answer is awaited from the other. We are to consider separate sponsorship for one or more competitions and the exact method by which the sponsorship is to be applied ; it may be directed for the benefit of junior cricket or to enhance facilities at Clubs.

6.Match Day Rules

John Finch had compiled a matrix of the rules and conditions of 10 local leagues to highlight the common points and the differences.

New employment and residential legislation may rule out overseas players in the near future. CYCL Clubs are to be circularised to determine how many have players contracted for Season 2009 before we finalise any rules which could lead to a breach of contract.

7. Constitution 2009

Carried over to next meeting.

8. Next Meeting .

Next meeting was agreed for Thursday 24th July at Ossett CC at 7.15pm.

9. AOB

Financial matters and publicity to be dealt with at future meetings as other points are resolved.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.45pm