AGM 2004

Awaiting minutes

April 2004

Awaiting minutes

March 2004

Members present: Mark Edmonds, Mark Yeats, Mike Greenyer, Tom Harvey, Bill Mcquat, Ray Feltham, Adrian Davis, Gary Spring and Colin Jones. Apologies was received by Mark Saxby, Neil Francis, Matt Gentle, Micky Nightingale, Paul Gurd and John Royston.

The evening kicked off with the guest speaker Mr. Alan Robinson giving an excellent presentation on his refereeing experiences throughout the years.

Ray Feltham bought along two bottles of "bubbly" for the 5-A-Side football team to drink. As only two members of the team was present it was passed along to the other members to drink!

Tom Harvey expressed his his concerns for the offside interpretation and a discussion took place for 30 minutes.

The meeting closed around about 22.00 hrs.

February 2004

Awaiting minutes.

January 2004

Minutes of meeting held on Monday 5th January 2004, at Boscombe Rec' Club, Amesbury.

Members Present; Mark Edmonds (Chairman), Neil Francis (Secretary), Colin Jones (Treasurer), John Royston, Mark Yeats, Nick Norris, Tom Harvey, Mathew Gentle, Adrian Davis, Mark Saxby, Ray Feltham, Colin Kennerson, Iain Parsons, Bill McQuat &
Gary Spring.

Appologies were recieved from; Mike Greenyer & Stuart Cundick.

The meeting opened at 7.30 pm & Mark welcomed all to the first meeting to be held at this new venue.

County R.A. meeting, John Royston reported that;
WCFA are concerned that the standard of report writing has declined, advise can be found in the FA publication 'Misconduct Report Writing'.
When reporting an Assault Case the term 'Assualt on Match Official', should be used to head the report.
Child Protection Training courses will be held throughout the year.
Wembley, is ahead of schedule.
Assesment and Discipline are on a par with last year, no figures available.

Treasurer Colin distribued raffle tickets, cash and counterfoils to be returned ASAP.

Mark Edmonds presented the following certificates;
· Nick Norris - FAMOA record of achievement.
· Mathew Gentle - WCFA Youth Cup Final 2002/3
· Gary Spring - WCFA Junior Cup Final 2002/3

Quiz hosted by Gary Spring, was won by 'Inter' Tom Harvey, Mark Saxby, Adrian Davis & Mark Yeats.

The meeting closed at 9.45pm.

December 2003

Minutes of meeting held at The McEnhill Stadium, on Monday 1st December 2003.

Members Present; Mark Edmonds (Chairman), Neil Francis (Secretary), Colin Jones (Treasurer), Bill McQuat, Ian Parsons, Mark Yeats,
Adrian Davis, Jim Douglas, Mark Saxby, Mike Greenyer, Tom Harvey & Ray Feltham.

Appologies were recieved from; Gary Spring, Stuart Cundick, Mick Hunter, Simon Prout & John Royston.

Minutes of the last meeting were read and duly signed. There were no matters arising.

Secretaries Report, No Business to report.

Treasurers Report; Treasurers Account = £453.00, Members = 27.

Meeting Venue; Following a short discussion it was unaminously voted to hold all forthcoming meeting a Boscombe Rec Club, Amesbury.
Cost to Society £10.0 per session

Any Other Business;
Mark Edmonds advised members that the Web Site has been revamped, and encouraged members to use this facility.

Mike Greenyer brought members up to date with recent EC meeting minutes.

Guest Speaker Mr Roger Vaughan, FAMOA Regional Manager & Panel League Referee.
Roger gave members an update on the recent restructuring within Famoa, also dealing with recruitment & retention.
Regional Development Days for 2004 are 17th July at Bristol & 18th July at Torquay, full details TBA.
Roger gave a Video presentation dealing with 'Recognising Offences', which created a good deal of discussion.
Members thanked Roger in the traditional manner.

There was no other business and the meeting closed at 9.55 pm.

EC Meeting 29th November 2003

Obituaries. The Executive stood in respect of Geoff Finch (Devon) a RA man through & through.The meeting also showed their respect to J Jenkinson the Ex Southern Division Councillor who passed away in October. J Harvey & B Bombroff attended his funeral.

Deputy EC member B Williams reported that Cornwall have elected a new deputy to him for the rest of the season. His name is Brian Harris, who also is the County RA Secretary for Cornwall. The Executive looked forward to meeting Brian in the near future.

September minutes. The members, who felt that the grammar & spelling mistakes were too excessive, discussed these minutes at length. The final conclusion to all this was that the following process would be adopted.M Greenyer's notes - E-mailed to D John & J HarveyD John to e-mail J Harvey & B Bombroff by the 7th DecemberJ Harvey & B Bombroff would check the minutes and return copies with comments & corrections within the week.D John would then send the minutes to the office for distribution. It was hoped this would return the Western Division minutes to the standard the division was used to?It was decided to sign the September minutes complete with spelling and grammar mistakes.

Suspension of the Meeting After agreement by the Executive the meeting was suspended for a Presentation by Jeff Galatin - Marketing Officer of the Referee's Association

Introduction. Jeff introduced himself as a Level 7 referee, whose hobby of football led him to take a Referee's course and due to his age he would always be a 'Grass Root' Referee. He asked the members if the meeting could be on a '2 way basis' so that he could collect the members thoughts The company he worked for was called 'Javelin Communications'. There were 8 members of staff who worked there. The company had been around for some years and Jeff felt that as the object was to increase membership at 'Grass Root' with his experience as a Marketing Officer and the level of refereeing he under took he could qualify for the RA position.His initial contract was for 12 months, which has now been extended for a further 6 months.He explained what he had achieved in the past 7 months: During his first 6 months he has had several meetings with J Baker of the FA. In appraising the links between the RA & FA both agreed that the area of co-operation between both organisations has only just been touched.Through J Baker and the FA, the RA News letter was distributed with the FAMOA magazine in September. This reached over 36,000 referees, instructors and assessors.It was pointed out to Jeff that this meant that there were some people within the Refereeing fraternity who would not have seen the newsletter. For example B Williams & B Bombroff as they did not fit into this category?It was agreed that this needed to be rectified, Jeff would contact A Smith and find out it the mailing list of the FA & RA could be compared and the missing persons added to the FA list or that the RA list be used to catch the fall out?Due to this distribution of the newsletter through the FA, 32,000 more Referees' were informed of the existence of the RA.When asked who wrote the newsletter, the meeting was told that Jeff was the author and the FA the distributors. Therefore the saving made to the RA was approx. £10,000.00.

Jeff's second point was an initiative which he called 'Triple Badging'This was carried out with his own County Berks & Bucks.It consisted of a leaflet (Attached), which listed all the contact points for the Counties societies, their meeting dates, the RA's address etc. and a £10.00 Christmas vouchers for supplies, valid for all orders over £50.00.The response so far has been 15 orders from members within the County. He has yet to establish if membership of the RA has increased through this initiative?Jeff added that the co-operation of the County was paramount to this success and that his County had the help of Brian Moore FA Secretary, who is a supporter of the RA

3 Objectives. Jeff felt that the triple Badging would achieve 3 objectives:a) Sales - Increased by a new modern brochure. (Due to be released in February)b) Members - Increase membership in all the local societies thus increasing the overall membership to the RAc) Visibility - Increase the profile of a Referee and the RA.Jeff passed round some new ideas for the sales brochure.

Jeff informed the meeting that in the February's issue of the FAMOA newsletter members could look forward to receiving.a) a new sales brochure (in a new A5 format)b) the second addition of the newsletter c) a letter from the RA explaining to the members what is about to happen to the RA during and following the formation of its new structure.

Jeff passed around various cuttings that he has received from societies all over England. He thought that a marketing pack and sponsorship pack would be of some use by all societies.A new poster to display in every changing room throughout the Counties.

In concluding Jeff said his priorities were as follows: (These priorities are Not in any particular order)1) Web site - Increase access/On line purchasing/new societies2) Supplies Brochure3) Marketing pack for societies4) Sponsorship for societies5) Working with the shadow board6) Triple Badging Country wide7) 2nd Issue of the RA newsletter8) Member get member - February (Attract a reward9) Corporate Identity10) Planing the RA's Centenary - 200811) Sponsorship for ConferenceHe informed the meeting he would continue to work closely with FAMOA to obtain more exposure of the RA and Referee's throughout England, Northern Ireland and Wales.B Bombroff thanked Jeff on behalf of the Executive and wished him every success in his objectives. The members of the Executive showed their appreciation for the presentation in the usual manner.After Jeff had left the members were told that any membership figures for this time of year have been affected by the postal strike and it was hoped that November and December may see some indication if Triple Badging has improved membership?

South Devon. R Vaughan is still trying to set up a meeting to resolve the problem.

EC Members reports. J Harvey will contact A Smith to find out why the templates to the reports are not identical.

Assaults OLDSomerset - One assault has been changed back to improper behaviour and the correct punishment applied.NEWGloucestershire - One to report An assault had occurred on a Referee, however the report went to 2 other Counties before it arrived in Gloucester. The case was heard last Thursday the result of which are unknown.Members were asked to inform their societies to ensure that all reports go to the right person? If in doubt ring the competitions secretary who will tell you what County a team is registered with? Somerset - Three to report1) Whilst the Referee was sending off a player, team member went across to the Referee and pushed him aggressively2) Another player body checked a Referee3) Poked a Referee in the forehead. The Referee felt very intimidated. Wiltshire - One to report. A senior Referee was pushed forcibly to the ground. This hearing had not taken place at the time of the meeting.B Williams expressed his concern over the increased assaults over the last 2 years. He asked if in each case did the Referee abandon the game. He was informed that each case was slightly different and that more experienced Referee's could cope with an assault and still carry on with the game?B Moore asked what happened to a player who failed to turn up to a personal hearing? The complete answer was not known, however the question would be asked at a higher level?A discussion took place regarding the use of pictured registration card. It was felt that this could be of use in the local games especially. Some enquiries would be made for the next EC Meeting?

Council - Admin & Policy Committee. In the absence of minutes from this committee the Western Division's letter to this committee was tabled, the Chairman of Admin & Policy's reply accompanied it. (Copies attached)In light of the response a special meeting would be arranged for the 10th January 2004 to discuss ways forward at Conference 2004.

New Board. The nine members have been elected. It was noted that 6 were from Anglia & South East, 2 from Mercia & West and 1 from East Midlands & North.Both B Bombroff and D John were thanked for putting themselves forward.It was noted that the nearest delegate to the Western Division was N Genner who lived approx. 250-300 miles from Cornwall.It was identified to the meeting that as there was 45 Counties this only represented 5 Counties per board member.D Akerman pointed out that based on the membership it was possible a candidate could attract 7,000 votes.It was evident that a lot of the membership failed to use their vote.J Harvey said there was also a lot of spoilt votes

Recruitment & Retention. Thoughts were expressed on how members could be encouraged to rejoin societies.A Matthew explained that his society wrote to all lapse members at least once per season, but the up take did not alter?It was felt that each lapsed member should be visited and asked to rejoin?

Council - I & P Committee. It was reported that Safety/Sports spectacles could be worn on the field of play. Each member was reminded that the Referee has the final ruling if spectacles can be worn.Quiz 2004 - This would be held next year, the future was still unknownReferee Magazine - The magazine would continue until the end of the present season.B Bombroff asked if the EC members were ever going to be given a list of non-participating societies. J Harvey said he would ask the office during the next week?

Council - Conference Committee Conference 2004 This will be in Cardiff, the Executive were told that due to the Cardiff Society being heavily involved in the Eve of Final Rally each year their ability to raise Tombola prizes have been exhausted. They would be contacting each Society to make either a £25.00 donation or give a Tombola prize. The Executive felt that in view of their circumstances was it wise to ask them to continue with the organising of Conference. J Galatin was trying to get sponsorship to cover the costs of holding Conference?

Conference 2005This is to be held at the Prince of Wales at Southport. No other details were known

Council - Finance Committee A leaflet is to be issued regarding the competition of an expense form, as there has been a misinterpretation as to the use of the form and what is classed as legitimate expenses?

Divisional Directory. This is still outstanding from Head office.Cirencester has now changed secretary's. A Matthew will be taking up the post with immediate effect.

Divisional Finals 5 a side rules were distributed for comments and observations. Date of the event is 22nd February 2004 The football will be played at the Kings of Wessex Sports Hall and the Quiz would be held at Cheddar Football Club. The room would be inspected to see if the noise from the bar has been reduced? It was decided to invite J Day as the Quizmaster? Somerset has managed to obtain 50% of the cost to run the finals through local sponsorship. Referees with experience in refereeing 5 a side competition would be required from Gloucestershire & Wiltshire. The reserve official would be from Somerset. All team names and colours should be sent to Bob Moore to be included in the Programme on the day.

Life Membership D Brookes - 15th May 2004 at Bristol. Cost per person is £25.00 per head. Each EC member was given a letter from Tony Monks inviting him or her to attend. J Day - 30th January 2004 at Bath Cricket Club. Cost per person is £10.00 per head. Contact Number is Tony Philips - 01761 233851 who will take any booking? The closing date is the 5th January 2004. The award will be presented to J Day by P Willis

Executive Weekend 2003. Thanks was given to A Matthews for everything he had done so far to make the weekend enjoyable

Executive Weekend 2004. This would be held at Swindon. To date 11 rooms have been booked for the following people:T Miller, J Harvey, B Williams, N Jones, A Matthew, D Akerman, B Moore, T Mitchell, D John, M J Greenyer & J Day.F Bastin & K Mulraney still needed to confirm their attendance. C Bunney & B Bombroff would not be able to attend.

AOB. B Williams reported that a Referee in Cornwall waited 3 weeks for some new kit. J Harvey would investigate this and asked if anyone else had experienced a problem like this to inform him during the next few days.

Draw Tickets All Counties were told their draw tickets could be collected tonight.

Mike Greenyer

EC Member - Wiltshire

November 2003

Minutes of meeting held at the McEnhill Stadium, on Monday 3rd November 2003.

Members Present; M Edmonds, N Francis, C Jones, N Homer, I Parsons, M Yeats, M Nightingale, T Harvey, C Tanner,
M Greenyer, M Saxby & R Feltham.

Appologies were recieved from; S Cundick, M Allamby, G Spring & J Royston.

The meeting opened at 7.30pm, Mark welcomed all to the meeting.

Minutes of the last meeting were not available.

Secretaries Report;
Correspondance had been received from the Mid Wilts Youth League, requesting a list of members in order that they make a donation to Society baased on the number of members. Also requesting that members consider refereeing on that league.

Treasurers Report; No business to report.

Any Other Business;
Tom Harvey expressed his dissapointment that Salisbury City FC had not provided a 'bar' for this and last months meeting.
Mark Saxby suggested a change of venue might be in order, noting that when the committee met at Boscombe Club pre-season, that those facilities seemed suitable for our meetings. Secretary to contact Salisbury City & Colin Jones to contact Boscombe Club. This matter to be discussed next meeting.

Mike Greenyer enquired whether Society had received RA 'Board Restructureing Voting Papers'. Neil advised that these had not been received. Mike to organise replacements.

Wally Tanner thanked Society for supporting the recent Skittles evening.

Colin Jones will be Captaining our Five A Side team, those interested please contact Colin. Competition to be held at Cheddar on Sun 22nd Feb 2004.

The Mick Bevan Memorial Shield was Presented to Nigel Homer.

Guest Speaker, Clive (Wally) Tanner WCFA Referees Assesors Secretary, addressed the meeting speaking of this his second season in this role, and of his enjoyment of the contact with referees. Clive quoted from actual assesments of referees in order that members could gain an understanding of the items that assesors were noting. Clive also reminded members to keep him advised of their appointment, and especially of any change of appointment.
Members thanked Clive in the traditional manner.

There was no other business and the meeting closed at 9.35pm.

October 2003

Awaiting minutes

September 2003

Awaiting minutes

EC Council Meeting Minutes

Council Meeting 30th August 2003

President Congratulations to Mr John Bunn who as President took control of this seasons first Council meeting. John informed the meeting that although it was the 'closed season' he had been extremely busy, he had represented a colleague in a disciplinary charge, attended the FA Referees committee meeting as an observer. He would be attending one more meeting before he could be elected on the committee in his own right?

Conference 2003 Conference this year was in Cheltenham, sadly not as well attended as I had hoped. However to all the societies who attended, I hope you had a good time?
The main agenda was the re-structure of the RA. A very small majority passed this rule change; we must therefore analyse the impact on our County RA and our own societies.As a County we must see how are we going to approach the transition from the present structure to the new one without an EC member? We need to consider how we are going to fit into the new structure, as there will be no Divisional meeting to bounce ideas from other Counties? As yet there are no set meeting dates for the Counties to meet their regional board member. Are meetings are going to be on the same frequency as the Divisional Meeting?Who will fund the delegate who will have to attend, how many delegates will need to attend, where will delegates meet are but a few questions that need raising?As can be seen from the few questions above there is still a lot to be discussed before Conference next year?John Baker attended Conference again this year, he endorsed last years statement that he wants the RA & the FA to work together.Through this close working arrangement the RA has been represented at all of the FAMOA Development days and through this our delegates have sold nearly £4,000.00 worth of supplies.Further evidence of this the RA will be allowed to put a news leaflet in the next issue of the FAMOA journal, distribution of which is to over 32,000 referees.

Election of a Board Members should look at the rules governing the election of the new board.All members note that, votes need to be cast and received in the office by Friday the 14th November 2003, as there is no postal delivery to the office on a Saturday. However in view of the forth-coming election we need every member we can muster?Members need to be aware of the following: New BoardThe board consists of 9 Candidates, which will include the highest placed candidate, based within our region, plus the 6 highest placed candidates from the other 3 regions. Voting is crucial, as we could end up with one board member from each region and all the others from a specific region say from East Midlands & North? All societies need to ensure that all their members are registered at Head office thus entitling them a vote?Therefore pursue previous members and chase other Referees in your areas, as this year is crucial for our County?

Supplies Supplies were up last year helped by a supplies stand at each of the FAMOA development days.Tracksuits appeared to be a problem, as a supplier cannot be found?Societies should be made aware that orders of supplies over £500.00 would be entitled to a discount?Although there has been some changes in manufacturing prices no changes would be made until after the Finance meeting in November.

Recruitment & Retention Membership on a National level is 8.4% down on this time next year, this however is not general in our own County, as we are slightly ahead of the national trend.The proposed CD-ROM for recruitment is being reviewed at the moment and hopefully finances will be made available to distribute it to all societies?
Web Site Following the experiment of employing a Marketing Officer extra links have been set up, thus making it easier to navigate the web.

Grand Draw 2004 We may have changed the structure of the RA but some things never change. Next years Major prize will be a car, type to be announced.50% return to each society selling tickets remains the same, however the books will be 4 tickets per book at a cost of £1.00 each book.

Football Magazine Concern was expressed as to the quality of the September magazine. It was decided that the General Secretary would write to the company?It should be noted that sales are below the same period as last year?

Marketing Officer In May, Jeff Galatin from Javelin Communications has been appointed on a six-month trial.To date he has met with John Baker (Head of Refereeing), Adrian Cooper (FA Communications), Alex Stone (FA Media Officer) and Dermot Collins.The results of these meetings are: (at the time of print for these minutes)a) Coverage of the RA Conference on the FA web-siteb) Agreement to carry articles on the Vote for Change and RA News as an insert in the FAMOA August JournalJeff also managed to arrange a shared stand with the FA in the Sports show at Earls Court held on the 4-6th July 2003Jeff also liased with the Gloucester Echo regarding coverage at Conference.Obviously he has got the RA greater exposure, which has yet to filter into membership, let's wish him greater success for the future.


Law Queries 6 Have been received and answered.

National Quiz This has been arranged for the 18/04/04Melksham are organising the County Quiz which will be on 6th November 2003

EC Meeting 27th September 2003

Q10 Remains unanswered however J Harvey would endeavour to send the reply via email in the next couple of days.

March Minutes A Matthew asked why the March minutes have not been re-circulated? M J Greenyer informed the meeting that he had re-written them on the Sunday following the meeting and emailed them to both D John & J Harvey.These minutes would be sent out in the next few weeks.

South Devon A letter has been faxed to the RA. It identified Devon's failure to comply with the disciplinary procedure laid down in the FA rules.

8th May 2004 B Bombroff identified that D Brookes award has been sent for the 15th May 2004 therefore did the executive wish to change the date of the meeting to coincide with this event. After some discussion it was decided that the members who could attend that day were in easy travelling distance.

EC Elections Gloucestershire B Bombroff explained that contrary to rumours regarding the use of numbered voting slips in his Counties elections this year the purpose of the numbers was to stop duplications and as with Council elections no record is kept to identify the person it was sent to?

EC Members Reports M J Greenyer questioned why having been requested to email these reports in a particular font that none of the reports that accompanied met this criteria. An answer would be sort at the next Council meeting?Also why were the minutes emailed to the members?

Assaults OLDSomerset - Last seasons outstanding cases have been completed satisfactorily.Wiltshire - Last seasons outstanding cases have been completed satisfactory.NEWSomerset Pre-season - Game between 2 No Western league sides the Referee sent in a report which the County upgraded to an assault case was not provenSaturday Junior Game - Referee sent in a report which the County upgraded to a Assault case, this would be heard on Tuesday no other details were available,WiltshireSix a side - The Referee was knocked un-conscious, all reports sent in. On investigation the assailant and his team were not affiliated to a County FA? It is understood the club who held the competition is to be charged with allowing an unaffiliated club in their competition.However the County cannot do anything to the assailant on the day. It was felt that all Referees' should be made aware of this case?GloucestershireD John reported a case, that to date B Bombroff had not heard about but would make some enquiries. He stated that there was a lack of communication within his County, which the executive agreed.

Conference 2003 The Executive expressed their disappointment over Council's performance at the debate for the RA restructuring. They felt that with more preparation the vote would have been different. The Officers on Council explained that many discussions have taken place at Council, which will not reverse the vote, we need to look at the way forward.Spoilt Voting Slips - The Executive asked for examples of these and was told that the slips had been split, blank or filled in incorrectly. It is understood that the members concerned have been informed of these problems. However the Executive asked if this could be clarified, J Harvey to ask?
Membership Compared to this time last year the membership is 8.4% down?A letter has been sent from the office explaining how and when a member ceases to be a member etc.

Marketing Officer The Executive remarked how much they thought J Galatin had carried out since his appointment, it was obvious Jeff's approach was very professional. However the proof would be in the increased membership numbers?J Galatin would be invited to the next Executive meeting.

Conference 2003 All went well at Conference.Slight problem with people not being booked in (D Akerman had to stay in another hotel on the Friday)Transport to the second hotel was non-existent on the Saturday night and a member of a local society had to drive F Bastin back to his hotel?It was felt that the breaking up of groups at the EC meeting on the Friday was very good, however it was felt that the chairperson of each group should have been given more notice?Also when would the notes from the groups be circulated? J Harvey would try to complete this during the next 2 weeks?

Conference 2004 This will be in Cardiff

Divisional Directory This is still outstanding from Head office, but is likely to be available before the end of October.

Draw Tickets The top prize will be a car?Ticket prices have changed from 20p each to 25p each, thus making up a book of 4 for £1.00.The consolation prizes would be changed to 25 No £50.00 prizes.

Spectacles FIFA have ruled that spectacles if worn should be a 'Sports Type'

Recruitment CD The Executive felt this should have been circulated by now, also could it be put on the web site. After some discussion J Harvey would ask at the next Council meeting

RA Magazine The Executive asked what the problems with the printer were, as the magazine was now 20p more than last year yet the quality had gone down. This would be raised at the next Council meeting?B Bombroff asked if the EC member was ever going to be told which societies did not buy the magazine this would also be asked at the next Council meeting?

Benevolent Fund The correct figure in this account is £134,617.15 and not 1 million etc. as reported in the Council meeting.

Divisional Finals It was felt that, as 2004 would be the last one, the competition could return to Cheddar if Somerset were prepared to organise it. B Moore told the meeting this was possible?It was felt that if there were any costs Somerset could not get sponsors for the participating teams they would pay a sum up to £25.00 towards the days expenditure?To hold the competition it was felt that 4 teams were needed in each competition. As the entrance fee would be wavered and that the maximum cost per team would be £25.00 the competition should go ahead. Wiltshire would be the deciding factor for the football, M J Greenyer would contact B Moore after his County's meeting on the 1st October 2003.

Divisional Funds After some discussion it was felt that once the Division ceased it would be divided up between the County RA committees.

MSA Awards To date J Smith, A Matthews & J Galpin - No date has been set?

Life Membership D Brookes - 15th May 2004 at BristolJ Day - No date has been set?

Executive Weekend All arrangements have now been finalised. After some confusion all attendees will be at the same hotel. Thanks was given to A Matthews for all his efforts, he was also reimbursed for out of pocket expenses.

New Structure After some discussion the Officers were asked to raise the following points at the next Admin & Policy meeting?1. Proposal by the Board does not require a seconder (15 c)2. The Board have the right to veto any debate if they see fit (Schedule 5 - 4)3. Life Members at the end of Conference 2003 are Life Members of the Referees Association (RAUK) with no voting rights in that body. They are not Life Members of their National Association and would only be able to vote through their own society.4. Life Members in the future created by RAE do not have a vote?5. Funding of members representing their CRA at either the AGM or Regional Briefing meeting would be borne by the CRA.. This would penalise financially those Counties at the extremities of the regions or Country. Central funding would even this out6. Despite the "elevated" status CRA's do not, according to the rules, receive information regarding the AGM: this only goes to the ABS's.Further the abolition of the Division may mean the end of the football & quiz?D Akerman raised the possibility that the present members of the Division might wish to continue to meet on a regular basis. However the costs would have to be borne by the relevant counties.M J Greenyer produced a spreadsheet indicating the costs to the individual counties should these meeting continue?

Training Video B Bombroff identified a particular video, which demonstrated the advantage clause. However he was concerned that the video did not show the Referee dealing with the offender. He would furnish the name of the video to J Harvey

Draw Tickets All Counties were asked for their requirements?

Deputies The Deputies for the Officers were agreed as:B Bombroff - D JohnM J Greenyer - J Harvey

5 a side rules These would be distributed with these minutes?

50th Year Award Protocol would be broken at J Crothers Award as A Smith had been given special dispensation to make the award?

Mike Greenyer

EC Member - Wiltshire

February 2003 (Newsletter)

Dear Colleague
MEETING - THURSDAY 27th FEBRUARY
OPEN DISCUSSION
With the 2nd Child Protection Awareness courses at Salisbury FC we've had to switch our February meeting to Thursday. It has been a while since we have had the opportunity of discussing any problems that local referees have. I would like this to also be opened up to non RA members as refereeing issues concern us all. So please join us.

Promotions: This is also an important time of the year to think about promotion. This year's end of season promotions haven't been decided or announced yet, but whether you have been successful or not, THINK AHEAD. If unsuccessful (hopefully not) do you want to apply again for next season. If successful (fingers crossed) and you want to apply for the next promotion for 2004/2005, then as soon as you hear what has happened this year, then let the County Referees' Secretary, Ian Whitehouse and Assessor's Secretary, Wally Tanner, know. The sooner you get the required assessments and number of games under your belt the better. Remember, the marking season is 1st March to 29th February (Yes, 2004 is a Leap year!).

New referees course; Mike Greenyer and John Royston want to start this shortly. If you know anyone who would like to go on the course, e.g. Salisbury & District players finishing at the end of this season, please let Mike, John or myself know.

Please also remember to visit our web-site and add a comment. The address is above.

FAMOA Meeting Tuesday 18th March at Melksham
Don't forget this date. The County would like to see as many referees as possible, so please make arrangements to travel with colleagues. If you have transport problems, please give someone a ring, I am sure there will be room in a car.

County Cup Final Appointments; For those that have been invited to Melksham on Thursday 20th March (a busy week) in respect of county cup final appointment, Congratulations. If you'd let me know who is going I will let others know so that you can share cars.

Yours in Sport
Gary Spring
Chairman
South Wilts Referees Society

SOUTH WILTS REFEREES SOCIETY 2003
Advance notice of meeting dates. Please put these dates in your diary.
These have all been booked S W R S - 2003 ; Thursday 27th February
At Salisbury F.C. Ray McEnhill, Stadium, Old Sarum Monday 31st March
Monday 28th April
Monday 12th May (AGM)
Melksham Society - Guest Speaker Joe Guest Thursday 10th April.
from the Referees Department at the FA

Annual Football Match Versus Andover Sunday 11th May 2002
at Tidworth.

JANUARY 2003

The first meeting of the new year at our new venue at Salisbury City FC was taken over by a "Child Protection Course" run by the Wiltshire FA. 25 members turned up to take the course. Another one is being run for other members who could not make it.

DECEMBER 2002

December's meeting had been cancelled due to a poor attendance at previous meetings.

NOVEMBER 2002

16 members turned up. The Treasurer reported that the society had £603.20 in the Treasurers account and £1179.58 in the Savings account. The society now had 31 members.

OCTOBER 2002

Nine members were present and five apologies was received.

A minutes silence was observed for Mr Tom Dowty who had recently died. Tom was a former chairman of the society.

Mr Dave Clarke was the guest speaker and gave an excellent UEFA presentation on recognising challenges. Dave also congratulated Mark on receiving three FA cup 4th Q round games in four days!

With the Chairman and Secretary both absent it was left to the Treasurer to chair the meeting. He reported that the society had £1179.18 in the Savings account and £568.65 in the Treasurers account. The society had 31 members.

The RA quiz is again with us. Simon Prout was named team captain and he was to try to get a team together. The event will be held at Melksham on Thursday 7th November. No details yet for the five-a-side competition.

The raffle was won by Adrian Davies.

SEPTEMBER 2002

Members present; Gary Spring, David East, Bernard Dickerson, Mike Greenyer, Adrian Davis, Nigel Homer, Mark Saxby, Mark Yeats, Simon Prout, Colin Jones, Michael Nightingale, Nigel Gentle, Matt Gentle, Ray Feltham and Paul Dewey

Apologies; Mark Edmonds, Neil Francis, George Parker, Stuart Cundick, Guiseppe Ardani, Andy Derry, Bill McQuat, Gordon Ashworth, John Royston and Brian Capel.

The meeting opened at 7.35 p.m. Gary Spring (Chairman) welcomed all to the meeting.

Minutes of the Last meeting, which were circulated prior to the meeting were proposed by Simon Prout and seconded by Adrian Davis.

Matters arising;
· Guiseppe Ardani, was down as both present and that his apologies were given. He was not present.
· Mike Greenyer brought up that due to a rule amendment an RA member would not be covered unless the Society has also paid its County RA capitation.

Secretaries Report; Nothing to report.

Treasurer's Report: Balances unchanged from last meeting; Treasurers Account £479.47, Savings Account: £1,178.29. Membership prior to the meeting was 28, with one new member on the night.

Any Other Business;
Gary was going to write to the Salisbury & District League as their October Fixtures bulletin says that one local team is playing in Black. This is contrary to League rules. The League and County FA are aware of this and dealing with the issue.

Guest Speakers
Ian Whitehouse; County Referees' Appointment Secretary
Informed us of what is happening to help referees;
· Mentors - 2 way contact. Mentors Course - Thursday 10th October.
· Referees Courses
· Assessors Training
· In Service promotion evenings- Locally 12th November at Amesbury
· Assessments required for promotion candidates; Level 7 to 6 = 3 and Level 6 to 5 = 4. Please therefore keep Wally Tanner (Assessors' Secretary) aware of your games.
· Cup final officials' training evenings. 4th official on county cup finals with effect from this season.

· Interview training for Levels 4 and above, who are going for promotion.
· There are 78 promotion candidates this season, compared to 48 last season.
· The County now has a fitness coordinator (Gordon Ashworth).
· The County will run a fitness assessment in March- details to follow. This is to help referees at any level and follows on from an 18% failure rate of Level 4's nationally earlier this year.
· FAMOA conference at Melksham with John Baker (Head of refereeing at the FA) Tuesday 18th March - Details will follow.
· Child Protection Training Workshop (3 hours). This course is subject to confirmation from the County FA and is for the protection and benefit of all referees.
· Lining on Jewson Wessex League Combination Division matches do not take precedence. They are not part of the supply league structure like the first division. Do not line more than 2 Saturdays per month, otherwise you may not get enough games as a referee for promotion.
· Administer law early in the match and be consistent. Do not wait until you are fed up with the dissent before taking action.

Presentations; By David East to;
1. Nigel Homer and Mark Saxby for Bronze awards (2900 M in 12 minutes) at fitness tests during the summer.
2. Bernard Dickerson - For well over 20 years of service to the county as he will be moving away from the area shortly.

George McCaffrey- County Referees' Training Officer;
· Took over the role in February 2002.
· Will accommodate training when and where it is needed.
· Instructors throughout the County now get together 3 times a year.
· Course being arranged for Level 4 referees (as they no longer have League Match Officials' Associations) in December. Details to follow.
· Law 5; Dealing with injured players- This is not optional, it is law.
· Any referee being assessed cannot get more than 6 out of 10 if The Laws Of The Game are not administered correctly. This is below the mark required for promotion.
· Training courses will continue to evolve.

Draw; Won by Mike Greenyer

Meeting closed at 9.30 p.m.

Future Dates
S W R S - 2003 ; Monday 27th January Monday 24th February
At Salisbury Rugby Club Monday 31st March Monday 28th April
Monday 12th May (AGM)

Melksham Society - Guest Speaker Joe Guest from the Referees Department at the FA
Thursday 10th April.

11 members was present for the first meeting of the month.

The Treasurer reported that the society had £479.47 in the Treasurers account and £1178.29 in the savings account.

The meeting in December has now been cancelled by the committee.

The raffle was won by John Royston.

The second meeting minutes of the month is as follows:

AUGUST 2002

12 members was present for the first meeting of the season.

Neil Francis went through the law changes.

The Treasurer reported that the society had 24 members and the two accounts stood at: Savings £1,178.29 and the Treasurers at £455.87.

Pep Ardani won on the football card.

MAY 2002

A dissapointing 13 members attended the AGM. The society had 27 members for the season. 7 down on the previous season. No major changes happened to the election of officers. Pep Ardani and Gordon Ashworth was elected on to the committee. There is one vacant space avalible!

Mark Saxby won the EG Newman trophy.

The football card was won by Simon Prout.

APRIL 2002

Treasurer Mark Edmonds and Secretary Neil Francis welcome Mr Ken Clarke to the meeting.

This was a joint meeting with the Army F.A. referees from the Salisbury Plain Society. 15 members turned up.

The Treasurer reported that his books was away for auditing and was unable to give details of the accounts for this meeting. The R.A. draw tickets are to be returned to the Treasurer on or before the A.G.M.

Guest speaker for the evening was Mr Ken Clarke, general secretary of the Western League. He gave an interesting talk on the future of the game with the changes for next season and a talk on getting into football administration after hanging up your boots.

Mark Saxby is organising our society team that plays the Andover Society at our annual eleven a side game. If you can spare your time please get in contact with Mark. The date for the game is Sunday May 12th.

The football card was won by a member of the Army referees society.

MARCH 2002

10 members was present. The Treasurer reported that we had £370.75 in the Treasurers account and £1,177.30 in the Savings account. We had 27 members. An open meeting was organised for the evening. The Chairman congratulated those who have received promotion and those who had received local cup final appointments. He also congratulated Mark Edmonds (referee) and Mark Saxby (assistant referee) on their appointment to the Wiltshire Senior Cup Final and Simon Prout (referee) on his appointment for the Wiltshire U-11 Cup Final.

FEBRUARY 2002

12 members was present. The Treasurer reported that we had £426.22 in the Treasurers account and £1,177.08 in the Savings account. We still had 27 members.

JANUARY 2002

The first meeting of the new year kicked off with 17 members attending. One more member has joined this brings the membership up to 27. The Treasurer reported that he had £412.68 in the Treasurers account and £1176.83 in the Savings account.

An enjoyable evening was had by all with the annual society quiz. This year Gary Spring was the "Bamber Gascoigne" who set the questions. Three teams of five took part with the winners being the team called "The Gravediggers" consisting of Neil Francis, Rob Steel, Mark Edmonds, Ray Feltham and Adi Davies. The other two beaten teams was "The Oldies" and an army team called "The Squaddies". It was funny that nobody got questions right on the laws of the game!

DECEMBER 2001

A dissappointing 5 members turned up. With the absence of the Chairman and Secretary it was left to the Treasurer to chair the meeting.

The Treasurer reported that the savings account stood at £1176.58 and the treaserers account stood at £396.64.

Bill McQuat reported that he would like to thank Mark Edmonds the Salisbury & District assistant referees appointment secretary in sorting out a late appointment on the Nadder Valley league. The appointment secretary at the time was live on Sky Sports doing a game at Exeter City.

No football card was done due to so few members turning up.

Mark Edmonds suggested that maybe we should scrap Decembers meeting next year.

NOVEMBER 2001

10 members turned up.

The Treasurer reported that the savings account stood at £1176.34 and the Treasurers account stood at £510.00. He also reported that we had 26 members which was 8 down on last season.

The football card was won by Paul Gurd.

Roger East was the guest speaker and he gave an enjoyable talk on his first season on the football league line.

OCTOBER 2001

Nine members turned up for the meeting, with four apologies.

The Treasurer reported that the Savings account stood at £1176.09 and the Treasurers account stood at £492.46.

The football card was won by Bill McQuat.

The date for the county 5-a-sides has not yet been organised by the Chippenham Society. Members of the Society who wish to play are to get in contact with either Mark Saxby or Mark Edmonds.

SEPTEMBER 2001

The first of the September's meeting had a dissapointing 8 members turn up and only 3 apologies.

The Treasurer reported that we now had 24 members. The Savings account stood at £1175.23 and the Treasurers account at £440.59.

All copies of the R.A. mag was sold, so tough luck if you wanted the September issue!

9 members attended the second meeting of the month.

The Treasurer reported that the Society had 25 members. The Savings account stood at £1175.73 and the Treasurers account at £503.12.

The guest speaker Tony Rock gave an interesting talk on the "referees tool kit"

AUGUST 2001

24 members attended with5 apologies.

The Treasurer reported that there was £339.06 in the Treasurers account and £1174.74 in the Savings account.

Guest speaker Brendan Malone explained the new law changes.

Ian Whitehouse and David East addressed the meeting and handed out county ties to level 6 and above referees.

The meeting was advised that Tom Harvey is currently recovering in hospital from a serious injury received in a motoring accident. Get well soon Tom.

MAY 2001 (AGM)

No minutes currently available.

APRIL 2001

No minutes currently available.

MARCH 2001

13 members attended with 6 apologies.

Bill McQuat reported that the Nadder Valley quiz had been cancelled.

The treasurer reported that the society had 34 members. The savings account stood as £1172.15 and the treasurers account stood at £270.53 .

A.Davis and R.Denning was congratulated on their promotions 2 to 1. Also A.Joliffe, S.Prout, M.Saxby and R.Steel on their 3 to 2.

M.Mitter had reported that the Salisbury & District league had supplied incorrect information to the W.C.F.A. regarding the number of matches in which he had officiated.

R.East, G.Colwill, R.Denning and A.Davis was congratulated on their Wiltshire County cup final appointments.

The guest speaker Mr Denis Challis (Referee secretary for the Wessex league) was introduced to the meeting. Denis gave an interesting and enjoyable talk and gave an insight to the duties of his position.

The meeting closed at 20.50 hrs.

FEBRUARY 2001

12 members attended with 3 apologies.

Members stood for a minutes silence in memory of former colleagues Des England and Angel Guiminez who have recently passed away.

There was no matters arising.

The treasurer reported that the society had 34 members. The savings account stood at £1170.28 and the treasurers account stood at £297.77 .

Mark Edmonds reported that a revised system of referees classifications was to be introduced for the 2001-02 season.

Gary Spring congratulated Rob Steel on his promotion to the Wessex league line.

The meeting closed at 21.50 hrs.