UKPA AGM Report

UKPAANNUAL REPORT2013

Contents

01 AGM Agenda

02 Chairman’s Report

03 Treasurer’s Report and Financial Statements

08 Chief Umpire’s Report

10 Coaching Development Report

11 Marketing and Sponsorship Report

13 Membership report

15 Squads Tour Reports

17 Minutes of the 2012 AGM

21 Summary of Resolutions

23 Sponsors

Photographs by Henley Photography

Printing by Widdop Bingham & Co Ltd

Apologies

Approval of the Minutes of 2012 AGM

Matters Arising

Elections of Officers

CEO - Barry Amor

Treasurer - Quintin Cornforth

Annual Reports

•Chairman

•Treasurer

•CEOandChiefOfficers

•Membership

Resolutions (for details see the main report)

1. Amendments to the Constitution – Rewording and bringing up to date (ProposedbytheExecutive)

2. Amendment to the Constitution Paragraph 11.5.1 regarding number of membersrequiredtocallanEGM(ProposedbytheExecutive)

3.That the UKPA Regional system aspects be removed from the Constitution (ProposedbytheExecutive)

4.Amendment to the Constitution paragraph 18.1 regarding calling for a FinancialReview(ProposedbyJWright-Roberts)

Elections of Officers ( Assuming resolution 3 is passed) Nominations will also be taken from the floor

Member Representative - Iain Heaton

Sport Development Officer - Gill James

International Officer - Steve Whitehouse

A.o.B.

Date of Next meeting

Open Discussion Forum

Agenda

01

Chairman’s Report

So ends another successful year of polocrosse in the United Kingdom. The weather was very kind to us, even though it may have been too hot and dry at some points – very un-British! We had a large number of tournaments this year, including the new Platypus tournament with its distinctive style, culminating in a very successful Nationals in September.

There have been a number of procedural initiatives this year in order to improve the professional image of the sport and the UKPA itself and these will be continued to be developed in the coming year. It is hoped these will start to attract new players to the sport as well as more sponsorship.

Dependent upon the outcome of the Resolutions proposed this year there will be significant changes to the layout of the management system of the UKPA to make it more streamlined and focused on the key areas. Sport Development will have adedicatedofficerontheExecutivecommittee,taskedwithdriving forward the sport both in numbers and in visibility to the general public and the equine world at large. This can only be achieved with the help of you, the members, and the clubs that you run so your support is vital.

After the cost of the World Cup in 2011 the financial state of the UKPA is beginning to recover with the cash balance showing a more healthy condition. There was considerable sponsorship garnered for Nationals helping to bring it in to profit, and my thanks go to all those who kindly gave money and prizes this year. Hopefully we can start to attract attention from outside the UKPA membership to win more sponsors and help develop the sport even further.

Coaching development continues to gather momentum with the start of level 3 UKCC training and the qualification and the continuing growth in the number of level 1 and 2 UKCC coaches. This has been a requirement of the sports funding receivedviatheBEFand,withtheexcellentworkdonebyUrsula and Laura, we are setting a strong foundation to improve the quality of coaching and playing in the UK.

The UK squads were very evident this year on the international scenewiththeOpensquadgoingtotheQuadrangularinSouth Africa, the U21s going to the Tri-Nations in Ireland and the Juniors winning against Zambia.

Very many thanks to Paul Rowden who is stepping down as the Squad Co-ordinator and to Mandy Williams leaving the role of Junior Squad Manager. They have put in a tremendous amount of work in to these areas over the years and will be missed. Thanks must also go to Faye Scott as Chief Child ProtectionOfficerandWayneHenningas Chief Umpire, also stepping down; two very important roles within the sport.

Theprogrammefornextyearisalreadytakingshapeandweawait the tournament date requests from the clubs and other organisations. Let’s hope this coming season is even more successful than the last and I look forward to seeing the way the sport develops and grows.

Eric Jenkinson – Chairman

02

Treasurer’s Report & Financial Statement

2013 has been another year of consolidation, now leaving the UKPA in a strong financial position for the future.

Subscription income, on the back of improved membership numbers and to a lesser extent the rationalisation of the membership fees, has increased by 13% to almost £28k. The aggregate support provided to Tournaments and Other Activities has fallen by nearly £5k to a marginal break even position, despite a significant increase in the net support for international events. This was made possible by a marked improvement in the financial performance of the two UKPA managed tournaments from a subsidy of £3.8k in 2012 to a surplus of £3.3k this year, with greatly increased sponsorship of the Nationals making a large contribution to the progress.

On a negative note changes to the way the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) distribute Sport England funding has seen our grant income fall by £6k. The UKPA had no control over this strategic decision by the BEF Board.

The association’s administrative expenses remain under tight control accounting for less than 30% of total revenue, despite the total cost of revamping the website being charged to expenses in the current year. The complete redesign of the UKPA website, which had become very dated, was seen as an important step in improving the professional appearance and principle communication medium of the organisation and the work was undertaken by Danny Duhig Design who won the contract against bids from three outside contractors, coming in at the lowest price and demonstrating a greater understanding of the design brief

Insurance costs are substantially lower this year due to certain one off charges in 2012 and credit received in the current year on account of the low tournament activity in 2012 caused by the bad weather. This allowed a retrospective discount to be negotiated with the insurers. A new Combined Liability Master Policy has now been agreed with Windsor Equine which already provides Personal Accident cover for members which has greatly improved the completeness and robustness of the association’s cover, with only player to player mounted third party cover being absent. This is because no insurer will carry the risk, for historic reasons connected with polo. I expect insurance costs to be higher again next year.

The subscription rates for 2014 will remain unchanged, but with the addition of card payment option and an instalment option for some categories.

A surplus of £17.2k for the year leaves the UKPA with good cash reserves and well positioned to fund key activities, such as training programmes, UKCC coaching instruction and membership growth, in accordance with the principles of the development plan approved in 2010.

This is the fourth year I have served as Treasurer and having discussed the matter with the Executive Committee I have asked Peter Cross, a Chartered Accountant, a partner in accountancy firm Barber, Harrison and Platt, and a long term supporter of Polocrosse, to review the 2013 accounts and any other years he may wish to, so as to provide an independent opinion as to whether best practice is being adhered to and any other advice he deems appropriate. He will conduct his review in early 2014.

Quintin Cornforth - UKPA Treasurer

03

04Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 30th September 2013

2013 2012IncomeSubscriptions and Club Registrations 27,936 24,802 Sponsorship/ Marketing 3,746 2,200 Income from Sport England Funding 4,900 11,115 Other income 462 60 Interest

37,044 38,177

Tournaments and Other ActivitiesNationals and Early Season Tournament 3,294 (3,774)International Events (3,270) (1,117)UKPA Ball (422) (167)

(398) (5,058)

Less ExpenditureMandatoryInsurance 5,621 13,673 Printing, postage and stationery 1,349 1,062 Meeting Costs 585 383 Subscriptions IPC 407 404

BEF 1,440 1,440 9,402 16,962

PublicityWebsite 4,681 120 Marketing & PR -‐ -‐ Photography -‐ -‐

4,681 120

Sports DevelopmentUKCC Costs, Coaching & Training Grants 4,229 3,694

4,229 3,694 OtherExecutive Expenses 615 -‐ Depreciation -‐ 330 World cup entry fee -‐ -‐ Other 548 314

1,163 644

Total expenses 19,475 21,420

Surplus/ (Deficit) for year 17,171 11,699

Balance Brought Forward 31,076 19,377

Total Reserves 48,247 31,076

Balance Sheet as at 30th September 2013

2013 2012

Fixed AssetsShields; Cups and Trophies 1,293 1,293

1,293 1,293

Bank AccountsCurrent 41,367 20,356 Deposit 0 0

41,367 20,357

Amounts receivable within 1 yearPrepayments and other debtors 300 1,992

300 1,992

Amounts receivable after 1 yearLoan to World Cup Polocrosse (2011) Ltd 23,238 23,238

Total assets 66,198 46,879

LiabilitiesAccruals (8,793) (7,553)Other creditors (525) -‐ Amounts owed to Horse Fund investors (8,634) (8,250)

(17,952) (15,803)

Net assets 48,247 31,076

Balance Brought forwards 31,076 19,377 Surplus/ (Deficit) for the year 17,171 11,699

Reserves 48,247 31,076

Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 30th September 2013

2013 2012IncomeSubscriptions and Club Registrations 27,936 24,802 Sponsorship/ Marketing 3,746 2,200 Income from Sport England Funding 4,900 11,115 Other income 462 60 Interest

37,044 38,177

Tournaments and Other ActivitiesNationals and Early Season Tournament 3,294 (3,774)International Events (3,270) (1,117)UKPA Ball (422) (167)

(398) (5,058)

Less ExpenditureMandatoryInsurance 5,621 13,673 Printing, postage and stationery 1,349 1,062 Meeting Costs 585 383 Subscriptions IPC 407 404

BEF 1,440 1,440 9,402 16,962

PublicityWebsite 4,681 120 Marketing & PR -‐ -‐ Photography -‐ -‐

4,681 120

Sports DevelopmentUKCC Costs, Coaching & Training Grants 4,229 3,694

4,229 3,694 OtherExecutive Expenses 615 -‐ Depreciation -‐ 330 World cup entry fee -‐ -‐ Other 548 314

1,163 644

Total expenses 19,475 21,420

Surplus/ (Deficit) for year 17,171 11,699

Balance Brought Forward 31,076 19,377

Total Reserves 48,247 31,076

Balance Sheet as at 30th September 2013

2013 2012

Fixed AssetsShields; Cups and Trophies 1,293 1,293

1,293 1,293

Bank AccountsCurrent 41,367 20,356 Deposit 0 0

41,367 20,357

Amounts receivable within 1 yearPrepayments and other debtors 300 1,992

300 1,992

Amounts receivable after 1 yearLoan to World Cup Polocrosse (2011) Ltd 23,238 23,238

Total assets 66,198 46,879

LiabilitiesAccruals (8,793) (7,553)Other creditors (525) -‐ Amounts owed to Horse Fund investors (8,634) (8,250)

(17,952) (15,803)

Net assets 48,247 31,076

Balance Brought forwards 31,076 19,377 Surplus/ (Deficit) for the year 17,171 11,699

Reserves 48,247 31,076

05

The subscription rates for 2014 will remain unchanged, but with the addition of card payment option and an installment option for some categories

06

07

Looking forward to 2014; here’s to more playing members and more fun at tournaments.

At the end of my 2012 report I said we were looking forward to an even better Nationals, more sponsorship, better coaching and beautiful weather…. and I think four out of four is a good hit rate!

I believe 2013 has been a good year for U K polocrosse with playing membership up by nearly 10%, over double the number of tournaments than last year and more qualified coaches coming on stream. A number of new initiatives were trialled during the year, such as Tournament licensing which gave the Executive more control over the quality of tournament organisation including non-club tournaments such as Highlanders, Platypus and Polocrosse Extreme.

With the hard work by Wayne Henning and his team of Executive umpires there has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of umpiring, but there is still some way to go and this will continue to be a point of focus for the Executive over the coming year

Coaching training continues to progress through the excellent work done by Ursula and Laura Scott with new level 3 UKCC Coaches as well as more level 1s and 2s.

Thanks also must go to Martin Leith who has taken on the post of Chief Horse Welfare officer and adjudicated at the UKPA hosted tournaments as well as acting as the vet at Nationals.

Policing

The UKPA‘s alcohol policy was actively backed up this year by random breath-testing using a police quality breathalyser unit. Eight players were tested and while none were found to be over the limit I hope the deterrent will continue to moderate players’ drinking during tournaments. One umpire was prevented from umpiring due to concerns over their fitness due to intoxication and one junior was brought before the Tournament Disciplinary committee for suspected alcohol consumption.

An incident involving drunk driving at Nationals has been dealt with by the Executive and the persons involved have been banned from all UKPA events for two years. Such dangerous and reckless activities by anyone, endangering the lives of UKPA members and horses, will not be tolerated.

Tournaments

There were eleven tournaments this year with Polocrosse Extreme again attempting to move tournaments to a higher level of professionalism and Platypus trying out new initiatives to stir up the tournament traditions. Having this mix of tournament types helps keep the sport from going stale and other event organisers are encouraged to think outside the box to keep up the sport’s entertainment level!

Nationals

Nationals this year was at Onley grounds again and the weather smiled upon us with only a hint of rain at the prize giving. With the tournament taking place out of the school holidays there were concerns that numbers would be down. However, despite this, and a polocrosse wedding also taking away some players, numbers were slightly up on last year.

Thank you to all those who gave feedback on the Nationals. Generally there were encouraging comments made, particularly about the toilets, but common points raised were about the date and the absence of Best number awards. Both of these are to be discussed at the forum following the AGM.

More sponsorship was obtained this year enabling the prizes to be upgraded and the tournament to come in to profit, though this was partly due to the two day format. A big thank you to the sponsors, details of whom can be found in this AGM Report. You are urged to consider using these sponsors where possible so as to encourage them to sponsor again and for more money!

Congratulations to Kent Target for taking the mixed ‘A’ grade prize after a hard fought final and to Celyn for winning the overall Nationals Trophy.

The Way Ahead

Sport Development this year has taken somewhat of a back seat due to financial constraints. However, with the setting up of a specific SportDevelopmentOfficerontheExecutive(assumingResolution3ispassedatthisAGM)andaUniversitiesLiaisonOfficertheExec.islookingtobringthisaspecttotheforein2014andreallypush polocrosse in to the equine world’s and the public’s awareness. However, this can only succeed with the support of the clubs and you, the members, so we hope you will get out there and spread the word that polocrosse is a fantastic sport.

Barry Amor - CEO

CEO’s Report

08

This year has seen a slow, but continuous improvement in the quality of umpiring, with a much better level of awareness fromthetournamentorganisersputtingexperiencedumpiresalongside the lower grade umpires wherever possible. This has made a clear difference, giving the lower grade umpires more confidence and helping them to move forward in their understanding and overall ability.

Lineouts are also improving, but it is paramount that we all continue to maintain the same format, if we want this to carry on.

A good number of umpire’s courses have been run this year meaning we have a great bunch of new and enthusiastic umpires coming through.

This overall improvement has been largely down to the great teameffortfromtheCEO,myselfandtheteamofExecutiveUmpires and putting this structure in place has not only made my life and job easier, it has formed a system that has strengthened the umpiring framework. I highly recommend that this format continues as it is clearly the way forward.

Another recommended improvement is that tournament organisers provide a minimum of two umpires’ horses to be kept near the main pitches and maintained by them. These umpires’ horses wouldn’t be for general use, but just to be there for emergencies or for when there’s a quick changeover by an umpire that’s just come off from playing, as there often is. I believe that this is one thing that would really help the smooth running of umpiring at all tournaments.

ThisyearwehadmanydiscussionsovertherelaxingofthemaximumsizeforPJhorsesinordertoallowmorePJstoplay.Ourfinaldecisionwastoenforcethe14.2hhruleasthisis a safety matter which is of prime importance. It is up to the parents to provide suitable ponies or sadly their child will not beabletoplay.TheethosbehindthemaximumageforPJswasalso queried and is one of the points for review at the UKPA forum following the AGM.

I am now formally stepping down from the role of chief umpire. I have so many people to thank for their help and support and I wish the new Chief Umpire all the best, I will of course be around to offer any help and support that I can.

Wayne Henning - Chief Umpire

Chief Umpire’s Report

09

Coaching Development Report

This year has seen UKCC Polocrosse coaching development continue at Level 1, 2 and 3 with a range of workshops, a mock assessment and practical assessments taking place.

The Level 3 candidates, Debbie Harris, Tom Simkin, Lizzie and Simon Shearing have completed all elements of their course andarewaitingforportfolioverificationfromBEF.Theyhave had interesting discussions, studying different aspects of coaching, during four day workshops with coach educator Nicky Fuller, planned a progression of eight sessions over time, as well has assessed each other in mock assessments.

The final assessment day involves teaching a group of riders to a specifictheme,infrontofanassessorandexternal moderatorfromBEF.

Theexternalmoderatorhadnotseen‘polocrosse’beforeandwas impressed with the standard of the coaching, the ability of theridersandthelevelofexpertisefromthecandidates.ThissessionwasheldatShaneandVixBorlandsandwearegratefulto them for the use of their great facilities.

The Level 1 and 2 candidates are in the middle of the theory part of their course and are in the process of completing their portfolios, prior to their practical assessments in spring nextyear.Weareagainfortunateinhavingexperiencedcoach educators in Nicky Fuller and Tom Simkin who lead informative sessions.

Iwouldliketothankour‘guineapig’riders,Meg&RachelSmith,LaurieCam,Tim&GillJames,JakeHall,AliceZawoda and Katie Louitsou. For the candidates it is really important that they have the opportunity to watch each other coach as part of the evaluation process and we cannot do that without riders being prepared to be the guinea pigs – if you wouldbeinterestedinhelpinguswiththatnextyear please let us know.

We have names of interested candidates already in place for nextyearandwewillhaveorganisedthefirsttheorysessionstotake place after Christmas. We need to remind everybody that all coaches need to be either on a UKCC Coaching pathway course or already accredited, to be coaching at UKPA organised activities from January 2014.

Ursula Scott - Coaching Development Officer

10

It would be wrong to start this report without firstly thanking all the people and companies who have sponsored and supported the sport this year and all the media who have given us much needed coverage. Thank you to you all, your help and support is very appreciated.

2013 was very much a year of starting to put the basics in place to improve the level of publicity and level of sponsorship our sport achieves. In truth, we have been putting these basics in place for the last few years, the World Cup being the starting point upon which we are now building. The introduction of Mailchimp in early 2012 to communicate direct with the membership and allow us to produce a simple newsletter a few times a year was a good step last year and one we have started to use more and more effectively this year. This allows us to give some easy publicity to our sponsors and allows them to see that we can give them something back for their money. The plan is to grow the number of people signed up to this communication form to beyond our immediate membership so we can offer even more publicity for our sponsors.

In 2013 we managed to progress a revamp of the website which has been on the table for a little while. This is still a work in progress and we do need to improve it further and make it a really good “shop front” for our sport so that sponsors can see what we can offer them and potential new players and supporters can easily see how they can get involved and what the game is about.

We have also picked up a few pieces of good press coverage in 2013, mainly online through websites such as Hoofride, Team GBR and Horse and Country TV, but there have also been regional magazine pieces on a couple of tournaments and this is an important area to develop further. Indeed, in 2014 I would suggest all tournament organisers should be looking to place a short article in their local equestrian magazines about the tournament, if they do actually want spectators at their events andpresscoveragefortheirclub.Onanationalfront,wewillcontinue to place articles wherever we can about interesting news stories. We also have continuing interest from various TV channels about showing footage of our sport. However, TV coverage comes at a price and unless we have the infrastructure inplace(suchascoaches,venuesandequipment)tomakeuseof the interest in generates it could possibly be money that is better spent elsewhere.

In terms of sponsors, our focus has to be trying to get more sponsors behind our National championships and our squads. We will work on a plan to do this over the winter but it was good to see that Nationals this year had far more sponsors than it has had in a while and that was mainly due to the hard work of Barry Amor in the run up to the event. Also the event itself looked far more professional and I think delivered far more for those sponsors that it had done in previous years.

We have been guilty in the past of not giving enough back to sponsors, both at tournament and squad level and this must nothappenagain.Sponsorsexpectcoverageinreturnformoney and rightly so. We do have a lot to offer to the right sponsors, through an improved online presence at tournaments and mentions in press and media coverage and obviously through areas such as Facebook and Twitter, which we have improved our use of this year but we must improve it further

At a local level sponsorship it is another thing that clubs can look at if they wish to and really the whole idea of marketing and bringing in spectators to an event links in to sponsorship. If you have an event that gets coverage and has people coming along to it then companies will be happy to sponsor it. If you don’t, then why would someone sponsor you? I believe you

Marketing & Sponsorship Report

11

have to put on a large scale, successful event for at least two years, probably three years, and get it to deliver good local coverage and spectator numbers and then if you have got it right sponsors should want to attach their name to it.

I would also say where sponsorship is concerned it’s important to be realistic. If I had a pound for every time I have had people say to me, “Wouldn’t it be great if (insert large, multinational, oftenenergydrinksbrandnamehere)sponsoredoursport,itwould be perfect for them! Bet they would give us thousands!”, I would probably have about £100 (not a lot of money but it representsaquarterofourmembership).Large,multinationalcompanies are hard to get sponsorship from unless you have a contact with them. Their marketing spend and budgets are normally determined at least two years in advance and they want really good value for money. To the right company areas such as TV coverage are appealing but it takes a lot of time to find that one company. I’m not saying suggestions aren’t always welcome, they are, and please if you do have suggestions or, probably even better, contacts at potential sponsors, then please feedthemthroughtotheExec.However,whatweprobablyneed to do is spend another year building up our offering, investingtime(andquitepossiblymoney)ingettingoureventsand areas such as the website up to scratch and then sponsors will be far more attracted to us.

Finally, growth of the sport will help these two areas of marketing and sponsorship. It is very easy for a large equestrian magazine to dismiss a sport that has 400 members and say that there is no demand for coverage. It is far harder for them to dismiss a sport that has a 1,000 members and impossible for them to dismiss a sport that have 5,000 members. Likewise, a sponsor does not want to know they can reach a 1,000 people for a £1,000 but 10,000 people is a far more attractive proposition. So I would encourage clubs to redouble their efforts this winter to grow our sport, recruit new members, work with local pony clubs, riding clubs and riding centres and let’sgointonextseasonwithfarmoremembersandfarmoretooffer sponsors and the media.

Iain Heaton - Marketing & Sponsorship Officer

12

Membership Report

This year the playing membership has increased by just under 10% which is encouraging. This is partly due to the formation of the new of Northern Lions club, which has also introduced many members from Scotland. Vale Impi managed to recruit 14 new members. In total we had 67 new members join which is about average. 2013 saw the demise of Double Diamond, Highlanders, South Lancs and West Country Warriors as clubs (total membership of 3 playing members, one of which joined another club) and Canterbury Colts was reborn as Coltshire. This year we offered a two day membership which was well received by new players trialling the sport, allowing them to compete at a tournament. I hope that we have tempted them into taking out full membership for next year.

Existing clubs continuing their membership for 2014 will now have to have at least three playing members. They must also have a written constitution; see the Club Code of Conduct in the UKPA Handbook. Private Members clubs will need to provide a set of club rules which meet the spirit of a constitution.

You are reminded that membership for 2014 is due on the 1st Jan and membership forms for the 2014 season will be available shortly.

Jan Jenkinson - Membership Secretary

13

14

CLUB SNR

U21 JNR PJ NP

TOTA

L

PLAY

ING

OS

NEW PC

TEMP 28

TEMP 2

ARDEN 9 5 4 2 5 25 20 3 1

CELYN 20 5 10 4 4 43 39 5 2 1

COLTSHIRE 15 4 19 19 1 1 1

COTSWOLD 21 4 2 1 5 33 28 2 3 1 1

KENT TARGET 26 13 7 9 4 59 55 2 2

LEDBURY 6 3 1 6 2 18 16 8 2 2

LIMEMERE SPARKS 3 3 1 2 1 10 9 1 1 1 2

NORTHERN LIONS 4 4 14 4 3 29 26 24 10 1

PENNINE 6 11 3 6 26 20 3 3 1 3

RUGBY 23 5 2 6 2 38 36 3 5 8

SOLENT 3 3 3 1

STONELEIGH EQUESTRIAN 1 3 4 1 1

VALE IMPI 31 14 11 6 62 62 1 14 3 4

WELSH DRAGONS 9 9 8 4 6 36 30 1 2 2 1

NO CLUB 3 3 0

HONORARY 4 4 0

TBA 1 1 2 1

TOTAL 178 80 63 44 49 414 365 9 67 20 11 27

Squads’ Tour Reports

Open Quadrangular tour to South Africa

Th e day of our fi rst match, Th ursday, thankfully was warm and clear, the fi rst match was SA v Zambia, SA won by 23 – 10, the pitches were very fl at even smooth, the way they get the surface isgreatforfastrunningPolocrosse.OurfirstgamewasagainstZim, it is fair to say we did know most of their players, it was a bit like winding the clock back to Arden. Th e game was unbelievably close and we sadly lost by one goal in the closing seconds17–16.Itisalwaysincrediblydifficulttolose,buttolose your fi rst game like that seemed to really hurt, but it needs to be said we did play well and our horses did what we thought they would do.

Friday we were on second again so we watched Zim v Zam a Win their game where SA ran out winners.

Th e play off game for 3rd and 4th was to be played at 1.00 it was to be an incredibly close game over 8, 6min chukkas. At the end of full time it was 19 all so golden goal was to be played, thankfully we were able to win the line out, score the goal and end the tournament in 3rd place

A big thank you from all the team to Helen and Jane for looking after us, Rob for coming over to umpire for the UK, EmmaandBobfortheirmatchdaysupport(incvideo),Louand Suki for table management and fi nally all the people who helped get us there from the auction and other fund raising activites.

Steve Whitehouse - Open Squad Manager

Under 21’s Tour to Ireland Open

Th is year has been a tricky one for the U21 Squad. Starting the year without a coach or manager meant things got off to a slow start. However, a squad was selected to go to Ireland and after more than a few teething problems, (only 3 lorries broke downontheway!)wemanagedtohaveareallygreatweekendatthetrinations.Itwasanincrediblelearningexperiencefor everyone who attended and something that we are really hopingtobuildonnextyearasthemajorityofplayerswillstillbeU21nextseason.AlthoughlosingthetestmatchestotheIrish U21’s we had some really great games against both them and the Irish Development squad. We are looking forward to hitting the ground running in 2014 and hope that those in thesquadwillhaveamuchbetterexperiencethaninthelastcouple of years now we have a coach/manager in place. Th anks go to the Irish Polocrosse Association for hosting us.

Agi Duhig - U21 Squad Manager

15

Juniors at the Tri-Nations in Ireland

The UKPA President’s Invitation Team was Charlotte Kitching, CharlotteWinder(captain),MegSmith,StuartDyson,CharlieRalliandAlexBrown.CoachedbyBradThummfromAustralia. After four days of horse familiarisation they played two test matches against the Irish U16 team at the Tri-nations TournamentinCountyWexford.

The first match resulted in a 10 vs 16 loss for the UK side against a tough Irish onslaught. Despite the UK side having much of the possession they just couldn’t translate it in to enough goals.

The second match initially saw the Irish pulling away from the UK, threatening a replay of the day before. But, in both the girls’ and boys’ final chukkas, the UK pulled out all the stops and managed to bring the scores even as the final whistle went. This resulted in a golden goal. In a twist that is stranger than fiction the Irish No1 gained possession and headed down the wrong end of the pitch and was forced over the line in to the Irish goal area. The UK took full advantage of this unusual tactic and scored giving them the second test 14 vs 13.

TheawardbytheIrishforbesthorseandriderwenttoAlexBrown.

TheU16sareextremelygratefultotheIrishforlendingtheirhorses and the hospitality was fantastic with the two U16 teams had great fun together off the pitch. Highlights included; tag rugby, piggy-back polocrosse and the sun and sand of the beaches.

Sian Griffiths

Juniors In Zambia

The day of the first test was blisteringly hot and as temperatures wereexpectedtorisewewereextremelygratefultofinda gazebo for shade and a team of mightily enthusiastic grooms waiting for us. Horses prepared we watched a highly entertaining and skilful demonstration match by South Lusaka PJ’s. With much ceremony, loud singing and dancing from our grooms and masses of flag waving our team was led onto the pitch by Captain Alice Kisch followed by her team mates. The scene was quite uplifting and inspiring. This and the subsequent Test matches were nail biting and well fought with splashes of brilliance from many.

Results were; 1st Test UK 20 Zambia 15, 2nd Test UK 23 Zambia 17, 3rd Test UK 21 Zambia 17.

WhilstatLivingstonewesomanywonderfulexperiences,including; a fast boat ride on the mighty Zambezi, stood atop the Victoria Falls with a traditional colonial brunch, took an early morning bush walk and had close up encounters with giraffe, antelope, baboons and a rhino ,haggled our hearts out a craft market, watched elephants and hippo up close, travelled upstream the Zambezi on a traditional sunset cruise.

For our final weekend we travelled to Livingstone club to play amongstZambianclubs.Ourplayershadafantastictimebush camping and playing for Leopards Hill, Lusaka South, Choma and Livingstone. An amazingly awesome trip where we not only had the opportunity to play International polocrosse butmadeawholehostoffriendsandhadtheexperienceofalifetime.

We would like to thank Deb for her patience and professional coaching,EmilyforherdiligenceandhardworkashorsecoordinatorAlsothankstoSianGriffithsandBradThummfor making Ireland possible and all the parents and supporters without whom these amazing trips would not have been possible.

Overthepast2yearstheUKjuniorshaveplayed9testmatches against 4 nations and are unbeaten. We have travelled over 17 thousand kilometres and as testament to our building of International polocrosse relations have interest from Australia Zambia Zimbabwe and America for the forthcoming season.

Mandy Williams - Junior Manager

16

MINUTES OF THE 2012 AGM

ATTENDEES:

EricJenkinson(EJ)Chairman,Anna Kimber (AK) Secretary, Quintin Cornforth (QC)Treasurer,Barry Amor (BA) CEO,PaulRowden(PR)RDSouth,Simon Shearing (SS) RD East,JeanetteMitchell(JM)RDWales,Steve Whitehouse (SW) RD North,

JanJenkinson(JJ)MembershipSec,Wayne Henning (WH) Chief Umpire, Faye Scott(FS)ChildWelfare,Laura Scott (LS) UKCC,UrsulaScott(US)UKCC

Julie Parr, Jeff Parr, Lewis Parr, Andy Garrow, Chris Milburn, Deborah Pedley, Gary Pedley, Jane Wright-Roberts, Sophie Harding, Debbie Harris, Jason Webb, Gill James, Tim James, Phil Baker, Nadine Bristow, Oliver Gardner, Liz Johnson, Jonathan Blackmore, Dennis Hall, Jake Hall, Laura Donnelly

APOLOGIES:

Anna Kish, Penny Webb, Sarah Tufnell, Mandy Williams, Karen Wilson Smith, Iain Heaton, Sammy Conners, Ros Boisseau, Gail King, Jane Gilfillan, Guy Gilfillan

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SUBJECT

Mins of Last AGM

Election of Officers

CEO’s Report (Including Umpiring & Membership)

ACTIONSREFERENCE/NOTES

Mins of last AGM passed

Electionofofficerscarried.

COMMENTS

Approved - proposed by Wayne Henning and seconded by Andy Garrow

Chairman-EricJenkinson,proposedbyNadineBristow,secondedSammyConnors.

CEO-BarryAmor,proposedQuintinCornforth,secondedPaulRowden.CEOposttorunforoneyeartomaintainrotationofExecofficers.

Secretary – Anna Kimber, proposed by John Marsland, seconded by Chris Illingworth.

TheCEOthankedIainHeatonforhispreviousworkintheposition

NATIONALS - Noted that good feedback was received from Nationals, with 37 recommendations for improvements. It is hoped that we will in future gain sponsorship for this event and others, and that Iain Heaton has agreed to take on the role of Sponsorship and PR.

UMPIRING – WH thanked all those that have assisted him this season with umpiring matters and the review of the rule book – Barry Amor, Simon Shearing, Julie Parr and Jan Jenkinson. His main points as follows:

•Therewillbeagroupof‘senior’umpireswhocanhelpumpiresandwillhave the power to stop play if need be, with the emphasis being on improving umpiring by helping at the pitchside.

•FeedbackreceivedbyWayneindicatedthattherehasbeenanimprovementinumpiring this season, and a number of refresher/new umpire courses have been run. Wayne praised the players of Vale Impi in particular for their enthusiastic and proactive approach to obtaining their umpires test.

•DannyDuhigandRobJenkinsonarenowInternationalumpires,andLewisParr an A Grade umpire.

•ThereisanIPCmeetingin2013inSAtodiscussumpiringandrules,whichWayne will be attending.

•Suggestionsfromthefloorwithregardstoumpiringincludedpairingexperiencedumpireswithnoviceumpires,andalsovideoinggamessothattheycan be viewed during umpire/refresher courses.

•GillJamesthankedWaynefordoingagreatjobthisseason,andforbeingsoapproachable.

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SUBJECT

Treasurer’s Report


COMMENTS

UKCC – Ursula and Laura Scott now have the UKCC well in hand. Anyone interested in taking these qualifications can contact them to find out more. Tom Simkin has been appointed Director of Coaching, to oversee the field of coaching as a whole.

CHILD WELFARE – It was noted that this is a prominent issue in the media at the moment. Faye Scott has rewritten our child welfare policies and information, andcontinuestodoanexcellentjobinthisarea.

MEMBERSHIP – JJ stated that membership is down slightly this year (7 memberslessthan2011).Wehavegainedmanynewmembers,buthavelostmorethanwehavegained(mainlythroughuniversity,etc.).

•CelynandValeImpihadthemostnewmembers.

•WehavelostAshfieldsandDorsetGiantsasclubs,butallthemembershavebeen absorbed into other clubs.

•NewclubsthisyearareRugby,LimemereSparksandSouthLancs.

•IdeallyweneedtoencouragemorejuniorsandPJsintothesport–weonlygained 10 new members from Pony Club this year.

•Thequestionwasraisedastowhetheraclubcanexistwithonlyonemember–thiswillbediscussedatafutureExecmeeting.

•ItwasobservedthatPonyClubsarewaryofUKPA‘poaching’theirmembers– when coaching at PC we need to encourage players to stick with both, as PC develops all round riding skills.

•GillJamesstatedthatinPonyClubpolocrossetheageforjuniorsistoberaisedto come in to line with UKPA rules, which will help bring more novice players into PC polocrosse. Also, UKPA tournaments are to be asked to incorporate a PonyClubsection(1day)wherepossibletoallownewplayersachancetogetafeel for the game.

The treasurer stated that the report would cover two areas: financial statements influenced by the World Cup and changes to the membership fee structure

Membership fees – these have been simplified, and there is still a reduced rate for a new player in their first year. Treasurer stated single 28 day membership (days runconsecutively)is£20;singleeventmembership(1or2days)is£10

Main points as raised by the floor:

•WHputforwardthattherehadnotbeenenoughsupportavailableforU16ssquad members, and that parents and managers needed some financial support

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SUBJECT

Resolutions

AOB

Date of next AGM


BA to address these points in the rewriting of paperwork.

COMMENTS

from UKPA, citing a case where a particularly talented player was unable to play due to lack of funds. QC stated that the key priority at the moment is the clubs, and that club polocrosse must be developed first. Currently all coaching development and UKCC are funded by UKPA, and the UKCC development is a condition of our Sport Englandfunding.EJstatedthatweeventuallyaimforascholarshipfund,butthatthisisnotyetpossible,highlightingtheneedforexternalsponsorship.

•Costsofinsurancecontinuetorise,andarehighernowthatpersonalaccidentinsurance is included as part of the UKPA membership fee. The question was raised as to whether the PA insurance is worth continuing. QC answered that it is, and that by buying it in bulk we give the members the best possible price.

•GillJamesrequestedalowmembershipfeefornewPCplayers.QCinformedthatout of a £30 membership fee, £25 of this is the insurance cost. However, temporary membershipstillexistsandcanbeusedbynewPCmembersiftheywanttohaveatrial before joining UKPA fully.

•TheWorldCupHorseFundisaprivatearrangementbetweenindividuals,andnotlinked to the UKPA financially.

No resolutions were received.

SS asked how positions were allocated, and whether they were advertised out or just appointed. BA replied that under the constitution there must be a formal vote to appointallExecmembers(althoughintheeventofanunanticipatedvacancyarolemaybeofferedtosomeonewhocanfillituntilthenextelectioncycle),butthatforallnon-Execpositionsthereisnoofficialprocess.Itwasnotedfromthefloorthatthereneeds to be an equality and transparency when filling vacant positions, and defined responsibilities for each role. BA is currently addressing this in his rewriting of the UKPA paperwork, and procedures will be reviewed accordingly. QC noted that much of the old paperwork was lost around the time of the constitution change, but that BA is making good headway with bringing everything up to date. It was also noted that the membership are always welcome to volunteer their help.

9.11.2012 – at UKPA Ball

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Resolution 2 – Proposed by the UKPA Executive (Shown in Green in the document)

That the number of members needed to call for, and form aquorumatanEGMbeamendedtotwentyfromteninparagraph 11.5.1 of the constitution as below;

The Executive Secretary is obliged to call an Extraordinary General Meeting, upon requisition to do so, in writing, by no less than twenty Ordinary Members representing not less than three Member Clubs, stating the purpose(s) for which the meeting is required. Twenty Ordinary Members representing not less than three Member Clubs eligible to vote, personally present, constitute a quorum.

Paragraphs affected;

11.5.1

Reasons:

•AnEGMhasthesamepowerasanAGMand so should have the same quorum requirements.

•ToensureaquorumisavailablefortheEGMthenumberofpeople required to call one should equal the number required for a quorum. Should only ten persons call and twenty be required for a quorum there is a danger that the meeting may occurbutfailtobevalidduetoalackofsufficientmembersinattendance.

Resolution 3 – Proposed by the UKPA Executive (Shown in Blue in the document)

That the UKPA Regional system aspects be removed from the constitution.

Paragraphs affected;;

5.1,5.1.1(newparagraph),6.1,8.4,8.5,8.5.2,8.6,8.8,9(deleted),11.3andn13.1.3

Reasons

•Thepresentformalisedstructureistoo cumbersome and has generally fallen in to disuse because of this.

For details of the actual wording of proposed changes for Resolutions see the document Proposed Changes to the Constitution of the United Kingdom Polocrosse Association - Issue 3C. (the ’document’)

Resolution 1 – Proposed by the UKPA Executive (Shown in Red in the document)

That the Constitution be amended to;

•Reflectcurrentpractise

•Clarifyconfusingwording

•ClarifytherelationshipbetweentheUK Polocrosse Association and UKPA Ltd.

•ToallowsecretballotsatAGMsandEGMs

•SeparatetheUmpireGradingsandPlayer Gradings Committees


3.1,3.2(deleted),4.1(replaced),4.2(renumbered4.1),5.2,5.3.1,5.4,7.1,7.2,8.4,8.5,8.6,8.6.1,8.7 (replaced),8.7.1(replaced),8.8,8.9,10.1,10.1.1,10.1.2,10.1.3,10.1.4,11.1,11.2, 11.3.1, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.5, 13.1, 13.1.2, 13.1.3, 13.1.4,18.1,19.1,20.1,21(deleted)

Reasons:

•TitlesandlayoutsoftheAppointedofficers have changed along with the makeup of the committees

•Improvegrammarwithintheparagraphsto increase clarity

•RelationshipoftheUKPolocrosseAssociationwiththecompany UKPA ltd is not accurately reflected at present.

•Clarifythemembershipyeartoavoid confusion over insured status of members

•TransferdetailsoftheTournamentArbitration and Disciplinary committee to the Handbook Section 5.1 to avoid confusion with the main Arbitration and Disciplinary committee

•IntroduceaPlayerGradingcommitteeto reduce the loading on the Chief Umpire.

Summary Of Resolutions

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•Thislevelofbureaucracyisnotrequiredinan association the size of the UKPA.

•Amoreflexiblesupportsystemwillbe introduced to support the regions which will adjust to the needs and sizes of each region.

•Thereisasignificantimbalanceofmembersandclubswithinthe present regional layout.

Resolution 4 – Proposed by Jane Wright-Roberts, UKPA Member (shown in Purple in the document)

To amend paragraph 18.1 of the constitution to read;

At its discretion, or if three Club Chairmen and ten ordinary members of the Association so request in writing showing reasonable cause, the Executive Committee… … book of accounts. The results of any such review shall be included in the Treasurer’s report at the UKPA AGM.


18.1

Reasons

•Paragraph1.1ofAppendix1toSection2.2of theUKPAHandbook(2013)(Executive CommitteeCodeofConduct)requiresthecommitteetobeaccountable to all members for its activities. This amendment gives the membership a guarantee of this accountability over the financial affairs.

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Documents

UKPA AGM Report