World Croquet Federation

Minutes of his Second General Meeting held at the Hurlingham Club, Ranelagh Gardens, London, at 10am on Friday 7th September, 1990.

Present:

Management Committee:
Brigadier C.J. Miles (also delegate for Australia)
Mr C. Hudson (Secretary-General) (also delegate for England)
Mr F. Rogerson (Treasurer) (also delegate for Ireland)
Mr R.L. Carter (also delegate for U.S.A.)

National Delegates:
Mrs C.J. Miles (Australia)
Dr G. Roberts (New Zealand)
Mr T. Arkley (U.S.A.)
Mr F. Mann (Scotland)
Mi A. Ravez (France)
Mr T. Tokano (Japan)
Mr C. Farioli (Italy)
Mr D.G. MiIne (South Africa)

Representatives:
Dr C. Griethuysen (Scotland)

Apologies:

Management Committee
Mr A.D.J. Heenan, O.B.E. (President)
Professor M. Ikeda

National Delegates:
Mr W. M. Langstroth (Canada)
Mr R.C. Sowerby (Jersey)

Acting President's Remarks
In the absence of Mr. Heenan due to illness, Brigadier Miles was deputed Acting President by the Management Committee and took the chair. He welcomed all those present on behalf of the Management Committee and introduced those members of the present. He then proceeded to:

(a) apologise for the absence of the President, Mr. Ashley Heenan, and of Professor Ikeda.

(b) enlarge on the difficulty of getting a new organisation of an international nature such as the W.C.F. functioning smoothly.

(c) pay tribute to the work of the Secretary-General during the past year.

Minutes of the previous General Meeting (held 15/7/89)
The Secretary-General explained that the Minutes of the previous meeting had already been circulated and asked that they be taken as read and confirmed.

It was resolved that the minutes of the 1989 inaugural General Meeting be confirmed. They were then signed by the Acting President.

Report of the Management Committee
The Secretary-General referred to a report that was in members' conference folders and went through it point by point. Summarising the proceedings,

(a) He drew the attention of delegates to a Retrospective Report on the World Championship he had written, particularly to the income and expenditure statement on Page 4 of the report and the final conclusions on page 5

(b) He explained the current posit ion of the ([English) Croquet Association's bid to host the World Championship in 1991, which was dependent on the confirmation of sponsorship, and emphasised the need for a country to host the 1992 Championship.

(c) He drew attention to a separate paper setting out qualifications for membership of the W.C.F . which had been approved by the Management Committee.

(d) He drew attention to a paper outlining the changes that had been made the Rules of the Federation as agreed as the previous General Meeting.

Dr Griethuysen pointed out that par 50 of the Rules would disqualify a person otherwise entitled to be a delegate (para 40) from being a member of the Management Committee. The matter hinged around the words in para 50 "....and enjoy full civil and political rights in the country of that Association."

It was resolved that the Management Committee should re-draft para 50 to remove this anomoly.

(e) He outlined the Management Committee's view on safeguarding the interests of Observer members. These views were accepted.

(f) He reported that the Management Committee had considered South Africa's participation in the 1991 Championship but in view of recent political developments had decided to delay a decision. Political events would be watched carefully in the coming months, although he was afraid that government inertia in issuing new guidelines might well prevent South Africa participation in 1991. There was no dissent.

(g) He displayed the W.C.F. logo agreed by the Management Committe and explained that further decisions had to be made with with regard to its colour. Delegates generally expressed a liking for the selected logo.

(h) He outlined the procedure for Championship bids, and drew delegates attention to the paper on this subject that had been issued to them.

(i) He canvassed the views of delegates on the format used for the 1990 Championship. Views were generally very favourable, although delegates from the U.S.A. and New Zealand expressed the view that the number of competitors should be increased even if one or more additional venues had to be used in the early stages. However, the quality of lawns must be up to standard at each venue. Mr. Rogerson explained that it was the view of the Management Committee that:

(i) Every member country, including Observer members, should be entitled to have at least one competitor in the Championship.

(ii) Sponsored places would only be allocated to full members and then on a scale commensuirate with World Rankings and distance to be travelled.

(j) He explained the reason why final ball specifications had not yet been produced - the (English) Association's Equipment Committee were investigating the effect of temperature on the bounce specification, and several more types of ball now had to be taken into account.

(k) He explained the GAISF full membership requirements - 20 member countries from 3 continents and at least 3 World Championships held. Eight more member countries were needed before WCF could apply for membership of GAISF. Various methods were discussed to expand membership and publicise the game in countries that did not yet play croquet.

(l) He reported that the Management Committee had considered the request for Postal Voting raised at the previous General Meetings, but had decided that the need for this was doubtful. Under para 4D, the Rules already made provision for protecting the interests of countries unable to be represented by their own delegates at meetings.

It was resolved that the Report of the Management Committee be accepted.

Statement of Accounts for 1989
Mr Rogerson went over the accounts, a statement of which was circulated at the meeting, and outlined the bidget figures for 1991.

He reported the Management Committee had approved this budget and had set subscriptions for 1991 at the same level as in 1990. The Licence Fee for the 1991 Championship had been set at £1000. It had been decided that the Secretary-General should be paid an honorarium of £1000 per annum.

The 1989 Accounts were accepted by the Meeting and signed by the Secretary-General and Treasurer.

Applications for membership
No applications had been received, although the Secretary-General reported that an enquiry aboutr membership had been received from the Swedish Croquet Association. He was following this up.

Revisions of Association Status
Mr Hudson reported that Croquet Canada were intending to become full members of the WCF, although their 1990 subscription had not yet been received. Mr. Ravez reported that the Federation Francais de Croquet intended to apply for full membership in 1991.

Applications for Official Championships
The Secretary-General reported that only one bid (from the (English) Croquet Association) had been received to stage the 1991 World Championship. This was subject to confirmation of a verbal offer of sponsorship.

Mr Carter told the meeting that the USA had originally intended to bid for 1993, but he was going to recommend to them that they tried for 1992.

Brigadier Miles said that Australia hoped to make a bid for 1994. Mr. Arkley suggested that a World Championship might be held in Australia in conjunction with the 1993 MacRobertson Shield Series, but Brigadier Miles said that this would involve players in too long an absence from home.

Mr. Ravez said that France intended to bid for the 1995 Championship. It would be helpful to the Federation de Croquet, in their efforts to build courts and find sponsors, if the WCF could write an official letter inviting them to stage the 1995 Championjship. The Secretary-General undertook to do this.

Dr. Roberts said that New Zealand welcomed the rotation of the Championship, but he thought it unlikely that New Zealand would be able to put in a bid in the immediate future.

Resolutions
No notice had been given for any resolutions.

Penalties under Rule 28 or 29
There were no matters to discuss under this heading.

Any Other Business
(a) It was resolved that Mr. John G. McAuley, FCA be re-appointed as auditor for the WCF.

(b ) Deleqates from France and Italy reported on the progress of their Associations and plans for the future.

There being no other business, the Acting President declared the meeting closed at 12.00 noon.