Minutes of the General Meeting 1st September 2014
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GENERAL MEETING |
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Date: |
01.09.14 |
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Time: |
6.45 p.m |
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Location: |
Sports House ,Sydney Olympic Park, HOMEBUSH |
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Present: |
As per Attendance Sheets ( 53 in attendance) |
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Apologies: |
Kylie .Aylett (Newcastle), Rob Garwood, Michael Stone, Greg McCallum, Brett Lynch, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamsksi, Nick Beashel, Sean Hampstead, Paul Holland, Richard Daizli, Ryan Jackson, Joshua McGowan, Jeff Hartup, Darian Furner |
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Guests: |
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Minutes and Actions of this Meeting
Chairperson called for one minutes silence in memory of the passing of Max Godfrey (Life Member), Greg Boyd (Former Graded Member), Frank Grady father of Anthony Grady , Dennis Shepherd, father of Scott Shepherd, Archie Bettiol, (Father of Chris Bettiol, Trainer of the Graded Squad) and the father of Chris Turner.
Acceptance of Apologies. Moved I.McCall. Seconded B.Gately .Carried.
GUEST SPEAKER: Geoff Carr ,Introduced by Dennis Spagarino.
Began with a sometimes humorous but factual summary of Kangaroo Tours 1992-1995 with stories relating to player behaviour that was possible then because of the limited communications technology. Then responded to questions to :-
(i) his involvement in the Super League war, its development and demise at the end of 1997 when Newcastle defeated Manly in the Grand Final. This was the catalyst for a reunification in 1998.
(ii) The future of the Commission.
(iii) The proposed reshaping of refereeing by engaging John Buchanan and Bobby Fulton to lead the changes.
(III) Mistakes made by referees.
(iv) Media coverage and T.V scrutiny of referees.
(v) Challenges for the game that include television coverage that is keeping patrons from attending the games .He was especially critical of current catering, parking prices charged.
Chairman Paul Simpkins then presented Geoff with an Associate Membership for Life Certificate, Association tie and Association pen. Appreciation shown through acclamation.
1. Confirmation of Previous Minutes. Moved B.Barry Seconded B.Gately . Carried.
Business Arising from Previous Minutes
1.The first meeting of the Strategic Management Plan Working Party was held on 14th August and was quite productive. The next meeting will be held on 11th September . Peter Filmer has been appointed Chairman of the Group .
2. New Zealand referees have now agreed to join the Association and agreed to affiliate for $50 with membership fees of $150 for referees and $50 for Touch Judges.
3. All ground facilities reported by Graded referees as being in need of improvement have been attended to with the exception of Lidcombe Oval, Lakes Park and one-off games at Brookvale Oval.
4.The Stepping Stone partnership that is to be offered to the Affiliated Associations has been delayed until Damien Briscoe has the time to fine tune it.
5. The revised Constitution has been registered with the Department of Fair Trading and now guides the actions of the Association.
6. Five NRL referees have not yet given permission for membership fees to be deducted from a pay run. They will be reminded that where membership fees are not paid by the 30th September, names will not be included in the Annual Report. The same rule applies to Non-Active members.
7. New Association tie has been delivered.
8. An Anzac Medal will be struck for the four members of the Association who have served in the armed forces and will be presented to them in 2015 at the Anzac Day game between St George and Sydney City Roosters.
Moved T.Danks. seconded D.Spagarino.Carried.
Board Minutes Summaries from 31st July and 28th August were tabled.
BUSINESS ARISING: Nil
ADOPTION OF BOARD MINUTES. Moved B.Barry Seconded B.Gately. Carried.
Executive Officer: Mr Frank Leonard
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Item |
Action |
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- Correspondence In Items 07714-10714 tabled.
08414 S.Betts stated that he had indicated to the
Chairman of the A.R.L.R.A that he intended to resign as
the CEO but had negated that with a follow up letter.
- Correspondence Out Items 14069-14104 were tabled.
14104 Chairman reported on an e-mail sent to
T.Greenberg arising from an NRL Media Release relating
to restructuring of referee development and the failure to
consult with the NSWRLRA. He was asked to read
T.Greenberg’s response which he delegated to the
Executive Officer ..
Moved B.Gately, seconded B. Barry that the Chairman’s
actions be endorsed. Carried.
- Attendances All Schools’ Carnival acting as Referees’ Co-ordinator
over one ground for each of the three days.
Strategic Management Plan Working Party Meeting.
Graded Squad Trivia Night
Partners of Former Graded members luncheon.
- Graded Squad Surveys Survey taken on the facilities available to referees at
grounds especially with regard to showers and change
rooms. Results communicated to T.Danks.
Second survey to be conducted to identify Coaches and
Club Officials deemed to be bringing the game into
disrepute through their action and/or inactions as it
relates to officiating referees, referee recruitment and
game development. Results to be communicated to the
NSWRL through T.Danks.
- NSWRL v NSW Leagues Club As a member of the General Committee of the NSWRL,
signed the Affidavit presented in the Court case as a
Plaintiff to ensure that the Association was not
compromised in future. Was guaranteed indemnity
against any costs if the case is lost.
- New Zealand Referees Negotiated with Luke Watts, Referees’ Co-ordinator for
NZRL to have referees officiating in the NSW Cup and
NRL competitions affiliate with the NSWRLRA for $50 and
Central referees to pay membership fee of $150 and
Touch Judges, $50.
- Affiliated Association Issues Cronulla-Sutherland Association complaint to the
Cronulla Junior League regarding issues involving
referees in games has received no response. Phone call
from Judd O’Shea, President of the Junior League to
F.Leonard was critical of the Executive of the
Association until he was asked his perception of
himself and his performance. This led to a promise of a
joint meeting at season’s end to sort out the issues.
Canberra DRLRA reported an assault on one of the
Junior Representative Squad . late at night, by a West
Belconnen player and sought advice on steps that might
be taken. B.J Mather ( NSWRL) and D.Keen also
assisting.
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. Director of Referee Development : Position Vacant
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Item |
Action |
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No Report |
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Director of Finance : Mr Jimmy Oliveira
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Action
Preparation continuing. Almost ready for presentation to the Graded Squad for feedback. Newcastle remains outstanding. Waiting on an Invoice. When completed the offer from Stepping Stone will be forwarded to Affiliates. Proposal presented to Caringbah and Rockdale “The Good Guys” stores seeking a partnership with Cronulla-Sutherland RLRA. Advised that the NRL Data base can be used by small Associations to calculate season payments. To be submitted to the NSWRL in the week commencing 8thSeptember, 2014. |
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Director of Affiliate Liaison : Mr Doug Keen
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Action |
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Les Matthews and Dennis Braybrook Trophy nominations close on the 5th September. Trainers assigned where a number of Junior Representative referees have been appointed. Manly DRLRA Meeting. South Sydney Grand Final referees announcement evening. Bathurst Referees Association taking Robert Culkin to the meeting. Former Coca-Cola Cup is now to be called The Immortals Challenge for U/9’s to U/14’s and played on the 20th September. Similar to The All Schools’ Carnival. Referees sought. |
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Director of Member Services : Mr Luke Bugden
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Item |
Action |
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October 4th. Noel Kelly Guest Speaker. Invitations forwarded. Friday 14th November. Female Duo “Sick Pitch” booked. |
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Director of Marketing & Communication: Mr George Jankowski
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Action |
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Thanked Greg Jurd for attendance and his services. Twitter followers – 672. Up 17% from July meeting. Facebook Friends—575. Up 47% from July meeting. Web Site Hits : August …21706. Up 17% on 2013. Photo of Noel Kelly and Laurie Daley with some statistics for the former. Photo of Stan Watson who won a Men of League Award arising from a nomination by North Sydney RLRA for outstanding service to that Association. Photo of Mark Bohan who won a Sports Officials Award from the Penrith Sports Foundation. Photo of Chris Sutton who made his NRL debut with two minutes notice. Past Annual Reports added. Max Godfery’s funeral. NRL Squad meeting and spoke on the Social events.
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Chairman : Mr Paul Simpkins
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Chairman reported that common ground had been established with the NRL Integrity Unit with all suspensions to be served out by the end of 2014 and an assurance that referee careers were not in jeopardy. Chairman elaborated on the discussion had around the correspondence relating to this issue. Geoff Carr suggested that the Association have a blueprint for the way forward which will see the Association go to the table in a strong position rather than relying on the Association’s history. The Chairman indicated that the Association was now in the throes of developing a Five year Plan for this very purpose. |
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ACCEPTANCE OF REPORTS: Moved: B.Gately, Seconded B.Ruttle. Carried
OTHER REPORTS
- Brian Barry spoke on the Newcastle Bowls Day. Thirty travelled on the bus sponsored by Matt Hewitt. The day included both Matt and Chairman Paul Simpkins as visitors. Peter Digby was presented with a plaque recognising 25 years of service to the Newcastle Referee Bowlers. New bowlers to be sought during 2015.
Adoption of the report was moved by Barry Beveridge, seconded Stan Watson. Carried.
Presentation of New Association Ties
Executive Officer ,F.Leonard, presented the new Association ties to all Graded Squad members present. D.Keen presented a tie to the Association’s Ambassador, Robert Culkin.
Presentation to Winners of the of 2013 Golf Day
Steve Clapson called upon Dennis Spagarino ,, captain of the winning team, to accept the Shield. Shirts were the presented to Frank Leonard,and Sean Hampstead who were the other members of the team.
General Business.
- Peter Filmer spoke on the efforts of the Chairman and the Board made in protecting the welfare of those caught up in the betting issue. His call for recognition of their efforts was carried by acclamation.
- Matt Damaso asked for an approach to be made to the NRL regarding the Insurance and Workers Compensation applying to NSW Graded referees injured when training with the NRL Squad or officiating in the Holden Cup competition.
- Nominations for Life Membership:-
Matt Hewitt…… Moved G.Jankowski, seconded B.Barry
David jay…….. Moved S.Betts, seconded D.Spagarino.
Gary Cook…… Moved B.Barry, seconded B.Gately.
Paul Simpkins.. Moved G.Jankowski, seconded B.Barry
M.Damaso asked if, in future, the names of those eligible for nomination could be brought to the meeting.
- Honorariums
Chairman P. Simpkins invited S.Betts to take the Chair and Directors left the room. . A proposal prepared by the Director of Finance was circulated, discussed and accepted on a motion moved by B.Gately and seconded by B.Barry and carried unanimously. Directors re-entered the room and were informed by S.Betts of the decision . He thanked the Board for their efforts over the past twelve months acknowledging that the honorariums in no way reflect the amount of time spent by each Director on their portfolio.
Honorariums for 2014 are as follows:-
Executive Officer $4085
Chairman $3035
Director of Finance $2570
Director of member Services $2570
Director of Affiliate Liaison $1750
Director of Coaching and Development $1750
Director of Marketing and Communication $1750
Masseurs Manager $530
- Bryan Glchrist spoke on behalf of the widows present at the recent luncheon provided for them and thanked the Board for looking after the ladies who reported that it was the best yet. He also thanked Paul Simpkins for his attendance at a recent Cronulla-Sutherland DRLRA meeting where Paul was the Guest Speaker and thanked Doug Keen for his attendance at the District Grand Finals.
Meeting closed at 8.32 p.m
Next Meeting: Wednesday 10th December, 2014, Annual General Meeting.
Chairperson…………………………………..
