Hethersett Athletic

Phil Kelly from KellysEyeNo1 spoke to the meeting about the pitfalls of taking images and photographs of children. He highlighted problems he had encountered at a youth cricket event where a parent had refused to allow pictures to be taken of his son.

Phil underlined the procedures necessary to take photographs of under-18s and the club discussed adopting many of these for the coming presentation night.. This includes putting a notice on the entrance to the presentation room explaining that photographs would be taken during the evening, placing information to this effect on the web site and announcing the fact.

The club will also look into introducing a membership form asking for parents and guardians to sign to accept the fact that photographs will be taken at club events. The club's child protection officer, Sue Milne, is aware of the situation.

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed with the addition of a short report from the A side stating that they had played one match which they lost.

Secretary's Report

The secretary reported that David and Linda Bunn were relinquishing their ties with the Under-10s and David would continue to help with mini soccer. Tomas Dalmay has taken their position as manager.

Hamish Melville was introduced as the new manager of next year's under-13s. Good wishes were sent to Tim Underwood who will be leaving the village.

Norfolk County Services have been asked to extend their line marking duties on the far pitch of the Memorial Playing Filed into May to allow for all fixtures to be completed, although the first team have had their last three fixtures cancelled and counted as 0-0 draws. The meeting was not happy about this and asked the secretary to write to the league.

Mel has applied to the Norwich Sunday League on behalf of the men's A team. Any acceptance will depend on the reserves gaining promotion to Division Three to allow the A team into Division 4.

The club has the offer of tickets for the coming Women's FA Cup Final at Loftus Road.

The secretary pointed out that the Norwich Youth Combination now has a web site. He also outlined problems that had arisen surrounding a recent dental claim from a player where an initial £100 bill had turned into a £300 due to non NHS treatment.

Nine-a-side girls' football is being introduced to bridge the gap between seven and 11-a-side.

Mel pointed out that the girls under-13s league cup final would take place at Sprowston Recreation Ground on Saturday 24th April at 11.30 a.m.

The club has been contacted by an official from Harling Under-14s asking whether we will be running an Under-15 side next year. There is the possibility of his bringinga number of players and there already seems interest in the village. The committee agreed that it would be ideal to have a team at Under-15 level next season.

Mark Kerr offered to look into the possibility of producing membership forms for next season.

Treasurer's Report

Mel reported that CPS Fuels have donated £500 to the club's first team and this is likely to be matched by Sports Match.

The chairman asked for any outstanding money from the county cup final to be paid to the treasurer as soon as possible. The treasurer asked for all accounts to be settled by the end of the current club financial year in June.

All teams were allowed to claim £25 for trophies for the presentation evening..

Nick Tarrent had applied for a set of shirts under the sports foundation. This charity is now asking for ethnic origins of players and Mark Kerr will look at incorporating a question on this in the new membership documents.

Team Updates

Team updates were received from the following

Under-9s: There had been a disappointing end to the season with two defeats, but the players are still training.

Under-12s: Finished the season in eighth place and recently completed a double over Silfield.

Under-13s: Recently lost to the league leaders 7-4. Finished fifth in the league - their best season so far.

Under-15s: Lost 5-1 against Hellesdon in a match in which they should have done much better. They have one game left - against Bressingham. They have finished third from bottom of the A league and are likely to have guaranteed their place in the A Division next season when they are hoping to improve.

Men's A: Still have four games to play. Have enjoyed a good season to date.

Men's Reserves: Had a good end to the season with 9-0 and 5-0 victories before losing their final game 4-2 to the team which finished third. The side have finished fourth in the league and are hoping for promotion to Division Three. Interest in the team is high and Dave Manington has a number of new players looking to join.

Men's First: Since the last meeting have played four games - winning three and losing one. League victories have been achieved against Quebec Reserves (6-1), Poringland (4-1) and Taverham (3-0). The Poringland win clinched the league title. The defeat came in the Norfolk Sunday Senior Cup at Carrow Road when the side went down 5-0 to Fenman Freehouse. Managers Ross Potter and Danny Gaskin thanked all those involved in organising the final's day. Norfolk FA were very complementary about the club and the smart appearance and attitude of our players.

The chairman thanked Mike Malloy and Anglia Television for producing a professional video of the final. Copies of this will be run off and sold.

Football Development Report

Mark reported that a girls football fun day had been arranged for 4th June through Sue Milne and Mike Larkins.

Mark also stated that we should tighten up the procedure for police checking of team volunteers. Mark also outlined coming courses available to club members.

Promotion Manager's Report

In the absence of Ray Milne, the chairman outlined the latest position regarding buying/leasing land off Back Lane. This has now been valued and the club will be awaiting further developments.

The chairman expressed his appreciation of the many companies who are now sponsoring and supporting the club. He felt that we are the envy of many other clubs who are impressed by the professional way in which we are organised.

Annual Presentation Evening

A club meeting will be held before the presentation evening to ensure all arrangements have been made. The chairman urged teams to get their nominations in for the Lee Thompson Memorial Trophy.

The chairman nominated Park Farm's general manager Richard Bond for a vice-presidency as a way of thanking him for his support for the cup final. This was unanimously agreed. Members were also urged to put forward any names for life membership in time for the presentation evening.

Marketing/Promotional

The chairman reported that things were going well and asked for volunteers to help man a table at the coming societies' day in the village hall in September.

The club is also looking for a nickname. Mark Kerr agreed to hold a competition between the youth teams with a prize for the best suggestion.

Annual Meeting

This will be held on 19th July at a venue to be announced. The chair will contact Richard Bond about using Park Farm. Any proposed changes to the constitution must be notified to the secretary at least two weeks ahead of the meeting.

Teams for Next Season

There is the possibility of adding an Under-15s next season (under-14s at present). The Under-8s will become an Under-9s team and there may be an additional girls team.

Pitches, Kit, Fixtures update

Dave Manington pointed out the need for more help with the three men's teams next year where a corporate structure was being developed. It was suggested that UEFA coach Dave Read be approached with the aim of having involvement in a coaching capacity.

A kit audit will take place at a later meeting

Date and Venue of Next meeting

This was set for 13th May at 7.30 p.m at a venue to be advised.