ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Monday 4th November 2002

President's Report / Secretary's Report

President's Report

As we come to the end of 2002, I believe we can look back on a winter season that was very even in all grades, and enjoyed by all players.

During the winter STTA once again had a number of teams in the TTSA winter competition with several rounds of the competition being conducted at Southern on both Monday and Tuesday nights.

In respect to activities held at the stadium, it was pleasing that our venue was once again used by a large number of primary and high schools. Juniors were active under the guidance of Maurice Quinn on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Good attendance from social player on Tuesday and Friday mornings continued in 2002 thanks to the efforts of Wally Schmitt.

Despite the fact that we seem to have satisfied the need of most members, there are some matters that concern the Executive Committee:-

• a need for new Committee members.
• unable to attract new adult and junior players, despite a lot of promotional work done in this area, but little reward for our efforts.
• the absence of mainly higher grade players in our Closed Tournament, particularly support of the events conducted on the Sunday.
• very low response to our survey
• the open forum meeting had to be cancelled, with only one player (other than the Executive) turning up to attend the meeting.

We urge all members to support activities in 2003.

We closed the year with our presentation dinner, an event held at the Christies Beach Hotel, an event greatly enjoyed by those in attendance.

As a low profile President, I am very much aware of the outstanding work done by the office bearers and committee members and volunteers. Thanks to you all.

Jo Storken
President, STTA

Secretary's Report

As I sat down and recorded dot points of those things which rate a mention since November 2001, I was surprised at the number of matters which deserve a mention. It’s a real mix; aspects of taking another step forward, steps backwards, individual achievements, sorrow and reflection. Here we go, and in no particular order:-

• STTA Web Site – Bev James came back from the Sydney Olympics with a wish to do something different to resuming the role of Association Secretary (bummer for me). An interest in web site design took her fancy. Congratulations. Southern now has a very comprehensive web site at http://users.senet.com.au/~stta, providing readers with a good understanding of the activities conducted at Southern, our people, and a reference point for our players to visit to review competition results and premiership tables.
• STTA Newsletter – Communication with the membership is very important, and through the various issues of the STTA newsletter (including that appearing on the web site), players have been kept informed of the various forthcoming events and matters of interest, including recognising birthdays and individual achievements. Well done Bev.
• Individual Achievements – while several STTA players gained selection to represent SA in team events at the various national championships, congratulations must go to both Michelle Hodgson and Dwayne Longbottom for being selected to represent Australia in Fiji and Singapore respectively.
• STTA results in local newspaper – thanks to the efforts of Helen Berry (Recording Secretary), competition results continue to be published in the local Messenger news paper. Our presence in the local paper has attracted a few new players to the Association.
• Players Tournament – while this event is free to winter players, and is relatively well supported in respect to those events played on normal match night, unfortunately handicapped and novelty events held on the weekend does not enjoy the same support. Hopefully a new approach can be found to remedy this situation.
• Players competing in Winter Competition – while some 154 players were registered during the 2002 winter season, it was interesting to observe that approximately another 40+ players competed as ‘fill in’ players. More and more it seems teams are operating with an addition player to provide for player rotation / nights off. Similarly it seems commitment / other demands on players necessitate the use of ‘fill in’ players, keeping the STTA Permit Committee on their toes.
• Junior Development – this is an area currently undergoing a rebuilding phase. While the Friday night Junior Competition is now growing in numbers compared to a few terms ago, and parent support is pleasing, some serious promotional work in schools is necessary to encourage students in to the sport…this will occur shortly. It has been pleasing that a number of schools have elected to carry out table tennis activities at our stadium in recent months…..thanks to Jo, Helen and Bev for opening the stadium for such activities.
• Phil Anderssen Memorabilia – Southern has been fortunate to obtain some of the memorabilia of the late Phil Anderssen, a person well known to many, a great Australian table tennis ambassador. His trophies, jackets, etc. will be displayed near the entrance to the meeting room in the near future. A new perpetual trophy has been created in Phil's memory…….’the most improved junior’, awarded to Nick Laan in 2002.
• Teams in TTSA Winter Competition – STTA had 5 teams entered in the TTSA Winter Competition in 2002. While there were no premierships won by Southern this year, competition was fierce, and it was great to see rounds of the competition conducted at Southern. A thank you to David Longbottom for coordinating this activity and representing STTA on the TTSA winter sub-committee.
• Colin Pix – it was one of the sad moments when I learnt of the passing away of Colin, a Club delegate on the STTA Executive, a volunteer in so many respects at Southern, and a friend to many. His presence is sadly missed.
• Active Australia – in recent months, Southern has become an Active Australia member. In doing so, this has required the Executive to sit down on the many aspects of running the Association, reflecting on what we have done well, and what we can do better. It has been a positive move, despite the work which has been involved and the further work which may flow from the process.
• OACNet – Southern elected to join the ‘Onkaparinga Active Club Network’, a local Council initiative to bring together community and sporting bodies throughout the city of Onkaparinga. It is hoped the networking will be beneficial to Southern through a process of learning from others and the various training programs being developed to support OACNet members.
• Air Conditioning – this is a goal the Executive is working towards and I can advise wheels are in motion to bring this to reality in the near future. I thank Geoff Goss for his ongoing involvement in helping STTA bring this goal to fruition.

As you can see, a busy year of both ups and downs. I thank all those persons (volunteers) who contributed to keeping the Southern Table Tennis Association operational.

Maurice Quinn
Secretary, STTA

Last Updated:  27 Apr 2006 08:30 PM