Monday 26th November 2012
President's Report / Secretary's Report
The past year has been another very steady period for Southern Table Tennis with very little change in our activities from the previous year. Indeed for this year’s report I would have been quite happy to cut and paste last year’s president’s report as it almost perfectly portrays what has occurred over the last 12 months. The participation rates in all of our activities has remained steady with 90 players competing in our competitions, around 25 juniors playing on Tuesday nights and the Tuesday and Friday morning social sessions continuing to be well supported. We are doing well financially although some of the higher costs in relation to items such as electricity are starting to be noticed. The club continues to be run by the same core group of people who are doing an excellent and very efficient job.
It is easy to be satisfied when there are no apparent significant problems within the club and things are going along steadily and smoothly. But now is the time that we should be looking to further strengthen our position by increasing participation rates in all of our activities. As a committee we have identified a number of simple ways in which we could promote table tennis but unfortunately we just do not have anybody with the time to devote to this task at the moment. This is a shame as I believe there is great potential in the southern area to significantly improve the number of table tennis players at our club.
I would like to thank all those that have contributed to the running of Southern Table Tennis during the past year. Without the contribution of your time and enthusiasm the club would not find itself in the great position it is today. Hopefully over the next year we can keep things going in the same manner as well as find some ways to promote table tennis in the southern community and increase our participation numbers.
Marcel STORKEN
President Southern Table Tennis
I have now been preparing either a President or Secretary Report for the AGM for the last 20 years. For the last several years I keep thinking…what different spin can I put on the presentation of my report this year. The main reason I struggle these days in preparing the Secretary’s Report is because my level of activity at Southern has significantly decreased from past years. This year I have referenced our well maintained website for material I could use in this report, and indeed, there were things that occurred in 2011/2012 worthy of mention:-
Southern launched a Facebook page and has linked it to our website. I encourage members to post to the page,
Active Club Grant funding of $5,203 was received towards the purchase of a floor scrubber to enable the playing area floor surfaces to be clean and help provide for a safe environment for players,
Next year you may find that you will have the opportunity to pay your competition fees via bank transfer. It is likely this option will appear on the 2013 Winter entry form,
I want to recognise the great work undertaken by Wally Schmitt in managing the Monday and Friday morning social group sessions for many years prior to his passing on 17 August 2012.
Well done to Alvan White and Rex Rayner who have for many years run coaching sessions during the school holiday period. More recently as a follow up to the Tuesday night program, Alvan has been coordinating a Southern v Aberfoyle Park junior team match during the school holiday period.
Silently in the background Jenny Poole has been maintaining the website and notice board with competition results. Thanks Jenny.
Celebrating 40 years of existence and 25 years at the Southern stadium, a re-union was held on Sunday, 9
th September 2012. Many past players took the opportunity to attend. Have a look at the website for a great selection of pictures. Southern has several public session each and every week (Monday & Friday night, Tuesday & Friday mornings), thanks to Alvan White, Stan Tichy and Don Lugg for opening Southern and hosting those sessions.
On the funny side, because my address appears on the Southern website, a new player turned up at my house looking to have a hit on a Tuesday morning…uess there is got to be a first for everything.
Interested in coaching? There are plenty of coaching opportunities Southern can deliver to the community. If you would like to earn a little extra pocket money and gain a coaching accreditation, we would welcome your interest and involvement.
Financially we are travelling very well, free from loans. Participation numbers are stable, competitions remain healthy as do the social group sessions and Monday night practice. So all good on the activity front.
So there is another year in a snapshot. Once again, thank you to all those persons who make Southern keep ticking over, its appreciated.
Maurice Quinn
Secretary