NORTHANTS Bowling Federation president Dick Noble will combine his presidential duties next year with those of Newton Trophy team captain following his appointment at the annual general meeting held at Peterborough & District.
He was the only nomination for the post following the resignation of Cliff Watson at the end of last season, but the election of the Adams Trophy team captain has been put on hold until the next management committee meeting to enable discussions with the current incumbent John Earl, who was unable to attend the annual meeting.
Given there were no nominations for any of the administrative posts, the leading county officials were duly re-elected, but the president forcibly made the point that members should consider stepping up to the plate in the future to take on some of the responsibilities, as without the willingness of the current officers to continue in their roles there would be, for example, no county competitions.
Having stepped down as Newton captain, which had enabled him to serve on the management committee, Cliff Watson was elected to continue as a committee member, while Melvyn Beck was asked to take over as publicity officer from Bob Warters, who has stepped down to concentrate on his club responsibilities.
Empingham have re-affiliated to the county after an absence of two years, which means that the Vanguard club, formed out of players from that club who wanted to continue playing county competitions, has been disbanded
In his president's remarks, Dick Noble said that after slow starts at Newark and Skegness, the players rose to the challenge, returning with the Derbyshire Trophy from Newark for only the third time, and two titles from Skegness – Les Sharp and Gill King (Yaxley) in the senior mixed pairs and Roger Stevens, Graham Agger, Martin Welsford and substitute Steve Lander (Whittlesey Manor) in the three-bowl triples – plus four other finalists and Stephen Harris was named 'Under 25 Player of thre Tournament' for good measure.
Once again it seems that the president will be entering the second and final year of his tenure without the support of a deputy, a situation highlighted by secretary Melvyn Beck in his annual report.
He reminded members that it was not set in stone that a president should have to serve for two years, and that presidential responsibilies could be shared by some of the county officers at the national finals to relieve some of the pressure, both financially and timewise.
He pointed out that such a system might have to operate in 2021 should a new president not be appointed this time next year.
The meeting endorsed a proposal from the management committee that county registered club shirts only be worn at the county finals, thus removing the alternatives of white shirts or predominantly white proprietary bowls or polo shirts which had caused some confusion and controversy in the past.
Also removed is the reference to brown, grey or predominantly white proprietary bowling flat soled shoes. With such a plethora of bowls shoes on the market in a combination of colours it was felt that this should be left to personal preference, providing they are flat-soled bowling shoes.
Competition secretary Melvyn Beck informed the meeting that next year's indoor county finals will be at Peterborough & District on Sunday, March 15th, with the outdoor finals at Ketton on Sunday, July 19th.
The national indoor finals at Newark will run from Monday, April 20th through to Sunday, April 26th, while the outdoor finals at Skegnes will start on Saturday, August 22nd until Saturday, August 29th.
Treasurer Les Sharp reported a loss on the year of £515.26, compared to a small profit of £245.00 the year before, but the county still had sufficient funds in the bank, with the on-going sponsorship from Forterra having made a signifiant difference to the operating costs.
Election of officers
Secretary, Melvyn Beck; Treasurer, Les Sharp; Match secretary, Graham Agger; Competition secretary, Melvyn Beck; Results secretary, Barry Lawrence; Minutes' secretary, Linda Toms; Publicity officer, Melvyn Beck; NDC delegate, Melvyn Beck; Child/Vulnerable Adult representative, Neil Wright; Adams captain, to be confirmed; Newton captain, Dick Noble; Derbyshire A captain, James Harford; Derbyshire B captain, Malcolm Squires; Management committe, Brian Bassam, Peter Brown, Mick Greaves, Cliff Watson, Paul Dalliday, Steve Roden, Tony Kemp, Tony Mace (immediate past president).
