In Attendance
Pete Jennings - Co-Chair
Julie Parker - Co-Chair
Donald Vaughan - Treasurer - via Zoom
Phil Joy - Secretary
Edwin Lace - Coach
Jess Nichols - Welfare Rep
Jamie Lowe - Wednesday Rep - via Zoom
Chairing Meeting
Pete Jennings
Normal Business
Chair's Remarks
New committee period with Julie and Pete acting as co-chairs. Meetings to be chaired on an equal split, alternating each meeting. The co-chair actively chairing the meeting will have the casting vote; the other co-chair will have an ordinary vote.
Treasurer
Full financial update not available due to no access to the bank account. The club is financially stable and viability of individual sessions is no longer a concern.
Coaching
Alex is helping considerably as an assistant coach. Subject to availability Alex may be able to assist more often and at more sessions. The committee agreed to push for the return of original session times on a Tuesday and Sunday.
Welfare
No specific welfare concerns although it was agreed that the new member form should emphasise that it is a member’s responsibility to inform the coach of any health conditions that may impact on their ability to take part in a session. Jess, in her position as welfare officer, is willing to discuss any relevant concerns with new members as and when the situation arises.
Membership
No attendance concerns but the financial stability of the club is bolstered by the number of members that pay by standing order – it was agreed that the next News Splash email would remind people to consider restarting their standing orders. A pre-payment card was considered and is to be reviewed further.
Other Business:
Jamie’s position on Committee
It was agreed that Jamie is to step down from the role of Wednesday Rep and be co-opted into the role of internal comms, to assist the club as and when required.
Email signatures
Committee members are to include their pronouns on emails to members, especially in instances where it is communication with a new member or a member that they might not know particularly well. Further, pronouns are to be captured on the membership form.
Club Kit
Phil Joy is responsible for arranging routine orders of club kit.
Attendees of Council Meetings for Swim England NW/County Association
Swim England requires one committee member to attend Swim England meeting as and when they occur. As this is a new Committee it was agreed that Jess will attend as and when required, if she is able to do so.
Sunday sessions
Already discussed in point 3 above.
Approving invoices
Club invoices are to be approved by two authorities, those being any two of the co-chair and the secretary. The two co-chairs can act separately to provide one authority each. If a payment is a conflict of interest, i.e. if a payment authority is related to the payment recipient, that person should not authorise the payment. All invoices to be circulated to co-chairs and secretary in all circumstances.
Womxn policy
The committee have discussed and agreed upon a policy to provide information on the Wednesday Womxn session, which can be referred to should anyone seek clarification on whether they are able to attend. All of the committee agreed on the wording and the document will only be produced upon request.
Voting rights of Welfare Officer
The Swim England constitution does not allow for the Welfare Officer to have voting rights at committee meetings, however it was agreed that Northern Wave will amend our constitution to allow the Welfare Officer (Jess) to vote.
AOB
Gill Wright Award
Extensive discussion was had regarding an annual Gill Wright award and it was agreed by the committee that costings should be obtained for further discussion.
Facebook Admins
It was agreed by all that Edwin should be authorised to post in the Wednesday group.