BGA Council Meeting 2022-05-18

Held at: ZOOM conference call

Meeting started: 19:30

Present:

• Andrew Ambrose-Thurman (AAT)
• Mohammed Amin (MA)
• Toby Manning (TM)
• Peter Rootham-Smith (PRS)
• Stephen Tweedie (ST)
• Colin Williams (CW)

Note - actions raised during this meeting and action updates are recorded on the outstanding actions list rather than directly in these minutes

1) Apologies.

There were no apologies for absence.

2) Previous minutes.

The minutes of 10/3 were accepted as accurate. (Note - this item was actually passed later in the meeting due to an omission in the original agenda)

3) Reports

Presidents Report - In a discussion about the archives it was agreed that the BGA should keep all the paper records, in part to facilitate future historical analysis. The Technology Committee will in future look at the possibility of digitising the records. It was noted that we may need to amend our GDPR statement to reflect this.

Clubs & Membership Report - It was agreed that Youth members would in future (under the CLG) be known as 'BGA Youth Players'.

Tournaments Report - It was noted that the Congress made a significant profit, which would be offset against the expected loss from the Candidates Tournament. The Candidates has about a dozen entrants, which is low. A survey of strong players will be undertaken after the event to try and discover why attendance is low.

Work is progressing on a possible kit refresh, but an issue has arisen concerning clocks, so more work is needed. Support for byo-yomi and Canadian overtime was agreed as desirable.

Following the Ulster Open feedback from Toby is that a venue in central Belfast would probably be preferable to Lisburn for the 2023 Congress, due in part to available accommodation.

4) AGM Preparations

The agenda has been advertised, and a small number of proxy votes have been received. There are no member motions this year. We have eight nominations for Council members, but following Tony's recent resignation no nomination for Auditor. Toby will discuss with Richard whether he is happy to also be the Treasurer of the CLG, should the incorporation motion be passed.

5) Outstanding Actions

SCT presented the state of progress in moving to Trello to hold the actions list. Following this the actions were reviewed and updated.

6) AOB

ST raised the issue of player development for lower players. It was agreed to have a major agenda item for this at the next council meeting.

CW asked how best to help a lady sell her inherited Go kit. A number of suggestions were provided.

7) Next meeting

CW to issue a Doodle for the next meeting for w/c 27th June to allow David Killen a quick introduction to the Council.

The meeting closed at 21:10