The P&B 2015/16 AGM was held on Wednesday 20th January, where a number of members met to discuss the successes of the club in the last year, and make a few decisions for the year ahead. Full minutes and reports are on the way soon but in the meantime, here’s a summary of the important bits:
Appointment of New Club President
First and foremost, many thanks go to John Heneghan for his stint as president for the past 3 years. John has now ‘done his time’ and stepped down to pass the role on to someone else. The role is more of an honorary one and a good way of celebrating the achievements of a candidate without unduly weighing them down with committee admin work.
With that in mind, I am delighted to announce that our new president is Sarah Rowell. Although she should need no introduction, for those unaware of her many achievements Sarah was British & English Fell Running Champion in ’95 and ’96; multiple-times ladies’ winner and record holder of the Three Peaks Race; World Mountain Running Championships Silver medalist; and of course represented GB in the 1984 Olympics, among many other race wins and accolades. She’s a total legend and continues to inspire athletes at all levels.
Sarah was unsurprisingly humble and even a bit surprised when I asked if she would be interested in taking on the role but her nomination was met with overwhelming approval at the AGM, and I think she’ll make a brilliant figurehead for the club in the coming years.
Here’s a brief note from Sarah:
Many thanks to all those who endorsed me becoming the P&B president. I have been a member of the club since 1992 when I was lucky enough to be part of a strong women’s team on the fells and cross country, which for a few years dominated the fell championships and relays and won the northern cross country team championships. While the men have always been able to put out strong teams year in, year out, its great to see the women’s team growing in strength and depth again. I don’t expect to be good enough to help the team put in quality performances and win things in the future, but I’ll be helping as much as I can from the side lines. As well as of course hoping to take part in the clubs 20th anniversary celebrations of the Pennine Way relay record this year; being part of the original team has to be one of, if not the highlight, of my time in the club so far – here’s to 2016.”
Appointment of Committee
The following members were elected (full contact details on Contact page):
- Chair: Graham Pilling
- Secretary – Membership: Adam Speed
- Treasurer: Charlie McIntosh
- Junior Development Co-ordinator: Joanne Boocock
- Senior Development Co-ordinator: Niall Bourke
- Kit Secretary – Senior: Charlie McIntosh
- Kit Secretary – Junior: Nicola Robinson
- Website and Publicity Secretary: Graham Pilling
- Secretary – Minutes : VACANT
- H&S + Welfare co-ordinator: VACANT
Note the vactact positions above; these really do need filling, and don’t require a lot. Interested parties can simply contact anyone in the committee and we’ll happily advise on what the roles involve.
Appointment of Club Captains – We’d like to welcome Matt Lockyer as the new Fell Captain, as well as new Junior Captains – Olivia Hunt (Girls), and Archie Armitage (Boys).
Treasurer – Accounts are in a good position for the end of 2015. As with the previous year, the surplus will be reinvested into the club – the cost of major relay races will again be covered/subsidised for the seniors, and the juniors will have a pot of money to assist with training costs.
Note, there has been a very small price increase to the P&B hooded tops.
Annual Subs – There was no change to Senior or Junior subs costs for 2016, with figures agreed as follows:
- First Claim Senior: £30 or can be reduced to £20 by opting out of paying the England Athletics Affiliation fee — this provides a saving for those who only run on the fells BUT doesn’t allow entry to races which require EA Affiliation. The new Membership Forms will contain more information on this.
- Second Claim Senior: £15.
- Junior: remains £30 (unfortunately EA opt-out is not applicable due to required competition insurance).
- Pudsey Pups: New Subscription costs split by term time (details tbc)
Subs will be reviewed again next year and set to cover the costs of running the club for the next financial year. They are also now due – see email from Adam!