Apologies were received from Mark, Elwyn and Carol.  One amendment was made to the minutes as Carol had also indicated she would seek re-election next year.

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In matters arising Mark had made enquiries and sent through details of courses that are available. Lucy and Lyn volunteered to do a refresher St John’s ambulance course online. CPR training was discussed but relevant instructions are given if CPR device is activated.   Lucy agreed to further investigate Safeguarding courses available.

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Philip presented a comprehensive report updating the committee on the installation of the solar panels.   We have been awarded a grant as per our application and are only awaiting the contractor (Powys Solar based at Newtown) to confirm a commencement date.  When work is complete a final reconciliation is required for the grant provider.  There are enough funds currently available in the account to cover the club’s outlay for the project (£1,900), but it was agreed that there should be some fundraising to boost general funds. One suggestion is that we use The Flash to hold an open tournament at the end of December. It was agreed to discuss suggestions at the next meeting.

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Lyn gave an update on our finances and presented the audited accounts, which were accepted.  Thanks were expressed to Alan Hughes for the audit and a letter of thanks is to be sent. Lyn drew attention to the fact that income for membership was down this year. It was agreed to ask that our annual payment to the Outside Sports Committee should be made in April rather than October to align with membership receipts.

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The subject of potentially registering as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) was discussed. The benefit would be that the club could claim 25% on any donations via Gift Aid - to be investigated further.

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A discussion took place on the level that should be set for Club membership fees for next season. A proposal was made of adding £5 to current membership fee and dropping entry fees to inhouse competitions, which was passed. Further discussion took place in respect of the affiliation fees the club has to pay to the Montgomery Bowling Association and Welsh Lawn Bowls for each club member who plays in any games organised by the MBA.  This fee is on top of the £1 match fees we ask members playing to pay. It was suggested that a mechanism of identifying who wants to commit to playing in squad, would be helpful and perhaps asking for a donation towards the affiliation costs, e.g. £10, might provide a level of commitment and give a guide as to reliable numbers available.

Reports were received from Philip (MBA), Lyn (SVIL), John (Green) & Beryl (Social):

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• Philip highlighted that a recent meeting of the MBA the main item was a discussion on whether to accept women players/unification, which ended with 2 propositions. (A) women could be allowed to play in the mens’ league. (B) allow women to play but in the position of Lead only. The proposals will be voted upon at the AGM in December. We are entitled to send 3 current affiliated members to AGM to vote on the proposed motions. Mark has already included the proposals as a topic for discussion under AOB at our AGM.

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• Lyn reported that SVIBC had had an excellent win in the zone games. In the Evening League games Guilsfield had so far lost 2 and won 1.

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• John reported that they had finally managed to get a mower across green and spike it despite the bad weather, and that Philip had agreed to take on the role of chief greenkeeper for next season.  He will need more physical help from club members. It was noted that at present there is not a set budget for greenkeeping, and that this should be worked on for the coming financial year.

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• Beryl reported on the feedback received on the Presentation Lunch.  There was agreement that this went well despite only 28 attendees. She highlighted the fact that it is very difficult to find a venue with a private room, in the immediate area.

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John updated the committee on the new lease for the green.   Powys CC had now sent the club a copy of the new lease, a copy of which was with our solicitor to enable us to have professional guidance.  The main point in the new lease is that the club will not have “security of tenure”: i.e. renewal in 25 years’ time is not secured. The amount payable remains as it did 25 years ago in the original lease £100 - although at several points in the lease it refers to the amount payable “if the landlord requests”.

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As it not envisaged that the clubhouse will be used over the winter (no whist drives this year), it was agreed that it would be sensible to close the clubhouse for the winter (shut off water supply etc)

The final item on the agenda was to finalise arrangements for the AGM. It was noted that the agenda has gone out to all members, and the main thing we needed to plan for was the counting of votes to elect the three/four vacancies for committee members and the chair should voting be necessary. It was agreed to allow postal voting.

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A member’s email has been received questioning whether club captains should be elected by club members. This was discussed, and it was agreed that the Committee is

elected to run club and the appointment of club captains falls within their remit. However, it was acknowledged that a better mechanism was required to seek nominations/volunteers for the five captains required. The chair will inform the AGM that the committee will welcome volunteers, if they like to raise their hands.

Under AOB Lyn informed the committee that Guilsfield had been nominated to host the MWWBA Triples finals on 11th July 2026. It was noted that umpires will be used and that therefore the 2-metre markings need to be done on green for the event.

28th November was proposed as the date of the next meeting, but possibly not the morning.