Minutes Of The AGM Of The Kent County Volleyball Association Held Via Microsoft Teams on 2nd March 2021 at 7:30pm
Attendees:
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Ian Ruddock, KCVA/Strood (“IR”)
Jim Baker, KCVA/Dartford (“JB”)
Luke Thomas, Invicta (“LT”)
Dan Robbins, Invicta
Sara Tomkin, Invicta
Steve Wanstall, KCVA/Strood (“SW”)
Amanda Haggerty, Strood (“AH”)
Bruce Hertogs, Team Medway
Pesila Govinden, Team Medway
Awad Chishty, Team Medway
Dany Grade, Tonbridge
Mark Salmon, Tonbridge (“MS”)
Michelle Piscina, KCVA/Tonbridge
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Paula A’Bear, KCVA/Strood
Tim Bown, KCVA/Dartford (“TB”)
Leah Howel, Maidstone
Lewis Howel, KCVA/Maidstone (“LH”)
Stuart Duffin, Dartford
Katie Marriott, Dartford
Florence Grand, KCVA/Dartford (“FG”)
Gina Crabb, Dartford
Steph Hunt, Dartford
Alex Hartshorne, Dartford
Plamen Pentchev, Bexley (“PP”)
Darren Young, Icon Warriors (“DY”)
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Apologies for absence were received from Rachel Hynes (KCVA/Dartford) and Tom Middleton. Also on behalf of Rainham VC and Alice Marcu (Maidstone).
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Welcome
IR welcomed all attendees to the (delayed) 42nd AGM of the Kent County Volleyball Association. It was the first ever virtual AGM for the Association (due to Covid-19 restrictions in force) and IR hoped that it would be the last time we would need to hold the meeting in this way.
IR expressed his thanks on behalf of KCVA, to Luke Thomas (Invicta) who had offered to host the meeting via Teams.
IR reminded the meeting of voting entitlements in line with the Association’s Constitution. 18 participants were allocated voting rights for the meeting. IR also reminded the meeting that votes would be held via polls (or forms) via Teams. Members were reminded that only those entitled to vote should vote (notwithstanding that the poll / forms mechanism might trigger them seeing the voting question on their screen).
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Minutes of AGM 19.7.2019
IR had circulated draft minutes of the last AGM in December 2019 and again with the pre-meeting papers circulated for this meeting. There were no comments, questions or corrections arising from those minutes, either ahead of or at this meeting.
IR enquired if the minutes presented should be adopted as the formal record of that meeting. This was proposed by Lewis H and seconded by MS. The proposal was carried with 16 votes in favour (2 votes were not submitted).
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Reports of Officers
IR had compiled a written report for the meeting (rather than the usual verbal reports from individual officers at AGMs) incorporating contributions from committee members. The report had been circulated ahead of this AGM. There were no comments / questions or issues arising from the report. A copy of the report is appended to these minutes (Appendix 1).
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Election of Officers
IR reminded the meeting that all committee members retire at each AGM and a new committee is elected. IR had already circulated a list of committee posts up for election at this AGM (including committee members without specific portfolio), asking for nominations or declarations of interest for any of the posts.
IR asked if there were any persons present who wished to stand for any of the committee posts.
- LH had indicated that he was aware that Rachel Hynes (“RH”) might not be standing for re-election as KCVA Chair and would be willing to put himself forward as a candidate for the Chair role, if that were the case.
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- IR responded that he had spoken with RH only a couple of hours prior to the meeting. RH had confirmed that it had become necessary for her to step back from some of her volleyball commitments and that she would not be offering herself for re-election as Chair at this AGM.
- No other candidates were nominated or declared for the Chair post.
- There were no further nominations or declarations of interest for other posts on the night.
- IR advised that ahead of the AGM he had received confirmation from 8 committee members that they are willing to continue in post. Additionally, 2 new persons had indicated they were willing to stand as committee member without specific portfolio.
A vote was proposed on the following candidates to be elected en bloc:
Chair
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Lewis Howel
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Secretary + Fixtures & Results secretary
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Ian Ruddock
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Registrations secretary
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Graham Goodwin
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Referees Rep
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Paula A’Bear
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Archivist
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Jim Baker
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Treasurer
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Tim Bown
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Members without specific portfolio
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Flo Grand, Steve Wanstall, Michelle Piscina, Dany Grade, Amanda Haggerty.
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Proposed by
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Ian Ruddock
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Seconded by
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Leah Howel
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The meeting voted as follows:
17 in favour, 1 abstention, 0 against
The proposal was carried and those persons were confirmed in post.
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IR advised that the following posts remained unfilled: Coaches Rep, Website &/or Social Media Rep, Assistant / Joint secretary. No candidates or nominations came forward, so those posts would remain unfilled.
In advance of the AGM, IR had advised that there was a desire to establish a Development Group to look at creating a development plan for KCVA and move it forward. The group would look at opportunities for development activity throughout the county across multiple disciplines and age groups e.g. sitting, junior, beach/outdoor, coaching, refereeing, potential talent pathways/programmes.
The group would operate independently, but report back to the committee (via the Development Group lead) on progress with plans. It is not the intention that the group should be ‘closed’ and IR envisaged that others would join the group as it became established and where they felt they could offer something to it.
- LT had confirmed his willingness to lead the group, prior to the AGM.
- Ahead of the meeting IR, AH, Rachel Hynes, SW and DY had all expressed an interest in getting involved with the group. Tom Middleton had also indicated that he would be willing to help, where possible.
- While discussions were ongoing, DY indicated that he would be willing to take up a role as Sitting Volleyball Rep on the KCVA committee.
A vote was proposed on the following appointments:
Development Group Lead
(committee post)
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Luke Thomas
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Development Group members
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Amanda Haggerty, Tom Middleton, Steve Wanstall, Darren Young, Rachel Hynes, Ian Ruddock
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Sitting Volleyball Rep
(committee post)
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Darren Young
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Proposed by
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Flo Grand
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Seconded by
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Katie Marriott
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The meeting voted as follows:
18 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions
The proposal was carried unanimously.
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Constitution
IR advised that a need had been identified for the KCVA Constitution to be amended. In particular, there was a need for clauses to be added:
1. identify who are KCVA’s members
2. include a Dissolution clause
Experience showed that these clauses would likely need to be present in the Constitution in any potential applications for funding from external bodies.
IR had circulated a note ahead of the meeting, with proposed changes to the Constitution to incorporate the new clauses. At the same time, the opportunity was being taken to add some extra structure / headings to the Constitution and to clarify voting entitlements at AGMs and EGMs. Some minor cosmetic changes were also proposed. IR had summarised all the changes and their meaning / impact / intention along with the proposed new text.
No amendments were suggested to the proposed new Constitution either prior to or at the meeting, so a vote was proposed that the new wording be adopted.
Proposed by: Ian Ruddock
Seconded by: Luke Thomas
The meeting voted as follows:
18 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions.
The proposal was carried unanimously.
TB made the suggestion that any clubs who had not incorporated a dissolution clause in their respective Constitutions should look to do so.
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Other Business
1. IR was encouraged by the prospect of indoor competitive volleyball being able to return perhaps earlier than many of us might have anticipated.
* The recent announcements by Government concerning the phased lifting of restrictions suggest that we may be in a position to return for a League programme for 2021-22. But we have some way to go before we will be able to plan with some confidence.
* Formally organized outdoor sports can restart from 29 March. We will need to await guidance from VE on where VB fits within this Step (2).
* Adult indoor group sports and exercise classes can start up again from no earlier than 17 May (Step 3)
* We may be able to hold a further AGM (F2F, hopefully) in July, by which time we will know more.
* If it were to prove possible, it would be great to hold some kind of outdoor Cup competition during the summer. But we will just have to wait to see how the rollout of the Covid vaccination programme enables the government to relax the restrictions. There was interest expressed in such an event, from those present at the meeting.
* IR suggested that clubs should start looking through the Risk Assessments and Return to Play plans they prepared ahead of the last return to indoor play, with a view to updating them as and when further guidance is released by the Government / VE.
2. IR wanted to pick up on one of the items from the minutes of the 2019 AGM. It had been agreed that we would review our current suite of trophies and the committee would consider options for replacement / refurbishment / upgrade (for additional space for past + future winners).
* Clearly, the pandemic rather got in the way of those deliberations, but we will resurrect them for the committee to decide on a way forward, once we are able to meet face-to-face and get things moving.
3. LH announced that he would like to get in touch with all member clubs to keep lines of communication open.
4. PP advised that with Val Grisenkov soon to be moving to Scotland, the future for Bexley VC was uncertain. Val has very much been the driving force behind the club over the recent few years. The club would likely remain in hibernation, but would look to attend tournaments wherever possible.
5. MS advised that Tonbridge are facing a potential problem with The Angel Centre, which is currently a Covid mass vaccination centre. Access to court time will obviously depend on how much longer the centre will be needed to fulfil that role.
* IR advised that Strood VC were suffering a similar problem. Currently, the volleyball court is covered with gym equipment and there is no line of sight on when the equipment might return to its usual location, to enable volleyball to return. It is also far from guaranteed that they would have access to the same block booking slots as they had enjoyed, previously.
* TB advised that Dartford VC have booked to return indoors from 17th May. This will be on the same (covid-secure) basis as the pre-Xmas return, albeit the price has gone up.
6. LH advised that Maidstone VC had been researching venues for potential use for junior training / events (not necessarily restricted to the Maidstone area) and would be happy to share details with any KCVA club who might be looking for alternative venues.
* The person who handles MVC’s hall bookings is soon to become the Dryside and Programming Manager for Kent, which will cover Maidstone, Sittingbourne, Sheppey, Tenterden and Meopham. So, someone who will have access to and information about a range of (indoor) sports facilities across a wide area and could be a helpful contact.
7. LH also encouraged member clubs to make sure they take part in any polls / surveys which come round in the coming months. It will be volleyball’s / the club’s opportunity to highlight any access or availability issues they may be experiencing. Greater online activity for volleyball equates to a higher profile for volleyball and better chances for investment in the sport, or access to funding opportunities.
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There being no other business, the meeting closed at 9:02 p.m.
Ian Ruddock
Secretary
9 March 2021
Appendix 1
AGM 2020 (Held March 2021) Secretary’s Report, including role contributions from other committee members
I commented in my report to the AGM in July 2019 that 2018-19 had been a challenging year for all of us. But none of us could have foreseen the extraordinary circumstances which saw the sport and nation go into a period of lockdown from late March 2020, which effectively ended the volleyball season (and many other sports, too).
I initially started to put together my notes and preparations for a KCVA AGM as far back as April, but the highly fluid situation with Covid-19 has meant that I have been continually updating and changing them ever since. This report is at least version 8!
This report now takes the form of a summary of contributions I have received from our committee members, which we will use to hold a virtual AGM. This will mean that persons attending the AGM can see reports ahead of the meeting, which should save a bit of time in the meeting itself. There will still be opportunities to ask questions about individual reports, but the aim will be to reduce the time it takes us to conclude the business of the AGM.
1. Current situation re: Covid-19
* With the nation still subject to widespread restrictions, sports centres are currently closed.
- This effectively means that indoor adult volleyball is off the cards for the time being and we have no current visibility on when the restrictions on indoor sport will be / can be lifted.
- When the sport does return, club Risk Assessments and risk mitigation control measures will need to be reviewed in line with any new guidance to be published by the Government, Volleyball England and Sports Centres.
- Junior activity may receive the green light ahead of adult participation.
* Volleyball England cancelled the National Volleyball League as well as Junior Age-Group competitions for the 2020/21 season, having previously announced that the National Cup, National Shield and Student Cup would not take place in 2020/21.
* Clubs’ Risk Assessment documents will need to be kept up-to-date in line with changing guidance. Having done all the hard work (the guidance from the government, Sport England and Volleyball England was extensive – perhaps even overwhelming), please don’t just park the RA in the ‘job done’ folder as it needs to be a ‘live’ document which evolves over time.
* Please keep in mind that additional considerations need to made as far as Safeguarding is concerned. There is the possibility that the Coronavirus pandemic and resulting periods of lockdown/new restrictions has had (and continues to have) serious effects on the mental health and welfare of individuals (both juniors and adults) for multiple reasons, both directly and indirectly.
2. Thanks
I would like to acknowledge the contributions of a number of people throughout the 2019-20 season. In particular:
* Lewis Howel (Maidstone), who put a significant amount of time and energy into helping a collection of our junior players to take part in a number of friendly games throughout the season. Lewis also supported Kent junior players in their participation in the SEVA Junior Grand Prix series. He was also instrumental in setting up a Kent leg of the series, which was to have been held at Maidstone Grammar School for Boys, but the Covid-19 lockdown intervened and the event had to be cancelled.
* Katie Dolan (Dartford) for putting together the Taskmaster series for KCVA members. It was a bit of welcome light relief from the lockdown and helped keep members in touch with each other.
* Ailin Grawe (Tonbridge) for her considerable effort and time put into developing a new website for KCVA. (please see comments in section 10, later in this report).
3. Registrations:
A couple of observations from situations which arose over the 2019-20 season:
* Firstly, please can I remind people that players who may have been registered for you in previous seasons will not automatically be included on your rosters for the season ahead. You must include them on your Team Registration list which you send to our registrations secretary prior to the start of the season (when we finally get there!)
* Secondly, I must also remind clubs that if they wish to play a Foundation League player in any of their primary teams, then that player must go through the same registration process as everyone else. Dispensation is given that we do not require players to be registered to play in the Foundation league, but they must be registered to play in any other division (men’s or ladies).
* There were 199 players registered on team rosters for the 2019-20 season. We had some exceptional circumstances at the end of the season where some players were registered but then the lockdown meant they couldn’t play any matches. In total there were 48 players who did not play any matches – around 25% of the total registration roster (not counting teams who were due to participate in the cup, only).
4. Fixtures schedule 2019-20:
The lockdown put paid to our being able to complete the fixture programme for the season. The following points are relevant:
* The Ladies division already had clear winners as Dartford ladies held an unassailable lead at the time of lockdown.
* The Premier division was less straightforward, with 2 teams (Tonbridge and Dartford-Oasis) in very close contention for the title and with only 3 fixtures remaining which could have had any bearing on the title race.
* There was considerable analysis of the options available for closing out the league programme and the outcomes those options would lead to.
- The outcomes included a win for Tonbridge, a win for D-Oasis and a draw.
- A proposal was made to the 2 clubs concerned that the title might be shared for this season, subject to the agreement of both teams and subsequent ratification by the committee.
- All parties considered that it constituted a practical and balanced solution to an extraordinary situation in unprecedented circumstances and the 2 teams were, therefore, declared joint winners of the Premier division title.
* 12 fixtures from 20 were not completed in the Foundation League, which is a higher non-completion rate than has been the ‘norm’ in recent years. It was exacerbated by the withdrawal of Bexley’s foundation team shortly after Xmas and with them only having played 1 match up to that point.
- The standings at the point of lockdown showed a close competition overall, with three teams tied on 8 points and one on 7 points.
* It was necessary to abandon the KO cup competitions after only a couple of preliminary matches had been played.
* Teams were nominated for participation at the SEVA tournament but this, too, had to be abandoned.
* Congratulations to the season’s MVPs. There were joint winners in the Premier (2) and Ladies (3) divisions:
Premier Division
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Juris Solovjovs
Tim Bown
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Rainham / Dartford
Dartford
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Ladies Division
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Danielle Robinson
Marta Frajczyk
Arina Palamarcuka
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Rainham
Strood
Team Medway
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Foundation
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Ryan Hang
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Dartford
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5. Reward Points / Additional League Points
The Reward Points system continued to work as originally intended and I do not consider that any adjustments to the terms of the scheme need to be contemplated at this time.
* All Premier division teams earned 1 additional league point over the season. Strood-1 was the only team who would have been able to earn a second ALP if the fixture programme had been able to reach a conclusion (2 home matches remaining, with only 12 Reward Points needed to earn a second ALP).
* In the Ladies division, Dartford were the only team to earn an ALP. Strood ladies had one unplayed home match, which would have taken them over the line for an ALP but lockdown intervened and the match was not able to be played.
6. Fixtures 2020-21 and beyond
When I initially started to make preparations for the 2020-21 season, volleyball returning indoors was on the near horizon. It did happen for some clubs (all too briefly) but, sadly, the 2020-21 season was scuppered following the tightening of the C-19 rules, which meant that adult indoor volleyball was no longer exempt from the Rule of 6.
The reality is that we will not know what we will be able to offer for several months, yet. The impact of the C-19 vaccine(s) is yet to become clear.
* I would like to think that we may be able to offer some kind of cup competition as we reach Spring (or maybe Summer) 2021.
* There could be opportunities for outdoor tournaments in Summer 2021.
* We may also be able to look at some junior competitions.
7. Taskmaster Challenge
Many thanks (again) to Katie for organising and adjudicating the challenge series, which definitely helped keep the Kent Volleyball Community engaged, during lockdown. Some good challenges and some excellent entries.
Congratulations to Maidstone for winning the club challenge, scoring 48 points to Strood’s 31 and Dartford’s 23. Maidstone receive a new volleyball for their team win.
On the individual scoreboard, we had 4 joint leaders at the end of the Challenge. It’s just as well there was no individual prize in the Challenge, as I’m not sure how they would get on with a 25% share of a volleyball! The 4 leaders, all on 17 points, were Leah, Lewis, Marcin (all Maidstone) and Paula (Strood).
8. Reminders:
I don’t know which clubs may have renewed their VE affiliation for 2020-21. Current affiliations last until 31 July 2021. Affiliation to VE is a mandatory requirement of playing in KCVA competitions, when we are able to return.
Please feel free to send me items which we can include on the KCVA Facebook site (or post them yourselves – it’s a public page). It’s good to share.
9. Other reports
Paula – (referees’ rep) nothing of significance to report.
Paula and Ian are happy to support new refs as they gain experience. Happy to come along to watch (not assess) to pass on tips. KIV Ian’s availability may be limited.
Tim – (Treasurer) Accounts attached separately.
The accounts show a surplus of £624 for 2019-20. The following points are worthy of note.
The surplus includes:
* Entry fees £80 higher than previous seasons including £45 of cup entry fees from teams taking part in the cup only. Those Cup fees paid were retained as an advance payment against KCVA league entry fees for 2020-21, but the best we can now hope for is a cup competition of some sort in the Spring / Summer. We’re happy to return entry fees to Maidstone and Invicta.
* No KCVA contribution to SEVA championship – normal net cost to KCVA £120.
* Medals cost £92 (plus postage ~ £14) compared with previous seasons around £180 - £200.
* League winners’ medals were higher cost than usual, as there were joint winners in the men’s Prem division.
- But no cup competitions, so no winners’ medals for that.
- No hall hire cost for Finals day – usual cost approx. £210.
* As part of the Taskmaster challenge, it was agreed that the winning club would receive a new volleyball. Budget of £65 given to Maidstone as winners. Cost does not yet feature in the accounts.
* At the last AGM we agreed to look into Trophy upgrades / refurbishments. Progress on that has stalled, but we will pick up again.
Jim – (Archivist) nothing material to report.
Flo – whilst Flo did not have a specific portfolio for 2019-20, she has provided a brief update on the Beach VB scene:
* Fireball Beach Volleyball courts in Kidbrooke (run by Sam Dunbavin who plays beach for the UK in various competitions) opened on June 14 and gradually allowed training, then games.
* Everyone welcomed the opportunity to do some exercise in a safe and responsible environment and a lot of players from Kent clubs managed to schedule some time there to also stay in touch during challenging times. I know many players who have said that it was extremely important to both their physical and mental health, so it was great to help build that up.
* This is only the beginning of Sam's plans, as he is looking into having floodlights installed for winter play and adding a 4th court.
* Hopefully in time, we can raise more and more attention to beach, which will also serve as a platform to advertise indoor volleyball. In fact, we had a lot of new players of all levels join us, including a number of younger ones and I think we can see the sport gaining traction with teenagers.
* So despite the many challenges, I would say that our shortened beach season was a success.
Lewis – (Junior Development)
Earlier in this report, I mentioned the significant energy Lewis put into the JD role throughout 2019-20. He has captured some statistics about the levels of junior participation within KCVA clubs and there is a separate attachment with the data (see “202010 Summary of Junior Numbers across KCVA”). Lewis has added a few comments on the data and some thoughts about opportunities and actions KCVA might take, going forward.
* We are mindful that there may be an impact (yet to be seen) on the numbers since the fresh Covid measures came into force from early November 2020 onwards. It is difficult to gauge how many will return, when clubs are able to fully open their doors again to indoor sessions.
* Junior activity was permitted under tier 2 and tier 3 restrictions, but with the high infection rates prevalent in some areas in Kent in the last quarter of 2020, some clubs were understandably cautious about a return. Equally, two clubs (Strood & Medway) do not yet have access to a full volleyball court / net for training (even when sports centres are permitted to re-open).
* But it is clear that there were many more juniors participating in volleyball in Kent than we have seen for many years. With adult indoor volleyball seemingly some way off a return, there is an opportunity to look at ways to develop this group and embed it into the Kent volleyball community.
10.KCVA Website
With the assistance of Ailin Grawe (linked to Tonbridge VC) we have for some time been building a new website to take over from the existing site.
* The majority of the grunt work so far has been done by myself and Lewis (thanks again to him for his support).
* You will all be aware that I have asked for various data from club secretaries, in order to populate the new site. I will send round further reminders once the existing data has been uploaded and I can identify the gaps needing to be filled.
* The old site will remain live until the new one is fully up and running, at which point I will de-populate the old site (which will probably only be used for displaying match results and league tables, ongoing).
* One thing which is clear is that we will need someone to take on the committee role of Media Rep (website and Facebook). This can be more than one person, of course, to spread the load. I no longer have the capacity to do justice to the role (and have not been able to devote the time needed, for some while now).
Ian Ruddock
Secretary, KCVA
12 February, 2021