2021 AGM Minutes
For those not in attendance here is summary of the AGM discussion/decisions;
Via Zoom, Thursday 10th June
7PM: Meeting to start.
1: Summary of last season
Russ spoke about the curtailed season due to the Covid lockdowns. The membership voted by a narrow majority to suspend the leagues after the restrictions were eased again in the spring and the committee thought this was probably the right decision. The four cups did go on to completion which was a positive, but overall the committee shared members’ frustrations that Covid had once again prevented a meaningful season from being completed.
2: Financial update
Mike shared the finance summary emailed beforehand. The league is in a healthy position financially with approx £800 in the account with all expenses paid and just over £6k donated to charity. The committee thanked members for continuing to support the charitable aspect of the league.
3: Feedback of Corinthian Spirit Questionnaire responses
Mike shared responses to the first 4 questions in the questionnaire, summarised as follows (all percentages are approximate):
Over 80% of clubs responded, the committee thanked those clubs for taking the time to do so.
- How important is the Corinthian Spirit to your club? Very – 80%/Quite 20%
Conclusion: The CS is valued highly by the vast majority of the members.
- How aware are your players of the Corinthian values the league is founded on? Most – 70%/Some more than others – 30%
Conclusion: Managers are crucial in making sure the message about the CS gets to their players. It was noted that with new recruitment it can take time to help new players understand that the standards expected are different to regular Saturday league football.
- How well are you doing with regard to the CS? Very – 65% Quite – 35%
Conclusion: Every club believes it is making an effort to instil the Corinthian values into its squad.
- How often have you played teams who fall below the standard?
Never – 10% Rarely – 40% Occasionally – 45% Regularly – 5%
Conclusion: Most teams have encountered a team they regard as having fallen below the standard, yet at the same time all teams believe they are achieving the standard. There is clearly a mismatch between how some teams perceive themselves and how they are perceived by others.
The other questions invited more discursive answers. The Q about what the CS means will provide the basis for the re-written guide to Corinthian scoring. The words used most frequently were: Fair play/sportsmanship/honesty/respect.
The answers to these questions also clearly demonstrated how much the members value the league and believe in the values that it stands for.
4. Items for discussion (see appendix at end for more detailed proposals). A vote will be taken at the end of each discussion, a majority vote by those in attendance is required to action the proposals
The Corinthian Spirit:
- The committee proposes the introduction of a new system for monitoring adherence to the spirit to replace the Corinthian scoring system
- The committee proposes that it should be mandated to become more proactive in removing teams who do not adhere to the spirit
As outlined in the appendix to the agenda, the committee believes the C scoring system has outlived its usefulness. The new traffic light system was explained and there was some debate about the mechanics of it. Dan from Filton proposed a Corinthian Committee, whereby volunteers might be asked to watch a particular game as a neutral observer and feedback on that team’s attitude to the committee. It was agreed that this could be a useful extra safeguard and spread the load of responsibility. Mike said that the whole idea of reforming the C system was to reduce complaints and investigations to zero. The Corinthians League is not set up to cope with teams who cannot conform to the spirit, because there is no player registration or disciplinary process. it relies on teams voluntarily committing to playing by the Corinthian rules and respect other teams and match officials. This is not about watering down competition however. The results of the survey showed that the competitive nature of the league is very important to most clubs. It boils down to attitude, winning and losing in the right way. It may be that for some clubs the FA Vets league, with scheduled fixtures, independent referees allocated for all games etc is a much better fit. Mike encouraged all managers to spend time thinking about whether the Corinthians League is the best fit for their club. Jon from Ashley wanted it to be noted that in his experience games had always been played in the right way and he didn’t want new teams to think there was some kind of crisis. Russ agreed, this is really about improving something which is already very good in general. Mike said that the survey had been really valuable in getting clubs to focus on the core principles of the league. The principles are what make the league unique and so they must be protected and upheld. Any erosion of commitment to the principles represents a threat to the precious thing which has been built up over a 25 year period. Members voted on the two questions above and both were passed by a large majority.
Subs:
- The committee proposes to maintain annual subs at £100 per team and donate any surplus after expenses to charities
Members voted in favour by a large majority.
- The committee proposes charity donations to be nominated by teams drawn from the hat, focussing on teams who have been in the league for more than one season and who have not had the opportunity to nominate previously. Provided we have a full season in 2021-22, we would return to league and cup winners nominating at the end of that season
Members agreed with this suggestion and voted in favour by a large majority
League Structure
- A decision on whether to revert to larger divisions (10/11 teams playing once) or remain in smaller divisions (7 teams) playing home and away (committee neutral on this)
The committee took a back seat and member clubs spoke in favour of both proposals. The smaller divisions were favoured because it meant teams got to know each other better, it was felt to be fairer to play home and away and that it made divisions more competitive with more chance of all teams being of a similar standard. Larger divisions were favoured because of the wider variety of opponents, the greater spread in terms of the standards and the fact that slightly fewer home fixtures meant less admin for the manager.
The vote was taken (amongst over 35’s clubs only) and the result was 65%/35% with the majority in favour of keeping smaller divisions.
- In either case the committee seeks approval to re-organise the divisions in a similar vein to last season
This was approved by a large majority.
Cups
- A decision on whether to retain two 35’s cups (senior and junior) or revert to one cup competition for all (Committee neutral on this)
This was approved by a large majority.
Russ said that these were now the default positions for the 35’s league and the question of cups or division sizes would not be re-visited unless there was a significant change in the number of teams in the league in the future.
5: Teams leaving/New teams looking to join the league/Name changes.
This season we said farewell to:
Rangeworthy 35’s, WCMB Avonmouth, Axbridge 50’s, Fry Club Vets, Real Madras
Name changes: Nailsea&Tickenham Vets to become Swags Vets
Teams planning to transfer from over 35’s to over 45’s:
Cribbs Vets, Fishponds Legends
Teams transferring from over 45’s to over 50’s:
Re-Union
New teams: 35’s
Clevedon Dons
Brislington Badgers
Jersiatric Rangers
Vasco de South Glos
Teyfant Vets
AFC Downend
Bristol Sands United
Possible new team: Heritage United (TBC at a later date)
45’s
Possible new team: The Antiques (TBC at a later date)
50’s
St Brendan’s
Red Star Bedminster 50’s
6: Any other business (To be notified to the committee 24 hours prior to the meeting at the latest)
- A proposal to organise an event to mark 25 years of the league.
This received a positive reception. A sub committee of interested parties will be formed over the coming weeks.
Russ thanked all members for their continued commitment to the league and what it stands for.
Meeting closed 8.45
Appendix: Proposal for new Corinthian monitoring system:
Running the league is generally a very enjoyable and rewarding thing to do. The one thing that detracts from this is when teams behave poorly towards one another and an investigation needs to be conducted. This is both time consuming and difficult because we must often draw conclusions based on subjective reporting.
The following proposals are aimed at reducing the necessity of investigating incidents, hopefully to zero, in a short space of time. By mandating the committee to remove teams who are unable to conform to the principles of the league, we hope to send a strong message to all that upholding Corinthian values in all games is not just desirable, but an absolute requirement of being in the league.
The points based Corinthian scoring system has served a useful purpose in enabling us to see what is going on in general terms across the league. However, the interpretation of the difference between an 8 and a 7 for example, is subjective and means that there is not a clear enough boundary between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
We propose introducing a more straightforward traffic light system, (green/amber/red)
Green: Great game, enjoyable, good attitude
Amber: Basically fine, but some low level incidents spoiled things somewhat
Red: Did not meet the standard
Essentially green would be the default and teams would only need to record their experience and notify the committee if they felt a game was amber or red. Match reports would still be submitted to the website but not Corinthian scores
Any team receiving a red report to be contacted by the committee and given the opportunity to respond.
We propose that the committee be mandated to expel teams immediately if they do not provide a satisfactory response to a red report. The committee could also issue a warning and offer a final opportunity to reform.
A second red or amber report during the season to result in immediate expulsion.
All teams receiving 100% green reports to enter a draw at the end of the season to be awarded the Corinthian trophy.
We propose re-writing of the ‘guide to Corinthian scoring’ so that it’s much clearer how to identify a red or amber game, reducing the possibility that subjective interpretations of the guidance will blur the boundaries.
The cup:
The over 35’s cup produces a disproportionate amount of difficult games by comparison with league fixtures.
We propose that a red report from a cup game will result in the team concerned being dismissed from the cup competition if the committee find that the report was justified.
The cup finals are the showpiece events of the league’s season. We propose that neutral assistant referees will be provided for 35’s cup finals, paid for by the league, as well as referees, to provide the best possible chance of these important games being played in the right spirit.
It goes without saying however that the responsibility for upholding the principles and values of the league lies with the teams playing, not with the match officials.