SCOTTISH KORFBALL ASSOCIATIONANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGSATURDAY 26TH APRIL 201448 PLEASANCE, EDINBURGH

1. OPENINGThe meeting opened at 1806 with Graham Robertson in the Chair and Michael Nicholson taking minutes.

2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

All affiliated clubs were represented; therefore there were no club apologies.

Individual apologies were received from Will Ellis (Edinburgh Mavericks), Laura Henderson (Glasgow, SKA Funding Officer), Andrea Kinver (Edinburgh City, SKA Internationals Officer) and Sam Stevenson (Edinburgh City).

3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING1

The minutes of the 2013 AGM were approved. No matters arising out of the minutes were raised.

4. ANNUAL REPORTSThe meeting received the following reports, from which no questions arose:a. Chair’s Report2

b. Treasurer’s Report3

c. International Officer’s Report4

d. Development Officer’s Report5

5. DISCUSSION TOPICSa. SCOTTISH KORFBALL LEAGUE

i. 2014 – 2015 League StructureGenerally speaking, the new league structure was considered a success, eradicating the problem of grossly uneven fixtures, although the loss of the learning experience of being exposed to better players was missed by some. It was agreed to retain the same structure for next season.

It was agreed that promotion and relegation should run from next season, with the top two teams in the post-split Division B entering the top division the following year, and the bottom two being placed in the lower division. In addition, Dundee and Edinburgh Mavericks agreed that although promotion and relegation was not intended to run this season, they would each be happy to move divisions as though it had. As they were the only two teams that would be affected, this was agreed to. Therefore Edinburgh Mavericks

1 Appendix 1 – Minutes of the 2013 Annual General Meeting2 Appendix 2 – Chair’s Report3 Appendix 3 – Treasurer’s Report4 Appendix 4 – International Officer’s Report5 Appendix 5 – Development Officer’s Report

will be permitted to have two teams in the top division in 2014-2015, while Dundee will have two teams in the bottom division.

This also clarified that teams are not entitled to a team in the top division, and must earn that right. Therefore any new teams entering the league must start in the lower division.

Clarification was sought about how points are calculated after the split. It was explained that points in the middle division are reset for all teams, while teams in the top and bottom divisions retain points accrued against those other teams who remain with them in that division, that is, who are not moved into the middle division. When asked whether this was potentially unfair on teams who have a better performance in the second half of the season than on the first, the Chair responded that he felt that there was no question of fairness as teams need to perform well over the course of the whole season, not just the last few weeks,

ii. Northern Storm – application for league entryIt was agreed to accept Newcastle-based Northern Storm’s application to join the Scottish Korfball League, under the following conditions:a. They shall be permitted to play in the league, but shall remain affiliated to England

Korfball, not to the Scottish Korfball Association. This shall have the effect of giving the club no formal influence over the league’s governance. This follows the precedent established by Welsh clubs in the English league structure.

b. Northern Storm’s offer to play fixtures at neutral venues a lesser distance from their opponents’ base was noted. However, it was agreed that the logistics of their entry to the league should be worked out later, in order to avoid hard and fast rules that would prevent willing teams from playing games in Newcastle, or force unwilling teams to do the same. A suggestion was made that triple headers involving Northern Storm, one Edinburgh team and one other non-Edinburgh team could help to ease some of the logistic pressure.

c. The team shall enter the league in the lower division.

iii. Viability of teamsA discussion about whether we should require teams to prove their viability prior to entering the league (with some leeway for university teams) eventually merged into the below discussion on star players. Ultimately, no firm decision was made about proof of team viability, and the matter will require further discussion at the National Executive Committee.

iv. Star player restrictionsThere was a lengthy discussion about the star player system with a wide range of views expressed, from abolishing the star player system entirely to making it more rigid than this season. The following are a list of points agreed upon as a basis for next season’s system.

The current system of declaring “Star Players”, with the appropriate restrictions on playing down, shall be abolished. Players will be entitled to move between teams within their club, provided that such team movements are fair, not excessive in number, and within the spirit of the game.

The referee shall ask captains how many players are playing down prior to the start of the game. In addition, the team lists on the match form shall be completed prior to the start of the game.

Where a captain feels that the opposition team fielded is unfairly strong, they should declare themselves to be playing under protest. In this instance, the referee shall note the declaration on the match form and, should the team alleged to be offending win or draw, that result shall be reviewed by the National Executive Committee. In addition, captains shall be allowed to appeal a result for up to one week after a game, in order to allow them time to examine past team lists and assess whether the team they played was fair and legitimate or not.

Where a result is challenged, or a team playing under protest draws or loses, the National Executive Committee shall consider the fairness of the team’s composition based on analysis of team lists across the preceding weeks, status of players as internationals, evidence submitted of player injury, or any other pertinent information.

Teams found to have fielded an illegitimate line-up shall have any points earned from that game docked, and the game shall be awarded to the non-offending team. In addition, a fine may be imposed upon the offending team.

Where a game is part of a triple header, or any other series of matches, it shall not be relevant that one captain has protested while another has not.

There are to be no restrictions on how any player plays the game once out on the court, except where one team has a numerical advantage (the designated shooter rule). There will be no goal handicap and no restrictions on players shooting, taking penalties or free-passes, or otherwise influencing the game.

Other, connected ideas were discussed, but not firmly agreed upon. These suggestions may or may not inform changes to the rules for next season:

It was suggested that teams could be required to submit their starting line-ups in advance of the fixture, with 48 hours in advance suggested. It was argued that this could make the playing under protest system more efficient; however, in counter-argument, it was noted that this would be overly restrictive on teams and would seem to be an over-reaction to the problems experienced this season. It was noted that teams in high-level matches are only declared one hour before the game. It was further noted that this removed the current advantage that the “away” team has to set up against their opposition, although this is an SKA rule, not an IKF rule.

It was suggested that teams could be asked to submit star players on a more regular basis, with every fortnight mooted. This was rejected in light of the star player system’s abolition, but may be considered if there is a return to that system.

v. Publication of fixture times and venuesIt was generally agreed that fixtures, venues and referees are not currently being published early enough for teams to plan their season effectively. From next season, therefore, the process will be brought forward. Teams will be asked to submit their teams for next season earlier, with a provisional fixture list to be issued before the end of July.

The impact of the calendar on international training was noted. It was agreed that we should accommodate the National Team’s activities, but these dates must be known in advance. The Internationals Officer shall be directed to provide a list of dates of activities by mid-July, and sooner if possible, also taking into account the dates of the English Korfball Leagues. After that point, any dates not on the list will be considered free for development events and league fixtures ,and games will not be postponed based on the number of national team players unavailable to teams.

The Chair was asked whether we could introduce a rule similar to that used in England, where a postponement will be granted if two players are on duty with the national team. This was rejected as unfeasible due to the higher concentration of national team players among Scottish clubs.

vi. Length of time between games

Dundee and Glasgow both felt that games were badly distributed this year, which was accepted by the League Secretary. There was general assent for the idea of increasing the number of games to, on average, one set per fortnight, although this will be tricky with the triple header structure.

It was agreed that all games this season will be played on Sundays; this will give more clarity to the calendar and will hopefully aid recruitment.

vii. Centralising fixturesThe Chair proposed restructuring the league to match the system used in the Scottish Floorball League, where all league fixtures are played at one central venue over the course of one weekend per month. This improves clarity in the calendar, and opens up the remaining weeks for development events, tournaments, international training and the like, and also encourages a greater level of socialising within the sport. In addition, it solves a current problem of attempting to fit everything around the university clubs, who play more tournaments and have exams and coursework weeks to factor into consideration.

While there was some tentative approval for the suggestion, concerns were raised by the university clubs about the ability to encourage new players into league fixtures when games are infrequent and, with so many at once, perhaps intimidating. In addition, it was noted that increasing the number of games played over a weekend by individuals would ultimately lead to a decrease in the quality of the korfball played.

A compromise was agreed that will see the current system of triple headers used for the first half of the season- which will be permitted to extend beyond the current cut-off of the Edinburgh International- with centralised fixtures coming in for the second half of the season. In order to ensure this is workable, the number of games played between teams may increase, but this will depend upon the number of entries into the league next season.

viii. BSKA Northern League and its impact on the SKL

Jean Fourie, the Scottish representative to the British Student Korfball Association, outlined current plans for a Northern Student league involving Edinburgh University, St Andrews University and a number of teams from the north of England. This new competition will help secure korfball’s place within BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport), and will see an increase in BUCS points available, especially to second teams, which in turn will likely increase the funding offered by sports unions to korfball clubs. The majority of games are likely to be held on Saturdays in the second half of the Scottish season.

It was agreed that games between Scottish university teams in this competition could be doubled up, that is, for the result to count in both the BUCS competition and the Scottish league, provided the playing rules of the two competitions are analogous. In the event that a dispute occurs in such a game, and that dispute is dealt with under BUCS rules in a manner which is inappropriate under Scottish league rules, then the match may be ordered to be replayed.

b. SCOTTISH NATIONAL TEAMi. NATIONAL TEAM PUBLICITY

The Chair indicated his view that too little is done to promote the activities of the Scottish national team, and that more of an effort needs to be made by the players to address this. A suggestion of nominating somebody in the squad to lead on communication was generally agreed to be a good one, but was not mandated.

ii. INVOLVEMENT OF NATIONAL PLAYERS IN DEVELOPMENT EVENTSIt was noted that the national team do not currently participate in development events within Scotland, and that in the long-term there will be an expectation of involvement if the national team wish to receive funding.

The behaviour of the national team at the Edinburgh International- where some players played hungover or drunk- was noted and acknowledged to be lacking, and a poor advert for the team. While it was accepted that the team were using this as a fun, social event, the Secretary noted that a team playing in such circumstances should not be doing so under the name of the national team, or wearing any kit recognised as national team clothing.

Mark Goossens asked when the national team last played an official fixture in Scotland, with such a game being a positive advert for the team. No definitive answer was given, but it was acknowledged that it has been a long time.

It was agreed that it would be inappropriate to make large changes to the operation of the national team so close to the European Championship. In early 2015 the Chair will undertake, or direct someone appropriate to undertake, a full review of the national team.

c. REFEREEINGi. REFEREEING STANDARDS

The Chair noted the current concerns about refereeing standards; however, he also noted the rise in unacceptable dissent and behaviour towards referees. From next season, referees will be instructed to be strict on discipline, including dissent, and to issue cards as

necessary. The system of fines will also be enforced, which did not happen in an isolated incident this season.

In general, it was agreed that in some clubs refereeing duties are being shared around too much to allow individuals to gain momentum with their refereeing. The SKA would encourage individuals to gain as much experience as they can. Referees who are lacking in confidence and would like some support should approach the SKA, who will be happy to allocate somebody to shadow and mentor that referee. Anyone looking for more experience may referee all three fixtures in a triple header, with structured assessment and mentoring across the three games.

Mark Goossens indicated that Edinburgh City will again be holding their Beginners’ Tournament next season, and suggested that a Beginners’ Refereeing session be held concurrently with it, with all clubs expected to send representatives who might be willing to referee in future. In addition, the Development Officer indicated that he wishes to see a proper refereeing workshop run in future, instead of the current basic theory course. These matters will be considered and advanced by the next Development Officer.

ii. REFEREE ALLOCATION FOR IMPORTANT GAMESClubs are asked to be realistic about the standard of referees that they have within their membership. Where they are required to provide a referee, but have none of a suitable level, they should ask the SKA- as far in advance as possible- to allocate a referee to the fixture.

For all games, clubs should be naming referees well in advance, preferably at least a week ahead. The SKA will look for consistency in this next season.

iii. ASSISTANT REFEREESIt was unanimously agreed that Assistant Referees should not be introduced at this time.

iv. REFEREE REPORTING STRUCTURESIt was noted that there is a structure in place for reporting refereeing that falls below expected standards. A formal complaint should be submitted to the National Executive Committee, who can then trigger the appropriate actions. It was noted that such complaints should not be personal attacks, but should instead be more formal, and that it was advisable that potential complainants should check what their own referees would have done in similar circumstances.

d. MISCELLANEOUSi. SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR CLUBS

The Chair indicated that financial assistance is available to clubs looking to undertake specific projects, with awards being made on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, a start-up grant of £250 is offered to fledgling clubs, and the new club at Perth have received such a grant. A grant of £500 would be available to new clubs offering both adult and junior korfball.

All decisions related to grants, for both new and existing clubs, will be made by the National Executive Committee on a case-by-case basis.

6. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTa. CREATION OF PUBLICITY OFFICER POSITION6

The Chair noted that by widening the current brief of Webmaster it was hoped that the more general flow of information, within the SKA and between it and its member clubs, could be improved.

The amendment was passed unanimously, and the Constitution shall be duly updated.

7. FINANCEa. APPROVAL OF ACCOUNTS7

The Treasurer indicated that there are some issues with managing the flow of money from the Scotland team, and indicated that she would be happy to work with the next Treasurer to try to rectify this.

The accounts were approved as presented.

b. ELECTION OF HONORARY AUDITORIt was noted that, despite efforts by successive Treasurers, the accounts have not yet reached a standard that would pass an audit. For this reason, it was agreed not to appoint an honorary auditor, but instead to focus on improving the quality of financial record keeping in order to ensure that an audit could be passed in the near future.

8. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 2014 – 2015Chair Graham Robertson Edinburgh CitySecretary Nigel Cooper DundeeTreasurer Jean Fourie Edinburgh UniversityDevelopment Officer Bob McKinlay GlasgowInternationals Officer Andrea Kinver Edinburgh CityLeague Secretary Ian Volante Edinburgh MavericksFunding Officer Nicol van Rijbrok GlasgowPublicity Manager Will Ellis Edinburgh Mavericks

All clubs are to be asked to nominate a first point of contact for development issues in order to encourage stronger dialogue on development matters.

9. AOCBa. CONTACTING UNIVERSITY CLUBS

Ian Volante asked whether university clubs will be contactable over the summer. Representative from both Edinburgh University and St Andrews University indicated that they would be contactable by their clubs’ e-mail addresses, though not necessarily resident in Scotland.

6 Appendix 6- Motion to create the position of Publicity Officer7 Appendix 7 – SKA Financial Accounts 2013-2014

b. SUMMER TRAINING SESSIONSBoth Edinburgh City and Edinburgh Mavericks will be training over the summer (some outdoor training) and indicated that non-members are welcome at these sessions.

c. THANKS TO DEPARTING EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERSNigel Cooper thanked Cathy Campbell and Michael Nicholson, who are departing the National Executive Committee, for their efforts over the previous year.

10. CLOSUREThe meeting was closed at 2009

An action list may be found at the back of this bundle.8

8 Appendix 8 – Actions arising from 2014 AGM

APPENDIX 1SCOTTISH KORFBALL ASSOCIATIONNATIONAL EXECUTIVE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGSUNDAY 26TH MAY 2013DUNDEE

Questions on the chair- nothing Questions on treasurer- nothing Questions on development- nothing

Gav asks what will happen with coaching if Scotland qualifies. Answer- we don’t really know, but Andrea is aware

Kidskorf- what’s the deal? Need to make an effort to coordinate amongst clubs

Louise is heading to Glasgow Uni- maybe team?

Goose says that although they like City fresher’s tournament, they often have a small loss. They don’t get that much out of it. Proposes some kind of help- vague funding/organisation. Is timing right? Ed Uni think yes

NEW COMMITTEE Chair: Graham

-nom: Louise-2nd: Glasgow girl

Secretary: Michael-nom: Nigel-2nd: Goose

Treasurer: Cathy-nom: Jill-2nd: Ella

League: Ian

Development: Nigel

Internationals: Andrea-nom: Goose-2nd: Jean

Funding Officers: Louise and Glasgow Girl

Website: Jean-nom: Poppy-2nd: Nigel

LEAGUE

City: want more games. Their 2nd team struggled because of a massive gap between matches (Nov-March)

Saints: travelling for one game only is an issue Ed Uni: clashes with coaching and playing Glasgow: struggle to keep 2nd team without using players from 1st team Mavs: don’t like split- not enough game time Dundee: generally happy

Vote on league: 5-1 option C Vote on type of divisional split: unanimous- option iii

Hours rather than 44 minutes? 50 minute matches- compromise Suggestion of combination of one matches and “super Sundays”

Referees: -have already been graded-debate about how to get more refs and how to develop the current ones-got to be stricter on timings (esp. timeouts)

APPENDIX 2CHAIR’S REPORT

An interesting year for Scotland Korfball with some good stories and some not so good.

Highlights from my year in post are:Scotland qualifying for the Europeans later this yearA strong Mavericks team winning the leagueEdinburgh City’s representation at the Europa CupA 2nd Schools open being organisedBlairgowrie kids sports relief achievementCoaching course held in GlasgowNo teams unable to fulfil any league obligations.Some team growth (Mavs, Dundee)

Lowlights include:An increased level in hostility in some games.Refereeing standards (vague as this includes abuse of referees)Some team numbers falling

Overall this has been a progressive year for Scottish Korfball; we have seen some impressive achievements from both clubs and international squads accompanied by the amazing work carried out by Nigel and his development team. I as most of you were was happy to see Mavs come out at the start of the season and dominate the league, it is good for the sport to have more teams challenging and despite a transition season for a few other clubs Glasgow, City etc I would expect to see them back stronger next season. The national team are developing well and I look forward to seeing them represent us later this year in Portugal at the Europeans.

We do however need to develop more and need to provide support for each other to ensure the sport continues to grow, to assist with this I would propose that the initial start-up costs made available to new clubs continues to allow easy access to funds for new teams trying to start.

Player retention is still an issue and we seem to have lost a good number of players this year for no specific reason which can be identified and therefore addressed. Each club needs to ensure they have sufficient levels of players to accommodate the number of teams entered into the league and this has been an issue with players (myself included) turning up for a number of games for multiple teams within the same club. There is also not in my opinion not a seamless transition from university clubs to non-student teams it has improved over the past few years but with a minority sport we really should be aiming to retain every player who plays at university within a team.

Refereeing standards is an issue which has been raised to me a few times this season and the first thing I wish to respond to this is we should be applauding those individuals who take the step forward to referee our games and not criticise them. I am sorry to say I have seen first-hand and experienced what can only be construed as verbal abuse of referees and this will not be tolerated any longer. Those of you who are kind enough to referee please be aware there is support available if you wish it and I would encourage everyone who is refereeing to ask one of the more experienced players/refs to come and watch them and offer feedback so we can all improve.

The league structure itself this year would appear to have worked well and although I was debating change I have come to the conclusion we are perhaps changing for changing sake and we should stick with the current format for a minimum of two more seasons and see how this develops. There have been a few issues with arranging of games and clubs should try to arrange fixtures as soon as possible to give the players as much time to get organised.

I look forward to another good season and wish you all a great summer.

Regards

Graham Robertson

APPENDIX 3TREASURER’S REPORT

This year has been good money-wise for the SKA. SKA affiliation fees remained the same, but the removal of development teams (which previously paid half fees), has meant we have gained a little extra money. We have put some money into development, notably £250 start-up fund for the newly formed Perth Korfball Club and a £249 subsidy of the Level 1 Coaching Course (although £210 of this we are yet to receive a bill for).Our accounts from last year have been sent to be audited (many thanks to Lee Gill for her help with this). We are still awaiting some money coming in from the Scotland team and some more money going out, but the bank balance should be healthy at the end of this season.

APPENDIX 4

SKA DEVELOPMENT OFFICER’S SUMMARY FOR 2013-14

Towards the end of my initial year as DO in 2012-13, I suggested that the most effective long term solution to improving Scottish korfball’s low participation rates and limited demographics should involve: (i) developing youth korfball, and (ii) retaining more players when they move on from University. Both my opinion and these ambitions remain pretty much unchanged at the end of my second year.

Some progress has been made towards each of these goals over the past 12 months, but it is both limited and uncontrolled (or chaotic). The “best bits” are summarized below:

Recruitment and Retention

By far the biggest success of the year has been the transformation of Mavericks Korfball Club. This transformation seems to have come about with zero input from the SKA, and should probably be used as a model for future improvements at other “big city” clubs – the first step in doing this will be to talk to Mavs and find out how they actually did it (or find out if it just “happened”, which I would find difficult to believe!). Whatever the method, the result seems clear – Mavs managed to recruit and retain a whole additional swathe of ex-University players, whereas other clubs did not (Glasgow picked up a couple, but this is only the same as in previous years: Mavs seems to have actually improved matters).

A second success story, or at least a partial success, has been the development of a new fledgling club up in Perth. This was made possible by a £250 startup grant from the SKA, at my own request (and be warned, I would like this to be the first of many new club start-ups). The money allowed Perth to hire a hall and pay a coach (read “me”) his travelling expenses for 10 weeks beginning in October of 2013. Perth & Kinross Council’s Sports Development Unit provided logistic support and encouragement, and two Dundee players that live in Perth helped to drum up some new recruits. By Christmas time (the end of the 10 week setup phase), the club had managed to attract 9 new men and 7 new women to attend at least one training session, with at least 6 of these (i.e. 33%) looking like they might stay with the sport. The club’s progress suffered a bit of a setback with poor attendances just after the new year, but a recent resurgence (following a plea for more help to P&K Council) has brought the numbers back up to a more sustainable level (reaching a peak of 10 on April 1). Whether or not this venture will result in an extra team for the SKL in 2014/15 remains an open question – there is little real drive to play competitively amongst the current members, but that may well change with time. On the other hand, perhaps this situation should make the SKA discuss the issue of korfball as a recreational sport, rather than merely a competitive one. My own view, based largely on my limited experiences in Dundee and Perth, is that there is a huge market for such sports (i.e. it would be easy to promote korfball in the same way that others do zumba, or whatever).

Youth Korfball

The SKA was awarded a £330+ grant as part of the IKF’s “Year of the Youth” programme last year. We put this money towards running our first (ever?) inter-schools korfball competition, grandly marketed as the “Scottish Schools Open Korfball Championship”. Over 400 primary-school (P6.P7) aged kids, from 12 different schools, were introduced to the sport in over 20 school sessions (3 schools even getting a 4-week course of korfball classes) over a 6 week period in May and June. Getting these kids all together to play at an inter-schools competition on any single day, never mind a weekend-day, proved to be a major challenge, and in the end only two schools actually provided

full teams of 8 players on the big day. Another 4 schools provided a few kids each though, so we made up a composite third team and fittingly called it the “rest of Scotland”. Each team was split into two divisions, with each division being allocated to one of two “Superteams” (the “korfs” and the “balls”, in accordance with the IKF’s YotY initiative) and with each division having its own coach (many thanks to the dozen or so SKA volunteers that turned up to help on the day). Following three hours of relatively well controlled mayhem, the Scottish korfs beat the Scottish balls, and Lawhead Primary School, coached by Rosie Henshaw, became the 2013 Scottish Schools Open Champions. I think that the day was a great success. It also involved a huge amount of effort though, and it would not have been possible without the backing of numerous volunteers (most notably Graham Robertson, Lucie Maupetit and Laura Powell (Ed City) and a bunch of absolute stars from Dundee Korfball Club).

In other youth developments, DKC were awarded a £1000 grant from Comic Relief to support their own youth section: this has allowed them to offer free kids sessions in a fairly deprived area of town for a whole year. Turnout for this section of the club has remained low, however, and it seems that money really doesn’t make much difference when it comes to juniors (as the coach of this club, I am now convinced – to my own surprise - that charging training fees actually improves both the atmosphere and the attendance at the club)

Referee and Coach Development

Very little progress was made in respect of referee development this year: Gavin Legg kindly led a 1-hour practical workshop for refs in Edinburgh at the start of the season, but I felt that the people that were there were pretty much the same people as the year before, and while most of us learned a few new things, this actually had very little impact on what was to follow (i.e. this year’s league). A few of us also made some efforts towards implementing Gavin’s assessment and mentoring programme / structure, but with very little apparent effect – more effort, by more people, is going to be needed in the future to really make this system work. I also delivered a short refereeing (rules) theory workshop in St. Andrews at the beginning of February, but this fell well short of a full ref’s theory course, and there have been no examinations all year (Saint Andrews being the only club to have shown any interest at all).

On the coaching front. the SKA delivered the first ever SKA Level 1 coaching course back in December of 2013. This was led by Graham Box, who basically tweaked and adapted the old BKA level 1 course materials into a new format, and added a few bells and whistles to provide us with a course that pretty much fulfils all of the requirements for a UKCC accredited course (it is not UKCC accredited though – and neither are the EKA’s or BKA’s old courses). A total of 15 people paid SKA-subsidised course fees to gain access to the pre-course reading materials and to attend the one-day practical part of the course. To date, however, only five of these have since provided us with feedback and successfully completed the written rules test, and only two have gone on to do the practical assessment that completes the course though. Despite this low success rate, almost all of the feedback that we received was positive, and my own feeling is that the new course will be well worth sticking with.

I have also spent a seemingly inordinate amount of time over the past two years talking / corresponding with the WKA, EKA and BKA in an attempt to consolidate (a) the future of the BKA itself, and (b) the future of the BKA’s Level 2 coaching qualification. The whole thing has been a political nightmare, but progress is, I believe, now being made. For those of you who don’t know, John Wright has recently been appointed as the SKA’s representative, and chair, of the new-look

BKA, and Steve Lawrence has been appointed to represent the SKA in the an EKA/BKA L2 coach development workgroup.

As with last year’s report, anyone who wants to know more of the nitty gritty behind this summary is welcome to peruse the latest content of the attached 5-part development / action plan.

Nigel Cooper

SKA Development Officer, 2013-2014

Scottish Korfball Association

Development / Action Plans (May 2012 - present)

Tabulated under 5 main developmental aims: Grass Roots, Junior Korfball, Coaching, Refereeing, Competitive Play.

Aim 1 : Developing Scottish Korfball’s “Grass Roots” Starting from a base of 5 adult clubs (Dundee – est. 2011, Ed. City, Ed. Mavs – est. 2007, Ed. Uni – est. 1991, Glasgow – est. 2008?, St. Andrews Uni – est. 1991?)

Date Objective Who How Where When Cost Completion/outcomeMay 2012 Audit of current

participation levels.Club DO’s (DKC, ECKC, EMKC, EUKC, GKC, SAKC)

email, forums Nationwide Summer 2012 6 hrs PARTIAL SUCCESSas of Sept 28, 2012Club, # active players, # active newbies, total annual recruitment/turnover.DKC: 24, 17, 40ECKC: 24, 2 , 28EUKC: ???EMKC: ???GKC: 15, 6 , 29SAKC: 20-25, 8-10, 50

May 2012 Improve communications with membership

Will Ellis, Chris Kay, + Nigel Cooper

Website Internet Summer 2012 100 hrs PARTIAL SUCCESSNew site, inc. forum launched June 25. 2012. Facebook and Twitter accounts rejuvenated and becoming more popular. Still need to get more people to sign up and contribute on-line.

December 2012

Improve interaction between clubs

Nigel Cooper Mixed-ability “Hat” tournament

Dundee January 13, 2013

6 hrs£5 per player

SUCCESS40 participants from 5 clubs: good time had by most people, and beginners integrated well.

March 2013

Funding opportunity to subsidise disadvantaged communities

DKC, GKC, SAKC

email Red Nose Day Communities (targetted)

Apply by March 15 – decisions April 24

6hrs DKC applied for £1000GKC applied for £500+SUCCESS: both projects funded in full.

Date Objective Who How Where When Cost Completion/outcomeApril 2013 Annual audit Club DO’s email, forums Nationwide April 2013 6 hrs DKC: 23, 5, 17 (adults)

ECKC: 18, 0 , 18EMKC: 14, 2, 5EUKC: 38, 15, 65GKC: 19, 5, 24SAKC: 20-25, 8-10, 55Total: 132 active, 35 newbies, turnover of 184

October 2013

Develop new club Nigel Community Action

Perth December 2013

60 hrs£250

SUCCESS? PKC founded on Dec 17. Total of 9 newbies plus 3 Perth-based Dundee players. Good support from P&K Council Sports Development. Needs ongoing coaching support to fulfil aim of entering SKL in 2014/15.

March 2014

Annual audit Club DO’s email, forums Nationwide April 2014 6 hrs DKC: 28, 11, 22 (adults)EMKC: 25, 5, 8PKC: 10, 6, 24SAKC: 30, 17, 50Total: 93+ active, 38+ newbies, turnover of 104+ECKC, EUKC and GKC unaccounted

Aim 2 : Developing Junior KorfballStarting from a base of school taster sessions and fledgling after-school clubs associated with Ed. Uni and Dundee, and previous brief exposures in St. Andrews (c/o Rosie Henshaw) and Brechin (c/o Jo Whaite).

Date Objective Who What Where When Cost CompletionMay 2012 Get more school children

playing korfballNigel Cooper (DKC), Will Ellis (EUKC)

School’s taster sessions

Dundee May-June 2012

40 hrs + SUCCESSJuly 2012: 720 kids from P4-S4 in 7 schools.

Summer 2012

Get (primary) school children playing korfball more regularly

Nigel Cooper (DKC), Will Ellis (EUKC)

Weekly training sessions (after school clubs)

Dundee,Edinburgh,Falkirk?Glasgow?

Autumn 2012

32 hrs + PARTIAL SUCCESSAs of April 2013: P4-P7 club on-going in Dundee.Failed in Edinburgh.?? in Falkirk.

October 2012

Encourage LTD – develop skills awards scheme

Nigel Cooper (DKC) Skills Awards Nationwide Autumn 2012

32 hrs +£500 needed to buy stocks

PARTIAL SUCCESSAs of Jan 2013: Bronze / Silver / Gold Award Levels. Still need to buy badges and publicise scheme.

Winter 2012/13

Develop / encourage youth competition (a Scottish “National Youth Day”?)

Will Ellis (EUKC), Nigel Cooper (DKC),Others (GKC, SAKC?)

NYD – a one-day inter-school competition

Edinburgh? Dundee? Glenrothes?

June 15, 2013

£1000+100 hrs+DKC spent £2K grant. SKA invested £280 on balls (8 x K4-IKF)IKF granted 398 euros towards hall hire and transport.12 adult volunteers contributed a total of over 100 hours effort

PARTIAL SUCCESS28 P5-7 kids from 6 schools around Dundee (making up 3 teams) participated in SSO on 15/6/2013

Date Objective Who What Where When Cost CompletionAugust 2013

Get more (primary) school children playing korfball more regularly

Nigel Cooper (DKC), Erwin Oosterhoorn (DKC)

Weekly training sessions (after school clubs)

Dundee (Nigel),Blairgowrie (Erwin)

Autumn 2013

32 hrs + PARTIAL SUCCESSAs of Dec 2013: P4-P7 ASC on-going at Birkhill. Youth section floundering at DKC (only 5-7 regular participants)and Blairgowrie (3-6 reulars) – NEEDS MORE INPUT from Active School Coordinators.

December 2013

Develop youth competition (SSO 2014?)

Nigel Cooper, others (???), Active Schools

SS0 2014? Nationwide? Dundee?

Spring 2014

200 hrs + RISKY – no response to initial facebook plea for help. IKF grant app (31/1/14) appears to be being ignored!

Aim 3 : Developing CoachesStarting from an unknown base (enough to support 5 adult clubs?)

Date Objective Who How Where When Cost Completion/outcomeMay 2012

Audit of current coaches / levels.

Club DO’s (DKC, ECKC, EMKC, EUKC, GKC, SAKC)

email, forums Nationwide Summer 2012

6 hrs SUCCESSAs of Sept 28, 2012Club, # qualified L1 / L2 / practicing coaches.DKC: 2, 1, 1ECKC: 1, 0, 4EUKC: ?EMKC: ?GKC: ?, ?, 2SAKC: 0, 3, 3

Summer 2012

Increase # of qualified coaches

Ella Paul, Max Wartelle

BKA level-2 training course

Avon Tyrell August 2012

40 hrs + £500 each

SUCCESS(self funded with external grants)

March 2013

Develop “next generation” of high level players / coaches

Gavin Legg, Clive Minshull (+ Nigel Cooper?)

Regional training session(s)

Nationwide – first session in Dundee?

June 8 8 hours, £126 for 3-hr hall-hire

FAILUREJune 8 hall booking cancelled after event only attracted 9 definite players (14 in total, including “oldies”). Try again next season, but only if and when this can be integrated into playing calendar (i.e. planned league / structure)

August 2013

Develop fresh batch of assistant coaches

Nigel Cooper, Graham Box

L1 BKA course (rebrand as SKA L1)

Glasgow Dec 1, 2013

£50060 hours

PARTIAL SUCCESS12-hour SKA L1 course developed including 3 hrs on-line study, 6-hours face-to-face tuition, and 3 hours of assessment / feedback and rule testing.14 participants paid £20 each to attend one day course.As of April 5, 2014, only 5 have completed the rules test and only 2 of these have been assessed.

Aim 4 : Developing RefereesStarting from an unknown base (enough to support a 12-team league?)

Date Objective Who How Where When Cost Completion/outcomeMay 2012 Audit of current

referees / levels.Gavin Legg,Club DO’s (DKC, ECKC, EMKC, EUKC, GKC, SAKC)

email, forums Nationwide Summer 2012 6 hrs SUCCESSClub, # theory / practically qualified refs as of July 10, 2012:DKC: 4, 1. ECKC: 8, 1. EUKC: 6+2, 0. EMKC: 3, 1. GKC: 2+1, 1. SAKC: 3, 0.Apparently, SKA only has 4 practically qualified referees!

Summer 2012 Grading of current referees

Gavin Legg, (+Clive Minshull, +Nigel Cooper)

email Nationwide September 2012 6 hrs SUCCESSPreliminary 3-level classification: 18 @ level 1, 6 @ level 2, 3 @ level 3.

August 2012 Unification of refereeing practice

Gavin Legg 2-hour practical workshop

Edinburgh Oct 13, 2012 (EC beginners tournament)

8 hrs£100 hall-hire?

Well attended (20+), well received.SUCCESS

Autumn/Winter 2012-13

Practical assessment and Mentoring

Gavin, Clive, Nigel During SKL fixtures

Nationwide ongoing N hrs FAILURE: very slow progress: only 2-3 assessment results known to April 2013. Need to improve communication / advertising of new system.

Winter 2012-13 Improved understanding of rules

Nigel Cooper, Ella Paul

2.5-hour practical workshop

Ed Uni Feb 3, 2013 12 hrs Well attended (10+), well received – 10 new theory qualified refs.SUCCESS

Spring 2014 Improved understanding of rules

Nigel Cooper 3-hour practical workshop

SAKC TBC 12 hrs FAILURE – impromptu 2 hour workshop attended by only 5 players in St. Andrews on 12/2/14. Not enough interest / preparation / organisation

October 2013 Practical assessment and Mentoring

Gavin, Clive, Nigel

During SKL fixtures

Nationwide ongoing N hrs Programme publicised on web-site, but progress still slow: only 4 assessments performed to April 2014 (all done by Nigel!) (+ Nigel got Gavin to assess him in 1 game)

Aim 5: Developing Competitive PlayersStarting from a base of 5 adult clubs playing in 1 mixed recreational / regional league, and a national squad.

Date Objective Who What Where When Cost CompletionMay 2012

Get more adults playing higher levels of korfball (above and beyond SKL)

Andrea Kinver (SKA Internationals)

Training camps with & matches vs. Scotland squad

TBC, TBC 20 hrs + Seems to have FAILED – As of March 2013, there has been no high level comp / training outside of national squad. Needs improved communication / advertising.

March 2013

Develop “next generation” of high level players / coaches

Gavin Legg, Clive Minshull (+ Nigel Cooper?)

Regional training session(s)

Nationwide – first session in Dundee?

June 8-9

8 hours, £126 hall-hire

FAILUREJune 8 hall booking cancelled after event only attracted 9 definite players (14 in total, including “oldies”). Try again next season, but only if and when this can be integrated into playing calendar (i.e. planned league / structure)

APPENDIX 5INTERNTIONALS OFFICER’S REPORT

This year has seen a very intense period of training for the international team. At the beginning of this year (2013/14) the squad were in preparation for the trip to Slovakia to compete for a place in the 2014 European Korfball Champions in Portugal. The trip was ultimately successful, earning us a place in the upcoming Europeans.

After securing this place, the decision was made to hold a trial ASAP to boost the numbers of the squad. The trial weekend was a great success, with a large number of players from both inside and outside Scotland attending. A large training squad was selected who have then been training on a monthly basis. The training sessions have largely been held in Scotland, but we have also been to Cambridge to allow the squad to train against other teams.

In the coming months the training squad will be further whittled down to the traveling squad – the c14 players who will be going to the Europeans. Training sessions will increase in frequency and will venture further afield to increase the intensity of the training possibilities ahead of the Europeans.

To date the training sessions for the Scotland Squad have been funded by the Scotland Squad. We currently have raised a little additional money to help towards hall costs later in the year, when we will be looking to use larger halls (which cost more money to hire). We have also secured a 1,000 Euro grant from the IKF which will help support this cost.

Our sponsors and coaches have also been very busy. They have travelled to the venue for the Europeans on a Scouting mission. They have identified possible accommodation, which they will partially fund. In addition, not only will our coaches and sponsors travel with us to the Europeans, they have also secured Physiotherapists to travel with the team to support them during the tournament.

In the next 6 months, training and organisation will ramp up in preparation for the Europeans and the squad are planning on engaging in some fundraising to help towards this very expensive trip. Scotland are in a great position to improve on their position from the last Europeans in 2010 and hope that the rest of the Korfball community will support us in this venture.

APPENDIX 6

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

PROPOSER: National Executive Committee

BACKGROUND: At the 2013 AGM, the position of Webmaster was created following the general assent of the meeting. The position was never formally assimilated into the constitution, though. This proposal will formalise the position’s creation and broaden its scope to include general publicity management for the SKA, both online and in more traditional outlets.

MOTION: To amend the Constitution of the Scottish Korfball Association as follows:

INSERT at 6.1, following the words “Funding Officer”, the words “Publicity Officer”.

APPENDIX 7SCOTTISH KORFBALL ASSOCIATIONFINANCIAL ACCOUNTS 2013 – 2014

Opening Balance £4,731.52Statement No. Date

Incoming Payments

Outgoing Payments Cheque No.

Deposit No. Balance Description

21 28/06/2013 Opening Balance £4,731.5221 03/07/2013 £18.96 010194 £4,712.56 Poppy Simpson-Wells, SKA prizes 12/1321 03/07/2013 £580.75 £4,131.81 Dankmar van Veen, Scotland coaching21 04/07/2013 £19.00 £4,112.81 Dankmar van Veen Scotland coaching (bank charges)

22 07/08/2013 £193.20 010198 £3,919.61Edinburgh Council, Broughton School hall booking for Scotland training

22 07/08/2013 £320.40 010197 £3,599.21Edinburgh Council, Broughton School hall booking for Scotland training

22 07/08/2013 £324.00 010196 £3,275.21Edinburgh Council, Broughton School hall booking for Scotland training

23 11/09/2013 £250.00 010199 £3,025.21 Edinburgh Mavericks KC, hall booking for SKA cup

24 28/10/2013 £200.00 010084 £2,825.21St Andrews KC, repayment for £200 mistakenly given to SKA by their AU on 12/06/2013

25 30/10/2013 £293.96 £2,531.25 IKF, 50% of IKF fees25 31/10/2013 £19.00 £2,512.25 BoS, 50% of IKF fees (bank charges)25 15/11/2013 £137.50 010087 £2,374.75 Nigel Cooper, hall booking for SSO25 19/11/2013 £215.00 010086 £2,159.75 Croydon KC, hall booking for Europa Cup25 27/11/2013 £385.00 £2,544.75 Edinburgh Mavericks KC, SKA fees26 02/12/2013 £350.00 £2,894.75 Glasgow KC, SKA fees26 09/12/2013 £120.00 £3,014.75 Glasgow KC, SKA coaching course fees26 18/12/2013 £275.00 010088 £2,739.75 Graham Box, SKA coaching course and travel expenses

26 20/12/2013 £135.00 010090 £2,604.75 Craggs, hall booking for Scotland trials27 06/01/2014 £322.16 £2,926.91 IKF, year of youth money27 08/01/2014 £335.00 500006 £3,261.91 Edinburgh City KC, SKA Fees27 08/01/2014 £435.00 500007 £3,696.91 St Andrews KC, SKA Fees27 08/01/2014 £595.00 500008 £4,291.91 Edinburgh University KC, SKA Fees27 08/01/2014 £355.00 500009 £4,646.91 Dundee KC, SKA Fees27 08/01/2014 £53.75 500010 £4,700.66 Edinburgh City KC, hall booking for Europa Cup27 13/01/2014 £105.00 010091 £4,595.66 Edinburgh Univeristy KC, EIKT entry for Scotland team27 20/01/2014 £8.75 £4,604.41 John Wright, EIKT27 20/01/2014 £8.75 £4,613.16 Natasha Lynch, EIKT27 21/01/2014 £11.80 010092 £4,601.36 Catherine Campbell, stamps and envelopes for SKA27 21/01/2014 £8.75 £4,610.11 Kyle Crombie, EIKT27 21/01/2014 £8.75 £4,618.86 Rebecca Pratt, EIKT27 21/01/2014 £8.75 £4,627.61 Nicol van Rijbroek, EIKT27 28/01/2014 £44.00 010089 £4,583.61 Nigel Cooper, petrol money27 28/01/2014 £18.00 £4,601.61 Caspar Volker, EIKT for Caspar and Stella28 12/02/2014 £100.00 500012 £4,701.61 Dundee KC, level 1 coaching course fees x528 12/02/2014 £60.00 500011 £4,761.61 Nigel Cooper, level 1 coaching course fees x328 12/02/2014 £635.00 500013 £5,396.61 Scotland Subs

28 13/02/2014 £184.80 010093 £5,211.81Edinburgh Council, Broughton School hall booking for Scotland training

28 13/02/2014 £8.50 £5,220.31 Sarah McKeand, EIKT

29 13/03/2014 £168.00 010094 £5,052.31Edinburgh Council, Broughton School hall booking for Scotland training

29 13/03/2014 £243.75 010095 £4,808.56 Cambridge Regional College, Hall booking for Scotland training29 26/03/2014 £146.73 £4,661.83 IKF, 25% of IKF Fees

29 27/03/2014 £19.00 £4,642.83 BoS, 25% of IKF Fees (bank charges)

APPENDIX 8

ACTIONS ARISING OUT OF THE 2014 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Reference Action Assigned To Due DateAGM2014/5(a)(ii)

Formally invite Northern Storm into the 2014-2015 Scottish Korfball League, under the agreed provisions.

Michael Nicholson ASAP

AGM2014/5(a)(v)

Seek entries for the Scottish Korfball League, and prepare a provisional fixture list taking into account national team activities.

League Secretary Fixture list must be issued by the end of July.

AGM2014/5(a)(v)

Inform the League Secretary and Development Officer of all dates scheduled for national team activities. Dates provided after this point cannot be guaranteed to be free of league fixtures or development events.

Internationals Officer

ASAP, but no later than 15th July.

AGM2014/5(b)(i) Nominate a representative from the National Team to co-ordinate communication of team activities with the Publicity Officer.

Internationals Officer

Optional, but recommended.

AGM2014/5(b)(ii)

Undertake, or direct an appropriate individual to undertake, a comprehensive review of the national team including, but not limited to, structure, funding and codes of conduct.

Chair No earlier than January 2015

AGM2014/8 E-mail all clubs to establish an individual who is to be the first point of contact for that club for development issues.

Development Officer

ASAP