Registered County Association of the NSRA   

2000 to 2009

 

31st May 2000 AGM at Castle View Inn Dundonald in the absence of the Chairman the Vice-Chairman presented the Trophies available and the medals for the competitions completed in the year. The Secretary’s report set out a concern over an apparent lack of interest in the County’s competitions which, if not reversed, will lead to a question of the County’s financial viability and future.  The second concern was a drop in shooting standards with the exception of specific individuals. The Treasurer presented a very clear analysis of the year’s accounts advising that the accounts had not been audited due to the intended auditor changing his position during the period.
Utilising the presented analysis the Treasurer set out a comparison of the County’s income this year against last year’s which clearly showed the reduction of income from the lack of competition fees.  Setting put a projection for the present year the Treasurer pointed out that the current affiliation fees will be significantly short of the expected affiliation costs and, to break-even, would require the current club affiliation fee to be raised to £38-50.  He considered that to be excessive and pointed out that if the County dropped its County status and moved to an Association the NSRA affiliation fee would drop from around £240 to £75.  Under questioning the Treasurer declared that the insurance situation did not change with the change in status and he could not find any disadvantages beyond the removal of representation at the Shooters Council which we did not take up anyway.
The competition fees were providing an excess of £83 over the prizes which provided running expenses for the County and currently topped up the club affiliation fees to meet the County affiliation expenditure.  However it was felt that this figure needs to be increased and the Treasurer put forward making each of the County competitions an open event.  That would provide the dual purpose of increasing revenue and also measuring the shooting standard in the County.
The Treasurer proposed that the club affiliation fees and the competition entry fees stay as they were for the coming season.  Following some discussion the Chairman seconded the Treasurers proposal and there was no counter proposal. The Chair raised the Treasurer’s point on the County changing its status to an Association.  It was considered that that required some consideration within the clubs for the moment and the meeting felt that it should be addressed by the elected Council prior to November 2000. Acceptance of the Treasurer’s report was proposed and seconde.
There were two changes to the constitution the first to meet an Inland Revenue requirement to state that the County was non-profit making and the second to establish conditions that would maintain the control of the County within the Ayrshire clubs if outside clubs were allowed into the County.  The Secretary made it clear that the margins chosen would enable outside clubs to take-over should the Ayrshire Clubs become sufficiently apathetic to fail to attend the meetings.  It was considered by the Council that such a level of apathy would justify the control moving elsewhere for the basic purpose of survival.
Both amendments were accepted by the meeting without any change.
 

30th May 2001 AGM at the Old Racecourse Hotel, Ayr, the Chairman stated that it had been an abysmal year with competition entries down to the lowest level ever and an air of apathy in every affiliated club.  He expressed some concern over the election of officers, which would follow shortly, stating that he had sought applications for the position of Secretary at every Council meeting with absolutely no success.  However the AGM turned out the Chairman felt that there was a need to be able to look forward to a much better year.
The Secretary’s set out the reasons behind the presentation of his resignation on the 5th September 2000 detailing the lack of interest in County Competitions, the general drop in shooting standards and the increase in divisionalisation with the increase in the number of disciplines.  These all went against a principle of the Constitution which the Secretary considered fell within his duties to uphold.
The Treasurer set out the financial transactions over the year, compared them with the year before and produced a projection for the coming year.  This presented a very clear picture of the position in the County and permitted those present to explore with the Treasurer a number of options and to evaluate them.  These analyses indicated that if nothing was changed the County could be either £20 short of its income at the end of next year or £300 if things deteriorated further.  Those present considered that the County should leave everything as it is for this year and put every effort into improving the acceptability of the competitions.
The Vice Chairman(Vice) requested a period to consider the Secretary’s report, a request held to this point in case there had been an additional input from the County Coach’s report.  The Vice considered that the Secretary was taking things to himself which were and are outwith his direct influence to the point that there cannot be any judgement on achievement or non-achievement from that base.  He pointed out that the Secretary had come into position just after Hungerford, had gone through Dunblane and the County was still in place indicating one major achievement.  The Chairman joined in the expressions reinforcing the points made by the Vice.  It was concluded that whether the Secretary left office or not he should not view his period in office as lacking in achievement. 
Vice raised the point of Honary Presidents and the current lack of anyone in that position.   He queried the Secretary’s view on the position of a Honary President to receive the opinion that an active HP could be advantageous for the County but an inactive figurehead did very little to promote the County.  To that end Vice proposed that the County should re-instate the position of Honary President which was seconded by the Treasurer.  Vice then wished to propose the Secretary for the position of Honary President which was seconded from the floor.  The Chairman then queried the Secretary as to how he felt about this nomination and gained the response that the Secretary considered it a great honour but one that he felt was undeserved at this time.
The meeting was of the mind to re-elect all the existing officers as proposed by Vice but the Secretary pointed out that he had not withdrawn his resignation at this time.   The Chairman pointed out that the Council had not accepted his resignation and in the light of no applications for the position had no room to accept the resignation.  The Secretary put forward his urgent need to regain some enthusiasm and proposed that if for the next 12 months all aspects of County’s competitions could be taken away from him he would carry on in post and most probably re-assume full responsibilities on conclusion of this break.  After some discussion it was agreed that the Competitions Secretary, the League Secretary and the Treasurer working together would undertake all the competition issues for the next 12 months.  It was noted that the Constitution permitted these positions to recruit assistance as they felt the need.  With this amendment to duties the office  positions were re-elected an bloc.
The Treasurer outlined that he had access to a number of parties able to undertake an audit of the County’s accounts.  It was proposed by JH that the determination of an auditor should be left to the Treasurer.  This proposal was seconded by WTC.
The Treasurer advised that he had given some time to considering this subject recognising that the subscription had been static for some time.  However he felt that it would be counterproductive at this time to raise the cost and he would prefer to get some enthusiasm into the competitions first.  Accordingly he recommended no change in the subscriptions this year appreciating that there was a risk of a significant loss in the year if interest in the County’s competitions was not improved.  The Secretary queried whether the Treasurer might consider it worthwhile stating an increase for next year.  The Treasurer felt that it would be a good idea to indicate an increase for next year and he recommended an increase to £40.  That figure was accepted by those present.
The Secretary provided the background to the proposed change to the constitution included with the agenda for the AGM.  The Chairman provided further detail to the proposal for the ATSA to remain a County whilst ever it is financially viable and the floor proposed and seconded acceptance of the change. 
The Treasusrer proposed that the quorum required for a Council Meeting should be reduced from 5 to 3 whilst maintaining a quorum of 5 for an AGM.  In recognition of a need to maintain the business of the County the proposal was well received and was seconded from the floor
The Secretary outlined the position for County Representation and the difficulties in finding someone willing to make the journeys to Bisley to attend a Council meeting in which the decisions appeared to have been decided prior to the meeting.  The meeting agreed to maintain the status quo.
Vice regretted that he had been unable to complete his review of the competition rules and accordingly could not present them for ratification at the AGM.  He undertook to complete the review as quickly as possible but the ratification will have to take place at the next AGM.
The Secretary planned to have a proposal for a new centre for the first Council meeting of the new competition year.
 

22nd May 2002 AGM at the Old Racecourse Hotel, Ayr, which, in the absence of the Chairman, was chaired by the Vice Chairman.  The Secretary advised that he had been persuaded to continue under agreed conditions and thanked the Council for holding to the conditions which had made the year much easier.  A deviation to note an opportunity to register support for the sport at this year’s Commonwealth Games was set out before looking at the position across the County.  In that review the support for the blackpowder events and the entry of a team for the Inter-County Junior competition were picked out as highlights.  The lack of support for a county social event was considered to be a serious weakness across the County and grateful thanks were expressed for the help and assistance of specific club members and the scorers.
Commenting on the Secretary’s report the Chair picked out the lack of commitment to the County events as a negative aspect and the new Junior County team as a very positive aspect.  On the latter the juniors had been very pleased to have been part of the County team and gaining a place in the County team was something to achieve which imparted a very positive approach to the juniors.  The Chair noted that the lack of support for a County social event and commented that social events were difficult for most clubs but he did not know why.  In respect of the assistance to the Secretary on County Competitions, the Chair considered that there was no reason why it should not continue this year as the people involved had not found it onerous.
Finally the Chair considered that the Secretary’s Report should not be confined only to the minutes and felt that it should be distributed with the next set of Council minutes.  Those present were of the same view and the Secretary undertook to make the report available.
The Treasurer set out the financial transactions over the year, compared them with the year before and produced a projection for the coming year.  For this part of the meeting the Treasurer wished to concentrate solely on the income and expenditure over the last year.  Starting from a balance of £451.45 which fell rapidly due to cup and medal engraving costs to a point at which the County could not afford to pay the Sports Council affiliation fee.  Income rose through the affiliation and competition fees and the year closed with a balance of £299.23 in the bank. This is less than the year before and requires some careful attention to this year’s expenditure together with the revenue generated.  The Treasurer indicated that he would pick this up at the appropriate part of the agenda.  After a few questions of clarification JH proposed acceptance of the accounts seconded by SS. A copy of the Treasurer’s Accounts is filed with the minutes.
The Secretary proposed to the Chair that in view of the small numbers attending the AGM the interest of anyone present in joining the Council should be determined and after that the officers could be re-elected en-masse.  The Chair accepted the proposal and found that no one present outside existing officers wished to join the Council.  Accordingly the Chair looked for a proposal to re-elect the outgoing officers. A proposal was received and seconded. It was also proposed and seconded that the determination of an auditor should be left to the Treasurer. 
The Treasurer advised that he had given some time to considering this subject and had produced an analysis on the last page of the Accounts report.  In the upper part of the sheet the budget proposals outline that with no changes there would probably be an increase in the County’s bank balance of +£65.00 by the end of the year.  No one felt that that was an adequate position.  The Treasurer then outlined proposals to raise the competition fees, taking the team fees to £6.00 and the individual fees to £3.00, to raise the club affiliation fee to £35.00 and to introduce a charge of £1.00 for every club member to be an Associate Member of the County. Together these proposals would increase the income to the County by a further £170.00. Those present felt that it was an acceptable approach to providing the essential income in the fairest format and the outline was formally proposed and seconded.
A query of a social night for the County was tabled as whether there was any interest in bowls night. The Stewarton representative stated his club would probably be interested in a Bowls night in September.  It was  proposed and seconded that there should be a County social event each year.
The Secretary outlined that the Council had changed the handicap rules for the Under 90 Competition so that there is only one point taken away from any score above 100 as opposed to the NSRA rules requiring two points off every point above 100 from this year.  The Council had decided to apply the same to all competitions for the following seasons but required the AGM to validate the decision. The acceptance of the rule changes was approved.
The Secretary pointed out that the County was now giving three County silver medals for three County Championships but only had two cups; one for the rifle and the second for the blackpowder.  The Council was looking to find an appropriate cup for the Standard Rifle Championship but the proposal is that the champion this year should be the first name on whatever cup is obtained.  That would place the silver medal and the cup in line with each other.  He added that it was hoped to have the cup in place for September of this year. 
In response to a query on why the Council had moved to the PL14 targets for the Standard Rifle competitions from this year the Secretary outlined that the PL14 target is the one defined by the NSRA for the competition even though its choice was not entirely logical. However enquiries to the NSRA had gained the informal recommendation to use the SPA target which is not recognised in any of the NSRA’s rules.  Adopting the PL14 target meets the NSRA’s rules, kills the conversation on the SPA target and ensures that all County Standard Rifle shooters are familiar with the target that they will meet at any NSRA run out of county competition.
Prior to starting the presentation of cups and medals the Secretary advised the meeting that the Council had changed the rules on medals in order to keep the costs within the money available.  Accordingly medals would be presented as just a Gold medal for competition with up to 5 competitors and gold and silver thereafter.  In addition no medals are engraved this year but a label giving all details is attached to each medal’s package.  All cups and County Silver medals are engraved as usual.  Finally Stewarts, the engravers, had pointed out that the cups had suffered significant damage.  The Secretary requested all present to do their best to take care of the cups as most were irreplaceable.  Separately the Secretary was hoping that money would be put on one side to effect a repair at an appropriate time.  The Chair undertook the presentation.
 

25th May 2003 AGM at the Ayr Small Bore Rifle Club, Ayr. Prior to starting the meeting wished to recognise the recent loss of John McDowall who lost his battle with cancer during April.  John had played a significant role within the County holding positions of Vice chairman and Vice President for several years as well as being a keen competitor until he was physically unable to get to the firing point. The contribution John made to the running of the County is well recorded and all that appreciate the effort required to keep this organisation running will miss him.  Our sympathies are extended to his family.
The Chairman outlined that it had been a reasonable year even taking into account the need for the Secretary to be on holiday at the close of the winter competition period.   In respect of shooting interest he felt that it had been quite a good year with improved attendances at the County’s main events and good entries to the winter competitions.  The Secretary was inclined to report that it has been one of the most pleasant years that he had experienced as secretary.  That has been due to the teamwork of the Council which had to work more closely following the regretted heart attack of our Treasurer plus some signs of a revised interest in actually shooting.  Thankfully our Treasurer has recovered well and has indicated that he would like to take up his position again during the coming year. This year the County’s main competitions had shown a slightly improved turnout with.  Also this year saw the introduction of a Shutzen Competition in the prone rifle competitions and the County is indebted to Shonagh Clark for her time and skill in creating these targets from her blackpowder pistol experience.
The principal bonus for this year was the improved number of entries to the Winter Competitions and the ability to place two Junior Teams in the Junior County Team Competitions.  Unfortunately the lack of depth in our number of junior shooters meant that we could not cover for any absentees and the Junior Reserve Team was doomed to a number of NCR’s and bottom place in its division.  The Junior Team started well holding third place in its division to round 6 but dropping to fourth out of six for the end of the competition period.  During the year the County received the bombshell report from the Stewarton club that its Lainshaw Range was at risk following the sale of the land to a local farmer.  So for next year we need to improve further the interest in the County’s competitions and continue to build the membership of all clubs.  At the time of putting this report together it is not clear whether the County will be able to maintain a junior team for the County competitions and that should be a major objective.  On the revenue front cost saving measures have cut the expenditure of running the County and improved its financial status quite significantly but the building of some financial reserve remains essential.
Finally the Secretary wished to thank the council for the considerable support they gave throughout the year and specifically John McBride who stepped in to act as Deputy Treasurer when Robert Clark was not available.
The Depute Treasurer advised a minor correction to the annual accounts following a consultation with the Treasurer.  The minor correction did not change the amount carried over into the New Year which remained at £677.03.  The Treasurer advised that the increases in fees together with the individual affiliation had helped considerably and he felt that he accounts were now healthy.
The Secretary presented three cups to the meeting that had been presented to the County from the ex- Irvine Shooting Club.   He put forward that one of the cups, the Grange Cup, was in his and the Chairman’s opinion a particularly fine cup and one very suitable for the County Sporting Rifle competition.  This was not to denigrate the other two cups which were fine awards, extremely welcome to the County and a very generous gesture from the ex-Irvine Shooting Club.  The meeting was impressed by the Grange Cup and SS proposed acceptance of the cup for the Sporting Rifle Competition seconded by WTC.  In detail the meeting decided that a collar should be put on the base and the winners of the County Sporting Rifle Competition since its inception should be engraved on it.
In respect of the other cups the meeting was of the mind that the Secretary should bring all of the cups to the next meeting and an overall assessment would be undertaken for allocation to appropriate competitions.
Vice proposed a vote of thanks to Irvine for the cups and the Secretary was charged with producing a letter of thanks.
The Secretary raised a concern over the accumulation and storage of the County’s history since there was a lot of value within the recorded AGM’s and meeting minutes.  He expressed a particular concern over the AGM records since they covered the founding of the County.  After some discussion the Chairman agreed to digitally photograph the books and provide a record on disc.  The Secretary is to arrange to take the books over to him.
 

26th May 2004 AGM at the Magnum Leisure Centre,Irvine. Immediately prior to the AGM the Chairman presented the established silverware to the winners of the competitions. At the appropriate point Mrs Agnes Harris outlined why the McDowall family were presenting the McDowall Trophy to the County and gave a brief account of her late father’s achievements within the County.  At the end of her presentation Agnes told the story of how her father’s accumulated ammunition and blackpowder generated some panic when it was returned to the local police station.  It was a story well worthy of the late John McDowall.  When presenting the trophy to R.J. Ramsay with her sister Jennifer, Agnes wished all those that shoot for the trophy best wishes and enjoyable shooting. 
The Chairman considered that the statement that’ we are still here’ to be the most successful thing of the year.  He went on to set out that the numbers shooting this year were down on last year particularly in the individual events.  The ICI competition, normally the most popular individual event was particularly poorly supported but overall the team side was alright. The Chairman hoped that there might be some recovery in the coming season.
The Secretary provided his personal review of the health of the various disciplines shot across the County setting out the conclusion that the prone rifle was in a dire condition but whilst the blackpowder disciplines appeared to be the most committed, the sporting rifle disciplines enveloped the largest number of young full members and thereby had the greatest potential for the near future. In reviewing the health of the County, the Secretary pointed out the number of competitions offered, the failed attempts to include a social side and the lack of feedback from the club members.  In particularly his view was that the current Council members worked very well together but had been working together for too long.  A suggestion that a volunteer from the floor for any position would be well received was put to those attending but no real expectation of success was present.
The Treasurer presented a bank Balance to the meeting that showed that despite rising affiliation fees and a drop in the winter competition fee income the County was able to increase its cash in the Bank. This was due to a 100% increase in the revenue from the Blackpowder County Competition and a continued hold on the expenses including a significant drop in the Secretary’s expenses due to the use of e-mail for most communications. After responding to a few queries the Treasurer provided a projection for the coming year covering the project revenue and expenditure.  Based on that projection, which indicate a small potential surplus, the Treasurer felt that there was a need to cover the inherent risk through a small increase in revenue.  Since we wished to encourage as much shooting as possible he proposed that the competition fees should stay as they adding that they appear to be in line with competing competitions.  He therefore proposed that the affiliation fee should be increased from £35 to £40 making it the first increase for quite a long period.
The Secretary advised that he has been charged with the duty of bringing forward the need to appoint an Honorary President.  The Chairman clarified that we had failed at previous AGM to specifically elect an Honorary President which under our constitution meant that the position had become vacant.  After a brief reflection SS proposed R. J.  Ramsay for Honorary President seconded by JMcB.  After verifying that RJR would be willing to stand as Honorary President and receiving no other nominations the Chairman declared RJR to be the Honorary President.
For Vice President the Chairman proposed WTC. This nomination was seconded by RJR and again with no other nomination WTC was duly elected.
The Secretary proposed that the Treasurer should be left to arrange the Auditor.  Thus proposal was seconded and in the lack of any other proposal was carried.  The Treasurer considered that he had sufficient contacts to be confident of securing the services of an auditor.
At the Chairman’s request the Treasurer formalised the conclusions of his projected position of 2004/2005 into a proposal for an increase in the Club affiliation fees from £35.00 to £40.00.  This proposal was seconded by JH and accepted by those present.
The Secretary advised that there had been no proposals presented for this AGM but it was the wish of Council to look for the recently circulated rules to be ratified.  In picking up this subject the Chairman put forward the query on the ICI Competition as to whether the limit of 93.5 was putting shooters off entering this competition.  The Secretary outlined the history of the ICI competition and pointed out that there is an ‘Under 90’ competition for which we gained no entries this year.    The Chairman then outlined the background to the rules which for the first time brought all competitions into one place.  It was expected that the rules would develop and it was intended to revise the rules once a sufficient number of changes had been accumulated and seek a further ratification at that point.  From the floor it was proposed that the rules be adopted as they are now.  The proposal was seconded and carried.
The Secretary outlined what the County Representation meant and why the members of the Council did not press to have anyone in the position.  The Honary President confirmed from his time as County Representative that it was a waste of time.  There were no volunteers and the position will proceed as it has done in earlier years.