The BSF Executive held its latest monthly conference call meet on the evening of Thursday 14 July. Below is a journalistic report on the highlights of discussions and decisions.
Attendance​
Present: Stella Ackrell (President), Liz Graham (Tournaments Officer), Jana McCaskill (National Teams Officer), Chris Moon (BASU Representative).
Apologies: Laura Burkhardt (Treasurer), Lesley Morisetti (Administrator), Steve Getraer (General Officer), Mike Jennings (General Officer).
Guest: Jenny Fromer (BSUK Joint CEO and Head of Operations).
Earl Dix resignation
Stella Ackrell reported that Earl Dix had resigned as BBF President during the past week, citing work and personal reasons.
Structural Review
Jenny Fromer gave the Executive an overview of current progress:
In 2016 the Structural Review Project Group (SRPG) has done the following:
- Presented at the BSF AGM.
- Held a webinar.
- Launched a microsite.
- Worked on structural detail.
The next steps are:
- Updating the microsite.
- Further consultation and information-sharing.
- Preparing for the BBF and BSF AGMs, where the membership will vote on the proposals.
- Expanding the Project Group.
The SPRG is currently looking for additional volunteers with time and interest to work on the following integration plans:
- Legal
- Financial
- National teams
- Technology
- Brands and assets
- Communication
- Membership data
Jenny explained that the SRPG would shortly be advertising for volunteers and asked that the BSF Board approach anyone who might be willing to contribute.
She also asked if the BSF would consider bringing their AGM forward to November 2016 to be in line with the BBF AGM, so that votes could be held at the same time and with sufficient time (assuming approval) between voting and the target date for implementation of the new structure on 1 April 2017. There was general agreement that this would be acceptable, and Stella Ackrell will consult with the Board members who were not in attendance.
Jenny will provide the BSF Board (and the BBF Board) with current details of proposed Commissions under the new structure for feedback.
Finance
As Laura Burkhardt and Mike Jennings were not able to attend, a financial update will be circulated following the meeting.
Tournaments and NSL update
Tournaments Officer Liz Graham reported that NSL 1 league play will be concluded at the Windsor Tournament on 16-17 July. Stella Ackrell will provide Liz with results from the weekend as they come in, so that final places can be determined with regard to qualification for the Premier Nationals and trophies presented.
Liz proposed that for 2016 there should be a cap of four NSL players on teams in the Platinum and Gold Nationals and two NSL 1 players on teams in the Silver and Bronze Nationals.
Liz will shortly be sending out forms and clarifying these rules to all qualifying teams. Nationals places will be offered to league runners-up where league winners do not take up their place.
BSUK Committee Meetings
No BSUK Committee Meetings had been held since the last BSF meeting.
Stella Ackrell confirmed that, going forward, Laura Burkhardt will attend the Finance Committee and Steve Getraer will attend the Farnham Park Committee and Development Strategy Committee on behalf of the Executive.
Stella also confirmed that the Executive has approached Simon Wareing to fill the BSUK Board Director vacancy to be appointed by the BSF. Simon will attend the next BSUK Board Meeting on 25 July.
BSF Face-to-Face Meeting
The BSF Executive’s annual face-to-face weekend meeting has been confirmed for 15-16 October in either Birmingham or Manchester.
Any Other Business
Umpires for Diamond 3. Diamond Series organiser Dave King has contacted BASU Representative Chris Moon with concerns about the lack of available umpires for Diamond 3 on 6-7 August because of the number of BASU umpires that will be away at European competitions. BASU Umpire-in-Chief Jes Sandhu has suggested that NSL 1 teams might be able to self-umpire at Diamond 3, which should solve the problem. There will be a Crew Chief in place to manage any issues.
GB Management Committee. Jana McCaskill provided feedback from the most recent meeting of the GB Management Committee. She confirmed that Jeremy Thomas has resigned as the Under-16 Girls’ Head Coach. The GBMC has advertised this vacancy but has not yet had any applications. As the team is not in competition this year, this is not urgent. BSUK Fastpitch Development Officer Johanna Malisani has been filling this void to ensure that there are opportunities for play and training for this age group in advance of High Performance Academy trials in the autumn.
Jana also reported that the GBMC has been asked to consider adding an Under-16 Boys Team to the GB programme. The group is not opposed, but raised concerns about staffing capacity and numbers of players. There are ongoing discussions with the proposers, Lee and Jan Grafton. The GBMC is also in discussions with GB Slowpitch about coming under the GBMC umbrella.
Next meeting
The BSF Executive does not normally meet in August, but with the need to provide input into Structural Review work, a meeting is planned for 11 August.