The BSF Executive held its latest monthly video conference meeting on the evening of Thursday 12 November 2020. Below is a journalistic account of the main discussions 
and decisions.
Attendance
Present: Jenny Fromer (President), Laura Burkhardt (Treasurer), Liz Graham (Competitions Officer), Alexis Markham-Hill (National Teams Officer), Mike Lott (Coaching Officer), Chris Moon (Technical Officer), Mike Jennings and Steve Getraer (General Officers), Ieuan Gale (Co-opted General Officer), Bob Fromer (Administrator).
Apologies: None.
Financial matters
Treasurer Laura Burkhardt reported that the BSF does not pay charges for its Verizon teleconference account if the facility is not being used, so we will keep the account open in case of need, even though almost all meetings are now by video conference and are free.
2021 AGM
The following decisions were made regarding the 2021 AGM, scheduled for Saturday 27 February 2021:
- The AGM will not be held in person, but will be a remote meeting, probably using Google Meet.
- The AGM will start at 2.00 pm on 27 February and will run for not more than 90 minutes. The formal AGM agenda will be the only item of business, without any workshop sessions or side meetings.
- The 2020-21 League Heads Forum meeting, which would normally have been held on the morning of an in-person AGM Day, will be held as a remote meeting on Saturday 13 February 2021 (more details to follow).
- Normal attendance requirements for the AGM will be suspended. The only requirement will be that all leagues affiliated in 2019 will need to have a representative at the meeting in order for any of their teams to take part in Co-ed National Championships in 2021.
- A system for any voting that needs to take place at the AGM will be detailed in the AGM Pack.
- The AGM Pack will go out on or around 5 February 2021, and a request will be made for questions or responses to any of the content to be sent to the BSF Executive before the AGM.
- The BSF will assign someone to manage the meeting from a technical point of view to ensure that everything flows smoothly, speakers from the floor are recognised etc.
- None of the BSF’s normal Annual Awards will be made for the 2020 season, and a ceremony to induct new members into the BSF Hall of Fame, due to take place at the 2021 AGM, has been postponed to 2022.
Upcoming meetings
Below is a schedule of upcoming remote meetings to be held by the BSF Executive. Some of these meetings are designed to address topics that would normally have been discussed at the BSF’s autumn Face-to-Face Meeting, which has been cancelled due to Covid-19.
Tuesday 1 December at 6.00 pm
National Team and Fastpitch Development Issues and Outlook
Thursday 10 December at 7.30 pm
December BSF Executive Meeting
Thursday 7 January 2021 at 7.30 pm
Financial meeting to finalise the 2020-21 budget and fees, consider Development Grant requests etc.
Thursday 21 January 2021 at 7.30 pm
January BSF Executive meeting, focusing on NSL proposals to take to the League Heads Forum and AGM.
Saturday 13 February 2021 at 2.00 pm
League Heads Forum
Saturday 27 February 2021 at 2.00 pm
2021 BSF AGM
Insurance
Because there has been almost no organised softball activity in 2020, the BSF, through BaseballSoftballUK, has been negotiating with Hiscox, the firm that provides our Civil and Public Liability insurance, for either a partial return of premium or an extension of cover from 1 December, when the insurance ends, through the end of March next year.
Now, however, the insurer has come back to say that they no longer want our business, which means that we need to find a new insurer before the end of November. Mark Caress at BSUK is leading the search.
This development applies to the BSF’s Public Liability insurance only; the insurer that provides our optional Personal Accident and Injury cover is keen to continue and may offer us an extension through March because of the lack of activity in 2020.
Any Other Business
Mike Jennings told the meeting that the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) was developing new safety recommendations for youth players, and that he would like to disseminate this information within British softball, perhaps initially through the AGM Pack.
Mike will also press Softball Europe to adopt the recommendations for its youth competitions.
Next meeting
The next BSF Executive video conference meeting will be held on the evening of Thursday 10 December.
Anyone with matters to bring to the meeting should contact BSF Administrator Bob Fromer.