This is the team working in the background to make Wychelm the very best it can be…
By Katie Garner
Usually only really seen at Club AGM’s, sometimes it can be difficult to work out exactly what your Club Committee actually do. We have these fancy titles so we must do something – right? At our club, we have a rule where a committee member can stand for a maximum of three years in a row, before they must step down and a new member is nominated or volunteers. Since this is the final year in office for all of our current committee, I just thought it would be nice to have a rundown of the people who work so hard for your benefit and enjoyment.
Club Captain – Katie Garner
Being Captain allows me to exert my bossiness!
If you haven’t worked out that the bossy and nagging woman, always pestering you about money / going out for socials / wanting chocolate covered raisins, is your Club Captain, then I’m not sure where you have been hiding!
Yes, I take my role as Captain very seriously, probably due to my extremely organised and partly controlling nature, but also because I genuinely enjoy being a figurehead for the club. It’s fantastic to be in a position to enhance and enliven the community of Wychelm, and I believe that my pure stubbornness towards this goal has truly benefited the club.
Not to blow my own trumpet, but previous Captains haven’t really done much in my experience. However, now we have been dragged into modernity by entering social media with a blog and Facebook page, as well as having regular social events – especially unforgettable Christmas meals! The notice board actually has useful notices and I think on the whole, our club has risen from strength to strength.
Being your Club Captain makes me truly happy.
Club Secretary – Frank Gold
Frank in the festive spirit last Christmas!
Quite frankly (pun intended) I honestly don’t have a clue what the club would do without the longevity, organisation and knowledge of our current Club Secretary, and backbone of Wychelm, Frank. He has been a part of Wychelm for what must feel like forever, and therefore knows all that can be possibly known about the club, the running of the club, and generally, what needs doing.
I see Frank very much as my sidekick, second in command and general go-to guy. Any questions or queries I have, I talk to Frank. Any ideas I have, I run them past Frank. He always seems to know exactly what needs doing and it is his quiet and steady organisation that has seen the club admin tick over smoothly since the beginning of time. Important matters such as registering players to the league, buying shuttles and bringing refreshments every Monday are all done efficiently and promptly. He always seems to know every date for whatever you need and generally is the source of all knowledge for badminton matters. If Frank doesn’t know, then honestly, you probably don’t need to know, or he’ll know someone who can find out what you need.
In my opinion, Frank always belongs on the committee because he simply knows too much! He’d be wasted just sitting on the benches, and he is fabulous to have around – even if I don’t appreciate the smash in the back of the head…
Treasurer – Mike Spencer
Mike winning The Sneaky Shots Award at the Wychelm Christmas Awards 2012
If there is one person you can trust with large sums of money, then it would be the consistently steady and gently humorous Mike. Despite his jokes of embezzlement and weeks in the sun thanks to Wychelm, he takes extraordinary good care of our finances. Even though the school hasn’t had any one in place to accept and organise how much we owe for hire of the sports hall, Mike has still been religiously making payments so that we aren’t behind or in debt to the school in any way. Although this makes his job ten times harder as they haven’t cashed in the money, he still keeps his books in tip top order, so we always know exactly where we stand with our money.
He is also extremely conscious of making the club affordable for all. Whenever we have some spare or extra money raised, he is always the first to kindly suggest that fees should be lowered or summer payments dropped down, to make it easier for the many club members. He is also great at getting visitors fees, match fees and membership payments, in his unassuming and quietly firm way, that makes you feel terrible if you’ve forgotten that you owe him money!
He may be known for his incredible sneakiness on court, but off court, he just beams kindness – a true gent.
Match Secretary – Troy Gunton
Marathon Man Troy
Granted this job is probably the toughest and requires the most negotiation. Although Troy hasn’t been able to attend club nights on a regular basis because of work, he must have been beavering away behind the scenes, as the matches this season have gone incredibly smoothly and without a hitch – which is better than previous seasons (Troy has been known to send me to a men’s match before)!
Being Match Secretary involves so much organisation. You have to attend an initial meeting, where representatives of all the clubs debate and confirm the dates for all the matches across the mixed, mens and ladies for all divisions. You then have to report back to your club and help organise the teams for the season. If matches need to be rescheduled than Troy is the one who has to fix it. Troy also has to arrange the Challenge Cup matches when they arise, which can be difficult as they pop up in quite a short time frame. This is probably the job where the most can go wrong so it is a high pressured one! It’s great that Troy has been dedicated to it despite his stresses at work so I commend him for that.
Also a shout out to Alex Cadman, who we are planning to draft in as Assistant Match Secretary to help Troy this season.
If you are interested in any of the committee positions, remember to just speak up at the next AGM. It is fantastic being involved in the running of such an enjoyable and lively club, and I would recommend it to everyone!