Methven Netball Club - 2021 AGM President's Report - Izzy Roberts

Good evening everyone and welcome to the Annual General Meeting of the Methven Netball Club for 2021. My apologies for being unable to attend tonight's meeting, and thank you to those who are stepping in to run the meeting tonight.

The 2021 season was yet another great success for our club. We had approximately 180 players registered to the club this season with 18 teams registered, alongside our junior Year 3/4 programme. This places us as one of the larger clubs within Mid-Canterbury netball and is a testament to the positive club culture that has been created by those involved within the club. The on and off court attitudes, competitive results, and the number of players selected to represent our club at Mid-Canterbury level is something we should all be proud of. A huge thanks goes to all our managers, coaches, and umpires, without their time and effort we wouldn’t be able to provide the opportunities we currently give to our players.

As a club we were able to update/add to our ever growing equipment ‘wish list’, and continue to provide some teams the option to practice indoors. Our Wareings A team were the first to model our new uniforms and looked very smart in doing so. All uniforms will be slowly updated over the coming years with some more junior uniforms on the way. Parents/players were given the option of buying hoodies this year with a large number sold. Having our club represented so smartly down at the courts by our players is an important part of our club culture. I thank Mel McSweeny and Donna Lowe for their efforts in equipment/uniform organisation.

The financial position of the club remains strong, despite another year of COVID interrupted times. We have been unable to hold a large fundraising event over the past 2 years, so hopefully next year allows us to do so. However, our club would not be in the position we are in without our valuable sponsors; Methven Wareings, Methven Euro Agri, Methven Shermac, Methven Trucking. Blue Pub, Humm Engineering, Methven Travel, LH Farms Co, Fee Ensor Baileys Real Estate, Paddock Vets, Garage Gym, Methven Pharmacy, R&R Spreading, Hammer Hardware, 311 Engravers, Methven Panel & Paint, Methven Clemens Seed. A huge thank you to Rebecca Humm for her superb sponsorship work this year.

The work that goes on behind the scenes requires dedication and commitment of the club committee, with the success of the club down to these efforts. Thank you for volunteering your time, and the personal contributions which you make. A special mention goes to Kelly (our Junior Club Captain) and Amelia (Senior Club Captain). You two are the real MVP’s and put tame on hours of work and stress at times in order to keep everyone happy, and get the girls out on court. Tash (Treasurer), Joanna (Secretary), Becs (Umpire Coordinator), Cath (Coaches Co-ordinator), Emma Maw (runs our junior programme), thank you all for background work to ‘make things happen’. Finally, Shirley, who is a huge support and ‘guiding light’ for us all, happy to help in any way she can, and whose opinion is always highly valued. I am also aware a number of committee members are leaving, and hope we may be able to take the time to share a bottle (or two) of wine, and thank you all for the years that you all have put into the club. You will be greatly missed and leave a large gap! I hope we have an abundance of new faces willing to be a part of our awesome club. I encourage current players, parents, and supporters to consider joining us, whether that be in a big or a small way, it truly is something that goes by the saying ‘many hands make light work.’

On a personal note I just want to share a couple thank you’s. Mel, thank you for supporting me in those first few months as club president, and always being on the end of the phone for any questions I may have. Becs, thank you for working alongside Kelly this year, and supporting her in taking up this role. Kelly and Amelia, you two have the hardest roles of anyone here, and I can not thank you both enough for all the work you both put in. Erin from Mid-Canterbury Netball, you have been fantastic to work with all season. Tash & Joanna, you two do the jobs which I don’t even understand the first thing about, so thank you! Looking forward as a club, things continue to look positive and exciting. We ran our first coaches and managers clinic this year, and look to do the same next year. We are also looking for further ways to support our players through ‘clinics’ at the beginning of the season. Once again, thank you all for putting up with me this season, and contributing to a fantastic year of netball. I wish you all a safe and happy summer, festive season, and 2022 netball year. - Izzy

Article added: Wednesday 26 January 2022