Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Downhill Only Club
Held by Zoom
On Saturday 23rd November 2024 at 11am UK time
Present:
Sarah Hoyle – Chairman and President
Tessa Lawrance – Vice-President
Edward Perrott – Company Secretary
Marguerite Nice – Treasurer
Susie Davies – Non-Executive Director
Sarah Hirst-Malin – Membership Committee Secretary
Geoffrey Gay – Risk Management
Jolanda Groenhuijzen
In attendance:
Catherine Melia – Hon. Secretary
Members Present:
David Orf, Will Myles, Brian Bollen, Deborah Flindall, Diane Patterson, Mike Woodhall, Christian Wells, Nigel Ley, Alan Norris, Wim Dartee, Rebecca Myles, Maureen Fanshawe, Norman Freund, Andrew Robinson, Mike Oliver, Olivia Gordon, Richard Lawrance, Vivien Stern, Vicky Marshall, Marta Ruth, Ruth Storm, Bob Eastwood, Kenny MacAllister
- Apologies for Absence:
Max Davies
The President welcomed members present via Zoom to the 2024 AGM.
- To Receive the minutes of the DHO AGM held on 10th November 2023:
The President proposed that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 10th November 2023 be received and asked the Members to vote on the proposal on a show of hands.
The resolution was carried nem con. There were no abstentions.
- To receive the President’s Report
A very warm welcome to you all. Despite trying very hard to get used to running
meetings via Zoom, I still struggle not having people around me.
The last year has been a very busy time for me. Without the support of the Board
and Committee, the position of being your President would in my view be more
difficult than it is and I thank them all for the ongoing support that they give me.
Although I will say more a little later, I would like to mention the resignation of James
Wilson who was one of our Vice Presidents. James is a big loss. A special thanks
to Catherine who in her first year as our Honorary Secretary has been a tower of
strength. Thank you.
Last season, despite the rather unpredictable weather, went well. We moved from
having a Wengen Manager to having two leaders. Overall, members spoke
positively about the new arrangements. You will hear from Marguerite shortly and
she will report on the financial position of the club. Yes there was a good saving by
changing the winter arrangements, but please I want to make it clear that we did not
make the change to cut costs and save money. I am delighted that for this coming
season all of the leaders with us last year, will join us at some time over the next few
months. Thank you to Tessa who has done a sterling job looking after the leaders
and for the arrangements she has now made for the forthcoming season. She and
Marguerite have reviewed the roles and responsibilities of the leaders and they will
meet them this coming week.
A big thank you to Bob who works so hard to provide Coggins and Eagles. Bob has
indicated that he wishes to step down but despite efforts to find a suitable person to
date this has not been forthcoming. Bobs commitment to keeping Coggins and
Eagles alive is his number one priority and parents can be assured that Coggins and
Eagles plus Bob and Rachel look forward to seeing you. We do however need
Parents’ support and if you know you are coming to Wengen during the season then
please let Bob know. There is always the risk that if you just turn up that a place
may not be available. Please, please contact Bob.
The British Schoolboys Races were again a great success. After over 25 years of
running the races, Richard and Maureen have now stood down and Rachel
Eastwood (Bob’s wife) has taken over the administrative role and Nigel Greenfield
has the responsibility for all that happens on race days. If you are in Wengen during
the races, we are always looking for help on the race piste.
Thank you Richard and Maureen for all you have done for the younger generation.
It is with regret that I have to announce that at the Board meeting held two days ago
that the decision to disband Racing and Training was agreed. This has not been an
easy decision to make. I would say for me in particular as when my son joined R&T
in around 2000 that was my introduction to a part of the club who over 50 – 60 years
had enjoyed many successes .Numerous ski academies now offer race training to
children and young people, both on a seasonal basis or short term and we can no
longer compete in this market.
Again my thanks to those who have supported R&T over a significant number of
years.
You will have read my article in the Journal and I do not propose to repeat what has
already been written. The summer season continues to be enjoyed by a number of
members and we will be exploring further how we can open up the summer time
more.
I will turn to the Strategy review and would firstly thank Will Myles for all he has done
working with the Board and Committee to make progress in helping us to think to the
future and the changes that we need to carry out to ensure that the DHO is still here
in another 100 years. Thank you to those who completed the membership
questionnaire. Will, will speak shortly on progress to date.
In a year’s time, a number of Board and Committee members will be due to step
down. In our discussions at Board on Thursday, we agreed that it is time to engage
more with our younger members. We were younger in the past and we recognize
the importance of having a club that is run by younger people. This we also have to
admit is not easy to achieve as our younger members have very busy lives. That
isn’t to say that oldies like me don’t also have busy lives. Please can I appeal to you
all to ask yourselves the question, What can I offer the club and if you are interested
in getting involved then please contact myself or one of the board members. The
club will not survive unless we continue to have effective leadership at the helm.
Our clubroom is a huge asset to the Club and we are still looking for a clubroom
manager. If you are going to be in Wengen this season and would be willing to offer
some help please make yourself known when you arrive.
My thanks to Liz and Andrew who work so hard to organize our racing teams for both
the AICC and Inferno races. This coming year we have 43 entries for the Inferno
and both Liz and Andrew are always looking to welcome new racers so do get in
touch.
I cannot finish without making reference to our forthcoming Centenary arrangements.
We have already started the celebrations with a very successful Dinner and auction
held in London earlier this month. Our thanks must firstly go to Jason Walduck and
the Walduck family who were extremely generous when it came to setting up the
dinner and secondly to Susie Davies who organized all the ticket sales as well as
setting up the dining area.. The dinner was delicious. We were delighted to
welcome the Deputy Head of Mission at the Swiss Embassy, Chantal Moser and
Bobbi Cohen, President of the Kandahar club as our guests. Ingrid made an
excellent speech and Paul Flindall a brilliant auctioneer. Profit at the end of the
evening was a little under £6,000. Thank you again to all those members who kindly
supported the auction with great items.
Out of the profit made, The Board has agreed that a Centenary Bursary will be
established to the value of £1,500. This will be awarded to a young member or
members who are reaching or who have reached British standard in one of the five
alpine categories. Further information will be sent out shortly.
The Centenary Gala dinner is a Sell Out. Deborah Flindall has worked exceptionally
hard in making all the arrangements with help from staff at the Regina and I know
that we will have a great evening. Deborah is holding a small waiting list in case she
receives the odd cancellation.
Ingie and Liz Moore have contacted over 300 past Coggins, eagles and racing
trainees inviting them to join us in Wengen at the end of February for a weekend of
activities including a GS from the top of the Lauberhorn but not right down to the
bottom. From the responses received it will I am sure be a very enjoyable occasion.
David Orf has developed a QR code which will provide members with weekly
activities being held. I will circulate the app in my next newsletter. All information
will be on the website.
In order that we can leave to those who will organize the 200 th year Celebrations I
propose to keep both written information and photographs of all events held. Please
if you take any good photos during the forthcoming season can I ask you to send
them to me and David so they can firstly be put on the website but secondly stored
for those coming after us.
I cannot finish without mentioning the book which Ingrid Christophersen and Brian
Bollen have compiled. Titled A History it makes fascinating reading. Full details are
on the website.
I will close by thanking all of you for being members of the DHO and for your
continuing support. I wish you all a very enjoyable 100 th winter season in the
mountains and if it is not too early, wish you a very happy Christmas and my best
wishes for 2025.
- To receive the annual accounts for the year to 30th June 2024, together with the report of the Directors and independent accountants.
Marguerite Nice presented the accounts for the year to 30th June 2024. The Club has generated a surplus of £31,000 compared to a loss of £6,000 last year.
Mike Woodhall asked about the CHF 80,000 bank loan with Raiffeisen which is due for repayment on 20/6/2027. MN explained that there was a surplus of £40,000 in the accounts 2 years ago when she took over the role of treasurer and she will be ringfencing this amount in an interest bearing account to go towards the repayment. The loan is being discussed at Board level and a decision will be made as to further action.
Kenny MacAllister asked if the Club was considering the possibility of a shared partnership of the clubroom with other clubs. This will be put to the Board for discussion.
- To re-appoint Messrs Moss and Williamson of Ashton-under-Lyme as Independent Accountants
The resolution was carried nem con. There were no abstentions.
- 6. To receive an update on the DHO Strategy Review.
Will Myles has been conducting a strategy review of the Club. There are 8 stages involved and so far, 4 have been completed, including a membership survey. In stage 4, a new mission and vision were adopted, reflecting the result of the survey.
The next steps include:
- A review of governance
- A strategy and plan for the clubroom
- A strategy and plan for youth development
- A strategy and plan for competitive and social racing
SH thanked WM. There is still a lot of work to be done and SH encouraged members to contact a board member to help in the process.
- To note the resignation of James Wilson, Vice President (article 14.4)
The resignation was noted. The President thanked JW:
“The Board and I were sorry to receive James’ letter of resignation back in September and it was with regret that I accepted his resignation.
James was elected Vice President in 2022 and prior to that appointment served on
the Main Committee which was at the time that he was Clubroom manager. I know
that you would agree that during that time he made significant improvements to the
Clubroom and again I thank you.
I am delighted that James is signed up to compete in the AICC races
Earlier, I mentioned that the club needs younger people to take the club forward. I
hope that there will be a time when you will consider returning to Board duties.
Again my personal thanks and that of the membership for all you have done for the
DHO.”
- To note the resignation of Richard Berry as Chairperson of the DHO Racing Sub-Committee (article 15.1)
The resignation was noted. The President thanked Richard for his hard work as DHO Racing Sub-Committee Chairperson. Richard has been a member since 1993.
“Those of you who have reached page 73 of this year’s journal will have read the
article that our editor and Richard prepared. Interestingly, Richard started his
working life as a farmer. I wonder if you are glad that you are no longer a farmer!!
Richard started skiing in 1953 and has held many positions at International and
British level. It is fair to say that he has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to ski
racing and during the 60’s was not only in the British Alpine Ski Team but managed
the British Men’s Team at the Sapporo Winter Olympics.
In 1974 he was the first person from outside of Switzerland to be the Technical
Delegate for the Swiss Women’s Championships.
In 1999 he along with others founded the British Schoolboys Races and took the
position of Chief of Championships. A position he has held until he stood
down earlier this year. In addition he worked with Ingie during the time she was the
Racing and Training Manager.
Richard, you and Maureen who I must mention as she has worked alongside you and the organising committee undertaking all the administrative work associated with the races, will both be missed not only by people such as myself who have worked
closely with you both but all of the schoolboys and masters who you offered support
to throughout your time as Chief of Championships.
I know that all here today would join me in thanking you Richard but also Maureen
for all you have done for the club and for the children and young people over the
past 25+ years.
Happy retirement both of you.”
- To note the resignation of Marta Ruth as Clubroom Manager (article 15.5)
The resignation was noted. The President thanked Marta on behalf of the Board,
Committee and members of the DHO for the excellent job she did of running the clubroom last season.
“I know that there will be members disappointed that you won’t be at the helm this coming season but I hope that we will of course continue to see you in the clubroom and around Wengen. Again my thanks.”
- To transact any other business which may be properly transacted at an Annual General Meeting, and for which notice has been deposited with the secretary four weeks before the meeting. (*A notice of a special resolution needs to be signed by not less than one twentieth of all members).
Marguerite Nice asked whether the details of the Strategy Review could the shared with the Membership. SH agreed to circulate it.
Bob Eastwood expressed his frustration at not finding someone to replace him. He was critical of the Committee for not coming up with a plan.
Nigel Ley informed of the sad passing of Dermot Gilvary.
Kenny MacAllister questioned the visibility of the club ski leaders when on the slopes and wondered whether the leaders could maybe have a bright DHO rucksack.
Norman Freud said the publicity in Wengen, in the hotels etc., was essential and should be a continuous activity.
The meeting closed at 12.00hrs
Sarah Hoyle
President
Downhill Only Club
November 2024