Reports - from Annual General Meeting

PRESIDENT'S REPORT - CHARLIE WALKER

This is the first annual report of the Moonee Valley Cricket Club Inc., following our move to become an incorporated entity in our own right in the latter half of 2010.

The 2010/11 season proved to be a challenging one for the Moonee Valley Cricket Club, but we still came through it with major achievements.

Our Firsts and Seconds were promoted to a higher grade than we have ever been before, our Thirds were also promoted and more than held their own against the first and second sides of other clubs, and for the first time we entered a fourth team on turf – and they also performed strongly.

Against these achievements, we suffered a further contraction in our junior numbers, and by and large our young players endured challenging seasons.

We had an unprecedented run of washouts – and in between lost a game to heat. These lost games had a major impact on our income streams.

And across all this, the operation of our parent body, the Moonee Valley Sporting Club, continues to be problematical.

On-field
While the Firsts won just one game for the season, we came tantalisingly close against three of the four finalists in North Division of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association. A three-run loss was the difference between the Seconds making or missing the finals.

The Thirds and Fifths made MMVCA finals, while the group of players who now comprise our Mighty Fighting Fourths missed finals for the first time in the five seasons they have been together.

Season 2010/11 was the first time since 2001/02 that we have not had at least one team – either senior or junior – contest a Grand Final.

And it ended an incredible run of seven seasons when we won at least one junior or senior flag each year – culminating in 2009/10 when we won the Firsts, Seconds and two junior premierships.

We had three senior teams in finals this season – our Thirds, Fifths and Ninths, although the Seconds just missed out and wins in the final round would have seen the Fourths and Sixths also make it through.

Profit and Loss
As the financial report shows, the Moonee Valley Cricket Club has recorded a loss for the second consecutive year.

A number of issues impacted on our profitability during the year. The wet spring and summer, which saw us miss the first five weeks of turf cricket and eight weeks overall during the season, caused a major reduction in our takings through the canteen and on match report nights.

We tried a new fundraiser for our Christmas party involving scratch tickets, but this proved a major flop. We continue to be concerned about lukewarm attendances at most of our fundraising functions, and collections of match-day subscriptions continue to be patchy.

An analysis of our 2010/11 budget shows a major shortfall in the money we budgeted to bring in from fundraising activities. This will need to be turned around.

The fundraising shortfall was not due to a lack of effort on the part of the Committee. We organised and implemented 15 different fundraising activities for the season, which should have been sufficient to generate far more income. We need our members and players to support these activities to make them profitable.

Issues with the Sporting Club levy also had a major impact on our bottom line. The Sporting Club introduced a new subscription model last year, and despite protests and attempts at negotiation by our representatives we were unable to bring things to a satisfactory end.

Our Sporting Club fee was up by 47.4% on two years earlier, and was increased by 13.9% for 2010/11 despite us having five fewer teams. Analysis under the disputed model shows that senior and junior cricket members were forced to pay $54.50 each to the Sporting Club – more than 35% more than football members.

We estimate that a more equitable and realistic Sporting Club levy would have saved our Cricket Club $3500 in costs last season. When there are reduced player numbers, the Sporting Club needs to cut its costs too– not continue to spend money regardless of membership numbers and expect our members to carry an increased burden.
From a Cricket Club point of view, we sought to correct our own budget in 2010/11 by increasing our income streams. That didn’t bring us into the black, so in 2011/12 we will need to look the other way and bring the budget into the black by containing costs.

Off-field
There have been major developments in the off-season, with the VTCA putting in a bid to take over all the turf grades in the Moreland Moonee Valley Cricket Association, where our Thirds and Fifths play.

Early indications are that all or most MMVCA turf sides will join VTCA. Should these grades transfer, we will potentially save $3000 a year in umpire fees. Our Sunday home games were a gravy train for MMVCA umpires, with our Thirds and Fifths regularly having to pay for two umpires – more than even the A Turf sides had to shell out. VTCA is a lot more circumspect with umpires in lower grades.

There are ongoing discussions between the North West Cricket Association and the MMVCA around a merger, and this is a move which our Club has also supported.

The Moonee Valley Cricket Club will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2011/12, and we are planning a major event to mark this milestone.

Our Incorporation
As mentioned earlier, and following a special general meeting and a vote by our members, the Moonee Valley Cricket Club Inc. came into existence on October 5, 2010.

We were insistent that this new structure would give us legal status and legal protection, and that it would mean no discernable difference to our role within the Moonee Valley Sporting Club. That has proved right.

But we continue to have major concerns with the Sporting Club, which has been unable to get its own structure right. Part of our decision to incorporate as a separate legal entity was our view that the Sporting Club had not met its legal obligations under the Associations Incorporation Act and was liable to be deregistered.

If we were not our own legal entity, such a move would have jeopardised the Cricket Club’s existence. Despite the Cricket Club pointing out these issues some three years ago, they appear only now to be in the process of being addressed.

We have said all along that our preferred option was to be an incorporated body under the umbrella of the Sporting Club. However, this may be taken out of our hands as a result of actions within the wider Sporting Club and the absence of a legal structure to run and administer the entity.

Our women
We fielded one women’s team in 2010/11, and after a hiccup early in the season were pleased to welcome Life Member Jim McKenzie as the coach for the girls.

It was a tough season, but the women continued to show enthusiasm for the game and the only way is up. We have held a meeting with the Victorian Women’s Cricket Association to consider ways we can continue to grow our Club.

Congratulations to our skipper Clare Ardern, who won the VWCA wicket keeping award for her sterling work behind the stumps. Clare was a great contributor all season, and her efforts are appreciated by the Committee and the Club.

Your Committee
I wish to thank my hard-working colleagues on your committee for their efforts in what has been one of our more difficult years.

We welcomed a new Vice President in Simon Thornton and a new Secretary in Peter Golding, and they helped ensure we had fresh ideas and a rigorous process to ensure that we questioned what we did and why we did it.

We had several committee members come and go during the course of the year, and I thank them all for their contribution.

Our members who served all or part of the year were Kevin Gardiner as Junior Coordinator, Chris Micallef as Treasurer, Stephen Tassos as Assistant Treasurer and then Treasurer, Peter Fenaughty as Canteen Manager, and Richard Cooney, George Pearson, Ryan Fairclough and Steve Malone.

Thanks and congratulations
Thanks go to Lou Raffaele for the way he coached and led our on field performances. Lou has now advised that he is not an applicant to coach our Club for a fifth season, but will stay on as a player and in a supporting role. His contribution to our Club has been immense, and we now regard him as a Moonee Valley man for life.

Congratulations to Amit Chaudhary for his stellar season, winning the First Eleven batting and bowling awards, the Club Champion Award and the Moonee Valley Award. And to top it off he also won the Lindsay Jones Best Clubman award – our Club’s highest honor. Amit does so much behind the scenes without seeking recognition, and he was a worthy winner.

Thanks to Peter Smith for his work on our renowned afternoon teas and for stepping in to take the contract when we thought we were short of options. A job well done.

Thanks to Phill King for his excellent negotiating skills as our liaison point with the Moonee Valley Council. Phill’s excellent advocacy saw us with the re-laid synthetic wicket at Ormond Park which is the envy of most local clubs, and the excellent extended run-up’s in the practice nets beside the clubrooms.

And finally thanks to my wife Adele and to the partners of our other committee members for allowing us the time to put into the running of our great Club.

Graeme “Charlie” Walker
President.

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COACH’S REPORT - LOU RAFFAELE

This season saw our 1st & 2nd XI participate in its highest ever grade, the Senior North division of the VTCA, all due to our great efforts the year before.

This being my fourth year as coach of the club, I had a good feeling that we could push the top sides in this division, and maybe participate in finals. Again, having nine senior men’s teams, as well as the Club priding itself on the juniors, the structure was in place to suggest that Moonee Valley was ready for more success.

We had the same core of players from the year before; mixed in with a few new recruits, and adding a few up-and-coming Juniors I certainly felt we had the right crew to take it to finals. Coming off the previous season, where we had six senior sides make finals and four play off in the GF, we were headed in the right direction.

It’s reasonable to say that this season the weather had a fair say in results. Some games played, others were washed out, and with so many games affected by the weather, it was vitally important to secure wins when given the chance. The 1st X1 went agonisingly close in at least four games – games where they were in winning positions, but couldn’t quite get over the line.

This in turn affected the end result of possible relegation. It was always going to be tough to compete in the higher division, but saying that, I thought we deserved to finish higher than second-last on the ladder. We certainly pushed a few top sides. Our position on the ladder didn’t do our talent justice.

The 2nd X1 team continued on its form from the previous season’s premiership, narrowly missing out on the finals (we finished fifth by less than two points). The game against last team Doutta Stars cost us, losing by three runs.

The 3rd X1, promoted to B-Turf in the MMVCA, played awesome cricket all season, where they finished third on the ladder. Unfortunately, again the curse of the semi final got us, and we lost that game. Saying that though, we certainly had our chances to make it to the GF.

Our ever-consistent 4th X1, led by stalwart Brett Curran, missed out on finals for the first time in many years. This result pretty much summed up the whole club’s season, where only three senior sides made finals.

Our 5th X1, led by co-captains Dino Sapuppo and George Loh, finished the season in third spot. After having won the right to play the semi final at home, and being in a winning position, the rain intervened – which caused us to be eliminated as the team we played finished higher on the ladder.

The 6th X1, led by Dan Terzini, narrowly missed out on the finals, finishing fifth by one point. Great work by Dan as always, and well led, as week in, week out, he always had several changes, which made it hard for team balance.

The 7ths, 8ths & 9th X1 sides all played well through the season, again having players come in one week, and out the next. But cricket is all about enjoyment, and all had fun through the year.

I'd like to acknowledge and thank the following people for their efforts during the season:
·           Mark Gauci for his efforts both on and off the field.
·           To all other grade captains: Evan Blythe, George Pearson, Brett Curran, Dino Sapuppo, George Loh, Dan Terzini, Simon Payton, Allan Cumming, John Martiniello/Sunny Sharma and Clare Ardern, a great effort week by week.
·           To all Committee members, from Charlie down. It’s never easy running a club, especially one of the biggest clubs in the State.

I would like to give a big thanks to everyone that assisted me during the season, especially at training. It’s great to have so many people offer their assistance and help out.
 
The future looks bright and the main focus is to develop the juniors through the ranks, expose them to senior cricket, and enable them to gain experience. We need to work on the skills they already possess and to work even harder on their weaknesses, so they become better all-round players.

Season 2011/12 is fast approaching and the main focus is now on pre-season which is around the corner. I have enjoyed my time as senior coach of the club for the last four years, and the club has supported me tremendously, and for that I would like to say thanks to everyone.

Lou Raffaele
Senior Coach

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TREASURER’S REPORT - STEPHEN TASSOS 

I would like to provide a report on the financial performance of the Moonee Valley Cricket Club for the 2010/2011 season. This season provided many difficulties both on and off the field. The struggle of training and playing on a consistent basis due to the unprecedented number of washouts impacted on the club’s performance both on and off the field. 

Full season senior payments collected were achieved as per budgeted, however the same could not be replicated for junior memberships and weekly match fees. With the reduced number of junior sides and increased level of washouts, it proved very difficult to align our total membership revenue with budget.

Fundraisers and Sponsorships provided mixed results. Our annual Christmas function proved to be an extremely costly event, with the experimentation of the ‘scratchies’ ticket system and substantial cash prizes.

However the introduction of the Bunnings BBQ created a significant cash injection to the club, particularly the ANZAC Day/ Easter Monday event. Our sponsorships have increased in contrast to last season.
 
The sale of merchandise also provided much needed cash flow through the club. The ‘Merchandise Nights’ following training generated considerable revenue.
  
Profits from functions such as MVP night, Cup Day, Comedy Night and Presentation Night were lean due to lower attendances in comparison to prior seasons. 

Despite our reduction of expenditure throughout the season, our level of income decreased simultaneously.

Overall, the club concluded the 2010/11 in a deficit for the second consecutive year. As Treasurer of this proud and respected club, we cannot tolerate further losses.

Several recommendations involve adopting stringent discipline measures in relation to the collection and handling of weekly match fees. Captains are to be held responsible for the failure of fully collecting match fees. The club should obtain additional sponsorships as they are paramount to the survival of the club in meeting its financial obligations. Expenditures must also be tightened over the next few seasons to ensure the profitability of the club.

I would like to thank the committee for their efforts and achievements throughout the season. Thank you for your support during my inaugural season as Assistant Treasurer and subsequently Treasurer. I am highly confident that the committee can produce a significantly favourable result over the next 12 months. I would like to also thank Charlie Walker for his tireless efforts in maintaining our club has the largest in Victoria.


Stephen Tassos
Treasurer


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JUNIORS REPORT - KEVIN GARDINER


Moonee Valley Cricket Club’s Junior section maintained its strong contribution to local cricket during the 2010-11 season.

We fielded 8 teams, and played 90 players across the Under 10; Under 12; Under 14 and Under 16 age groups. Three new players were welcomed to the U12-U16 age groups and eight into the entry-level U10 age group. Our junior home matches were played at Ormond Park on Friday nights, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings and Debney Park on Sunday mornings. Fielding a reduced number of teams from the previous season, we did not use Moonee Ponds Central School for the first time in several seasons.

With only 90 players to fill 8 teams there was quite a bit of fancy footwork to be done across the age groups in order to place players in teams. Both U16D and U14D were forced to concede walkovers at different times throughout the season when player availability became particularly problematic. With many players having Saturday school sport commitments, we were struggling to fill teams for matches fixtured for Saturdays in the U16 and U14 age groups.

I want to emphasize that the commitment of our junior players and families to cricket and Moonee Valley has been outstanding. Players have had to fit into teams where they can and this resulted in unsettled line-ups where players were asked to play at a higher level than they would normally be selected to play. As a result, it became increasingly difficult to post wins in the U16 and U14 age groups.

Each age group benefited greatly from a committed core of parents who took on the ancillary responsibilities associated with putting teams onto the field. This represented a significant improvement on previous seasons.
As everyone would be aware, unseasonal rainfall contributed to many matches being either abandoned or reduced.

Under 16
Club President Charlie Walker and Vice President Simon Thornton shared the training role in this age group while John Brelis and Simon coached. We are indebted to them for ensuring that our U16 teams were well-managed and players were given every opportunity. Attendance at training was very good and the team spirit exhibited by the players whenever they were gathered together was very heartening.

Alex Coote was impressive as U16 Black captain, matching in leadership the audacious way he goes about his cricket. Tim Ryan filled the captaincy role in U 16 White and showed considerable management skills in making sure every player had a fair go.

U16 Black suffered a number of narrow losses throughout the season but was always competitive and U16 White managed to notch a win late in the season which brought smiles to quite a few faces.

John Brelis, Kevin Memery, Belinda Tankard, Liz Coote and Glenn Perussich were among the many parents whose contribution at training and on match days made the job of coaching that bit easier.

Under 14
Norm Wright and Antony Sherer shared the head coaching role in the U14 age grouping. This age group suffered from low numbers at training as the season wore on. Nevertheless, the attention to detail in individual player development shown by Norm and Antony was outstanding.

U14 Black was captained by Peter Wright with the same élan that characterized his outstanding all round game and managed to win two games for the season with a number of narrow losses. The U14 White captaincy was rotated through the playing group. Although this team did not win a game for the season, the team still managed to enjoy their cricket and with most of them still U14 eligible, can look forward to a good season in 2011-12.

The U14 age group was fortunate to have parents like Ian Wenlock, Rod Gorham, Raf Lunardi, Christine James, Paul Hobbs, David and Nellie Harbourd and David Hutchison on hand to assist on match days.


Under 12
The U12 age group was assisted by a stable cohort who enabled two stable line-ups teams to be fielded.

Attendance at training was excellent and players benefited greatly from the attention to detail shown by U12 Head Coach Darren Nagle, his offsider Ross Aitken and U12 White co-coaches Brad D’Elton and Kamal Parmar.

U12 Black suffered a number of narrow losses during the season which adversely affected their ladder position come finals but the players acquitted themselves well and were not intimidated by accomplished opposition.

U12 White was the only junior team to make the semi-finals and their outstanding season was not reflected in their narrow loss to Brunswick in that game.

This age group was well-served by the many parents who took on roles assisting at training and on match days including Lee Newman, David Hutchison, Peter Golding, Lucille and Barry Steinmeyer, Matthew Hogg and David Harbourd.

Under 10
The U10 age group enjoyed a terrific season thanks in no small part to the unbridled enthusiasm of the players and a hefty dose of parent involvement. The coaching roles for U10 Black and U10 White were filled by Chris Bibby and me. This is the fourth season at the helm in U10s for Chris and his firm but gentle manner with the youngsters is very much appreciated by all. Chris also donated a new club’s barbecue to the club early in the season and we made sure it got plenty of use.

Milo In2Cricket
We are indebted to John Talone for his involvement in this vital program. With 12 players, this program maintained its numbers from the previous season and we were very pleased to welcome a number of new families to our club.

Individual Achievements
Peter Wright capped off an outstanding season to finish second in the competition batting with 223 runs at an average of 44.6. Peter also won the Bob Byron Medal as equal winner of the Under 14A best player award.  Peter was also one of the mainstays of the NWCA Wizards representative team throughout the season.

In U12, Anthony Cafari represented the club in the NWCA representative team. Well done Anthony!

I also need to inform the club that I will not be seeking to renominate for the Junior Coordinator’s position next season due to family commitments. Hopefully, there will be a spot for me as coach of one of the age levels to enable me to continue to be involved.  I want to thank all of the junior players and their families for the support they have given unstintingly over the past three seasons.

I am grateful, as we all are, to Charlie Walker for his continued commitment to the club’s junior section and for the support and guidance he is always willing to offer. Danny Terzini has been a rock of Gibraltar as Junior Treasurer for the past two seasons. Darren Nagle, Simon Thornton, Glenn Perussich, Chris Bibby, James Clarke, Norm Wright, and Tony Sherer have taken on head coaching roles over the past two seasons and I thank them for their dedication, along with the many other parents who help keep things ticking over.

Kevin Gardiner
Junior Coordinator
2008-09; 2009-10; 2010-11