The 2023 OHAFC AGM was held in a Marylebone office on Monday evening with sixteen officers and players in attendance either in person or via a zoom link. Key points raised in the meeting are listed below:

Accounts

Max Curry presented the club accounts for 2022/23 which showed a nominal profit of £162 for the year. The balance sheet showed that the website and team kits have nearly been fully depreciated with a healthy amount of cash still in the bank. Given the increasing interest rates, the club will move money into a more suitable account to take full advantage going forwards. Income from school leavers has increased with an increasing number of boys signing up to the club. The club’s financial position continues to be sound.

Subs

The club’s official Subscription policy was signed off with unanimous agreement. Subs will be set at £10 per game with a maximum for the season of £180 for those 25 and over in full employment. The cap for those under 25 is £120 and £60 for those unemployed.

From now on subs will be collected twice during the season to assist players spreading the cost – once in January, once at the end of the season. It was also agreed that players would not be allowed to represent the club until they were up to date with their subs payments.

What do subs payments go towards? Pitch hire, post-match teas, referees, insurance, website hosting & costs, kit, balls, League and Cup affiliation & entry fees, trophy engraving, League dinner tickets, travel expenses (eg. Dunn away games, Uni players)

The club cannot function without your subs!

Officers

3rd XI – Joss Awdry is added as skipper alongside Tom Mitchell and Olly Roberts, with Charlie Lupton now vice-captain

Festiphil – Will Payne takes over as Festiphil secretary

The positions of Tour Secretary, Training Officer and Dinner Secretary (to assist Dinner Chair Paul Molloy) remained vacant at the meeting close

Squad Integration

The survey conducted among members prior to the AGM suggested players and captains were generally happy with the way squads were selected for matches BUT it was agreed that in order to give all three teams the best chance of success, the 1st XI must be able to select the players it needs, player co-operation notwithstanding.

Players are encouraged to see playing for a higher team as an accolade to be proud of and not a chore.

Recruitment

The schoolboys and masters are increasingly using OH Connect and the Club will look to create its own page on the platform as soon as possible to aid future recruitment efforts

Training

The survey indicated there was a substantial desire from players for both pre-season training and a weekly session during the season. Some form of training would be arranged over the summer months and subsequent sessions organised depending on their success or otherwise.

2024 Tour

Similarly, a large number of players expressed a desire for an Easter Tour next year and, following a lengthy absence mainly due to Covid, it was agreed that every effort would be made to arrange an OHAFC Tour in 2024. A number of players volunteered to help organise the trip.

OHAFC Club Dinner 2024

Following lengthy discussions with several venues, it was determined that the 2024 dinner would be held at the Queens Club in west London in April 2024. Paul Molloy will continue to lead the arrangements, hopefully with the assistance of a younger member. Full details will be announced on the club website in due course.

Training Kit

Players will be given the opportunity to purchase some new OHAFC training kit early in the new season, the last such run having been five seasons ago.

Club Ties

The survey indicated a healthy demand for club ties and discussions will be held to determine how best to re-introduce these going forwards.

Awards

Following the disruption caused by Covid, it was previously agreed that both the Charles Clover Brown Award for outstanding commitment to the Club and the Bert Worthy Young Player of the Year Award both needed re-introducing from 2021/22 onwards.

At the AGM it was announced that Fraser McGuinness was awarded the Charles Clover Brown salver, with Will Payne collecting the Bert Worthy Young Player of Year. Will was presented with the trophy at the meeting, with Fraser to collect his award at a later date.

Full details of both awards will be listed in a separate news article on the website.

Vice President Election

Club stalwart John Wyn Evans was duly elected as a Vice President of the Club at the AGM following many years of loyal service. Many congratulations are due to John, along with profound thanks for all his efforts.