AGM - Lisburn 25/02/12
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willie reynolds
- Posts: 7520
- Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm
AGM - Lisburn 25/02/12
The AGM for the Irish National Flying Club will be held on Saturday 25th February at 2.00pm in the Lisburn Leisureplex, Govenors Road, Lisburn. The Agenda will be available soon. The 2012 Race Programme is as follows. Skibbereen OB Inland Nat Tuesday 22nd May (Race Mark Monday), Sennen Cove Yearling National Wednesday 13th June (Race Mark Monday), Plaudren/Vannes Grand Nat Kings Cup Friday 6th July (Race Mark Tuesday), Quimper Friendship National Friday 13th July (Race Mark Tuesday), Penzance Young Bird Grand Nat Wednesday 5th September (Race Mark Monday), Skibbereen Young Bird Inland National Saturday 22nd September (Race Mark Friday).
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willie reynolds
- Posts: 7520
- Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm
Re: AGM - Lisburn 25/02/2012
The 62nd AGM will be held will be held on Saturday 25th February at 2.00pm sharp in the Lagan Valley Leisureplex, Lisburn Leisure Park, Govenors Road, Lisburn.
Under 6. Notice of Motion
6.1) New Rule Submitted by the INFC Committee.
No cheques awarded for prize or pool winnings will be replaced after 12 months of being issued and no prize or pool winning cheques will be accepted for race entry payment.
6.2) Submitted by N & N Smith Membership No 3475.
Skibbereen OB & YB Nationals to have 3 x Sections only.
Section 1. Lofts situated within Counties Wexford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, and Offaly.
Section 2. Lofts situated within Counties Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Monaghan, Cavan, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon, and Donegal.
Section 3. Lofts situated within Northern Ireland.
Section prize money and pool divides to be based on the entry per Section. The highest velocity of the 3 x Sections will be awarded the Skibbereen Race Trophy.
Also enclosed with the Agenda is the Entry Form for the Single Bird Challenge to be flown in the Kings Cup 2012. Free Entry and Guaranteed prize fund of £2,000 sponsored by the INFC. The first three winners will be presented with Framed Diplomas sponsored by Sawyers & Co Estate Agents Banbridge & Dromore. Joe Doheny Trophy to the winner. One bird per loft must be nominated on the Entry Form and the pigeon Life Ring must be registered to the member entering the bird and the loft location as on Entry Form. To be returned on or before 17th March 2012 to Mr David Black Challenge Co-Ordinator.
Under 6. Notice of Motion
6.1) New Rule Submitted by the INFC Committee.
No cheques awarded for prize or pool winnings will be replaced after 12 months of being issued and no prize or pool winning cheques will be accepted for race entry payment.
6.2) Submitted by N & N Smith Membership No 3475.
Skibbereen OB & YB Nationals to have 3 x Sections only.
Section 1. Lofts situated within Counties Wexford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, and Offaly.
Section 2. Lofts situated within Counties Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Monaghan, Cavan, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon, and Donegal.
Section 3. Lofts situated within Northern Ireland.
Section prize money and pool divides to be based on the entry per Section. The highest velocity of the 3 x Sections will be awarded the Skibbereen Race Trophy.
Also enclosed with the Agenda is the Entry Form for the Single Bird Challenge to be flown in the Kings Cup 2012. Free Entry and Guaranteed prize fund of £2,000 sponsored by the INFC. The first three winners will be presented with Framed Diplomas sponsored by Sawyers & Co Estate Agents Banbridge & Dromore. Joe Doheny Trophy to the winner. One bird per loft must be nominated on the Entry Form and the pigeon Life Ring must be registered to the member entering the bird and the loft location as on Entry Form. To be returned on or before 17th March 2012 to Mr David Black Challenge Co-Ordinator.
-
willie reynolds
- Posts: 7520
- Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm
Re: AGM - Lisburn 25/02/12
The AGM for the Irish National Flying Club was held on Saturday 25th February in the Lisburn Leisureplex, Govenors Road, Lisburn. The 2012 Race Programme is as follows. Skibbereen OB Inland Nat Tuesday 22nd May (Race Mark Monday), Sennen Cove Yearling National Wednesday 13th June (Race Mark Monday), Plaudren/Vannes Grand Nat Kings Cup Friday 6th July (Race Mark Tuesday), Quimper Friendship National Friday 13th July (Race Mark Tuesday), Penzance Young Bird Grand Nat Wednesday 5th September (Race Mark Monday), Skibbereen Young Bird Inland National Saturday 22nd September (Race Mark Friday).
Both Resolutions on the agenda carried. 6.1) New Rule Submitted by the INFC Committee. - No cheques awarded for prize or pool winnings will be replaced after 12 months of being issued and no prize or pool winning cheques will be accepted for race entry payment.
6.2) Submitted by N & N Smith Membership No 3475.- Skibbereen OB & YB Nationals to have 3 x Sections only.
Section 1. Lofts situated within Counties Wexford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, and Offaly.
Section 2. Lofts situated within Counties Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Monaghan, Cavan, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon, and Donegal.
Section 3. Lofts situated within Northern Ireland.
Section prize money and pool divides to be based on the entry per Section. The highest velocity of the 3 x Sections will be awarded the Skibbereen Race Trophy.
The Irish Homing Union part of the General Committee will be elected at the Supreme Council Meeting to be held at the Fairways Hotel Dundalk on Saturday 24th March starting at 2.00pm. For the RPRA part of the General Committee Billy Knowles and Paul Gault from East Antrim have been replaced by Paul Dunlop (Edgarstown) and Kieran Shannon (Coalisland).
The INFC Single Bird Challenge Co-Ordinator David Black has issued a reminder about the entry for the event in 2012, an entry form was enclosed with the AGM Agenda. The prize fund is a fantastic £2,000 sponsored by the INFC and there is no reason for members thinking about sending a bird to the Kings Cup should not enter, it’s a free Nomination. The closing date is 17th March and should you have any questions contact David on Tel: (028) 92 692713 or Mobile: 07876 157706. The winner collects the Joe Doheny Trophy and the first three prize-winners will be presented with Framed Diplomas sponsored by Sawyers & Co Estate Agents Banbridge and Dromore. Return the entry form to Mr David Black, 11 Drumiller Hill, Dromore, Co Down. BT25 1EP.
Please call back for the full AGM Report penned by Press Officer Brendan McLoughlin.
Both Resolutions on the agenda carried. 6.1) New Rule Submitted by the INFC Committee. - No cheques awarded for prize or pool winnings will be replaced after 12 months of being issued and no prize or pool winning cheques will be accepted for race entry payment.
6.2) Submitted by N & N Smith Membership No 3475.- Skibbereen OB & YB Nationals to have 3 x Sections only.
Section 1. Lofts situated within Counties Wexford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, and Offaly.
Section 2. Lofts situated within Counties Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Monaghan, Cavan, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon, and Donegal.
Section 3. Lofts situated within Northern Ireland.
Section prize money and pool divides to be based on the entry per Section. The highest velocity of the 3 x Sections will be awarded the Skibbereen Race Trophy.
The Irish Homing Union part of the General Committee will be elected at the Supreme Council Meeting to be held at the Fairways Hotel Dundalk on Saturday 24th March starting at 2.00pm. For the RPRA part of the General Committee Billy Knowles and Paul Gault from East Antrim have been replaced by Paul Dunlop (Edgarstown) and Kieran Shannon (Coalisland).
The INFC Single Bird Challenge Co-Ordinator David Black has issued a reminder about the entry for the event in 2012, an entry form was enclosed with the AGM Agenda. The prize fund is a fantastic £2,000 sponsored by the INFC and there is no reason for members thinking about sending a bird to the Kings Cup should not enter, it’s a free Nomination. The closing date is 17th March and should you have any questions contact David on Tel: (028) 92 692713 or Mobile: 07876 157706. The winner collects the Joe Doheny Trophy and the first three prize-winners will be presented with Framed Diplomas sponsored by Sawyers & Co Estate Agents Banbridge and Dromore. Return the entry form to Mr David Black, 11 Drumiller Hill, Dromore, Co Down. BT25 1EP.
Please call back for the full AGM Report penned by Press Officer Brendan McLoughlin.
-
willie reynolds
- Posts: 7520
- Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm
Re: AGM - Lisburn 25/02/12
IRISH NATIONAL FLYING CLUB 2012 AGM
The 62nd AGM of the Irish National Flying Club was held in the Lagan Valley Leisure Plex on Saturday, 25th February. The attendance was slightly up on last year and the Chairman Eugene Fitzgerald, after accepting a few apologies asked the members to stand for a minute’s silence in respect for those members who had died during the past year. He paid tribute to former Chairman, President and Life Vice President Ken McConaghie and said he would be a great loss to the sport and also mentioned Jim Nelson a prolific National racer.
The secretary Trevor Topping was invited to read the minutes of the previous AGM which were passed on a show of hands. The Convoyer’s race reports were on the table and available to the members. There were no questions raised in respect of the reports, an indication of the excellent racing we had in 2011. The Secretary then read his report.
Secretary’s Report:
“I would like to extend my sympathy to all the families of members and any relatives who passed away since our last AGM. The passing of Ken McConaghie Life Vice President is a big loss to the INFC as Ken carried out a lot of work on behalf of the club which most members would not be aware of and he will be sadly missed.
The 2011 membership was 1944 with 653 members in the south and 1291 in the north. It is disappointing to see the number of members below 2000 and I appeal to all members to promote the club and what it has to offer, especially in the South of Ireland. Members who left totaled 148 – this is 7.5%, while new members totaled 165. The total prizemoney paid out was £131,256 over the six races.
I wish to thank on behalf of the members the following sponsors for the 2011 season, Bamfords Top Flight, Samuel McCausland Ltd, Versele-Laga, Veterinary Services for Birds, and Sawyers & Co. Estate Agents. The sponsorship prizes are much appreciated by the club. Thanks also to the BHW for a discount on publishing rates for race results.
Four new trophies were presented to the club during 2011 by Billy Ingle, John Millar, Gerald Delaney and Tony Ingle. Thanks to all concerned.
The club had a successful season’s racing with some races proving challenging and St Malo very disappointing. Thanks to the efforts of race advisers, Davy Black, Tom Marshall and Willie Hore we managed to avoid poor weather. Race markings and race dates were changed to avoid long holdovers, and these proved to be the right decisions. Penzance young bird race was a perfect example of the effort that is put into waiting for the right conditions. A great help and friends of the club are Chris MacDubhaill and Marcel Gobin the site agent who provides the release site in Plaudren, France. As you are all aware we probably had the best returns ever from a French race. I congratulate all winners of National races and prizewinners. Ronnie Johnston arranged the annual prize distribution to a very high standard once again (tickets sold out 8 weeks before the date). It was good to have Mrs Ruth Rodgers, Editor of the Belfast Newsletter’s Farming Life supplement which gives extensive coverage to pigeon related news to present the awards. All the clubs trophies were presented for 2011 along with eleven Hall of Fame awards and one Gold Medal, the first to be presented for sixteen years. 2011 was a very successful year for the Irish National Flying Club.
Mr Sid Collins arranged a presentation evening in January to present the Merit Awards, and had Nigel Langstaff of Yorkshire and Rob Jones of Southampton as special guests. 37 Merit Awards were presented on the evening and it proved to be a very successful event.
I wish to thank the committees of the East Down combine and Ulster Federation for assistance with transport during the 2011 season. On Behalf of the members I wish to thank all those committee members and members who helped at the race markings, clock settings and checkings, race controllers, convoyers and drivers, and also to the ETS company representatives for assistance at race markings. The club web site was put to good use in 2011 for keeping members informed and results were available three or four days after the race. We hope to have more information on the web site during 2012 and thanks to Ian Gill for his assistance.
I also thank the officials, the committee members, press officers and any members who helped me during the past season.
The 2012 season is fast approaching and I appeal for help at the marking centre, if only for a few hours as those members of the committee who faithfully attend the race markings are struggling to cope.
The Single Bird Challenge entries are to be in before 17th March and I hope we all have a successful 2012 season”
Annual Accounts: No questions had been asked prior to the meeting regarding the annual accounts and Alan McDonald was called to give the Auditors report before the accounts were adopted. On calling Alan to speak on the accounts the Chairman thanked him for the service he had provided over the past 26 years in carrying out the annual audit and informed the meeting that Alan had indicated that he would be stepping down after the meeting.
Auditor’s Report: Alan said that he would start off by looking at the 6 races and his comments were as follows;
“Skibbereen Old Bird: An increased entry of over 700 birds from the previous year resulted in a surplus of £2224 on the race with expenses up 5%.
Skibbereen Young Bird: Here, this was the reverse as the entry fell by some 890 birds mainly due I feel to poor weather in the young bird season and also to the NIPA having a race on the same day. As this is the only Saturday in the year used for an INFC race I think this clash could have and should have been avoided. This resulted in a loss of £676 as compared with a surplus the previous year of £1506.
Yearling National: Again this is the race with the highest entry and 4882 birds competed for almost £36,000 in prizemoney and pools. The entry was up 545 from 2010 and resulted in a surplus of £4806.
Kings Cup: Great to see the Blue Riband race being so well supported and 2792 birds were entered. We normally make a loss on the race due to the high expense of going to France but this reduced this year to £1024 from £2647 in 2010.
Friendship National: 1046 birds entered – up from 881 in 2010 and the loss on the race reduced to £1788.
Penzance Young Bird: Again I think due to the poor weather the entry was down from 2010 and only 1879 birds were entered. The loss was high at £3258 compared with £1396 the previous year, which reflected the drop of 558 birds at £3 per bird.
Overall the total birds entered was up slightly at 18,076 compared with 17,846 in 2010 and given the problem of entry in the Skibbereen Young Bird was very satisfactory. Despite losses in 4 races and surpluses in 2 it was an overall surplus of £282.
Expenses on races were £41,600 compared with £39,500 the previous year which was mainly due to increased fuel costs.”
Alan then moved on to look at the General Revenue Account and said;
“Income: There was a slight increase in membership of £195, Bank Interest of £1084 and £1954 from the two Lib Lines. You will note that the Lib Line money was previously put into the Trailer Fund, which is now closed. There was also a refund of £531 from our solicitor following the settlement of a legal case. The Income from the Merit Award Dinner of £1425 and a transfer of £399 from the W Erwin donation covered entirely the cost of £1824 so no cost to the club and I thank all those involved especially Sid Collins.
Expenditure: Total Expenditure excluding the Merit Award expenditure was up £1465 and this was mainly due to the cost of the Gold Medal and extra Hall of Fame Diplomas, which reflects the better racing in the King’s Cup than previous years. (The printer missed printing the cost of the Gold Medal of £671 on the account’s sheet but the total expense quoted was correct)
Overall there was a surplus of £1191 on this account so along with the surplus on the races of £282 gives a total surplus of £1473, which is excellent.
Balance Sheet: Just a brief explanation. You will note the trailer fund is closed and after repayments to the Show Committee and a refund of a donation the balance of £18,564 was transferred to the Capital Account. The club is in a strong financial position and has over £63,000 in the bank. Due to this the Finance Committee has agreed to increase the Single Bird Challenge Prizes to £2,000 and the next committee meeting will look at the suggestion of free open nominations in some races with perhaps £1,000 money in each race.
I thank Trevor, our secretary, and Davy, our treasurer for all the hard work in looking after the Income and Expenditure. It is not easy dealing with auditors but Trevor and Davy always came up with the information needed.
I have decided not to put my name forward for re-election as I have served for 26 years and I think its time to retire and hand over to someone else. It was an honour to serve you and I thank you for that privilege and I will look back on my time as auditor with great pleasure. Be assured of my continued support to the club.
My best wishes to you all for good racing and success in 2012”
Election of Officers: All offices were declared vacant and Sid Collins was invited to conduct the election. It was a case for the same again for all the top posts to serve their third year having been elected to serve a three-year term from 2010. Offices for 2012 are: Patron Ronnie Johnston, President Sid Collins, Senior Vice-President Eugene Fitzgerald, Junior Vice-President David Black, Chairman Eugene Fitzgerald, Secretary Trevor Topping, Treasurer, Davy Mawhinney, Auditor Ron McKelvey, Press Officer Brendan McLoughlin.
INFC Management Committee 2012: RPRA representatives: R Stevenson Dromara, W Sawyers Banbridge, R Duddy Ballyclare, L Woodside Ballyclare, J Serplus Laurelvale, C O’Hare Ballyholland, P Smith Ind South, C Lyons Hillsborough & Maze, G Delaney Dromore, G McDowell Kells, W Reynolds Ballymena, D Suitters Doagh, W Kelly St Pauls, P Dunlop Edgarstown, C Shannon Coalisland; INFC Appeals Committee: R McCracken Banbridge, J Burrows Eastway, S.S Cairns Gilford:
IHU representatives: The Chairman had pointed out that the IHU AGM had been postponed to 24th March as a mark of respect to Ken McConaghie. It was proposed that the existing IHU members remain on the INFC committee until then and any changes will be notified.
L McCavery Annalong, B McLoughlin Annalong, G Gaw, East End, A McFarland East End, T Marshall Newtownbreda, B Marshall Newtownbreda, A Milliken Lagan Valley, M Johnston West Belfast, M Irvine Tyrella, J Erwin, Fortfield, T O’Reilly Andersonstown, G Shaw Grosvenor, C Browne Bangor, R Taylor Shankill, R Trimble Ballynahinch; Appeals Committee representatives: J McCavanagh Balbriggan, J Albert Ballylesson, PJ Corcoran Balbriggan
Race Advisers: D Black Dromara, W Hore Wexford, and T Marshall Newtownbreda:
The position of the race convoyer was left to the committee to complete.
Notices of Motion: 1, Submitted by the committee: “No cheques awarded for prize or pool winnings will be replaced after 12 months of being issued and no prize or pool winnings cheques will be accepted as race entry payment”. This was passed
Notice of Motion; 2, submitted by N & N Smyth membership number 3475. “Skibbereen Old Bird and Young Bird Nationals to have three sections only.
Section 1 – Lofts situated within counties Wexford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois and Offaly
Section 2 – Lofts situated within counties Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Monaghan, Cavan, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal
Section 3 – Lofts situated within Northern Ireland
Section prizemoney and pools divides to be based on the entry per section.
The highest velocity of the three sections will be awarded the Skibbereen race trophy.” This was passed.
INFC Charity Show report: Jimmy Hughes gave the INFC Charity Show report and said that it was another very successful year with £10,000 ready for distribution to local charities. Jimmy added that the turn out at the annual show was down by around 300 this year and appealed for a better turn out for next year. He said that they were very pleased with the venue and that the income from the charity sale was still very high. Jimmy finished by thanking all who had donated birds to the sale and to those who had helped preparing for the Show and with the clearing up afterwards.
INFC Race programme 2012: Skibbereen Old Bird Inland National Tuesday 22nd May; Sennen Cove Yearling National Wednesday 13th June; Plaudren Grand National Kings Cup Friday 6th July; Friendship National Quimper Friday 13th July; Penzance Young Bird National Wednesday 5th September; Skibbereen Young Bird National Saturday 22nd September:
Before closing the meeting the Chairman took the opportunity to thank the secretary Trevor and his family for all their hard work, the treasurer Davy Mawhinney for all the work completed throughout the year, the President Sid Collins for his work, in particular for the Merit Awards prize night, the Patron Ronnie Johnston who he said was a true professional and a great ambassador for the sport, the race advisers and convoyers, the team of Press Officers, Davy Black for looking after the Single Bird Challenge and finally all those who helped at race marking.
The meeting closed at 3pm
The next committee meeting will be held in Lisburn & District HPS on Tuesday 20th March at 7.30pm.
Brendan McLoughlin
INFC Press Officer
The 62nd AGM of the Irish National Flying Club was held in the Lagan Valley Leisure Plex on Saturday, 25th February. The attendance was slightly up on last year and the Chairman Eugene Fitzgerald, after accepting a few apologies asked the members to stand for a minute’s silence in respect for those members who had died during the past year. He paid tribute to former Chairman, President and Life Vice President Ken McConaghie and said he would be a great loss to the sport and also mentioned Jim Nelson a prolific National racer.
The secretary Trevor Topping was invited to read the minutes of the previous AGM which were passed on a show of hands. The Convoyer’s race reports were on the table and available to the members. There were no questions raised in respect of the reports, an indication of the excellent racing we had in 2011. The Secretary then read his report.
Secretary’s Report:
“I would like to extend my sympathy to all the families of members and any relatives who passed away since our last AGM. The passing of Ken McConaghie Life Vice President is a big loss to the INFC as Ken carried out a lot of work on behalf of the club which most members would not be aware of and he will be sadly missed.
The 2011 membership was 1944 with 653 members in the south and 1291 in the north. It is disappointing to see the number of members below 2000 and I appeal to all members to promote the club and what it has to offer, especially in the South of Ireland. Members who left totaled 148 – this is 7.5%, while new members totaled 165. The total prizemoney paid out was £131,256 over the six races.
I wish to thank on behalf of the members the following sponsors for the 2011 season, Bamfords Top Flight, Samuel McCausland Ltd, Versele-Laga, Veterinary Services for Birds, and Sawyers & Co. Estate Agents. The sponsorship prizes are much appreciated by the club. Thanks also to the BHW for a discount on publishing rates for race results.
Four new trophies were presented to the club during 2011 by Billy Ingle, John Millar, Gerald Delaney and Tony Ingle. Thanks to all concerned.
The club had a successful season’s racing with some races proving challenging and St Malo very disappointing. Thanks to the efforts of race advisers, Davy Black, Tom Marshall and Willie Hore we managed to avoid poor weather. Race markings and race dates were changed to avoid long holdovers, and these proved to be the right decisions. Penzance young bird race was a perfect example of the effort that is put into waiting for the right conditions. A great help and friends of the club are Chris MacDubhaill and Marcel Gobin the site agent who provides the release site in Plaudren, France. As you are all aware we probably had the best returns ever from a French race. I congratulate all winners of National races and prizewinners. Ronnie Johnston arranged the annual prize distribution to a very high standard once again (tickets sold out 8 weeks before the date). It was good to have Mrs Ruth Rodgers, Editor of the Belfast Newsletter’s Farming Life supplement which gives extensive coverage to pigeon related news to present the awards. All the clubs trophies were presented for 2011 along with eleven Hall of Fame awards and one Gold Medal, the first to be presented for sixteen years. 2011 was a very successful year for the Irish National Flying Club.
Mr Sid Collins arranged a presentation evening in January to present the Merit Awards, and had Nigel Langstaff of Yorkshire and Rob Jones of Southampton as special guests. 37 Merit Awards were presented on the evening and it proved to be a very successful event.
I wish to thank the committees of the East Down combine and Ulster Federation for assistance with transport during the 2011 season. On Behalf of the members I wish to thank all those committee members and members who helped at the race markings, clock settings and checkings, race controllers, convoyers and drivers, and also to the ETS company representatives for assistance at race markings. The club web site was put to good use in 2011 for keeping members informed and results were available three or four days after the race. We hope to have more information on the web site during 2012 and thanks to Ian Gill for his assistance.
I also thank the officials, the committee members, press officers and any members who helped me during the past season.
The 2012 season is fast approaching and I appeal for help at the marking centre, if only for a few hours as those members of the committee who faithfully attend the race markings are struggling to cope.
The Single Bird Challenge entries are to be in before 17th March and I hope we all have a successful 2012 season”
Annual Accounts: No questions had been asked prior to the meeting regarding the annual accounts and Alan McDonald was called to give the Auditors report before the accounts were adopted. On calling Alan to speak on the accounts the Chairman thanked him for the service he had provided over the past 26 years in carrying out the annual audit and informed the meeting that Alan had indicated that he would be stepping down after the meeting.
Auditor’s Report: Alan said that he would start off by looking at the 6 races and his comments were as follows;
“Skibbereen Old Bird: An increased entry of over 700 birds from the previous year resulted in a surplus of £2224 on the race with expenses up 5%.
Skibbereen Young Bird: Here, this was the reverse as the entry fell by some 890 birds mainly due I feel to poor weather in the young bird season and also to the NIPA having a race on the same day. As this is the only Saturday in the year used for an INFC race I think this clash could have and should have been avoided. This resulted in a loss of £676 as compared with a surplus the previous year of £1506.
Yearling National: Again this is the race with the highest entry and 4882 birds competed for almost £36,000 in prizemoney and pools. The entry was up 545 from 2010 and resulted in a surplus of £4806.
Kings Cup: Great to see the Blue Riband race being so well supported and 2792 birds were entered. We normally make a loss on the race due to the high expense of going to France but this reduced this year to £1024 from £2647 in 2010.
Friendship National: 1046 birds entered – up from 881 in 2010 and the loss on the race reduced to £1788.
Penzance Young Bird: Again I think due to the poor weather the entry was down from 2010 and only 1879 birds were entered. The loss was high at £3258 compared with £1396 the previous year, which reflected the drop of 558 birds at £3 per bird.
Overall the total birds entered was up slightly at 18,076 compared with 17,846 in 2010 and given the problem of entry in the Skibbereen Young Bird was very satisfactory. Despite losses in 4 races and surpluses in 2 it was an overall surplus of £282.
Expenses on races were £41,600 compared with £39,500 the previous year which was mainly due to increased fuel costs.”
Alan then moved on to look at the General Revenue Account and said;
“Income: There was a slight increase in membership of £195, Bank Interest of £1084 and £1954 from the two Lib Lines. You will note that the Lib Line money was previously put into the Trailer Fund, which is now closed. There was also a refund of £531 from our solicitor following the settlement of a legal case. The Income from the Merit Award Dinner of £1425 and a transfer of £399 from the W Erwin donation covered entirely the cost of £1824 so no cost to the club and I thank all those involved especially Sid Collins.
Expenditure: Total Expenditure excluding the Merit Award expenditure was up £1465 and this was mainly due to the cost of the Gold Medal and extra Hall of Fame Diplomas, which reflects the better racing in the King’s Cup than previous years. (The printer missed printing the cost of the Gold Medal of £671 on the account’s sheet but the total expense quoted was correct)
Overall there was a surplus of £1191 on this account so along with the surplus on the races of £282 gives a total surplus of £1473, which is excellent.
Balance Sheet: Just a brief explanation. You will note the trailer fund is closed and after repayments to the Show Committee and a refund of a donation the balance of £18,564 was transferred to the Capital Account. The club is in a strong financial position and has over £63,000 in the bank. Due to this the Finance Committee has agreed to increase the Single Bird Challenge Prizes to £2,000 and the next committee meeting will look at the suggestion of free open nominations in some races with perhaps £1,000 money in each race.
I thank Trevor, our secretary, and Davy, our treasurer for all the hard work in looking after the Income and Expenditure. It is not easy dealing with auditors but Trevor and Davy always came up with the information needed.
I have decided not to put my name forward for re-election as I have served for 26 years and I think its time to retire and hand over to someone else. It was an honour to serve you and I thank you for that privilege and I will look back on my time as auditor with great pleasure. Be assured of my continued support to the club.
My best wishes to you all for good racing and success in 2012”
Election of Officers: All offices were declared vacant and Sid Collins was invited to conduct the election. It was a case for the same again for all the top posts to serve their third year having been elected to serve a three-year term from 2010. Offices for 2012 are: Patron Ronnie Johnston, President Sid Collins, Senior Vice-President Eugene Fitzgerald, Junior Vice-President David Black, Chairman Eugene Fitzgerald, Secretary Trevor Topping, Treasurer, Davy Mawhinney, Auditor Ron McKelvey, Press Officer Brendan McLoughlin.
INFC Management Committee 2012: RPRA representatives: R Stevenson Dromara, W Sawyers Banbridge, R Duddy Ballyclare, L Woodside Ballyclare, J Serplus Laurelvale, C O’Hare Ballyholland, P Smith Ind South, C Lyons Hillsborough & Maze, G Delaney Dromore, G McDowell Kells, W Reynolds Ballymena, D Suitters Doagh, W Kelly St Pauls, P Dunlop Edgarstown, C Shannon Coalisland; INFC Appeals Committee: R McCracken Banbridge, J Burrows Eastway, S.S Cairns Gilford:
IHU representatives: The Chairman had pointed out that the IHU AGM had been postponed to 24th March as a mark of respect to Ken McConaghie. It was proposed that the existing IHU members remain on the INFC committee until then and any changes will be notified.
L McCavery Annalong, B McLoughlin Annalong, G Gaw, East End, A McFarland East End, T Marshall Newtownbreda, B Marshall Newtownbreda, A Milliken Lagan Valley, M Johnston West Belfast, M Irvine Tyrella, J Erwin, Fortfield, T O’Reilly Andersonstown, G Shaw Grosvenor, C Browne Bangor, R Taylor Shankill, R Trimble Ballynahinch; Appeals Committee representatives: J McCavanagh Balbriggan, J Albert Ballylesson, PJ Corcoran Balbriggan
Race Advisers: D Black Dromara, W Hore Wexford, and T Marshall Newtownbreda:
The position of the race convoyer was left to the committee to complete.
Notices of Motion: 1, Submitted by the committee: “No cheques awarded for prize or pool winnings will be replaced after 12 months of being issued and no prize or pool winnings cheques will be accepted as race entry payment”. This was passed
Notice of Motion; 2, submitted by N & N Smyth membership number 3475. “Skibbereen Old Bird and Young Bird Nationals to have three sections only.
Section 1 – Lofts situated within counties Wexford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois and Offaly
Section 2 – Lofts situated within counties Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Monaghan, Cavan, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal
Section 3 – Lofts situated within Northern Ireland
Section prizemoney and pools divides to be based on the entry per section.
The highest velocity of the three sections will be awarded the Skibbereen race trophy.” This was passed.
INFC Charity Show report: Jimmy Hughes gave the INFC Charity Show report and said that it was another very successful year with £10,000 ready for distribution to local charities. Jimmy added that the turn out at the annual show was down by around 300 this year and appealed for a better turn out for next year. He said that they were very pleased with the venue and that the income from the charity sale was still very high. Jimmy finished by thanking all who had donated birds to the sale and to those who had helped preparing for the Show and with the clearing up afterwards.
INFC Race programme 2012: Skibbereen Old Bird Inland National Tuesday 22nd May; Sennen Cove Yearling National Wednesday 13th June; Plaudren Grand National Kings Cup Friday 6th July; Friendship National Quimper Friday 13th July; Penzance Young Bird National Wednesday 5th September; Skibbereen Young Bird National Saturday 22nd September:
Before closing the meeting the Chairman took the opportunity to thank the secretary Trevor and his family for all their hard work, the treasurer Davy Mawhinney for all the work completed throughout the year, the President Sid Collins for his work, in particular for the Merit Awards prize night, the Patron Ronnie Johnston who he said was a true professional and a great ambassador for the sport, the race advisers and convoyers, the team of Press Officers, Davy Black for looking after the Single Bird Challenge and finally all those who helped at race marking.
The meeting closed at 3pm
The next committee meeting will be held in Lisburn & District HPS on Tuesday 20th March at 7.30pm.
Brendan McLoughlin
INFC Press Officer