WFC AGM update

On: 2010-06-03 09:31:54

Prior to handing over to David Harris departing president Brian Drinkwater gives us an update on last week's meeting;

The 135th AGM was well-attended by both buffties (sorry, non-playing members) and players, I am pleased to say. It was a lively one - with Martin Macari steering us all through a complex but necessary revamp of the the Rules of the Club, which was agreed unanimously by the meeting - thank you Martin. Under Any Other Competent Business several issues were raised and two in particular sparked considerable discussion. One was a question from Jim Hughes regarding the club's player recruitment policy both past and future. I replied that, in my opinion, the player recruitment policy of the club was principally to develop our own players, but to recruit to fill gaps and to fill specific key positions. It was agreed that we have failed in this regard over the past several seasons in that many of the "leadership" players brought in have not managed to deliver what was expected.

The other discussion point was generated by a request from Dr. David Scott for the General Committee to challenge the SRU regarding the stringent drugs policy applying to our first XV players, which he felt is over-complex and unnecessarily strict given the mainly amateur status of our player cohort. I responded that much work has already taken place to simplify matters (by himself and Donald Macleod of Selkirk specifically) and that this has already brought some revision in the area of asthma inhalers. However, the meeting agreed that in is now very difficult for players on whom the sole responsibility lies, as the lists of banned substances was long and in constant and rapid flux. The club agreed to research how best it could help our players stay on the right side of the rules in this respect in the future by developing further education and support in this area.

Finally, thank you to everyone who has made my tenure as President a hugely enjoyable one. I look forward to many more years of active involvement in the club as I retire to the ranks of the Honourable Buffties.

BD