AGM minutes 2026

Dunlop Cleveland Tennis League AGM 2026

Stockton Town Football Club, Hospitality Suite.

Tuesday 10 th March 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start

Present:

Clubs represented: Saltburn, Greenfield, Yarm, Barnard Castle, Guisborough, Great Broughton, Bishop Auckland, New Blackwell, Hartlepool, Eldon Grove, David Lloyd, Peterlee and Sedgefield, Stokesley, Wellfield, Billingham (15)

Clubs represented by committee members: Hutton Rudby, Tennis World (2)

Committee: Jamie Blake, Jonathan Smuk, Judith Petite, Pam Dodds

Apologies:

Committee Members; Mike Sowerby, Anne Brown, Georgia Brennan

Clubs not represented: Norton, Great Ayton (2)

1. AGM Minutes 2025: approved by (Darren Walker) Yarm and seconded by (Russell Smith) Guisborough

2. Chairman’s Report: Jonathan

Well, here we are again it doesn’t seem two minutes since I was sat here last year about to say a few words. I’d like to begin by welcoming all of you to this year’s Annual General Meeting for the Cleveland League.

What an amazing season 2025 was. We saw some fantastic competition across all league and cup competitions, and I am thrilled to share that the popularity of our league continues to grow with clubs entering new Teams.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all members of the League for your dedication and support throughout the 2025 Season and I look forward to seeing that continue into the 2026 Season.

The committee is made up of dedicated volunteers who are here to represent you, and while we make decisions that other may not always agree with, if we don’t receive feedback on the proposals, we put forward then the committee must assume everything is okay. We truly appreciate all you input, as it helps the committee ensure that the league is run in a way that reflects your needs and preferences. We are also looking for new Committee members so if you fancy it please speak to myself of any member of the committee.

We’ve seen a growing number of “Unknown Player” entries being used when submitting match results, which creates unnecessary additional work for Jamie as he has to chase clubs to complete player registrations. Rule 41 states that teams must make every effort to select a named player. If a player genuinely can’t be found, they may be entered as an “unknown player,” but the submitting team must include the player’s name and ensure they are registered promptly, informing the Committee once this is completed.

If a club encounters any issues with registration or locating a player, they must notify the League within three days of submitting the result. All outstanding registrations should be resolved by each gap week—or before the next cup round. If this doesn’t happen and the League has not been contacted, the rubber may be declared null and void and awarded to the opposition. We were very lenient with this rule last season, but if the issue continues this season, the League may have to be stricter and enforce the rule accordingly.

Gap Weeks also proved problematic last season, despite being specifically designated for rearranged or postponed fixtures. Several teams attempted to organise these matches at various points throughout the season instead of using the allocated Gap Weeks, which created avoidable difficulties—particularly when teams were unable to agree on suitable dates. To prevent similar issues this year, we ask all clubs to ensure they make full and proper use of the Gap Weeks for any postponed fixtures.

I would now like to finish with a few thankyous.

I would like to thank Dunlop for their ongoing sponsorship of the League.

I would like to thank Jamie who has again being responsible for the leagues administration and communications. His efforts have been nothing short of outstanding, ensuring that everything ran smoothly and that everyone stayed informed.

I would also like to thank all the committee members for your consistent attendance at meetings and for your valuable input into everything we do. Your dedication, time and effort has made a significant difference.

And finally, after many years of service, Jill Gullon has decided to step down from the Committee this year. For over two decades, you have been a key part of shaping the Cleveland League in countless ways—work that has required enormous time, commitment, and dedication. Your input, hard work, and passion have been second to none. How you managed all those scorecards being pushed through your door is still a mystery—yet somehow it always worked. Some of us may remember the mad dash to drive to Jill’s house to deliver a late card, desperately trying to avoid the dreaded £5 fine and points deduction. How times have changed!

On behalf of the Committee and all clubs across the Cleveland League, I want to sincerely thank you for your unwavering commitment over the years. Your contribution has left a lasting legacy, and it will be appreciated for many years to come.

3. Financial Report: The accounts did not reflect the outstanding sponsorship money from Dunlop from Nov 2025, the payment to David Lloyd for the Presentation night October 2025 or the outstanding invoices for payment to the League for the use of their League electronic planner Nov 2025. Which were all listed as well.

The money in the account as of 31 st Dec 2025 was £6,825.75

4. Secretaries Report: Jamie re use of League Planner .Power point from Jamie to support Clubs with registration of players and setting up their platform for the forth coming season.

Power point to be sent out to all Clubs and Committee members along with a reminder of the video guide which is on the CLTL website. This offers step by step guidance if anyone is unsure.

All Clubs must re register each year with the LTA to be a member of Cleveland Lawn Tennis League. There can be more than one admin but please try to restrict these people as admin have greater access to information and inform Jamie if you do intend to add admin reps.

Any questions about the League please make contact with, Jamie.

5. Election of officers: We have a spare place on the committee following Jill’s resignation. The rest of the committee were willing to stand. Committee consists of:

Jonathan Smuk (Chair and Treasurer)

Jamie Blake (League Secretary)

Pam Dodds (Secretary)

Committee members: Georgia Brennan, Judith Petitie, Mike Sowerby.

6. Composition of Leagues

The Leagues were presented to the meeting. The aim was to use the 2 up and 2 down rule, as far as possible. Discussion took place regarding positions.

Final outcomes were as follows:

Men’s: vote carried 8/8/7/7/7/7/6

Ladies: vote carried 7/7/8

Mixed: Eldon Grove asked to stay in the 2nd division and David Lloyd asked to stay in the first division. Vote carried for the amendments 7/6/7

Jamie to post the Leagues to all Club Representatives following the meeting.

7. Cup Competitions

Men’s Cleveland Cup / Ladies Ringrose Cup / Mixed William Morris were all drawn on the night.

Jamie to post the draws to all Club Representatives following the meeting

8. Start of Season

The Start of Season will be Monday 2 th April. A suggestion was put forward to start April 20th due to Easter being early. This was challenged by those Clubs who do not have floodlights. It was left at April 27 th

9. AOB

Chilton and Sedgefield will become Peterlee and Sedgefield and their home venue will become Peterlee. They will keep their position in the Leagues as the Club has not been dismantled but they have changed their venue.

U14 – The Committee introduced with the guidance of the LTA the rule that states any youngster Boy/ Girl U14 will not be allowed to play in the Adult Leagues. Although discussion took place regarding the above it was not presented as a proposal.

It was questioned why the committee had adopted the LTA Guidance and what about youngsters who had already played. In answer it was to safeguard the youngsters and to have the support of the LTA if there ever was an issue brought to our attention by any of the Clubs. To be clear youngsters who had played would not be able to play again until they were 14.

A vote was taken, the motion was carried.

Meeting closed at 21-12pm