Veterans League to recycle Presidents again
- Bowling News
- Dec 21, 2021
- 2 min read
Bowling News
The Veterans League would be justified in seeking a Green award for their policy of recycling Presidents-past with two such appointments to be proposed by them for top positions within the organisation in 2022. At the Annual General Meeting in February Alan Hirst will be put forward by the Management Committee for the position of President just 3 years after he served a two-year spell in that position. Alan will be 80 years of age when he takes up the post for a second time after serving in the same role in 2018-19.
Frank Greenwood will be proposed by the Management Committee for the position of Vice-President which is usually a two-year rehearsal for the role of President with him then due to take on the senior role from February 2024 by which time he will have celebrated his 90th birthday. Frank has also filled both roles before having served as President in 2009-2010.
Both Alan and Frank have served the Veterans League and Huddersfield bowling very well over a long period of time and neither can have been expecting another call to take the top office but they very commendably feel they want to support the League through a difficult period. This is likely to be a particularly difficult time for all grassroots sports and at a time when leadership is key in leading the League back to normality (maybe through another series of lockdowns?) and addressing a decline in bowling numbers then it is hoped that both have the appetite and stamina for the challenge.
Ian Kinloch has been the Vice-President from 2020-21 but has decided not to take on the role of President which is the normally expected progression from this role. Ian is stepping down from the Management Committee altogether creating yet another vacancy that the League will struggle to fill. Of the 8 Management Committee positions, 7 are now vacant!
Whilst the present Management Committee continues to only put forward candidates for the position of President and Vice-President who have previously served on the Management Committee then the lack of such members makes the stance impossible to follow without perpetual recycling of past Presidents. Their difficulty in getting new members to join them is highlighting the lack of flexibility in this approach.
It is indicative of the times and the difficulty that the Veterans League is having in recruiting anyone to the Management Committee or roles of Officials that they have been forced to step back in time to fill these important positions. It was the same last year with Alan Sharpe now stepping down as President after serving a second two-year spell in the role, the first being from 2016 to 2017.
Has anyone taken a step back and looked at the root cause of the difficulty the Veterans League has in recruiting new members to its ruling body? Add your Comment below of what you think might be the root cause and what the solution to that could be.
I’ve just reread the above article and whilst I don’t know the ‘root cause‘ of not filling the Officials posts and those of the Committee, I wonder if most of us know what the jobs entail. Eg , how many meetings a year ?, apart from attending Committee meetings, what else are you supposed to do as a Committee member ? Would a short sentence or two defining the role with the opportunity to phone , eg, one of the Officials for a chat, help in any way to attract newcomers ?
What about a new rule that requires each of the Divisions to nominate a Committee member ? I’ve seen this operate elsewhere and the single biggest advantage is tha…
I assume that Messrs Hirst and Greenwood have only put their names forward because no one else fancies doing the job. The advantage is that they’ve done it before and are therefore experienced but the disadvantage is that it’s good to get ” new blood “ from time to time whilst previous Presidents and Vice Presidents are on hand to offer advice.
Unfortunately , it’s a sign of the times that volunteers for League Officials or Committee men do not materialise. It’s the same at many Clubs and the same people do the jobs year after year. In my experience you have to seek out and persuade people to do the jobs.
It’s also frustrating that those members who…