Saturday, February 15th 2020
Location: Charlie Scott's - Skindergade 43, Copenhagen
Agenda
1. Election of Chairman viz. § 9
2. Approval of minutes of last AGM - presented by Chairman.
3. Reports from the Committee.
4. Presentation of the Accounts for the preceding year and budget for the coming year.
5. Establish the number of votes.
6. Annual subscriptions.
7. Resolutions viz. § 7.2 (see below).
8. Election of Officers - candidates:
1. President: Currently - Nick Morton.
2. Club Captain: Currenty - Jesper Heiselberg.
3. Secretary: Currently - Marc Culot – Will not be continuing.
4. Recruitment secretary: Currently – Robin Marcille - Will not be continuing.
5. Social secretary: Currently – Jon Vinther.
6. Communications secretary: Currently - Becky Jensen.
7. DTU Liaison: Currently – René Kofler.
8. Treasurer: Currently - Simon Mountford.
9. Head of Men: Currently - Zorn Cooperider.
10. Head of Ladies: Currently - Signe Munch.
9. Appointment of Auditor
10. Any Other Business
1. Election of Chairman viz. § 9
Club Captain, Jesper elected Chairman of the AGM.
2. Approval of minutes of last AGM - presented by Chairman
Minutes from the 2019 AGM are available on the website and copies are also handed out at the meeting.
No opposition to the minutes, and the minutes are approved.
3. Reports from the Committee
Head of Mens
Zorn says that 2019 went very well - we hope the same for 2020.
Harry Rose has accepted the position as Coach for the men's team in the 2020 Season and we are excited to get going.
Also, keep using the gym, remember to keep it clean, and to make sure to lock the doors when we exit – otherwise we can’t use it.
Head of Ladies
Signe explains that the Ladies also did well 2019, and that Lele will continue to coach the team in 2020. Timian will captain the team in 2020 (she also captained the team for the remainder of 2019). The Ladies finished 4th in the DM tournament and we are aiming to compete for the top 3 for 2020.
DTU Liaison
Report from René, who could not be there in person, is read out by Marc.
2019 was a quiet and successful year. Some work load went into establishing a good communication with DTU Sports, which evolved from not getting replies at all to responses within a few days. We successfully applied for funding for our new post protection, which was funded by DTU with 9930 kr. The funding of an electric marquise for our shed was denied, but is on DTU's agenda for 2020. For the organization of our home tournament in June, a lot of work went into avoiding a football tournament in parallel to our Rugby Day. Like this, we managed to have two pitches available and to have both the Women's tournament and the Men's game against Aarhus. Since November, we've been using the DTU hall for indoor training on Tuesdays, 18-21. Due to exams, events or similar we were not able to train in December and once in February and there will be two more daysin March, where we cannot use the Sports Hall. Lastly, we received a request from DTU Climbing, who want to start looking for the possibility for a new Sports building on the DTU campus. This would give more space for the sports clubs and avoid cancellations of practice due to events and exams in 101. They asked about our interest and possible requirements in such a facility. For us, this could bring some benefits, like the possibility of having an event room, which can be used as a Club House.
Communications Secretary
Becky tells that everything went fine in 2019. There was lots of activity across social media and the website, in large part thanks to Alberto for creating great graphics and design. The plan is to continue this in 2020, and also come up with more video campaigns.
Merchandise went good as well, although most likely will not be using some of the same suppliers again due to issues with the quality and time of delivery. Already looking into merchandise for 2020 season.
Please remember to use the website to signup and pay for subs.
Social Secretary
Jon explains that last year went really well – we had a fun AD&D with the band and other good stuff (round of applause). We had a good location, which we might reuse as they have expressed that they wanted us back again this year.
Bootleggers is staying on as a sponsor, they will now also be giving additional discounted prices on drink options, which Jon has / will post on FB (in social posts). They have also opened a bar on Amager (good for away games, out that way). Jon will continue to do such as he has done in 2019, and if people would like more parties or anything, just let him know.
(Side note, ties are available again, there are approx. 190 ties).
Recruitment
Robin tells that, 2019 has been a good year – we have a lot of core players, and a lot of players who are staying on this coming season. We saw 10 new guys join in January which was great, and it also went good for the ladies, with new players.
We are getting a lot of visibility within DTU however we are losing momentum outside of DTU, so we need to improve this – we need to be more visible at expat fairs and other places. Otherwise it’s been a good job with communication, posters and goodies – a big thanks to Albe and Becky for helping there.
Secretary
Marc tells us that 2019 was a good year, and we had some really good communication with municipality. We received close to 20.000 from municipality, our money depends on our numbers and how many unders 25's we have, so it is important to keep recruitment as much as possible,
Keep recruiting as much as possible
Question from Christina Mark
“Do we get more money for under 25’s?
Marc informs us that yes, we only receive money for our U25 players
Question from Nick Morton
“Is there any scheme for pensioners or over 60’s/65’s?”
Marc says, no, there is no extra money for pensioners but we believe that DGI has a program for this, that we could look into.
The training pitch at Lyngby Stadium remains the same – however next year will be difficult to get allocations, as there is a huge renovation project which will begin for high schools and sports halls, meaning lots of clubs will be moved to Lyngby Stadium for training instead.
A new feature this year, was access to the weight rooms (Marc only asked for two weeks, but no one is really checking / controlling this). There is no personal access only via the club.
March is also working with the network, Lyngby City of Knowledge, who are interested in helping us recruit new members, as they want to keep more expats in Lyngby.
Concerning International House, our relationship could do better – it has not been easy the past year, to maintain the same contact person.
Both networks would be very useful for recruitment.
Regarding DRU Meeting, I attend the DRU AGM last year – however created a little bit of havoc by voting against the accounts (which by the way, was a club decision). The main reason for voting against these accounts was due to the fact, that the majority of the weekend is spent discussing development, yet 90% of the accounts and spent on non-development activities.
Last but not least, after 8 years on the committee, Marc is no longer continuing as secretary, but will of course still be around to help out the club.
- A big thanks from the club and committee to Marc for all his efforts.
President
Nick Morton: Not much of a report, however would like to take a moment to tell about the events of yesterday, in which several Exiles attending the funeral of Nick Oakman – former Exiles captain in the 1980’s and one of the best players the club has had.
There were many Exiles in attendance and it was a good send off – with full Exiles attire and tie. Nick Oakman, had a few months earlier, spoken with Nick and passed on word that he is very grateful to see the club being taken care of and to pass on his gratitude to the club and committee for all the work they do. The day truly showed the club is about more than rugby but also at the core, about friendship.
Captain
Jesper explains that regarding the previously mentioned vote against accounts at the DRU AGM, there is a back story to this.
We had Brendan from the DRU attend a committee meeting, where the committee had a lot of questions for him regarding the staff which are full time employees in the DRU, specifically regarding the job description of the Sports Director. We have asked multiple times, yet never received this.
This year we have put forward a proposal, regarding having to approve the budget for the coming year. As it is, you currently just approve the annual report – not the budget or accounts. So we are hoping to change this.
The club gets about 2 votes out of approx. 50 (but not all clubs are represented). Boardmembers also have a vote and private members get a vote.
Question from Sophie
“ Is there any initiative to work with other clubs to get them on the same page?”
Jesper says we are actively contacting our network about this.
Question “Is there a way the clubs can forward a motion to audit a role”
This is unclear currently.
Harry: A follow up on the above, as a referee, one of the main things that clubs have complained about is about specific people within the DRU. Is it possible to vote to remove people?
- the answer is no, however according to Zorn there are other clubs interested in the ability to remove roles.
Other than that, 2019 was a declining year for the Exiles – our membership numbers dropped from 127 to 87 (that is specifically people who have paid subs and is a mix of social members and active players). So please remember to pay your subs, so our Heads of do not have to chase you and also if you are a social member.
Question from Philippe
“For the many students who are coming in and coming out, are we making an active effort to stay in contact with those who leave the club or stop playing for the club for whatever reason?”
Signe:
From the Women’s team, we try and invite our old players to participate in tours or tournaments and also encourage them to pay their social subs.
Robin:
For the men, it is a lot of happy students who leave the team and we know they are actively spreading the word when they go back to their universities.
Simon:
We need to work harder on getting those people to become social members – it will also increase our numbers
Question from Thibault
“Do the social members count?”
Jesper: Yes they count – the number are extremely important when dealing with the municipality as they look at how many members the club has before deciding how much they can help fund us with.
Simon: A member is anyone who has paid fees.
4. Presentation of the Accounts for the preceding year and budget for the coming year.
Simon presents the accounts:
Mentions this is the first time the accounts have been done via Klubmodul and it is very difficult to do it as a presentation so instead, here is a piece of paper with the 2019 accounts and 2020 budget.
The accounts have been approved and signed by our Auditor (Riina Kiiski).
-- Simon then proceeds to go through each tab of the accounts --
n Simon explains the importance of remembering to pay everytime you grab a beer or soda at training, and anything else. It all adds up.
Any questions about the accounts?
Mette: “ What is the 49kr for?”
- Marc sold a mouthguard
The accounts are then approved.
5. Establish the number of votes
A rough count shows pretty much everyone is eligible to vote, except a few.
Also there are no incoming resolutions or decisions, so number of votes not needed unless necessary.
6. Annual subscriptions
As decided last year, we are trying a new, one year subscription, which means we have raised the fees, however all paid up playing members will not have to pay for any bus trips this year. Only social and others will still have to pay the 100kr fee. We will see how it goes this year, and evaluate before next year’s AGM.
8. Election of Officers - candidates:
President: Currently - Nick Morton.
- no other candidates and Nick is elected unanimously.
Club Captain: Currently - Jesper Heiselberg.
- no other candidates and Jesper is elected unanimously.
Secretary: Currently - Marc Culot.
-Becky nominates Mette.
-Sophie seconds.
-No other nominees/candidates - Mette is elected.
Recruitment secretary: Currently - Robin Marcille.
-Robin nominates Chris.
-Alessandro seconds.
-No other nominees/candidates - Chris is selected.
Social secretary: Currently - Jon Vinther.
-no other candidates and Jon is elected unanimously.
Communications secretary: Currently - Becky Jensen.
- no other candidates and Becky is elected unanimously.
DTU Liaison: Currently René Kofler.
- no other candidates and René is elected unanimously.
Treasurer: Currently – Simon Mountford.
- no other candidates and Simon is elected unanimously.
Head of Mens: Currently – Zorn Cooperider.
-no other candidates and Zorn is elected unanimously.
Head of Ladies: Currently – Signe Munch.
-No other candidates and Signe is elected unanimously.
9. Appointment of Auditor
-Riina Kiiski will continue as Auditor in 2020 and is approved.
10. Any Other Business
Harry:
Regarding development of the Exiles, it is difficult to set up our own Youth Team, however there is a great opportunity at Gentofte. We are seeing lots of U16-U18’s going to other clubs. We should try and capture some of those players and look into how we can do that. Especially as many of the core coaches and those involved are former Exiles, so lets reach out to them.
Nick:
Another is that we actually spoke to this with Brendan from the DRU – we asked what we as a club could do, and their main ask was to start a youth team.
Jesper:
Gentofte started up quite a few years ago, and back then we reached out to them and provided them will all our youth equipment and jerseys and more. We have tried to reach out and connect, but without luck. U16’s-U18’s would be very interesting, but anything younger than U16 would require a lot more work.
Marc:
It has been very difficult to get someone from Gentofte to speak to us – we have tried several time with little to no response and only time was when they wanted to borrow our pitch or indoors facilities.
Christina:
We could look into setting up a U16-U18’s team, as we have the facilities, but we need people. We need someone to train them and someone to take the lead and take care of the practical stuff.
Sophie:
We need a taskforce of some sort, even they just join in training, we will still need some people to be a connector and plan things for them.
Philippe:
From where I sit, I think we have a few issues, but the main one being that these parents have decided not to follow the Exiles Youth team and form their own team and club, so it must be something deeper.
Becky:
Keep in mind, that by the time Gentofte was formed, we hadn’t had a youth team for quite some time, so not necessarily personal but perhaps lack of choice.
Harry:
They have also chosen not to have a seniors or 16’s team, so it really is a great opportunity there. It means if have the setup and lobby hard, we can onboard those players, but that requires us to get in touch and we’ll try that. Opportunities are there.
Sophie:
It’s basically a resource thing. Back then we didn’t have the people and now they don’t have the right team. What is the harm in trying having a few youth players coming to a few trainings, see if it works out.
Harry:
It wont kick in until next season anyway.
Philippe:
What about insurance for U16’s?
Becky:
They have to be covered by their parents or their own insurance.
Jesper:
We as a club, are not obliged to ensure you.
Marc:
As members of DGI we are ensured on them on tour games (Europeans only)
Xavi:
How many people are we taking about here?
Jesper / Harry: Max 1 or 2 to begin with.
Sam: On behalf of Cooper
Cooper sent in a comment, and he feels very strongly about this – it’s mainly for the men’s team, but could be relevant for the girls.
He really dislikes that prior to games, we warm up in our playing kit – he would really prefer that we warm up in training tops and then change, to help make sure everyone is in the right mindset for the game.
Becky:
Suggestion could be to make sure that everyone uses their training tops that they’ve purchased via merchandise?
Jon & Harry:
This should be brought up at the men’s team meeting.
Marc:
If you want something specific, perhaps look into finding a sponsor for the training tops
(Sam and Albe to ask their companies for sponsorship for training tops)
No further business,
Thank you all