Duffield Squash & Tennis Club
23 Town Street • Duffield, Derby • DE56 4EH
Tel: 01332 841702
Hi [[firstname]]
Resignations
In early June, Nigel Williams and Andy Page contacted me with their intentions to resign from the Council. At that time, they (thankfully) agreed to continue with critical activities including the insurance settlement; basic club reinstatement; defining the essential flood defence work; setting financial control and governance. These activities will shortly be completed, and they have confirmed that they intend to step down by the end of September. I think you will agree this will be a big loss to the club.
In their letters both stated they were committed to an ambition that the merger could create an opportunity to bring members together to create a fantastic club fit for the future of Squash and Tennis. They now feel disillusioned that factions in the club neither share this ambition nor are willing to create an environment to constructively discuss it.
Conflict
The resignations of these key people sit against a backdrop of ongoing conflict between some individuals within the Squash Committee and Council. These individuals have sought to undermine the club structure/roles, unacceptably focusing their attention on certain members of the Council, and mirroring the experience and reasons given for the resignation from one of the original squash sub-committee members.
The Constitution and the Council’s prime objective is to create an excellent club centred on Squash and Tennis members. This will only be possible if we are able to constructively discuss challenging issues, the most pertinent being the reduction in Squash membership and associated ageing demographic. However, even raising the subject is seen by some as some form of betrayal or as having an ulterior motive. The Council’s longstanding request of the Squash Committee is to create an achievable plan that grows membership to make appropriate use of 5 courts. Without an agreed plan, and with the backdrop of the conflict, the role of the Council is becoming untenable.
Pause and reset
Normally the Council would co-opt replacements to fill open positions and move on. However, I believe it is inappropriate to have a Council that would potentially be largely unelected, particularly at a point in time when a section of the membership is so strident in their condemnation. This will mean that an EGM will need to be called to elect Council members.
Before that can happen, I think we need to launch an intermediate step to pause and reset.
Despite the regular communications, the Council fully recognise that some members feel left out and disengaged from all the significant change that has happened and is still underway. I intend to have sessions with each section committee to convey my thoughts on the current position and discuss the future. I would also like to bring together members from across the club and have a wider facilitated conversation about what works and what doesn't work today.
We have an agreed Constitution and club structure that defines the roles of elected officials. We need to reconfirm this across the club and enable the new Council members to be supported to do their job, without being undermined. Unless we can create an environment where these roles can be reasonably done by talented members with busy lives, we risk making the members’ club model untenable.
Thanks
I am sure that members will be sorry to receive the news about Andy and Nigel and will want to thank them for their unbelievable work and achievements. The club we have today is available for us to enjoy due, in no little part, to their efforts. I have only worked directly with them for a relatively short period, I can attest that the inordinate amount of time, energy, commitment and expertise they have provided has benefitted everyone in the club immensely.
Mark Benson
Chair
Duffield Squash and Tennis Club
08/09/2024
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