Special General Meeting

On Monday 20^th February the Executive of the EDJBA has convened a Special General Meeting (SGM) in accordance with the wishes of the member clubs.  At this meeting two items of special significance will be tabled and discussed.

The first is the Budget for the year 2012 /13.  John Matthews has worked on the budget for presentation at the meeting and his work is an example of how seriously he takes his role.

The budget and explanatory papers will be with clubs on Tuesday 14^th February.  This is the first time to our knowledge that a budget has been presented to the members of the EDJBA and signals the transparency with which the new Executive wants to operate.

Clubs will be asked to approve the budget which will be the financial blueprint for the association going forward.

The second key item of business is the draft constitution.  A sub-committee drawn from Executive and non-Executive members has met on a number of occasions and drawn up a draft for clubs to consider.  It is important to note that no vote will be called for on this important step forward.  Rather this is an information session to explain the thinking behind the draft constitution to allow clubs to go away and discuss with their committees/members the ramifications of the proposals with a view to meeting again and approving a new constitution.

The guiding principle behind the draft constitution was the wish that clubs have control of the association and its affairs.  The sub-committee believes it has addressed that and added further changes which will be explained on the night.  Some of the key issues to be discussed will be the voting method for the election of Executive members, the size of the Executive and whether life members should have a vote.

As this is such an important night for the EDJBA we ask that all clubs have full representation in accordance with the current rules which allow for clubs to have a vote for boys and a vote for girls teams, that is two votes per club.

If other people would like to attend feel free to invite them, they will be made very welcome.

Logo

To date we have had two graphic designers submit designs for a new logo for the association.

I must say the submissions are very exciting and will pose problems for the committee to decide.  Depending on the decision of the committee this Monday night we may have a design to unveil at the SGM.

Eltham-Dandenong Tournament

I know I mentioned this tournament in the last update but it would be remiss of me not to congratulate everyone at the Eltham Basketball Club and Dandenong Basketball Association on the magnificent achievement in conducting this event.

956 teams competed in more than 25 Melbourne basketball stadiums over the Australia Day weekend. This is an extraordinary effort and the good people of Eltham and Dandenong are to be congratulated.

With each team being able to suit up to 10 players, the number of registered players is believed to have been well above eight thousand, with family and friends all getting out over a hot summer weekend to support the players in one of the biggest basketball tournaments in the world.

It was the 37th running of the tournament, with teams from under 10s right up to under 20s from Australia, New Zealand & Mauritius participating. Tournament organisers hailed the event a great success.

An Apology

I failed to meet the deadline for the Weekly Update last week.  My wife Rosemary and I have decided to put our house on the market and both of us have been working round the clock to prepare it for presentation. This task has taken on something resembling the preparations for D Day 1944.

If you have sold your house you know what we are going through.  However the hard work is now behind us and I will attempt to be more assiduous in bringing you news of developments in the EDJBA in the future.

Happy Hoops,

Ron Carlton

President.