Ridgman 2016 minutes of the meeting

Committee meeting 4 June, 16:30, Holy Cross Church Daventry ringing chamber,

Present:

Alan Winter, chairman, Tom Scase, Suffolk Guild Phillip George, Ely Diocesan Association Andy Timms, Peterborough Diocesan Guild, Richard Sayles, Hertfordshire Country Association, John Harpole, Essex Association, Chris Woodcock, Lincoln Association, Jake Lovelace, Bedfordshire Association

The meeting was called to order promptly. The minutes for the last meeting were accepted.

Matters arising: the rules for the competition are now correctly displayed on the website.

Dates and venues. Dave Richards has offered (via e-mail) Great St. Mary’s, Cambridge as a venue for June 2017. The third Saturday, 17 June, is most suitable, avoiding conflict with the Peterborough D.A. Annual General Meeting, and yet still before Cambridge students have gone home for the summer. We hope the Cambridge University Guild will take part again next year.

Dave Richards also suggested that the committee consider holding the competition in the morning, given the large number of tourists struggling up the stairs later in the day. Ringers had been encouraged to discuss the feasibility of a 9:00 or 9:30 start within their bands. Given that we can offer bands coming from further afield the option, if required to ring in the latter half of the event, the principle of a morning start was accepted.

Richard Sayles offered to investigate the possibility of the Hertfordshire County Association hosting the competition in 2018. Early booking of weddings appears to make advanced planning for the competition increasingly important. The competition might be moved back to the afternoon in that case, the distances for some competitors making a morning competition difficult.

Methods. The choice of Erin was judged to have been a success; indeed, a request was made that it be chosen again at some point as the test piece. For 2017, Yorkshire was chosen as being sufficiently challenging without greatly limiting the choice of ringers.

With no other business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 16:45.

Marjorie Winter, Acting Secretary