Download Chairman`s Report - Waterski Scotland

Chairman’s Report to the AGM 23rd October 2016
Introduction
A warm welcome to you all to the 2016 Annual General Meeting of the Scottish Water Ski
Association Ltd (operating as ‘waterski and wakeboard scotland’ ) and thank you for taking
time to come along. Please accept my apologies for not being able to attend due to ill
health.
Management Team
We have continued with the format of management meetings whereby the full board of
directors meets each quarter to discuss strategic policies, procedures etc and the steering
group, consisting of 6 of the directors, meets on average each month to discuss the running
of the NTS.
All of the steering group meetings were recorded and the reports sent to the full board.
As ever I would like to give thanks to Alan Murray our Chief Operating Officer and all the
Directors of waterski & wakeboard scotland for their support and time over the last 12
months.
You may remember that we were searching for a new director at the end of last season
after David Sleith advised that he was stepping down from the board, our search for an
additional director did not last very long and I am pleased to confirm that Julie Doncaster
joined the board at the start of the season, Julie works in the legal profession and is also
heavily involved with the cable site at Glasgow Wake Park
Once again Andrew Haslam our Operations Manager along with Stuart Wood our
Performance Coach and the team of drivers and coaches have done a great job of running
the National Centre. Thanks also to the host of volunteers unfortunately too many to name
here, but without whom we would struggle to deliver the excellent service that is provided
at the NTS.
The National Training Site
If you have been to the NTS this year you will have seen the fantastic new extension to the
building and also the superb new facilities. We have invested a lot of money in this
enhancement and hope that you all enjoy using it. A big thank you must go to Mark Murray
who had a large input into the design and project management of the construction along
with help from John Taylor and the COO as well as other members of the team.
In the current financial climate we still face the constant challenges associated with a
depressed economy but I am happy to report that, at the halfway mark, it looks as though
there will be a small increase in the overall number of tows during the 2016 season (over
the 2015 season) however we are acutely aware of the requirements for improving the tow
and membership numbers to ensure that we continue to enjoy the current level of funding
from sportscotland.
This small increase is partly due to the efforts made by the coaching team at the centre,
they have worked very hard and I would like to thank them for all their efforts. Stuart Wood
has helped to develop a nucleus of very enthusiastic young skiers and the results of the hard
work of all involved has been seen in several competitions at both local and national level.
Despite our efforts we were unable to appoint a new dedicated wakeboard coach for the
2016 season so going forward we will continue to search for someone who can fill this very
important role in this exciting part of our sport.
Clubs
The clubs are continuing to survive through these difficult financial times although I know it
is still a bit of a struggle. Membership numbers at some clubs remaining steady or in some
cases increased whilst others have declined. We have seen a good increase in overall
membership numbers this year due mainly to the Cutting Edge programme, and I
congratulate all those involved for this achievement. A steady increase of the participation
numbers in our sport is crucial if we are to continue to receive grants and investment
support via tax payers money.
Development
‘Development’ was a key word for the 2016 season and the board have successfully
appointed a ‘National Development Officer’ with a specific remit. John Beattie joined us in
July just after the start of the season and has had a very steep learning curve. Part of John’s
remit will be to help with the research and development of new cable tow sites following
the success of Foxlake - a site just outside Dunbar, and also Glasgow Wake Park. We firmly
believe that cable tows are the way forward and will play an important part in the future
development of our sport and gain the vital membership numbers that we need to maintain
our partnership funded existence.
We have a great team in place to deliver the sport to the clubs/ski/board schools and also at
the National Centre so please make full use of the expertise on offer, lastly I would like to
thank you all for your support in 2016.
Steve Clayton
Chairman
October 2016