2. Whilst the new sets of scales had been purchased, the weigh slings had not, and the outgoing Match Secretary, in conjunction with the Team Manager was to look into this.

3. All other matters arising were dealt with as agenda items.

Secretary

Team Manager
Match Sec

2. The Team Manager had been monitoring the situation regarding the European Military Angling Championships and, after discussion with the members of the Squad, had decided that this event would be supported this year. The event was to take place near Mons in Belgium on 20 to 25 Sep.

2. It was agreed that all committee members were to forward a copy of all their correspondence to the webmaster to ensure it was kept updated with current information.

3. The PRO (Des) asked if it would be possible for a link to the site be made available directly from the RAF Portal. While this may be possible, it is not certain, as the RAF portal is an Intranet and the RAFCAA website is on the Internet. The Chairman would contact the webmaster to get his opinion.

All Committee Members

Chairman

2. The Match Secretary, in liaison with the CAL Chairman, was to investigate which area of the GRU would be most suitable for this event, with the area between Northchurch and the Aylesbury Arm being suggested. The Match Secretary was also to determine a suitable location to hold the post match presentation.

All

Match Sec
CAL Chair

2. The Chairman discussed the RAF Clubman Competition, asking if there was a consensus that this event should be of a stand-alone nature as originally intended. This was agreed. The Chairman stated that it would be appropriate to hold this event on the same date as the RAFCAA AGM, allowing all those personnel who qualified to claim for travelling expenses providing they were also attending the AGM. The Chairman would also enquire as to whether the RAFCAA Chairman would be able to present the prizes.

3. It was agreed that the event would take place on the same date as the RAFCAA AGM, 16 Jun 05, at a suitable venue to be determined by the Match Secretary, in close proximity to Grafham Water.

4. As this match would be earlier in the year than on previous occasions is was understood that Leagues may not have completed their qualifying matches. Leagues were therefore to nominate qualifiers as they saw fit, but League Chairmen were to ascertain that the names of those personnel who have qualified for this event were to be given to the Match Secretary by the end of May. The Match Secretary would also ensure that the paperwork for this event was released to Leagues at the same time. Personnel attending were to be informed that one of the criteria for attending this match was that they would also have to attend the RAFCAA AGM. Qualifying criteria are laid down the in the Coarse Angling Directive.

All

All

Match Sec

League Chairmen
Match Sec

a. PRO – Cpl Jackson
b. CAL – Chf Tech Hordel
c. VOYL – Chf Tech Lavis
d. Match Sec – Chf Tech Milligan
e. STC Rep – Cpl Woodcock

2. The Secretary was to amend the contact list accordingly.

3. As Chf Tech Milligan has become the Match Secretary, a new deputy was also required. All League Chairmen were to trawl their units for a suitable individual to take on this high profile, important, post. Nomination to the Chairman as soon as possible [Sgt Mick Smith had now volunteered to take over this duty].

Secretary

League Chairman

2. The event would start with a teach-in followed by lunch after which there would be a 3-hour match; the day would finish with a BBQ. It is hoped that as many Squad members as possible will help out at this event, especially those in the EMAL and EAWL areas, those personnel wishing to assist with this worthwhile cause are to give their names directly to the PRO. Both an NFA Coach, and former World Champion Bob Nudd, had agreed to attend on the day.

3. There were still some details to be finalised, for instance first aid cover and the legal requirements with regarding working with minors. Neither of these areas are expected to pose any problems. Further information can be found at http://www.nationalfishingweek.co.uk/

All

All

Secretary

2. The Team Manager also discussed the RAF Team Challenge. In previous years, the RAFCAA(Coarse) had, with the exception of pools, footed the bill for this event in total for all invited teams. This included pegging fees and venue hire. The Team Manager asked if we wanted to continue with this policy. It was felt during discussion that whilst teams could be asked to pay their own pegging fees, as invited guests, it remains appropriate that no additional charge was made.

3. Decision – it was decided that in future, teams invited to the RAF Team Challenge would be asked to contribute to costs in the form of pegging fees and pools only.

Team Manager

2. The Chairman thanked League Chairmen for getting their reports to him in a timely fashion, and again reiterated the importance of the work carried out by League Chairmen in ensuring the smooth running of RAF coarse angling at grass roots level. The remaining League Chairman’s report was to be forwarded to the Chairman soonest so he could collate the overall End of Season report.

Team Manager
NFA Rep

League Chairmen

2. Tek Neek Trabucco had again eventually informed the Team Manager of their decision regarding their non-participation in the overseas challenge, therefore, as stated at the last meeting, an Army (Ge) side had been invited to participate.

3. The Chairman and Team Manager informed the Committee of recent developments that had occurred with regard to receiving sponsorship from Zebco/Browning. While the UK Zebco representative was keen to see some form of sponsorship take place, he had to confirm that Browning International were content to go forward. The deal, if it was confirmed, would be similar to that currently in place with Tek Neek Trabucco although, it was expected that when orders were placed, waiting times were not expected to be as long. The Sponsorship Rep would report in full regarding the sponsorship offer by Browning to the next meeting, for the committee to decide if it would be worth it to switch sponsors.

2. The VOYL Chairman asked for Old Lag status to be conferred upon Ian Pears (leaves 30 Sep 05) and Kirk Wood (leaves 31 Dec 05). Again they had not yet left the Service but for the reasons given above the Committee was asked to select them at an early stage. The above personnel were again accepted unanimously, the VOYL Chairman is to pass on details to the HM&OL Rep. Membership would come into effect the day after they left the Service.

3. The Match Secretary stated that he needed to know which areas of the GUC were to be used for the National so that he could organise the RAF Team Challenge. The Chairman will discuss this with the Match Secretary and Team Manager outside the meeting.

4. The Chairman noted that there had been a large turnaround of personnel on the Committee and wanted to express his thanks to Ian Pears, Simon Pointer, Kim Allsop and Martyn Holmes for the work they had done. Many people do not see the great amount of work that is undertaken by Committee members, often in their own time, and he felt they really were the ‘unsung heroes’ of RAF coarse angling.

5. The Chairman’s Cup is presented annually to the Station that the RAFCAA Chairman feels has done the most to promote the cause of angling. This is not restricted to any discipline and nominations were therefore sought from units. Examples of previous winners were a Station that improved numbers attending matches and a Station that organised a large event for all disciplines. Nominations were to be with the Chairman as soon as possible.

6. The Chairman stated that there had been some question as to the status of RAF VR with regard to representative sport. The Chairman, having had considerable experience of VRs, was quite content that all VR were treated in the same way as other servicemen and as such did not believe that there was a problem.

7. The Chairman had also been informed that there was some confusion as to entitlements whilst taking part in representative sport. The Chairman was fairly certain that subsistence was no longer admissible for any RAF sports competitions; however the Secretary was to determine what the full current situation is regarding subsistence allowance and report to the Chairman as soon as possible.

8. The Chairman stated that in the near future funding for sporting activities may be withdrawn from Commands. The only effect that this would have would be on the Command Inter Unit and Inter Command Championships. While no action needed to be taken as yet, it was important that Committee Members considered the implications of this. The Chairman suggested that, while maintaining the RAF Inter Unit Championships in their current format including Old Lags and Honorary Members, an Inter Unit Championship could be arranged for Service Personnel only to take the place of the current Command Inter Unit Championships. As the Inter Command Championships were a good format for acting as a stepping stone for acceptance into the RAF Squad, their possible demise would make representation at the Inter League Matches more important. The Chairman asked that all Committee members considered the possibility that the Commands will no longer be funded so that the Committee can propose some worthwhile events as replacements.

EMAL Chair
HM&OL Rep

VOYL Chair
HM&OL Rep

Chairman
Match Sec
Team Manager

All

Secretary

All