## **Goxhill Bowling Club** # **Trustees’ Annual Report for the year to 31 October 2024** **Charity registration number** 1195169 **Trustees** _(currently & for the whole period unless shown otherwise)_ Irene EM Ballam Peter TK Cox Christine M Ellis John Guggiari Anthony W Hebblewhite _Trustee until 27/02/2024_ Harold S Dixon **Address** Goxhill Bowling Green Manor Lane, Goxhill, North Lincolnshire DN19 7LB **Telephone** 01469-530363 **Website** https://goxhill-bowls-club.weebly.com/ **Banker** Barclays Bank plc The Trustees submit their annual report and financial statements covering the accounting year ending 31 October 2024. Goxhill Bowling Club (‘the Club’) is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). ## **Objects** The objects of Goxhill Bowling Club CIO (‘the Charity’) are the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by the inhabitants of Goxhill and the neighbouring area through providing a green and other facilities for bowling. ## **Review of activities during the period** At the end of the 2023 season the average age for our full membership was 70 years. Despite recruitment to full membership of some slightly younger newcomers, at the end of the 2024 season the average age was virtually unchanged - our existing players having reluctantly aged another year. This is not just an image problem as it seems evening league matches constitute a real barrier to recruitment from the working-age population. This year we engaged with Baysgarth Secondary School to organize bowls tasters for some of their pupils. Whilst bad weather intervened for the original dates chosen, we eventually ran five consecutive hour-long sessions across a morning and early afternoon in July. The school’s Head of PE was certainly pleased with how it went and an overwhelming majority of pupils clearly engaged with us and enjoyed themselves. A repetition in 2025 would seem both feasible and desirable as a means of promoting bowling although we cannot realistically view it as likely to recruit junior members without the support of adults in their families. Possibly some after school hours roll-ups aimed at young people accompanied by their parents or, more likely, grandparents would be worth experimenting with in 2025. Weekly Tuesday afternoon bowls drives, open for anyone to attend on a pay-as-you-go basis, ran throughout the summer season. These provide a pleasant, sociable way for new and existing bowlers to mix and develop, as well as being a shop window for our Club and our facilities. At the same time the bowls drives also contributed financially over £360. We continue to invest in our bowling green, including renovation and fertilizer treatments, in the firm belief that a good quality green is part of making bowling enjoyable for both newcomers and experienced players. But none of that expenditure would count without the voluntary work of our ‘Green Team’ who generously commit their time to the many tasks needed to keep the green, and the whole Manor Lane site, at their best. In last year’s report we committed to putting extra effort into being demonstrably more equitable about providing league and cup playing opportunities. We are grateful to the four Page 1 ## **Goxhill Bowling Club** league captains who have worked together to ensure that and done so without unduly compromising our competitive profile as a local club. In league terms we were: runners-up in the Grimsby, Cleethorpes & District Bowling Association’s Premier Division; mid-table for our first season in the Scunthorpe & District Bowls League First Division after promotion in 2023; champions of the North Lincolnshire Bowls Triples Leagues’ Mixed Second Division; and runners-up in the Barnetby & District Bowling League. Whilst we had just one cup success, it was for a prestigious Humberside trophy – the Markham Cup – which we last won in 1993. It will remain one of our objectives for 2025 to maintain our Club’s sporting profile and success as these undoubtedly help to encourage new members and retain existing members who are serious about their bowling. When our Club became a charitable incorporated organization in 2021 it was primarily to make it a legal entity able to hold a lease in the Charity’s name rather than via custodian trustees. To date occupation of the site at Manor Lane has been by ‘custom and practice’ since the 1950s, rather than anything formally documented, meaning that the existing tenancy is legally fragile. Following protracted email exchanges with the Charity Commission, our landlord, registered charity Goxhill Memorial Hall & Recreation Ground, received permission in September 2024 to issue a lease so resolution seems imminent. Having undertaken comprehensive renovation to the pavilion interior last year, it was to be hoped that expenditure this year would be purely for routine maintenance. Unfortunately, our latest Electrical Installation Condition Report identified several issues requiring remedial work that, whilst nothing major, was nevertheless expensive. Our largest source of income was membership subscriptions at £1.6K closely followed by £1.2K fees for advertising boards taken out by local businesses who we thank for their loyalty. Once again, we are grateful to Blakemore Foundation for their grants: £400 in all. The Trustees are satisfied that the Charity’s reserves at the end of the year remain sufficient to cover anticipated legal fees when the lease is enacted, replacement of older machinery, routine maintenance of the buildings/equipment and a cushion against the unexpected. However, we recognize the need to be vigilant about our expenditure with prices rising all the time. The Trustees will continue to monitor reserve levels to ensure that funding streams are sufficient for the Charity’s future needs and will seek grants where possible for any major one-off expenditure. The Trustees are grateful to all the volunteers who help the Charity and Club achieve success with their selfless commitment and enthusiasm. As well as the aforementioned Green Team, we rely on everyone who helps whether it is through fundraising, community activity, running gala days & competitions, team selections & match arrangements or any of the many administrative tasks necessary to achieve our objectives. ## **Management and responsibilities** The Trustees collectively administer the charity. The Trustees, who must be Members of the charity, are elected at its Annual General Meeting with one-third of them retiring at each AGM but eligible for re-election. Further Trustees to fill vacancies may be co-opted by the Trustees during the year until a maximum of nine trustees in post has been reached. Names of the current Trustees, and all trustees serving during the year reported, are shown on page 1. The Trustees recognize their collective responsibility for keeping proper accounting records and preparing financial statements each year. The appended financial statements have been prepared on a cash basis and independently reviewed, with the resulting report included as part of these financial statements. Approved by the Trustees on 17[th] November 2024 and signed on its behalf by: John Guggiari Page 2 Goxhill Bowling Club CIO (registered charity no. 1195169) Receipts and Payments Account for the year ending 31 October 2024 2023124 Receipts 202>23 Fundrnising 186. 206.40 366.L 366.75 422.L 40S.L i.1io.L 500.L 1,854.23 Refr￿hments Bowkn drNes PavIl￿n u Advert b)ar¢L Gran Donabons ChJb Member Fees Subxriptsons Match fee= 1nd.comp entries T(yJmament Fees Open Club Other 275.tx) 1.250.CX) 1.790.CX) 122.00 1.610.IM) 1.684.CX) 189.50 1,610.L 1,526.L 170. 315.00 103.25 384. 268.1x7 132.L C￿b & League dinne Club -hir Sundry receipts 249.00 114.00 I,oos.io 0.20 (2.00) 8.504.63 10 213.78 Payments Chjb Member fees League regi￿rn￿On fees Match travel 1nd.comp entries Proes & Trophies Open Club- Engraving Repairs & Maintenarbce M¢)wer & green equipment sprinkler=￿eM Shed= R&M PaVil￿n Other R&M Newfixed ¢knen Maintenance Fertilizer & =eed Petrol & oil 391.CX) 1.628.50 189.50 365. 1,426.30 170. 184.(X) 87.50 173.C 225.C 558.00 650.40 16.20 7,506.62 116.56 584.89 1.557.33 78.76 314.97 1.053.00 155.96 1.176.(K) 403.20 182.49 Other recuThing costs Ele¢tnuty Water In*burance Green wa￿e collection Donations GMH 449.22 249.76 403.09 140.80 326. 449. 355. Llq 761. 40 250.00 30.00 200. L In meM0￿M Other Administrative Po=t & =tabonery Cknb thirts for •tock Cknb & League dinner& Lea￿ legal fer Sundry paymen 58. 60 78.22 271.26 181.85 47. 78 1,122.95 620. L 41. 43 55.78 9.544.50 15,803.69 Net Sufplus (deficit) bm ca=h & bank balances CA cash & bank balances cOmpr￿1ng Returnable de Ca=h TH Ca=h JG Barclar Bank (1.039.8 5.121.04 4.081.17 {5.589.91) 10 710.95 (60.00) 184.56 36.79 3.919.82 4.081.17 (150.00) 138. 8.33 5. 724.38 5. 121.04 Notes 1- S.Sh¢)rt Art Cla= & HCBA meetings. 2 - Advertizing boarL at £50 per=e￿On. 3- 8lakem¢xe Foundabon & £1.4K NLC 2022123 grant receNed in a￿ea￿. 4 - Barton Li¢)ns. H Dixon. & V Au=tin. 5- CCTV. engraved jack=. & =team mop. 6- IndUd￿ ￿arff￿ng & ferblizer late billed ty Lhby Gr￿￿ Care for 2022r23. 7- Fixed rate wrth EDF expired Aug￿Trt 2024. 8- Public liabilty & contents insuranc*. 9- Donation towar