Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Annual Report & Statement of Accounts
1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address:24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
Introduction
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club (JBG or “The Club”) is pleased to present it’s report together with the accounts for the year ended 31st August 2023.
Constitution
The club is governed by a constitution (adopted 15 September 2017) which may only be amended by proposals passed by a majority at the Annual General Meeting. The club is affiliated with Scottish Ice Hockey Association.
Management of the Club
In accordance with club constitution committee members are elected at the club Annual General Meeting. As per club constitution all elected committee members are categorised as a trustee. The committee is comprised of the following members:
- Charity Trustees as of August 31st 2023.
Rob Stewart, Club Chairperson
Glen Ferguson, Managers Representative
The club held its Annual General Meeting on Sept 21[st] 2022
Club Membership
The membership of the club for the year is given below:
| Learn to Skate |
Learn to Play |
Under 10s | Under 12s | Under 14s | Under 16s | Under 19’s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 40 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 11 | 14 |
Objectives, activities and public benefit
The objectives of the club are for the benefit of the public and without distinction of race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, political and other opinions are:
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
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A. To promote amateur sport (Ice Hockey) through the provision of both on and off ice training and competitive play for anyone from the age of 4 years who is residing in the UK and/or ROI.
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B. To develop not only the physical and mental health of all it’s participants but also their overall wellbeing through participation in positive recreational activities.
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C. To aid the promotion of good citizenship by educating all participants in the principles of fair play, being respectful of opposing teams and having pride in their club/team. This is also aimed at developing each member’s emotional capabilities, self discipline and self confidence as they grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society.
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D. The promotion of good community relations through the provision of family fun events and the facilitation of cross-border ice hockey events which are open to all; training sessions and social interactions which include multi-cultural participants; provide sporting opportunities regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and ability.
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E. The advancement of education through offering supporting guidance for its members steered towards developing and maintaining a healthy active lifestyle.
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F. To provide playing facilities for its members including (but not limited to) access to Scottish Ice Hockey League enabling play for the club’s representative teams.
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G. The club offers accredited training for coaches and volunteers.
Club funds primarily are raised through annual/monthly subscriptions paid by registered players and are used to fund rink hire, coaching fees, Scottish Ice hockey Association Registration and affiliation fees, insurance, travel expenses (league participation only) and equipment. Annual/monthly player subscriptions are supplemented by sponsors and fundraising events throughout the year.
2018-19 was a very successful year for the Club. The following summary demonstrates the activities undertaken along with the successes and progress during the year:
- Learn to Skate Programme: This programme is aimed at ages 4-7, and seeks to introduce and encourage young children to enjoy and take part in sport. Our learn to Skate training programme has been carefully designed and structured to enhance a child’s physical development skills alongside their social and cognitive development. Our training drills are aimed at improving a child’s agility, balance, and coordination whilst helping with self-confidence and developing a positive attitude towards physical activity. As well as teaching the children ‘How to Skate’, the training programme provides a gentle introduction to the sport of ice hockey Protective equipment and skates may also be borrowed from the club by participants free of charge. This year the club saw an increase in the number of participants involved in this project. This project serves as a feeder into our ‘Learn to Play Programme’.
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
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Learn to Play Programme : This programme is delivered for ages 6 to 18. It’s similar to our Learn to Skate project in that the training has been carefully designed and structured to enhance each young person’s physical development skills alongside their social and cognitive development and is also aimed at improving an individual’s agility, balance, and coordination whilst helping with self-confidence, self-esteem, emotional regulation and developing a positive attitude towards physical activity. Training with their similarly aged peers, each young person during a session is put through their paces by one of our highly trained coaches. Through this training each young person is given an opportunity to enhance their personal skills, core strength, emotional capabilities, skating skills, stick and puck handling skills, and of course their understanding and love for ice hockey. For non-members interested in participating in the project we offered a 3 week trial period with protective equipment and skates being provided free of charge by the Club during this time. During this year 2022-23, this project has been well supported and highly successful delivering over 65 sessions. As each participant progresses they are given the opportunity to further develop and enjoy the sport in a different way through joining a team at their specific age group, which then leads to playing games for the Junior Belfast Giants club in the Scottish Ice Hockey League.
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In-House League: Through endeavouring to keep the sport accessible across different levels of abilities, this season JBG have been able to operate an In-house League for players involved in the ‘‘Learn to Play Programme’. This platform has provided each eligible participant with a unique opportunity to experience the thrill and excitement of ‘the game’.
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Conference: Players are selected from our club at each age group for trials and the chance to play at National Level on Team Scotland at an event known as Conference Finals. The conferences are made up of 4 teams from England and Wales and one team from Scotland. The selection process for Team Scotland is highly competitive and challenging. During the 2022-23 season, JBG had 14 players invited to the try-outs stages in Dundee, Scotland with 9 players making the final team for their respective ages, making this one of the club’s most successful seasons to date. To play at this level and in this capacity is not only an exciting opportunity for the young people involved but also a huge honour. At JBG we are very proud of each athlete who has been involved in this process this year and would like to take this opportunity to again congratulate them.
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Scottish Ice Hockey League: The club’s affiliation with the Scottish Ice Hockey Association enables JBG to provide an additional facility to play the sport. During 2022-23 we entered teams in the following age categories; Under 12s, Under 14s, Under 19’s
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
Our U12’s played in a very competitive league. They finished 5th out 10 teams with a record of 9 wins, 7 loses. They had a number of close games which made for an exciting season. They travelled to games as far away as Aberdeen and played a couple double header weekends with away games on both Saturday and Sunday. We have a number of talented players at this age group with two of our first year U12’s making the U11 Scotland National team.
Under 14s:
Our U14’s finished 3[rd] in the league with a record of 11 wins and 5 loses. They were very competitive in all games and lost in the Scottish Cup final game. They travelled as far as Aberdeen They also entered three tournaments at the end of the season and won all 3
The team has some up and coming exciting players with 3 players playing for the UK select teams.
Under 19’s
Our U19’s finished last in the league with a record of 0 wins, 1 draw and 15 loses. It was a tough season for this age group. They were a young team with over half the players first year U16players.
- Tournaments: Our club entered a number of tournaments at the end of the league campaign. Our U10’s entered tournaments in North Ayr and Kilmarnock. They went undefeated and won both tournaments. Our U12’s entered 3 tournaments. The first one in Kilmarnock which they won and they lost in the finals at Telford and Hull.our U14’s entered 3 tournaments, Kilmarnock, Telford and Hull. They won all 3.
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
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Women and Girls in Sport: Membership at JBG is open to young people regardless of gender, whilst the uptake of girl’s seeking to participate in the club is low, we do have a number of girls who train with team Ireland and also team GB.
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Summer Schemes/Camps: During July and August 2023, ahead of the new season commencing JBG ran several Summer Camps. These camps were open to all individuals, both Club members and non-members and all genders. This was a really fruitful exercise and enabled all involved to further develop and broaden their ice hockey skills.
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
- Volunteering: The work at JBG isn’t solely about ice hockey. The Club takes pride in being able to offer opportunities for its members and supporters to be involved, develop new skills, meet like-minded people, and give something back to their community. This season we offered various volunteering opportunities with a range of degrees in commitment requirements. We provided training on the volunteer role and (where applicable) relevant legislation. This year we have increased our volunteer involvement from 16 to 21 compared to the same date last year. The volunteer roles included team managers, coaching assistants, fundraising sub-committee, and operational roles needed for league games (penalty box supervisors, time keeper, welcome crew).
Financial Review
In assessing the finances and assets of the club it must be noted that many members and trustees give a great deal of support in kind. Many purchases are made and the payment never claimed back; for example stationery costs, postage costs, fundraising items, to name but a few, all have been paid for by members but the cost not claimed despite such a claim being perfectly legitimate. Members also give generously of their time; without the many hours given to preparing and delivering training, running fundraising events, essential operational assistance provided at league games and managing the club its growth and success could not be achieved. The trustees wish to place on record their recognition of and gratitude for all these contributions.
Financial performance in the year to August 31[st] 2023 has been broadly consistent with the trustee’s expectations. The Main Account which is unrestricted funds and used for the day-to-day operation of the club ended the year with a balance of £12904.78 (compared to £5128.70 (for the same date last year). The Travel Account which is restricted funds and used solely for the financial outlays of club travel necessary to fulfil our participation and commitment to the Scottish Ice Hockey Association ended the year with a balance of £6188.50(compared to £42.17 for the same date last year). Further Details can be found in the submitted Club Accounts.
As a committee we feel it is prudent in the current economic climate to establish a reserve enabling the club to meet the funding challenges which the wider economic situation may impose. During the year we have found that securing external funding is becoming increasingly difficult not only due to the huge rise in charities and constituted sports clubs seeking financial support through this avenue but also due to sponsors and grant making bodies being forced to address their own funding issues. We have identified this as a risk. To aid the club and help address this risk, during the year we formed a fundraising sub-committee. This sub-committee was composed of parents who had young people involved in our amateur sports programme. During the year the sub-committee put on a number of highly successful events including a Family Christmas Skate Night (December 2022), and a Cinema Night. The total amount raised, as of August 31st 2023, to help financially boost the club was £3547.80
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
During the 2022/23 season the Club successfully applied for a grant through the LCCC. The club received £3000 to help with. We were able to bring in a goalie coach to help our young netminders.
The 2022/23 season also saw the club attract financial support from several sponsors (both new and ongoing). The JBG committee would like to sincerely thank the businesses who supported our work in this way, simply put without such support we would not be able to meet our operational costs and so these contributions go a long way towards enabling this charity to fulfil and deliver our charitable aims and public benefits. This season our sponsors were (in no particular order): One Stop Mortgage Shop, J&K Coaches, Deena Construction, Sixt Car Rental and First Line Sports. .
Looking at the year ahead, the JBG committee feels that income from sponsors combined with the current level of club membership is adequate to meet core operating costs, therefore no increase in monthly membership fees will take place in the year commencing September 1st 2023.
Statement of Trustees Responsibilities
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and the provisions of trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
This report was approved and adopted by the Club Committee on May 23th 2020 and signed on their behalf,
Rob Stewart Club Chairperson
Reference and Administration Details
Charity Name
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club which is also known as JBG.
Charity Number
Registered Charity in Northern Ireland, No. NIC106688
Principal Address
24 Grangewood Manor Dundonald Belfast BT16 1GJ
Advisors
Banking
Danske Bank 49-51 University Rd Belfast BT7 1ND
Accountant and Independent Examiners
Falconer and Stewart
Contact for further information and complaints about the club
Email: rob@juniorbelfastgiants.com
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club Trustee Report 1st September 2022 - 31st August 2023
Junior Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Club, Registered Address: 24 Grangewood Manor, Dundonald, Belfast, BT16 1GJ, Charity Registered Number: NIC106688