Trustees Report FY 23-24
It has been another busy year for the club and it is our pleasure to update you on the various activities that have taken place.
Membership
| Membership | Membership | Membership | Membership | Membership | Membership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 2022-23 | ||||
| Male | Female | Total | Total | ||
| Adult | 22 | 23 | 45 | 14 | |
| Junior | 24 | 23 | 47 | 31 | |
| Total | 46 | 46 | 92 | 45* |
With 92 active members it has been great to see the club grow with the court being used more often and becoming a much busier place. 36 of our juniors participate in coaching sessions on a Friday afternoon and a Saturday morning and it has been fantastic to watch their progress. The club continues to have one of the largest junior sections in Scotland.
Finances
The club now has a new bank account set and secured a new electricity provider. Despite work being done in and around the club we are still in good financial health with no debt and robust cash reserves.
Building
Despite its age and the amount of use it is now getting, the building continues to perform its function. A feasibility study was completed by CRGP Architects for upgrading the building so there are now plans to work towards upgrading the building in the future. We have started to make improvement in the interior and exterior of the building which include the following:
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Improving the parking area at the front of the building and started to claim back the area at the back from the weeds.
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Painting the upstairs viewing area
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Installing a new token machine for the lights.
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Cleaning the walls of ball and racket marks..
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Repairing and sanding the floor.repairs to the floor.
We will be looking to raise funds for future projects so any ideas will be very welcome.
Acknowledgements
We are very lucky to have a number of people give up their time and expertise to help keep the club running and improve the facilities . A huge thank you to everyone who has helped us out, it would be very difficult to achieve what we have without it. Our thanks go to all the volunteers and contributors that gave their time and resources to carry out the following:
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Upgrading the parking area and clearing the back of the building.
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Carrying out the monthly legionnaire water check.
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Painting the upstairs viewing area
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Repairing the shower outlet pipes
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Raking and planting wildflowers at the back of the building.
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Spraying the weeds out the front and back of the building
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Preparation of the annual accounts.
We have also received funding from the following sources:
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Royal Dornoch Golf Community Fund: £500
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Aldi Sports Fund: £2500
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Arnold Clark Community Fund £200.
Junior Coaching
There are 36 juniors regularly attending coaching sessions on a Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Despite having a full day at school or starting pretty early on a Saturday the juniors always show up full of energy, enthusiasm and lots of noise! It has been mentioned by all visiting coaches the improvements they have all made in the last year and all should be proud of what they have achieved.
The club has now two no Level 2 coaches and one Level 1 coach, all licensed and registered with Scottish Squash.
The weekend coaching sessions are shared among the coaches however they have been ably helped throughout the year by:
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(Inverness club) who took regular
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coaching sessions
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led a Saturday morning coaching session
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(Inverness club) assisted some Saturday sessions
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sharing her expertise and sense of fun.
The juniors have also taken part in a number of events over the year. Again the trustees would like to congratulate them on their excellent sense of fun mixed with a competitive edge along with their excellent conduct. They have been involved in a HISA training
day, bronze competition and Scottish Squash held a Girls development day all taking place in Inverness.
The highlight of the year was a day trip to Orkney, organised by the club with 20 juniors taking part. It was a long day with journeys in cars, buses and ferries but everyone enjoyed themselves and the standard of play was excellent. A big thank you goes out to all those involved for planning the entire day and the parents that helped get the juniors to the ferry terminal and beyond.
The junior season is now in full swing and we were delighted to have , Scottish no 1 and World no 16,start us off by coaching all the Juniors and then playing an exhibition match with (Nairn) the Scottish under 15 champion. was very complimentary as to how far the juniors had progressed since he last visited us so well done juniors!
HIIT Session HIIT is a Scottish Squash initiative to increase female participation in cardio activity and squash. The club now have 2 members trained by Scottish Squash as HI leaders. These sessions were in high demand and have been very successful with a regular ladies session now running on a Tuesday evening. A huge thank you to all members involved for running these sessions but for also introducing people to the game of squashl HISA Lea ue For the firsl time Sutherland Squash Club entered a team into Division 2 of the HISA squash league. This involves playing 5 other teams from around the HISA area with games taking place most Thursday evenings during the squash season. We had 3 players from Nairn help us to meet the number of players required and we would like to thank them for helping us get up and running. Our home games were played in Inverness as the Sutherland club at the time was not quite set up for home games but that is no longer the case. It was a successful first year, the team suNived. had a gd laugh and didny finish bottom of the league! For the 24125 season we have a SSC team established with 3juniors playing from the club. Our aim is to play home games at Dornoch, as we are now able to host. and it would be great to see members come along and give us your support. As the club starts a new season we would like to thank everyone involved in the club for all their hard work, expertise and time over the last year. The growth we have seen in the membership, the increased use ofthe building and the progression seen in the juniors is down to everyone being committed to making Sutherland Squash Club as successful as possible.
Sutherland Squash Club
Income and expenditure for year ended 31 July 2024
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2024 2023
£ £
Income
Donations 7,030 5,581
Tokens 1,156 854
Membership 2,850 1,630
HIT Sessions 230 -
Interest 91 -
Income 11,357 8,065
Expenditure
Electricity 519 917
Insurance 547 479
Repairs 1,957 335
Coaching 871 1,570
Clothing 635 1,744
Squash equipment 680 25
Subscriptions 334 250
Social event - 364
Travel & club trips 778 -
Other - 99
Professional fees 2,000 -
8,321 5,783
Surplus/(Deficit) for year 3,036 2,282
Opening reserve 20,116 17,834
Closing reserve 23,152 20,116
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All funds are unrestricted
Sutherland Squash Club
Statement of Balances as at 31 July 2024
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2024 2023
£ £
Bank and cash in hand
Bank of Scotland 23,152 21,978
Accruals
-
Expenses (1,862)
Net Assets 23,152 20,116
Funds
Unrestricted funds 23,152 20,116
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Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf on 27 September 2024
Page 2
Sutherland Squash Club
Notes as at 31 July 2024
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2024 2023
£ £
Reserves
Opening balance 20,116 17,834
Surplus/(Deficit) for year 3,036 2,282
Closing balance 23,152 20,116
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