Castle F.T.A.R. Committee Meeting 22nd June 2008.
Attendance:-
Vice Chair, Secretary, 1 Range Officers, Club Captain/Asst Secretary, Development Officer/Competition Secretary. Sir Keith, 3 Members.
Meeting Called To Order:- 12.50 pm
Apologies:-
Colin Jones (Chairman)
Minutes of the last meeting:-
Highlights were touched upon by the Vice Chair, and were voted as accepted proposed, Ron Fisher (Range/Targets) seconded, Janet Brown
(Member)
Matters arising:-
It was enquired if any further progress in the reimbursement of the £50.00 fee had been made, but in the absence of the Treasurer details were
not available.
Finances:-
No details of the clubs current financial position were available, but the Treasurer will be contacted with a request for an update
of current finances.
M.F.T.A. /B.F.T.A :-
The Secretary informed the meeting that Castle's Winter League shoot would take place on November 2nd 08, He also stated the financial state
of M.F.T.A. this being a total of £4808.65
A.O.B:-
The Chairman, though absent, had forwarded several items to be brought up in this category. The first being the ruts at the edge of the field near
the hard standing. Two suggestions were put forward, that a). The club obtained a quantity of filling material. The farmer was asked to rectify the
problem with the club financing the cost. This was thought to be the better of the two as then he would have total control over the material used
and the quantities of same, it was thought he might object to loads of undisclosed material being dumped on his land.
The Chairman also reported that there was some discontent among some members that the courses were too easy, and hence were going
elsewhere, the committee considered that the courses were in fact were well balanced with targets that were ranged far enough for the top
shots to targets capable of being hit by novices. It was also noted that those who complain do not turn up to help in the course set up.
The Chairman also questioned the sufficiency of electric drills for retrieving target rest lines, It was decided that the club has sufficient electric
drill power, with one of it’s own and one on ‘permanent loan’
The Chairman also questioned the sufficiency of electric drills for retrieving target rest lines, It was decided that the club has sufficient electric
drill power, with one of it’s own and one on ‘permanent loan’
To answer the Chairman’s enquiry re: audits, The Treasurer and Charles Gauntley (acting auditor) have met prior to the end of May but no
details have been forthcoming regarding the outcome as yet.
Ron Fisher has purchased for his own use a strimmer that is capable of taking a hedge trimming attachment that would be of great benefit in
chopping the brambles and bracken in the coppice. He has volunteered the use of this if Castle purchases the attachment. This was agreed upon.
It was suggested that a chain saw was obtained in order to trim some the dangerous dead trees in the coppice, it was pointed out that a chain saw
in inexperienced hands could be extremely dangerous or even fatal, a rip saw was suggested as an alternative, which the committee thought more
practical.
The organisation of a bus to Weston Park for the game fair in September was put forward, the opportunity of adding names to a list for
interested parties (with guests) is to be produced. The price of the bus would be subsidized by the club, but not the entrance fee.
It was pointed out that on some occasions when a whistle is on, shooting is still taking place. Whether this is due to not hearing said whistle or
thinking that a whistle at one end of the course would not apply at the other is irrelevant. All shooting must cease when a whistle is on. A
suggestion was made that air horns were situated at every 5th lane, and should a target need attention, the nearest air horn was sounded. As this
could be somewhat inconvenient, it was put on hold for the present, but it was to be insisted that pea type whistles only were to b e allowed, no
dog whistles, finger whistling, or any other type of whistle will be tolerated. It was also thought to be of benefit if on hearing a whistle, the
message was shouted from lane to lane “ Whistle on”.
In order to avoid the dangerous practice of retrieving targets whilst shooters are still on the course, an air horn is to be placed in the target
barrow, the last people shooting will then operate said air horn as they finish the shoot, retrieval can then take place, or if hunter field target is
to take place, adjustment of target distances can be affected.
It has been noticed that the carrying of rifles is sometimes not done in the approved safe manner, rifle safety must be observed, an illustration of
the correct methods is displayed on the large notice board on the door of the target container.It was agreed that members of the committee
(plus members who sat in on this meeting) would do a stint of range fee collecting during the period when the Secretary and Janet are away this
summer; a rota will in due course be drawn up.
Meeting closed 1.50 pm
Next Meeting TBA
Since this meeting Steph Cope (Assistant Secretary) met with the farmer and discovered that he had already made plans to fill in the ruts at the
top of the field, when asked if the club could contribute to the cost, he replied that we could get him a case of lager,
