AGM 2024 summary - four new Directors join Volleyball England Board

Four new directors have taken their places on the Volleyball England Board following the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday at SportPark in Loughborough.

Alison Shipway, Tracy Newton and Jessica Keen joined as Elected Directors after receiving a majority vote at the meeting, while Jill Osleger was also formally confirmed as an Independent Director. 

They take up their roles with immediate effect and replace Freda Bussey (Elected Director), Dave Reeve (Elected Director) and Clare Francis (Independent Director), who were all thanked for their significant contributions for their time in post after stepping down. 

You can read more about the new Directors by clicking here. 

Also elected to Delivery Lead roles were Simon Cowie (Competitions), Adam Barr (Clubs and Networks) and Stephen McKeown (Coaching). 

The Talent Delivery Lead position remains open, with anyone interesting in fulfilling that role asked to email info@volleyballengland.org 

The other ordinary resolution to be passed was to reappoint Duncan and Toplis as auditor of the Company until the next AGM in a year’s time. 

Two special resolutions were put forward to change the process for the election of Elected Directors, but these were not passed as they did not reach the 75% of the vote required. 

However, Chair Adam Walker vowed that there would be consultation with members about making future framework changes to encompass some of the elements that add value and provide clarity on the recruitment of new Board members. 

Elsewhere, Charlie Ford provided a Chief Executive Officer report on the period April 2023 to March 2024. 

He pointed to progress in a number of areas, including the introduction of the new VolleyZone, partnership working, the set-up of the VolleyStore online shop, improved international relations, strong club and player satisfaction, the development of a number of Communities of Practice, growth in individual memberships and a strong climb in social media figures.  

Looking forward, he explained plans to introduce new athlete and learner management systems, the impending release of the People Plan, the establishment of a coaching symposium, a marketing toolkit for clubs, the prospect of several exciting competitions, including the international Beach Youth NEVZA and Golden EuroLeague for Women. 

He also confirmed a new submission for talent funding for the 2024 to 2028 period would be submitted, a high performance beach programme is to be based at the new indoor facility to be based in Birmingham, a Home Nations Working Group will be set up, the strengthening of the fledgling Players’ Community Group and further development of the Heritage Project. 

“It’s absolutely a progressive year and everything is moving in the right direction,” he said. “This is down to the efforts of volleyball’s communities – it's their achievements – and they should be proud.” 

Volleyball England’s Financial Consultant, Kevin Fletcher, took those in attendance through the Management Accounts which, he said, were currently being audited. 

The business recorded revenue of just over £1.6 million, £44,000 above budget and £126,000 bigger than the previous year which, he indicated, meant less reliance on Sport England funding. 

Income is expected to grow by a further 10.9% during the 2024 to 2025 period, he said. 

You can watch the full AGM back by clicking here.