Key information for Volleyball England's 2023 AGM

Pre-meeting information

Ahead of the meeting – which will be held at the organisation’s headquarters at SportPark in Loughborough (LE11 3QF) – members can inspect a copy of the agenda here.

Members can also view the AGM papers, which set out matters to be voted upon, including a number of resolutions and the election/ re-election of members to the Volleyball England Board and Delivery Lead roles.

Voting on resolutions can be undertaken beforehand or be carried out at the AGM by appointing an authorised representative or a proxy in accordance with the process set out in Appendix 3 of the AGM papers.

Volleyball England would strongly urge clubs to vote in favour of all resolutions as they important to the future health and funding of the sport.

The special resolution on changing the Articles of Association

The meeting will also include a special resolution and vote on changing the Articles of Association so that Volleyball England can, crucially, continue to operate in accordance with the Sport England Code for Sports Governance.

The Code for Sports Governance sets out the levels of transparency, diversity and inclusion, accountability and integrity that Sport England (as one of the organisation’s key funders) requires.

The changes fall into four broad categories.

• Expansion of concept of Affiliated Individuals – to recognise those registered on VolleyZone in roles such as Club Administrator, HEVOs, Parents and Volunteers as formal members of Volleyball England.
• Permit General Meetings to take place in a virtual or hybrid format – to recognise learnings from Covid-19 and the increasingly digital world in which we operate.
• Changes to the Board: Composition, Recruitment and Term Limits – to ensure code compliance, add better operational protections to ensure that the Board has the right mix of people on it to ensure success and development of the sport and clarify processes for recruitment of directors.
• Tidy up changes – to ensure the Articles reflect operational practices and the modern World.

A more detailed summary of the proposed changes can be viewed here, and you can also watch a video featuring Newcastle Staffs Chair Will Roberts reflecting on those proposed changes here.

Proposed board member changes in more detail

Volleyball England’s articles currently provide for four independent directors and eight elected directors. The proposed change will ensure at least 1/3 of the directors are elected and at least a 1/3 are independent – giving an overall a mix on the board of the right skills and experience which – of course – changes over time.

An Independent board member is a person appointed to the board that has not previously worked for Volleyball England, or held a senior position in our volunteer base. Therefore, they are ‘independent'. Independent board members can be drawn from the volleyball community and/or from wider backgrounds to ensure there is diversity of thought on the board.

An elected board member is a person voted into post by the membership at an AGM following recommendation by Volleyball England, based on their skills. They could have previously been connected to Volleyball England (e.g. worked there, or held a senior position in its volunteer base) but this is not a requirement. Elected members are typically drawn from the volleyball community – but there is no requirement on the level of volleyball experience they have. 

Critically, both independent and elected board members are selected using an open recruitment process and based on experience and a required skills set. Under the new process, the organisation will be obliged to consider the volleyball experience of the Board to ensure there is always the right mix.

By changing from a rigid split of four and eight respectively to at least 1/3 of each type of director (and the remaining 1/3 being drawn accordingly), Volleyball England is keen to maximise the skills and expertise on the board and also keep up with good governance practice. It is not envisaged this would reduce the volleyball experience on the board and, in fact, obliges the organisation to ensure the overall volleyball experience on the Board remains.

Attending the AGM and watching online

To assist with our hosting arrangements, Volleyball England asks that all those planning to attend register here no later than Thursday, 20th July 2023 by clicking here.

Members who cannot attend should note that the meeting will be live streamed on Volleyball England’s YouTube Channel.