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Devon County Ladies Golf Association

MERGER FAQs & VIDEO LINKS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

MERGER BETWEEN DEVON GOLF LTD (DGL)
& DEVON COUNTY LADIES’ GOLF ASSOCIATION (DCLGA)   

We are working hard on the details of the proposed merger between men and ladies in Devon. You will have been aware of the four presentations made recently at Tiverton Golf Club, Boringdon Park Golf Club, Stover Golf Club and Portmore Park Golf Club where the changes we are considering were outlined.

To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to understand the process, please find below some FAQs arising from the presentations. Also, there are links so you may watch the presentations - both from the viewpoint of England Golf with Rod Findlay, Director of Strategy & Governance, and Devon with Wendy Stanbury, DCLGA.

Should you wish any further information, please feel free to contact any member of either DGL or DCLGA. We are also happy to visit any club – please feel free to ask.

The DCLGA will continue to follow their constitution and hold their Delegates’ Meeting in November when resolutions to move forward with the merger will be put forward and, if ratified will go to their AGM in January 2018. The DGL will hold an EGM on the same day and we hope the decisions will be to move forward together.

Nick James, DGL Chair & Liz Turner, DCLGA Chair

The Presentation given at the four county-wide meetings has been filmed and can be accessed from the following links: 
Merger – Devon Viewpoint (part 1 = 9 minutes 34 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW3yR8oO2KA 
Merger – Devon Viewpoint (part 2 = 10 minutes 34 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk9KLrzT1Us
Merger – Devon Viewpoint (part 3 = 45 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_7wCxL3ujc
Merger – EG Viewpoint (part 1 = 15 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3MxQKQxt7I
Merger – EG Viewpoint (part 2 = 8 Minutes 22 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEau9ZPUIRo

The ladies have a committee and delegates from the clubs, the men have a board – what will the new structure look like?
A proposed detailed structure will be available early in December.

Does Sport England want counties to merge and what are the benefits?
Sports England do not relate to counties as such but work towards integrated sports. England Golf (EG) aim for 50% of counties to be merged by 2021, as stated in their strategy.
There are many potential benefits administratively and financially. Running merged rules schools, combining coaching across the board as we now do for juniors, a cohesive approach to all competitions – national, regional, men’s, ladies, juniors and seniors – giving golf clubs 1 person to deal with, to name a few.
Many benefits can be seen by checking out the following websites:
Sport England Governance Code – www.sportengland.org
England Golf Strategy 2017–2021 - www.englandgolf.org

You say it will not affect clubs but is there a vision for clubs to merge?
The way forward would be for clubs to work together. England Golf objectives are:
Stronger Counties and Clubs and says, “to help counties and clubs strengthen their business models and internal operations and become more resilient and responsive to customer needs. Enabling golf clubs to survive and thrive.”
Excellent Governance and says, “to work alongside the golf community to make sure structures, policies and procedures promote the highest standards, resulting in stronger management and supporting sustainable growth.”
If individual golf clubs also wish to change and evolve then Andy Jack (Club Support Officer) is there to help.

Part of ladies’ golf is to meet and socialise at our AGM but it is different for men. Will this AGM tradition continue?
A limited company has to follow company law and an AGM is for the legal side of business. Once this business has been conducted, there is no reason why further discussion and socialising could not take place. It could be an opportunity to recognise excellence and also county colours and trophies could be presented.

The DCLGA committee work to get more women playing golf, will we lose that connection?
The Committee have always worked closely with Andy Jack, CSO, and the Development Group – this will continue within the new Company structure.

What happens at the AGMs of the already merged counties?
The merged counties have incorporated as limited companies. Their AGMs would follow company law.

You say the Directors and Committee are standing down. Has this been voted on?
This has not been voted on as it is not a requirement. The DCLGA committee and Officers will stand down and be able to put themselves forward for the new body. The present DGL Directors have been asked to stand down and put themselves forward for the newly merged body.

How is the gender split elected?
There is a requirement of a minimum of 30% of either gender. If necessary the gender with less than 30% will take priority over the other until the required quota is reached.

How does this affect the two Vets’ associations?
Both have their own websites. The Men’s Vets run qualifying competitions through the Devon Men’s Golf software. The Lady Vets do not run qualifying competitions. These competitions will not be affected by the merger.

Has everything been agreed or are you still discussing the changes necessary?
There is no hidden agenda and you will be hearing about all the changes necessary as they happen. For the first Board selection the Nominations Committee will be the two current Chairmen and the two Presidents. The Articles and Rules are being updated (with the assistance of England Golf and legal advisers) and they will be available in November.

Are there Counties who started but are not now interested in merging?
Those who have started the process have either merged already or are moving closer to merger. We are not aware of any County that ended their plans.

Will there be any grants for the County if the merger does not go ahead?
As a merged County there are greater opportunities to apply separately to Sports England for additional funding for specific projects.

This is a change of ethos - will the Captains be on board?
There will be a Lady Captain who will be part of the Performance Committee and the role would stay the same. The men do not have a Captain at present.

How many paid employees will there be?
Devon Golf Limited has one full time member of staff (John Hirst), and one part time member of staff (Gary Williams) who is the Treasurer. As the new Directors’ roles and responsibilities are formalised and evolve we will assess the roles and responsibilities of the staff.

Will you make sure there is enough information for the men to make an informed vote?
The same information is available for men and ladies and everyone was invited to the four presentations around the county. It is now up to the clubs to ensure all their members are kept informed.

If DCLGA is dissolved what happens to the money?
If the DCLGA is dissolved now the funds would be returned to the clubs. A resolution will be required at the Delegates’ Meeting in November, to be ratified at the AGM in January 2018, to change this to transfer the monies to another body.

What money does each group hold?
As reported at the presentations the figures are circa £30,000 for the ladies and £100,000 for the men.

How will you set the budgets for the new company?
Next year’s budget has been prepared for the DCLGA and for DGL. A joint budget will also be prepared. Budgets will be agreed at Board level under the control of the Financial Director.

If the merger is approved – when will it happen?
If the merger is approved it is anticipated that this will take effect from 1st April 2018.

Are there T’s & C’s to meet to be able to merge?
We are following the guidelines set out by England Golf for counties to merge. There are some 57 pages of guidance including Articles of Association and Rules.

There appears to be a large amount of finance, will it be difficult to find a pool of volunteers to manage it?
Managing the finance will be the same. Relevant Directors will produce budgets and the Finance Director and Board will have overall control. Entry fees for competitions will be online as now. Affiliation fees for the County and EG are already collected by DGL.

How are you making sure everyone knows what is happening?
The ladies held Pre-Delegates’ meetings back in March and August. Visits to Clubs followed when requested (6) and a merger letter was sent out to all clubs for distribution to all members. A reminder of the four county-wide presentations was sent to all clubs for distribution to members and these were held at the beginning of October. This FAQ sheet is part of the ongoing process. If requested, we will make further visits to clubs - Club Managers/Secretaries and Club Delegates can request this. Information will continue to be updated on both DGL & DCLGA websites.

The Presentation given at the four county-wide meetings has been filmed and can be accessed from the following links:
Merger – Devon Viewpoint (part 1 = 9 minutes 34 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW3yR8oO2KA
Merger – Devon Viewpoint (part 2 = 10 minutes 34 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk9KLrzT1Us
Merger – Devon Viewpoint (part 3 = 45 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_7wCxL3ujc
Merger – EG Viewpoint (part 1 = 15 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3MxQKQxt7I
Merger – EG Viewpoint (part 2 = 8 Minutes 22 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEau9ZPUIRo

In the newly merged organisation what will be the process to vote for changes?
Any change in the merged organisation will follow company law as set out in the Articles of Association and Rules.

Under the current DCLGA structure ladies are given the opportunity to express their views and concerns. What are we going to do to continue that opportunity?
This will still be possible. Part of the new structure is to include North, South, East and West Divisional Representatives who will communicate with Club Delegates - whether male or female. Delegates’ Meetings will still be held.

Each club has only one delegate – should individual club members be asked their views?
At present each club has a lady Club Delegate. Clubs have been asked by Devon Golf Ltd for men to volunteer to be Club Delegates and this is ongoing. It is possible that in the new structure there will be both a male and female Club Delegate – that will be a club decision.

Is there any control of regional representation on the Board – can Directors be selected from each region?
Directors will be elected by the clubs and it is up to them who is proposed when a vacancy occurs.

Is it possible to move the meetings to get better representation from North Devon, maybe move them around the region?
This can certainly be considered for the future.

The clubs in North Devon feel left out. How can you make sure we are getting all the information (there appears to be more coming from the ladies).
There is more information to follow and clubs have been sent details of all meetings and the content of the presentations that were held this month, including one being recorded and available via the respective websites (see links above). Each club has a nominated Delegate for both the men’s and the ladies’ sections but if any of the detail needs amending then a club needs to advise the County Office accordingly.

How will Directors be elected in the future?
They will be elected by the clubs at the AGM, as directed by the Articles.

Will you hold the ladies’ AGM and men’s EGM at the same time to make sure the result of one is not transmitted to the other before voting is complete?
We will organise the meetings to be held at the same time.


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