Barnard Castle and District 5's and 3's - Minutes of the 2026 Annual General Meeting
Held at Barnard Castle Cricket Club on Monday 10th August 2026 at 7.30pm.
Opening Remarks
The Chair (Gillian Watson) opened the meeting at 7:36pm, she welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked members for attending. There was a traditional silence in respect to those domino players who are no longer with us. Present Committee members (Nick Peckett, Theresa Rogers, Dor Lowe, Alistair Peart and Paula Rogers) and representatives were welcomed by the Chair, apologies were given by Mark Wallace. Members- John Stafeckis and Ian Kipling. Paula Rogers as Secretary took the minutes.
Minutes of the 2025 AGM
The minutes were proposed as accepted by Alistair Peart and seconded by Neville Bainbridge. A show of hands approved the 2025 AGM minutes. There were no other matters arising.
Item Read into the Minutes
Allocation of Points after a No Show
The question had arisen as to whether points should be awarded to players who had been selected to play opponents who were absent during a league match.
Two options were debated:
Option A: Amend the rules so that individual players are awarded points if the defaulting team cannot field players.
Option B: Retain the current position whereby individual players are not awarded points if the defaulting team cannot field players.
A vote of the captains had previously been taken, and Option B was carried unanimously. It was agreed that the rule wording should be clarified so that where a team does not have sufficient members present at the draw, two games are selected first, and the non-defaulting team chooses its initial players.
Resolution: The rule will be reviewed and rewritten for consideration at the next Captains' Meeting.
Chair's Report
The Chair thanked everyone for attending and expressed her gratitude to the committee for their work throughout a busy year.
Special thanks were given to:
· Theresa Rogers for her willingness to help in all circumstances and for her work as Treasurer.
· Nick Peckett for his support in working alongside Chris in developing the League's new website.
· Craig Hamilton for his significant contribution in assisting with the league fixtures.
· Peter Anderson for presenting the prizes on Finals Night and for his appreciative speech.
Thanks, were also extended to all pubs and clubs hosting league teams, the Teesdale Mercury for covering League events, and the Cricket Club Chair, Committee, and staff for providing facilities for meetings and events.
Reviewing the year, the Chair reported that:
· The KO competitions had been well attended and that was gratifying as a lot of work does go into enabling this competition to take place.
· The Spring Cup has again proved very successful; it served to extend the league which pleased those who took part. She expressed congratulations to The Pinfold Club who won the Cup this year and expressed that they had a big celebration over there in Boldon. She hoped the Spring Cup will be repeated this year if numbers allow.
· She also mentioned The Royal Oak who won the A league having been promoted last year, as some of you might know their local had been sold and will not continue as a pub. However, Gillian stated that they will continue to play at the Wheatsheaf this year. They will be called; "Oak at the Wheatsheaf".
· Finals Night has been very successful and well attended. Gillian thanked everyone who made that a success especially the players.
The Chair reminded members of the League's traditional message:
"No Hand Licking!"
The Chair also welcomed the development of the League's new website by Chris. The website includes historical league information, fixtures, results, and online domino games. Members were encouraged to try the website and provide feedback at the Captains' Meeting. Captains were also invited to bring forward ideas for encouraging greater participation in the League.
The Chair concluded by thanking all committee members, captains and players for their continued support, advice, and commitment throughout the year.
Treasurer's Report
The Treasurer, Theresa Rogers, reported that the League's finances remain in a healthy position.
The current balance stands at £2,500.41 with no significant expenditure recorded at the time of the meeting, although an engraving invoice remains outstanding.
The Treasurer then announced her resignation from the position of Treasurer due to health considerations.
She explained that after many years of service and regular committee involvement, she felt that the role now requires more time, health, drive, energy, and youthfulness than she can give. She therefore believes it is the right time for somebody new to take the position forward.
Theresa stated that she will:
· Continue as Captain of The Commercial team.
· Remain involved with the League wherever possible.
· Seek to remain on the committee as an ordinary member, subject to members' approval.
She wished her successor every success in the role and thanked Chair Gillian Watson for her support and assistance over the years.
A special thank you was also expressed to her daughter, Paula Rogers, for her invaluable assistance with the IT aspects of the Treasurer's role, which she stated she could not have managed without.
The Chair thanked Theresa for her many years of dedicated service to the Barnard Castle and District 5's and 3's Domino League.
Webmaster's Report
Nick Peckett advised that score reporting had generally run smoothly during the season and thanked teams for submitting results.
He reminded captains that results should be submitted as promptly as possible and preferably before 11.00pm so that results can be published on the website the same evening.
Nick welcomed the introduction of the new website and thanked Chris for taking the project forward. He advised that he would continue supporting score recording while the website develops further.
Knockout Report
Ali Peart thanked Fiona Peart for her help in staging the KOs. A letter was sent to the committee which will be explained in more detail further into the agenda. Also using upstairs in the club would not have been feasible. We will endeavour to look at future days and fixtures for the knockouts.
Elections
The existing committee requested to continue in office.
A proposal by that the committee be re-elected en bloc was proposed by Neville Bainbridge and seconded by Fred Hebdon and carried it unanimously.
Chris Tarpey was nominated by Laura Drew seconded by Nick Peckett and elected as a new committee member.
Financial Motions
Following discussion regarding the League's healthy financial position, a proposal was made by Craig Hamiliton, seconded by Dave Howson, and carried unanimously that:
· League subscription fees be waived for the 2026/27 season.
· Knockout competition fees also be waived for the 2026/27 season.
The Treasurer noted that team registration would still be required despite fees not being collected.
Roll Call of Teams
A roll call confirmed participation from 18 teams, maintaining the same number as the previous season.
|
Promoted to the A League: · Black Lion · Red Lion B |
Relegated to the B League: · Langdon Beck A · Moorcock |
The League season will commence on 7th September 2026.
Competitions
A proposal by Fred Hebdon and seconded by Theresa Rogers that the League continue with:
· Main League Competition
· Spring Cup
· Knockout Competitions
was unanimously approved.
Finals Night Venue
It was proposed by Fred Hebdon and seconded by Neville Bainbridge, and it was unanimously agreed that Finals Night will continue to be held at Barnard Castle Cricket Club.
New Website Presentation
Chris Tarpey gave a demonstration of the League's new website.
Members were shown:
· Updated league tables and fixtures.
· Team and player statistics.
· Historical league information.
· An online domino game available in both single-player and multiplayer formats.
· Mobile phone compatibility.
Captains and members were encouraged to try the site before the Captains' Meeting and provide feedback. The committee hopes the site will help attract new players to the game.
Letter to the committee
Request we do not hold Ladies Knockout matches on the evening when football matches occur. This issue will be addressed.
Further development: Ali has arranged that there will be no football matches on the screen in the main bar when KOs are being played.
Meeting Close
There being no further business, the Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 20:20pm.
Items to Announce
· Captains' Meeting: Tuesday 1st September 2026 at Barnard Castle Cricket Club.
· Team captains are requested to provide updated contact details prior to the start of the new season.
· Registration forms will be distributed before the Captains' Meeting.