The Mote Squash Club
Willow Way • Maidstone, Kent • ME15 7RN
Tel: 01622 676 977
Annual General Meeting – September 2025
Chair’s Report
Introduction
This year the AGM is Friday 19th September at 7.30. Club night will stop for the duration and beer will be half price from the start time. Please do come along, this is your chance to put forward your suggestions on the running of the club.
I’m pleased to say the existing committee members are prepared to stand again this year and I’d like to extend a formal welcome to Ian Hunt as membership secretary. Ian replaced Annabel Williamson, to whom I’d like to say thanks for her time on the committee. Our trustees have also confirmed they are happy to continue.
Nominations are open should anybody wish to join the committee, in an existing role or as an additional member. Should you be interested please let Matt Baker (Club Secretary) know.
There have been a couple of volunteer changes this year. John Burbridge (after some 12 years – huge thanks to John) has passed the squash leagues over to Martyn Smyth (thanks for stepping forward Martyn) and Luke Mount has taken on social media updates. I’m sure you have noticed extra Facebook activity this year. I’m hopeful our profile will be enhanced locally and we will see new members as a result.
Chris Cox continues to keep us on the straight and narrow regarding Health and Safety, including his regular checks on all electrical, plumbing, and infrastructure matters. We need to renew the defibrillator pads soon and will send a refresher note to everyone on how to use it, should the need ever arise.
Matt Baker continues to organise the racketball leagues, despite ongoing injuries.
Finally, thanks to Neil Reading and Joe Wheatley for the things they do, that are not noticed but are invaluable to the smooth running of the club.
Lastly, huge thanks again this year to our sponsors; Steve Lowe (whose Elsatex banners now enhance the appearance of courts 1 and 2), Clive Franklin (CAF Ceramics) and Jason Goodayle (S&G Process Engineering) for their long term support of the club, Steve Wentzell for renewing the Capital Cleaning sponsorship and Marcus Robson (DMS Communications) for coming on board this year. I can’t stress enough how valuable this support is for the club and others would be most welcome.
Finance
Last year I described the club’s financial state as “ticking along” and I’d say the same is true this year. As at year end we were £3k in profit, on an unaudited basis. As at end of August bank balances are tracking £6.5k positive to 2024. Luke Penna will be on hand at the AGM to answer any questions.
We managed to renew the energy contracts at terms that, in the end, were not as bad as feared.
We also agreed a debt repayment schedule with the brewery which will mean the loan is paid off around this calendar year end, coinciding with contract expiry. No doubt Carlsberg will want to discuss renewal terms and I’ll keep you informed on any developments.
Wholesale wet costs have come under some pressure this year, reflected in recent small increases to our draught and bottle prices, the first increases since November and February ‘24 respectively.
The Committee recommends £nil increase in renewal subscription charges. As per last year we are asking for payment to be made during October. A £25 late payment fee will apply to renewals after this date.
Membership
As at 31/8/25, membership stands at 173 across all categories (184 at August 2024). Fees total £19,285 (£20,384 August ‘24). Court usage is down 7% YoY.
Social
A number of functions have been held over the past 12 months, including a great Christmas party, a sold out spring quiz and Russ’ 60th birthday party, where we were all invited. Our thanks to Russ and his team for their efforts during the year.
Next quiz is 18/10, as per the recent newsletter. These are always popular so get your team name down as soon as possible..
Club Captain’ Report
Teams
Winter - 24/25 1st team finished 2nd in Division 2 and 2nd team finished 3rd in Division 4 of Kent Priory League.
Summer 25 1st team currently 9th in Division 1 and 2nd team currently 6th in Division 4 with 3 matches left to play.
Thanks to Mark and Luke for running the teams and for all players who have supported the club in partaking in the matches.
Graded
The Graded Event took place in January. We had a full 64 player draw which made for a busy day at club. A couple of Mote members picked up trophies. This is always a popular event, probably because it gives competitors a chance to shake off Christmas and new year celebrations. The 2026 event is scheduled for 3/1/26.
PSA 2025
Some quality squash over the weekend with the Men’s winner Ronnie Hickling and runner up Alex Broadbridge coming through some tough matches. We did get some support from members in using the courts over the weekend and then grabbing a beer to spectate afterwards. Thanks to our generous sponsorships we were able to cover all competition expenses.
Our thanks to Ben Ford for organising and Nick Peel for officiating over the whole weekend.
2024 Club Champions
Congratulations to Ben Goodayle, our club squash champion and to Dave Seaman on winning the Racketball competition. Once again, we held a presentation evening around the final match and we saw some good support from category winners, friends and family.
It takes a lot of effort to run the championships and Jason has done the job for many years. I’d like to record our appreciation for his dedication and hard work.
Juniors
Junior sessions continue Saturday mornings and Thursday evenings run by Ben and Luke. New juniors are welcome, do have a chat with either coach or Claire Goodayle, our Junior Secretary.
In the 2024 junior closed, our winner was Lyubi Tinchev and the plate winner was Nick Tinchev.
Awards made during the year were to Noah Penna as junior player of the year Nat Adkins as most improved player.
The 2025 Mote junior closed will be held in October/November
The Mote will be hosting the Kent Junior Closed over the weekend of 8/9 November
Several juniors have joined the Box leagues and have been playing for the Men’s teams this season which is great to see.
Maintenance and Development
Each year I give an update on plans to redevelop the cricket/rugby/squash clubs and, although hopes are high, I subsequently have to report that the plans never actually turned into actions.
Unsurprisingly this year has seen no change in that pattern. The cricket club have not been idle this year though. Progress has been made in closing the funding gap (which has always been the rock on which the plans foundered) and I sense a mood of optimism exists.
We had decided to maintain the club pending the redevelopment but not to make a substantial investment, bearing in mind our time in our current premises is limited. We also have a long standing commitment to maintain the courts to a high standard – traditionally our courts have been among the best in Kent.
With this in mind we have obtained quotes for refurbishment of courts 1 and 2 and expect to go ahead with the work before year end. Work will include walls and floors as required. Each court will be closed whilst work is undertaken and we ask you to bear with us as we try to minimise disruption.
Jason continues to look after club maintenance as well as carry out his Club Captain role. There have been some challenges this year including sweeping the roof clear of water during the winter. The club is in a good state of repair and we aim to keep it that way.
Steve Hazzard
Club Chair
12/9/2025
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