Present: Bob Appels (BA), Hugh Burton(HB), Win Burton(WB), Tony Falcon-Uff (TFU), Koen Heidbuchel (KH), Fred Marcus (FM), Jonathan Lamb (JCL), John Swabey (JS), Charles-Eric Vilain XIIII (CEVQ).
Apologies received from: Bruno Eeman, Rowena Falcon-Uff, Arthur Forbes, Robert Greenwood, Dick Leonard, Allan Morris, Hilary Morris, Michele Perbal, John Steele, Gabor Weiner.
Actions below for: Bob Appels (BA), Tony Falcon-Uff(TFU), Hugh Burton (HB), Jonathan Lamb(JCL), John Swabey (JS).

1. AGENDA
The meeting began at 17h30. The proposed agenda was agreed.

2. LAST MEETING RECORD
The record of the 2003 AGM was agreed.

3. REVIEW OF 2003
The President (JS) briefly gave his views on last season, concluding that it had gone well and that members seemed to be more active. TFU said that there had been a good turn-out for the season's early club events but attendance had dwindled later. It was suggested that sometimes there could be too many players and that, in general, the lawn supported 8 players concurrently. FM expressed his appreciation of the in-house coaching at the beginning of the season and it was agreed as a good idea [ACTION JCL] but BA questioned the value of the annual course by a visiting coach (Harold). JCL, however, had arrived on one occasion for coaching to find no pupils. A short discussion concluded that club evenings should continue to be on Monday although HB said that sometimes it was poorly attended. FM said that some members appreciated croquet as a social as much as a competitive event. JCL asked if the annual Oxford and Cambridge Societies event was worth continuing. The meeting discussed the practice of accepting two members paid by the societies and the past poor attendance of these members. It was agreed that the event should be kept in the calendar if the societies continued to request it and that the new members should be accepted if their fees were paid.

4. PROGRAMME FOR 2004
The meeting reviewed the BCCG events planned for 2004. It was reported that GW (not present) had questioned the support for 'league' season-longs tournaments due to a poor record of games completed. TFU agreed to organise the season-longs if GW did not want to and to establish ladders on the website as an alternative/addition. The meeting agreed that the remaining club fixtures would be roughly as last year. (The full calendar appears on the club website.)

5. TREASURER'S REPORT
The Treasurer (TFU) presented a detailed printed report. He said that the BCCG had started the year with 3336 EUR and ended with 6461 EUR. A large outstanding payment (facilities fee for 2003) of 2250 EUR and other small items will reduce this total to 4268 EUR. JCL was in favour of spending the surplus with BA and TFU against. No particular additional expenditure was agreed.

6. FEES REVIEW
Following the Treasurer's report of a good balance in the bank, FM suggested lowering the membership fees but the meeting agreed with TFU's position of prudence. Failing any agreement to change, fees for 2004 remain as last year. For reference: Full membership 180 EUR, New members 90 EUR, Non-resident members 90 EUR, Young members (under 14) FREE, Family membership 270 EUR, New family membership 135 EUR, Green fee 10 EUR. (See BCCG website for definitions of each category).

7. FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT REVIEW
JCL and CEV reported a meeting that they had attended with John Martin (JM), the owner of the hotel and croquet facilities. JCL said that JM had noted the condition of the clubhouse (collapsed structure at one corner leading to hole in floor). JM had said that the building had lasted beyond its expected life and that he may replace it with 'something in hardwood' and promised to ask for quotations. JCL will monitor situation and check with JM [ACTION JCL]. JCL further reported that JM had engaged a second gardener to assist Andre. After discussion, JM asked that the club obtain quotations for resurfacing the lawn. The meeting agreed to obtain prices for levelling, placing drainage and resufacing the lawn. TFU suggested that a slightly larger surface and more stability at the edges could be achieved by filling in the ditches. To lessen the problem of interference with backswing near the edges, TFU further suggested replacement of the raised wooden surround with a simple facia board up to path level [ACTION JCL (TFU, BA)]. It was agreed that the club had no pressing need for new mallets but needed clips and more hoops may need painting.

8. MEMBERSHIP AND PROMOTION REVIEW
JS stated that the club had gained and lost members but that numbers remained static. JCL has received contact from a mid-handicap player wishing to play for this season. It was agreed to place the usual advertisement in the Bulletin [ACTION JCL] and on the Ex-pat.com website [ACTION JS]. JS suggested using the forthcoming Olympics as a way to publicise croquet as an ex-Olympic sport (1900) with a possible link-up with the John Harris Fitness Centre [ACTION JS]. HB offered to hand out croquet leaflets to colleagues if someone could provide them [ACTION HB (JS)]. HB suggested producing a smaller hand-out (A4 folded in three) to save costs if feasible [ACTION JCL]. (Although not reported at the meeting, for reference, the club had a total of 25 members in 2003 (25 in 2002).)

9. ELECTIONS
The following were all re-elected to Committee posts:
President - JS
Secretary - TFU
Treasurer - TFU
Membership Manager - BA
Events Organiser - GW (in absentia)
Handicapping Chairman - JCL
TFU would continue as webmaster.

10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
After a vote of thanks to the host (BA), the Secretary closed the meeting at 19h45.

Tony Falcon-Uff
Secretary
Brussels Croquet Club at Genval
Brussels, 7 March 2004