Update from the Association

Our Annual General Meeting was held on 30 June and it was pleasing to see all clubs represented, with several representatives from the club's women's teams in attendance as well.

There are a couple of new faces on the committee for the coming season in Ken McCarron and John Warrington, while David Redden moves into the Vice President's role with Liam Dillon not seeking re-election. We thank Liam for his 8 years of service to the committee and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Mark Frecklington returned as President, Peter Jarick as Secretary, Matthew Tabbernor as Treasurer and David Neil to his general committee position.

The financial statements show the Association to be in excellent financial position, with discussion in the ordinary meeting that followed highlighting future projects being undertaken by the Association including the widening of the Brendon Sturgeon Oval pitch, a project being jointly undertaken with the junior association.

The annual report was presented to the meeting, the document providing a good record of the season. The President highlighted the performances of our representative teams this season and the progress that continues to be made in expanding our women's competitions.

A new judiciary committee was also elected, with David Redden the new chair. Nominations were also called for members of the women's sub-committee and the representative sub-committee.

The Committee updated the clubs on changes to rules being considered for the upcoming season, as well as the preliminary planning for 2026-27 competitions. One point of discussion included the rule for players in Centenary Cup, with a proposal put forward at the meeting for clubs to consider.

The Committee also advised of plans to hold a Colts competition during the season with Monday night identified as the preferred night to hold this competition. It is expected that this competition would be played in two blocks of 6 weeks, one in the first half of the season and the second after Christmas. It was also proposed that the competition would be 8 players per side and played as a 15 overs per side match. Nominations would be sought from clubs as the season nears.

The women's sub-committee advised of plans being developed to play a representative match on the October long weekend. A question was also asked as to whether the women's social competition would be graded from the start of the season.

The men's competitions are planned to start from 10 October with grand finals on 20 March. The grand final is a week earlier than normal due to the Easter falling on the last weekend in March. It was noted that the BOIDC has already determined to hold their 1st Grade Grand Final on the Friday and Saturday of that Easter weekend.

The Association will hold its next meeting on 11 August where further discussion will take place on proposed rule changes and to fine tune plans for season 2026-27.