Post
by NickFaulks » Tue Apr 24, 2018 4:33 pm
I expect the Budget will be approved without difficuly, because it usually is. Council members are right to feel that it is dangerous to fiddle around in a large meeting with a construct that has been painstakingly created from many moving parts. This year, however, the issues do look unusually straightforward.
Compared to the Budget approved last year, there are two changes of significance.
1. The amount going to the 2018 Olympiad teams has risen by £9,500, from £26,500 to £36,000.
2. The £1pa discount available to members by way of online payment has been scrapped. Let's say this will bring in an additional £9,000 in membership fees.
It is evident that it would be possible to reverse both of these unheralded changes, leaving the Budget largely as was approved a year ago, with little net effect. It is therefore to be hoped that counties and leagues have sounded out their players regarding their level of enthusiasm regarding an additional levy of £1pa to support the national team. Those who have found such enthusiasm to be high will presumably support the new plans, while those who have found resistance ought to favour rolling them back.
Based on admittedly limited soundings in the very short time available, I believe that club players in London would generally prefer the cost of membership not to go up this year, and that they think that Olympiad teams should be able to work within their existing budget. If applied around the country, this would also apply to the categories of Silver and Bronze members. It is of course possible that club players further North open their wallets more freely.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a QR code stamped on a human face — forever.