Our annual general meeting (AGM) is being held on Thursday 9th April 2026 at 8pm, right after Badminon session at the Velodrome.

The AGM gives the committee the opportunity to report back to members on the club’s progression over the last year and the plans for the future. It’s an open forum, so the perfect environment for members to discuss topics they may currently feel strongly about. You’ll receive an update on each of the committee roles, detailing what has progressed this year and what the plans are for the coming year.

One of the key points of an AGM is that it gives the official opportunity for current committee members to step down and for other members to step up into the committee. Northern Cocks grows year on year, and this year has been no different! The size of the club has brought with it a lot more work for the committee. With that, I have drawn up a list of committee roles and responsibilities which will distribute the workload evenly and give lots of people an opportunity to contribute.

Committee Roles
All committee members are expected to complete the following:

• Encouraging, defending, and insisting on compliance with the club ethos at all times.
• Taking payments at at least one of the weekly sessions.
• Assisting with the peg board when required.
• Being that friendly welcoming face at sessions, ensuring to say hello and having a game with all new members.
• Contributing to discussions in the committee chat.
• Voting on issues in person or in the chat.
• Reporting back to the Chair on any issues/bad behaviour you witness or is reported to you at the club.
• Setting the example we insist the membership to follow.
• Organising or assisting with at least one social per year.

Chair

• It is the chairs responsibility to oversee the general running of the club, any major decision making, and general dispute resolution.
• Check in with all other committee on their responsibilities.
• Tournaments organising.
• Spring, Summer, Winter major socials.
• Liaise with sponsors and associates.
• Blog posting and general club communications.
• Lead on WhatsApp community group.

Vice Chair

• It is the vice chair’s responsibility to assist the chair in their duties and stand in for the chair when necessary.
• Vice chair generally takes on a second role as detailed below.

Treasurer

• Lead on financial decisions.
• Venue liaison, court bookings, room bookings.
• Shuttle purchase and distribution.
• Printing.
• Invoicing/expenses in and out.

Secretary

• Call and lead committee meetings and AGMs.
• All meeting points to discuss should go to the secretary so that they can collate agendas.
• Take minutes from meetings and distribute to committee / club when necessary.
• Coaching organisation.
• Lead on email communications.

Legal

• Lead on privacy policies, legal documents, GDPR, constitution.
• Ensure the club has relevant policies relating to all of the LGBTQ+ sub-communities.

Website and Digital Admin

• Ensure the website is updated and accurate.
• Endeavour to create new and engaging content on the website.
• Lead on digital admin which includes emails and Zettle.

Health and Safety

• Act as primary first aider when available.
• First aid advice and support at all events and socials.
• Ensure the club has up to date safety policies and practices.
• Health and safety communications.

Social Media Lead

• Run club social media accounts.
• Liaise with club contacts through socials.
• Lead on designs for socials.
• Generate hype, interactivity, and excitement.
• Ensure social output aligns and promotes the club ethos.
• Run social campaigns which include: ‘meet the committee’, ‘award/medal winners’, and ‘meet the club member’.

Welfare Officer

• Primary contact for member support and welfare issues, including mental health issues.
• Ensuring policies and practices of the club are aligned with the club ethos.
• Proactively introducing inclusive initiatives wherever possible.
• Ensure all parts of the LGBTQ+ community are represented and welcomed.

Northern Pride Officer

• Northern Pride is a collaborative endeavour, bringing together all LGBTQ+ sports clubs in and around Manchester.
• Organise joint events and socials with each other sports club at least once per year.
• Organise joint socials with one or more of the other clubs throughout the year.
• Run social media accounts for Northern Pride.
• Primary liaison for other club contacts.

Social Secretary

• Have a general overview of all social activities relating to the club.
• Create/update an ongoing social calendar which club members can view.
• Run club socials throughout the year which cater for our eclectic mix of members.
• Assist all other committee members in their social organising.

Event Secretary

• Researching national and international events which would be good for the club to participate in.
• Liaise with event contacts, creating schedules and approximate costs.
• Eurogames/Gay Games involvement and organising.
• National and international tournament organisation.

Membership Secretary

• Have overall control over membership data.
• Ensure regular players have signed up as members.
• Speak to non-members about the benefits of membership.
• Bring fresh ideas to member benefits.

Engagement Officer

• Run engagement activities, votes, competitions, polls, etc.
• Lead on feedback, trends, and suggestions.
• Proactively look at ways in which the club can keep membership and committee engaged throughout the year.

General Committee

• The general committee role is as important as every other. The general committee are responsible for assisting all other committee members when required, bringing collaboration, and being a point of contact for new members. This role is often filled by newly joining committee members who want to give general help.

I would usually recommend new joiners to the committee join as general committee before taking on a named role. This gives you the opportunity to see how the club runs and what role you would enjoy filling. However, with the committee restructure, several roles are currently empty and we are looking for people to fill the following roles:

• Welfare Officer (female/non-binary to work alongside our male Welfare Officer)
• Northern Pride Lead
• Social Secretary
• Event Secretary
• Engagement Officer
• General Committee

If you think you could fill one of the above roles, would like to challenge for one of the filled roles, or would otherwise like more information on anything, get in touch with Pete before Thursday 2nd April 2026 so that everything can be put in place before the AGM. Likewise, if you would like anything specific discussed at the AGM, bring it to the attention of Pete or Ritchie before 2nd April.

I hope you can make the AGM and I look forward to seeing everyone there.

Pete Barnes
Chair, Northern Cocks Badminton Club