SPECIAL NOTICE TO ALL SCTA MEMBERS

Dear Members

It is with reservation that the Board have been required to implement the increase in subscription fees, notified at the last AGM. These will rise from
£30 to £40 for direct debit payment and to £42 by other payment methods. The subscriptions for Juniors (under 21) will remain at £15.00.
This is the first increase for many years, indeed none of the members I have spoken to can remember the last increase.

Our costs have increased to the point where we are facing another deficit for the current financial year. Our insurance premium, for example, has increased by 30% over the last year and although we are negotiating to reduce this, a substantial rise is inevitable. Following on from a deficit in the year previous it is apparent that this cannot be allowed to continue and our books must be balanced.

The board are determined that while this increase is necessary for the running of the Association that real benefits are made available to the members in return. We have invested in administration software to combine numerous spreadsheets (and bits of paper) into one central database for members which will record score returns, membership information (which will be protected) and classification calculations; we are in discussions with our web host to revamp the website which we hope to re-launch summer 2009. Our coaching programme continues to provide professional coaching at a fraction of the cost of private tuition and we hope to continue to expand this in coming years. We have now appointed Iain Dawson as Association Administrator (contact details to follow) who will be implementing procedures to bring the Association up-to-date and to meet our aspiration to be a modern business fit for the future.

Tony Lithgow
SCTA Chairman