AGM Update

Scottish Squash are modernising:

At the General Meeting held on 24th September at the new Scottish Squash HQ in ORIAM, Heriot Watt University the following changes to the governance of Scottish Squash were agreed by the Members:

Name Change to Scottish Squash Limited

The meeting agreed that the Company name shall return to Scottish Squash Limited and Racketball is to be removed from the title. Racketball was recently rebranded Squash 57 in a Global rebrand spearheaded by WSF. The Squash 57 rebrand is in a bid for squash to be pushed towards selection for the Olympics. Maggie Still CEO of Scottish Squash Ltd stated:

“We recognise that Racketball / Squash 57 is a game loved by many within Scotland and there is a strong and vibrant community promoting and playing the game. We will continue to work with players and promoters to support the game moving forwards and it will remain an important element within the squash brand. This name change is for the Scottish Sports Governing Body only to bring additional clarity, specifically for external partners, and there is no expectation that other organisations within Squash in Scotland will change their name. We will endeavour to minimise any costs incurred in the name change and keep any changes as simple as possible. However, we are delighted with the decision to simplify the name and focus the sport and I am convinced that this will help with our efforts to further raise the profile of the sport”.

The Board have been working to modernise the governance of the organisation and this has work been led by Stuart Tennant, Scottish Squash Non Executive Director (Legal). Stuart is the Legal Counsel for the RFU and has a wealth of experience in sports law. Many of the changes have been prompted by the sportscotland SGB Governance Framework (available via the following link: https://sportscotland.org.uk/media/1750/sgbframework14ppweb.pdf) but we also consulted the non-binding UK Sport / Sport England Code of Governance for Sport (available via the following link: http://www.uksport.gov.uk/resources/governance-code) and the Sport & Recreation Alliance Voluntary Code of Good Governance (available via the following link: http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/governance/voluntary-code-of-good-governance). The Board were also mindful of the recent recommendations to WSF in terms of modernisation and changes to governance.

Stuart said of his work with Scottish Squash:

“I was delighted to assist Scottish Squash with modernising their articles and ensuring that the game is properly governed by the board.  The changes put Scottish Squash on the same footing as many English sports governing bodies and in an advanced position should SportScotland enact a Governance Code with similar content to the one adopted by Sport England / UK Sport.”

Other Changes

A list of the material changes is set out below:

  1. In accordance with the sportscotland SGB Governance Framework, restricting numbers on the board to no more than twelve and introducing the option for a third non-executive director (which will allow us to have the recommended 25% independence on the board).  In line with the vast majority of other sports governing bodies in the UK, the Chief Executive Officer will become a member of the board.  The make-up of the board will be as follows:
    1. President
    2. CEO
    3. Vice-President & Regional Director
    4. Vice-President & Regional Director
    5. Vice-President & Regional Director
    6. Regional Director
    7. Regional Director
    8. Regional Director
    9. Financial Director
    10. Non-Executive Director (Performance)
    11. Non-Executive Director (Legal)
    12. Non-Executive Director

These changes to the Board will be implemented as the Board evolves over the next twelve months.

Maggie Still commented:

“We are delighted that Jim Hay has agreed to remain as President of Scottish Squash and Chair of the Scottish Squash Board. The recent changes will enable greater skill retention on the Board, as recommended by the best practice governance frameworks and provides a better time period for succession planning.”

“Jim was recently appointed to the WSF Ethics Commission and his vision, values and connections will be good for the sport in Scotland and will keep us central to the action as the sport strives for Olympic inclusion”

  1. In line with the sportscotland SGB Governance Framework, introducing term limits for all board members (ten years) and also the tenure of the President (two x four year terms) and Vice Presidents (two x three year terms).  Articles 99-101 set out a proposal for the tenures of the current members of the board which includes an alignment of the tenure of the President with the four year cycle of the Commonwealth Games.
  1. Ratifying the WSF recommendation to change the name of the sport of “racketball” to “Squash 57”.  This has led to a change in the company name from “Scottish Squash and Racketball Limited” to “Scottish Squash Limited”.
  1. Changing the financial year from “1 May to 30 April” to “1 April to 31 March”.
  1. The period for the gathering of subscription fees shall be the “squash season” year (1 September – 31 August).
  2. Incorporating some of the provisions of the old Memorandum of Association into the new Articles of Association and adding additional principles and objects of the Company (in addition to those in the old Memorandum of Association).  It is proposed that sections (I) & (II) be deleted and sections (III) – (VII) be transferred to Articles 6 and 90-92 of the new Articles of Association.
  3. The deadline for submitting nominations has been reduced from 45 days (before the Annual General Meeting) to 30 days.
  4. Introducing a new category of member called an individual recreational member (which allows us, if they agree to be affiliated, to cover individuals who play squash outwith clubs, e.g. in leisure centres).
  5. Rejigging the order of the articles to reflect how modern articles are ordinarily set out.
  6. Introducing the power for the President to suspend a member of the board pending any vote to remove the individual from the board.

Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting and who have offered input into the modernisation process and special thanks to Stuart Tennant for the delivering this work for the sport.

A copy of the Company’s new Articles of Association are located on the website via the following link New Articles of Association.

If you have any questions about the changes please contact Maggie Still at Maggie.still@scottishsquash.org