Constable Quiz League
Chairman's report 2004
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First I would like to thank everyone who took part in the League and 
especially those who did work towards it. In particular I would like 
to thank Gary for the questions - I have written quizzes and I know 
that it is a huge committment of 8 to 10 hours per quiz times 25 or 
more quizzes. I'd also like to thank Andrea for sorting out the finances - 
setting up a new bank account when being treated as a dangerous 
money-launderer is no fun. I'd also like to thank the Red Lion for 
hosting the Christmas quiz and Dedham for hosting the KO final and 
this AGM. We could not run the league in its present form without them 
- and having moved from the BASC because of having to prepare our own 
food when we played there I really appreciate the effort our hosts 
put into it. 

I think some things worked well this year. The number of teams being 
a multiple of three helped with the fixtures and the weeks off mid season 
seem to have been universally appreciated. 

There were also some disappointments. In particular the attendance at the 
Christmas quiz was disappointing relative to the effort put in. Possibly 
it needs to be a week or two earlier if it continues.  I am aware of one 
error in the fixtures - my error copying not Gary's in calculation - and 
although it was detected and fixed early the response from some teams was 
disappointing. The people who manage this league are volunteers and have 
job and family pressures and expecting a level of perfection more appropriate 
to air traffic control is in my opinion unreasonable. 

As you know I have decided not to continue either as Chairman or Results 
Secretary next season.  There are a number of reasons:

* I have found it increasingly difficult to be here every Sunday for 30 
  weeks of the year, 
* I have found it much more difficult this year because I also have to send 
  out questions so I have to be sure results arrive on time - there is no 
  chance to carry over til next week if cards are late or I was away all week 
* Two venues have persistently failed to phone or e-mail on Sunday night (or 
  rather one venue and the A-team at another). If the results secretary is 
  away in the early part of the week this leaves no chance to prepare, print 
  and post hardcopy so I end up driving round which is 2 hours of my time 
  lost that I did not plan for when I committed to do the job and cannot 
  afford to promise for next season. We need to be sure that either next 
  season's question setter can deliver them him/her self  or we need to 
  ensure that the results secretary gets everything by Wednesday every 
  week without fail.
* There are a number of teams which have expected me to know fixtures by 
  memory and who have made remarks indicating that they regard my performance 
  in terms of the accuracy and timliness of results as unsatisfactory
* There are a number of venues and teams that have persisted in using outdated 
  fixtures and held me responsible. One of them - unfortunately mine - turned 
  out never to have read the fixtures I sent them - they were given to the QM 
  and binned with all the other waste paper at the end of the match. I 
  profoundly apologise to the teams that went hungry that evening and 
  feel doubly responsible as league secretary and host. I never want to 
  be in that situation again.
* When I started this job most teams were regulars at their venue - this 
  is no longer true. As a result it is necessary to mail fixtures and results 
  to both team captains and venues independently. So it is now necessary 
  to stuff and post 22 envelopes instead of 12 each week. 

In view of the above I think it is time for someone who has more time and can 
be sure of being here midweek to take over the fixtures, and I think it is 
time for someone less jaded to take over the league chairmanship. I dont want 
to be in fear of the phone every Sunday afternoon for half the year anymore.

I would ask you all to support whoever takes over my various roles next year 
and make sure that they have more fun than I did. Please remember that everyone 
who works on this league is a volunteer - we aren't a business like JGNC and 
even if we claim expenses for provable items our time and many small items 
like phone bills are not refunded. This year's quizmaster collection was too 
small to buy a decent gift for Gary and Emma even if I went without the part 
that was due to the results secretary and I would suggest that either a more 
formal arrangement via the registration fee is considered or a going rate 
closer to £2 per player is considered for future seasons. I would like any 
residue from this year's collection to be added to the charity collection. 

Iain Moffat
17-Apr-2004