AGM 2025 Recap & Club Update

作者布里斯班乒乓球 阅读时间： 6 分钟

BTTA 2025 AGM Recap: A Landmark Year and an Ambitious Future

The 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) has concluded, and the key message for all members is one of outstanding success, strategic growth, and ambitious planning. The club is in an incredibly strong position, highlighted by a successful merger, record-breaking junior numbers, and a robust financial report.

For those who couldn’t attend, here is a detailed overview of the key reports and outcomes from the meeting. You can read the Annual Report here.

The SEQ Merger & Coaching Success

A major highlight of the year was the successful merger with the South East Queensland Table Tennis Club. This has been a significant win for the club, injecting fresh energy and, most notably, boosting our junior program to new heights.

Our General Manager, Vinnie Batten, was commended for his instrumental role in managing this complex process. Bringing Giovanni Cnapich and his team on-board has highlighted the strengths of our respective clubs and looks to continue to accelerate BTTA to new heights. Gio’s leadership and vision has transformed the sport in Queensland and we look forward to continuing to do so in partnership.

Head Coach Bruno Levis delivered a fantastic report, noting that the coaching program has achieved:

  • Record junior participation, with BTTA soon to exceed 100 active junior players now training under our structured system — the highest number in the club’s history.
  • A successful Spin Sisters program, led by coach Sakiko Fukano, which continues to inspire confidence and grow participation among our female players.
  • The continued refinement of our coaching framework, thanks to the hard work of Bruno and Junior Development Officer, Giovani Gnapich.

Our Financial Health: A Detailed Look

Treasurer, Robert DiBartolo, presented a detailed and very positive financial report. The club is in excellent financial health, posting a net earning of $80,000 (before depreciation).

This fantastic result was driven by several key areas of the club operating at a highly professional level:

  • Coaching Program Turnaround: The most significant story is the coaching program. Thanks to careful cost management by management, the program has transformed from a $20,000 loss in the previous year to a $24,000 profit this year, allowing us to reinvest into the program’s expansion.
  • Pro Shop Success: The Pro Shop saw its profit increase by 61% to nearly $12,500. This was attributed to better stock monitoring, improved procurement, and quality advice.
  • Increased Player Revenue: Total player revenue (from fixtures, social play, and tournaments) increased by 11% to $240,000.
  • Canteen Contribution: The canteen, managed tirelessly by Tiana Condon and supported by volunteers, continues to be a vital contributor, adding a profit of approximately $10,000. The meeting remarked that this has turned from not opening the canteen at all at major events, to providing an affordable service for participants that has ultimately turned a significant profit.

This strong financial performance has boosted our net cash position to $184,597 giving the club the freedom and ability to co-fund the major capital works projects we have all been waiting for.

The Future is Cool: The Air Conditioning Project

The most anticipated item on the agenda was the update on the stadium air conditioning project. We are pleased to report that this massive project is fully costed, and a clear funding strategy is in place, pending the government support we have been working so hard to secure. A special mention was given to John Buzolic who has championed the management of this project in his role as the Climate Resilience Manager, and John Swinbourne who has provided many years of his expertise to provide the foundations of how this large-scale project could be implemented.

  • Total Project Cost: The all-in cost for the project is upwards of $750,000.
  • Funding Strategy: This will be funded through a combination of sources, including grant and government sources we are actively pursuing, with a strong co-contribution from our own savings.
  • The cost includes not just the AC units but also a crucial Energex power supply upgrade and a costly internal switchboard renewal required to make this happen. This electrical upgrade will also make the stadium ready for a future Olympic-standard lighting upgrade.
  • An installation would significantly increase our annual electricity bill, so a parallel solar and battery project has been costed to make this more manageable. This is also being actively pursued through government support channels.
  • While the future of this project remains without a defined timeline and somewhat out of our hands, we are more optimistic than we have been regarding its prospects, particularly in light of government focus on ensuring facilities in South East Queensland are 2032 Olympics ready.
  • The Committee will explore all avenues available to us in the meantime to improve our building’s conditions, modernising the facility hand built by our members nearly 50 years ago.

Tournament and Program Highlights

  • Major Tournaments: The Brisbane Open, Brisbane Invitational, and Brisbane Closed were all executed successfully, thanks to the meticulous work of Tournament Director David Bernard and his team. A massive thank you was given to David for his tireless efforts, and how he has stepped into this role and taken it to an even higher standard in a very short period. David declared he is feeling optimistic about the future of BTTA.
  • “Flexi” Tournament Success: The new Saturday Night Flexi tournament, the brainchild of Giovanni Cnapich, has been a roaring success. Held on Saturday nights, it provides a perfect entry point for juniors and returning players, uses a round-robin -> semi -> final format, and provides a rating for all participants allowing accurate division sorting. This event meets participants where they’re at in a modern busy lifestyle that can make it difficult to commit to a full Fixtures season, and has held a capacity of upwards of 80 participants.
  • Special Olympics: The Special Olympics report highlighted the program’s success, with the program led by Kim Hammermeister producing several athletes participating in tournaments and a group selected to attend the National Games.

Club Leadership & Governance

We are thrilled to confirm our committee for the 2025-2027 period.

  • Elected Unopposed: Congratulations to 大卫·伯纳德 (Vice President) and Robert DiBartolo (Treasurer), who were both re-elected unopposed.
  • Ordinary Members: We had four outstanding candidates nominate for the three available Ordinary Member positions: John Buzolic, Kanglin (Ken) Lu, Michael Rodrigues, and Yang Zhao. After introductions from all candidates, a secret ballot was held to determine the new members.

The election gave us the following Committee for 2025-2027:

President: 尤塔·马夸特
Vice-President: 大卫·伯纳德
Secretary: 蒂安娜·康登
Treasurer: 罗伯特·迪·巴托洛
Ordinary Member: John Buzolic, Michael Rodrigues, Yang Zhao (term expiring in 2027)
Ordinary Member: Shadi Hurford, Neil Saldanha, Andrew Ferrett (term expiring in 2026)

The meeting thanked Ken Lu for his nomination and encouraged him to stay involved with upcoming opportunities for volunteerism. The meeting also thanked Francis Keating and Bradley Mitchell for their service on the outgoing Committee, with a special thank you to life member Mike Edwards who had spend many years assisting in various roles on the Committee.

The meeting also carried three special resolutions to modernise our constitution:

  1. To require a minimum seven-day open period for committee nominations, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
  2. To make membership definitions more flexible, allowing the committee to adapt to future changes from sporting governing bodies without needing to amend the constitution each time.
  3. To reorder the club’s objectives, placing “fostering and promoting table tennis in Brisbane” as our number one priority, making a clear statement about our core mission.

A Final Thank You

The overwhelming theme of the 2025 AGM was one of professionalism, progress and optimism. We continue to evolve from a ‘sleeping giant’ of a ping pong club into one that is showing leadership on the national stage to take our sport to the next level. The club is in a fantastic position, and it is a direct result of our dedicated staff, committee, and volunteers. We thank all members for their continuing support as we continue down this path, positioning our club strategically in the gear up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.