THE Ballarat Red Devils’ new board will concentrate on maintaining stability in 2013.
The club held its annual meeting on Monday night, where six members of the board of 10 were changed.
The new president, Jamie Winton, said although the board had seen a change of people, it would continue with the same goals of having a strong and successful club on and off the park.
Winton served as president in 2004 and has been involved in the club since the 1980s.
“I started playing with the club in 1986 and continued playing up until 2003, and for the past 10 years I’ve served on the committee on and off,” Winton said.
“I enjoyed standing aside and being a supporter of the club as it was running smoothly. I just thought it was my turn.”
Other new board members include club life members Gerry Rykers and Harry Arts, as well as former club captain Wayne Sanford and accountant Darrel Tauschke.
Although the club finished the season with a financial loss, Winton is confident about the year ahead.
“Financially, last year was a challenging time for the club. But it is nothing that we’re concerned about,” he said.
“We’re comfortable with the direction and where we’re going financially.
“We’ve got people on the board who know what they’re doing. We purposefully elected people with financial or business backgrounds.
“It’s too early to say if the financial position will have any impacts on the club next year, but the new board is confident that in 2013 the club will be financially stable.”
Financial backgrounds were not the only attributes the club looked for in its new board members.
“We’ve got guys coming on the board that have been with the club since the 1960s, so they are club people – people with club philosophies,” Winton said.
One of the first tasks for the new board will be to appoint a new coach after Brian Shelley resigned last Sunday.
Shelley had moved into the coaching position for the 2011 season and still had one year left on his contract.
“It is a priority of ours to find our new coach and get someone into the position,” Winton said.
“But it’s a process that will take time.
“We don’t know when someone will be appointed.
“We need to take a holistic look at the club and the team in general.
“When there is a coach appointed we will look at the players we’ve got and the players we require.”
nicole.cairns@thecourier.com.au
