Our story begins about the summer of 1949 at another well known Gosport club at Stokes Bay, that is the Stokes Bay Sailing Club. A few members of the club felt that they were more interested in Sea fishing than Sailing. They decided to approach a Mr John Hunt who was on the committee, who also enjoyed fishing to see if an Angling section could be formed within the club. They felt that if they could organise a section and meetings within the club so they could pursue their favourite pastime.

After a lot of discussion amongst the members of the club and committee it was thought that it was not practicable and so their request was turned down. Mr John Hunt, Mr Ron Keech and Mr John Potter who were then members of the sailing club, still toyed with the idea and at the invitation of John Hunt, decided to call a public meeting in Gosport to see if there was any interest in the town for the formation of a brand new Angling club. A  notice was put in the local Evening News that a meeting was to be held at the "Crown Hotel", North Street, Gosport with the proposal to form a Gosport Angling Club, all were welcome, this was to be held on December 13th 1949 at 7:30pm.

Seventy people turned up at this meeting and proposed that a Gosport  Angling Society be formed. At this meeting Mr Hunt who was presiding told those present that Mr Potter had written to the National Federation of Sea Anglers (N.F.S.A) about the proposal to form a club and the secretary gave assistance in their endeavours. This club has had a long standing friendship with other clubs but particularly Southsea  Sea Angling Club Portsmouth, and the reasons are very obvious when you realise they offered assistance, as it was stated by Mr Hunt at this meeting, in the formation of a constitution and rules for  running of the club. At this meeting a drafting committee was formed to investigate the basic points about forming a club, and they were asked to report back early in 1950. Those appointed to this committee were Messrs John Hunt, Ron Keech, R Winter, O Edgeworth, J Ellinor and A. R. Coleman. Matters progressed well at the first meeting and this is when the name " Gosport and District Angling Club " was first mentioned, at this meeting they elected a full committee and Officers of the club. The members of this founding committee were,

Officers:  Chairman:            Air Commodore  A Sutton-Jones 

      Vice Chairman:          Mr John Hunt,        Hon Secretary:         Mr A.W.A Winter         Hon Treasurer:      Mr S.L Ellinor        Assistant Hon Secretary:      Mr A.R Coleman

Committee:   John Potter, R.G.Lawrence, H.O Edgeworth, Ron Keech, F. Watts, H, Greenworth, E. Milborn,  and the only lady representative was Mrs Winter.

At this meeting it was agreed that the newly formed club would charge a membership charge of 5/0 shillings (25p).

Then on 1st January 1950 the Gosport and District Angling Club came in to being. Once the committee was up and running the first club competitions started to take place, on the first competition the Mayor of Gosport Councillor C.B Osbourne, who had been asked and accepted an invitation to become our first President of the club, performed the opening ceremony. The competition got off to a good start as forty people entered. From investigations to ask the Mayor of Gosport to become part of the club was a  very shrewd move as already members were asking the committee to look into the possibility of having a permanent club premises at Stokes Bay. At that time most of the meetings were held in the "Crown Hotel" North Street Gosport.

As well as members owning their own boats the club did have a few of their own members could use for a small fee, most of the boats were in the region of between 10 and 12 foot in length most had small seagull engines, most had a copper or metal strip on the bottom of their boats this allowed them to run the boat out of the water and slide up onto the shingle beach.

The first and second clubhouses were no more than  large wooden sheds, both located roughly where the beach huts are now (towards Browndown), then as the club grew it was decided that they needed to expand into bigger premises, one of the members said that they were pulling down Prefabs in London and took a lorry to London and loaded up two of them and brought them back to Gosport on the lorry where they were joined together to make our second clubhouse.

Our present clubhouse is a Marley built building which at the time included a boat shed, the clubhouse was officially opened by the clubs second  President " Sir Alec Rose"(1971) he also opened the clubs first bar in 1981. This is all the club has managed to find out to date, if their are any older members who have memories of the club then please let us know.   

Our committee comprises of 13 members, these consist of 4 principal Officers (Chairperson, Honourable Secretary Treasurer, Vice Chairperson). The Assistant Secretary and the rest of the committee nominate themselves once a year and are elected at the Annual General meeting. The Chairperson, Hon secretary and Treasurer are elected every 2 years. All Elections have to be in accordance with the procedures laid down in the  Club rules. 

Below is a standard description of the officers of the club duties.

What is the Club Chairperson?

The chairperson is typically the most senior official role in an amateur sports club and fulfils a range of duties dealing with overall management of club affairs. The chairperson leads meetings and sets out a plan for the overall development of the club in the medium to long term. 

Chairperson’s role at a glance

The following is an overview of the tasks fulfilled by a club chairperson:

• Overall organisation and running of the club including promotion and club development.

• Chairs meetings including regular committee meetings and the club half yearly and yearly AGM.

• Strategic planning and key decision-making duties

• Uphold the  Clubs Constitution.

The role of chairperson is usually filled by people experienced in positions of leadership in their careers e.g., business owners, senior project managers or senior business managers. The chairperson needs to be a good communicator, a strategic thinker and someone who is able to delegate duties to different volunteers successfully and motivate those volunteers to serve the best interests of the club.

What is the Club Secretary?

The primary role of the club secretary in the club is to provide administrative support to the role of chairperson. Much of the hands-on administrative effort may be delegated to other club officers and volunteers, but responsibility for ensuring the overall, well-run club administration lies with the Secretary. 

What are the duties of the Club Secretary? 

The role of club secretary is a pivotal one in any sporting organisation and as a result is one of the most time-consuming roles in a club – the secretary must work in tandem with the chairperson and also regularly works with the club treasurer. The club secretary is also responsible for coordinating, announcing and minuting club meetings such as the clubs committee, methods of fishing , Half Yearly and  the AGM . 

Club Secretary’s role at a glance

Below are some of the common tasks undertaken by the Secretary. 

Organising meetings

• Plan club meetings with the chairperson and agree an agenda with all club officers.

• Circulate details of meetings (time, location, agenda etc.) to club members.

• Take minutes and circulate to meeting attendees.

• Follow-up with relevant parties on key actions arising from meetings

• Ensure meetings adhere to procedures of the club constitution (e.g., quorums and election procedures)

       Club Correspondence & Communication.

• Initiating and responding to all club correspondence. 

• Filing all club correspondence (incoming & outgoing)

       General Administration.

• Managing club membership.

• Keeping an accurate record of contact details for members.

• Maintain appropriate records of membership and communication and club documents such as the club constitution.

• Assist the Chairman in strategic planning of ongoing club development.

What is the Club Treasurer?

The Club Treasurer is responsible for the managing the flow of money into the club and for allocating and recording how that money is spent to run the club. This is a vital role in a club as the treasurer works to ensure the club is able to meet its day-to-day expenses. The treasurer also works in conjunction with the chairperson in planning the development of the club e.g., creating annual budgets, estimating funds required for a capital projects and projecting membership and income for future years to contribute towards prudent planning of the club’s future. 

Like any position with a responsibility for handling money, the treasurer is expected to be transparent and honest in their dealings with as a representative of the club. Good record keeping is essential and while a background in finance or accounting is not imperative for this role, it is preferable to have someone who is experienced in managing accounts. This role is often filled by small business owners, accountants and other professional people who manage money in their professional roles (e.g., bank officials). 

What are the duties of the Club Treasurer? 

The club treasurer typically manages the finances of the club, reports on the club’s financial performance and spearheads the fundraising effort to ensure the club has the necessary funds to be successful. 

The treasurer takes responsibility for the following:

Club treasurers are responsible for keeping an accurate historical record of transactions covering income such as membership payments, fundraising income, sponsorship income and payments to bank accounts.

Clubs collect money from a variety of sources and the treasurer will issue invoices and reconcile payments for, rental of club grounds to Depending on the club.

• Manages the club’s bank account

The club treasurer is responsible for maintaining the club’s bank records. This involves collecting membership payments, boat berths or any other income within the club the funds then deposited to the club bank account either by transferring electronically (or in person) and for reconciling bank records against those money-generating activities. 

Preparing financial statements ahead of the Annual General Meeting

Modern sports clubs have a considerable number of financial comings and goings throughout the year and this activity is reported on at the club AGM. A treasurer must detail a report including income and expenditure and assets/liabilities (premises, machinery, debts, loans etc.) of the club, which requires a detailed review of income from all sources and a detailed record of what club funds were spent during the year and what they were spent on. Many treasurers will use Excel spreadsheets or some kind of accounting software to keep a record of the club’s finances. 

• Reporting on the club’s financial performance at the club AGM 

Once the preparation is done, the treasurer’s report will feature on the club AGM agenda and budgets and financial records will be reviewed by members.

Continuity is a challenge for all club volunteering roles but is particularly important in the role of treasurer. Where one treasurer leaves the committee at AGM to be replaced by an incoming treasurer, handover of all financial records and bank accounts is important. Having a centralised record of finances makes this transition easier and a full record can easily be taken on by the incoming treasurer.

Rest of the Committee 

The rest of the committee posts are listed below with a brief description

Vice Chairperson

The Vice Chairperson assists the Chairman and conducts meetings in his absence.

Assistant Secretary

The Assistant Secretary will assist the Hon Secretary with the day to day running of the club and will stand in at meetings in the absence of the Hon Secretary.

Boat Match Officer

The Boat Match Officer organises the boat competitions throughout the year (this being January - December), organises the venue list for the following year and collates all the results from each competition and reports to the committee with the competition results each month, liaises with the Hon Sec to organise Methods of fishing Rule meeting once a year.

Beach Match Officer

The Beach Match Officer has the identical role to that of the Boat Match Officer

Social Secretary

The Social Secretary arranges the Social Calendar throughout the year, arranging Social Events, Raffles, Bingo Nights, Christmas Draw and Children's Christmas Party, any money raised during these events goes in to the Social fund to use during the year.

Boat Berth Officer 

The Boat Berth Officer oversees the boats in the compound, allocating berths to  current and new members, monitors boat insurances and reminds members when their insurance is due. The Boat Berth Officer also keeps a record of all boats held in the compound.

Building Officer  

The Building Officer maintains the club building and makes good repairs where necessary, this also involves the boat compound, out buildings and perimeter fence and gates.

Bar Chairperson

The Bar Chairperson deals with the day to day running of the bar in conjunction with the Bar Treasurer orders  stock, and replenishes as and when required, organises bar rota for bar staff.

P.R. Records

The PR Records Officer maintains the Records for caught fish, the PR Records Officer also liaises with the Angling Trust with regards to Specimen size species from both Boat, Beach and Junior Sections, When any Public Relation Issues arise the PR Officer assists the Committee in dealing with it.

Junior Section Officer

The Junior Section Officer organises beach matches for our junior section  and collates the results and presents them to the committee. The Junior Section Officer also oversees the Social and Presentation  evenings and assists the Juniors in developing their fishing skills both on the beach and in the Clubhouse.

The Junior Section Officer also organises an Open Junior Beach Competitions  which has now restarted after Covid restrictions have been eased.