CCFA honours stalwarts

[Richard Chown]

The Packet ©

CCFA honours stalwarts

BY Leon Prynn

TWO stalwarts of Cornish football were honoured by the presentation of the FA's gold medal at the Cornwall County FA's annual general meeting held at St Austell on Thursday.

Gerald Sobey, the current secretary of the Whirlwind Sports Falmouth-Helston League, and Olver Harris, a county divisional representative from Launceston, were both taken by surprise.

Mr Geoff Lee, the CCFA's representative to the FA, said he was delighted to present the awards to such loyal servants of the game.

Gerald began his career as a player with Mawgan United in 1947 and then took up refereeing in 1953 and continued until 1974," said Mr Lee. "He became the secretary of the newly-formed Falmouth-Helston League in 1961 apart from a short break to carry out the task of referees' appointments."

Mr Sobey said he was delighted with the award: "It was a suprise and you have to be pleased about it," said Mr Sobey, "but whether I had an award or not would not have made any difference about doing the job. You don't do it for awards.

"I enjoy the job and will continue to do it until either my health doesn't allow me to or the clubs decide they don't want me."

Olver Harris began his career with Blisland in 1947 and then took up refereeing in the mid-1950s. He was elected as a CCFA representative in 1988 and has been involved in football for over 60 years.

The two men were also presented with a framed certificate and a blazer lapel badge.

Mr Conyon, in has address to the floor, said that it was with some sadness that he had to report that Denis Champion had decided to stand down as chairman of the association.

Mr Champion, he said, had been a tremendous worker for Cornish football and following his career as a player and highly respected referee, as chairman of the association over ten years he saw the county through transfer from an association to a limited company by guarantee and was also involved in the purchasing of the county offices in St Austell as well as being its representative at the FA.

Mr Mike Wilson, speaking on behalf of the floor, said he had known Denis for more years than he wished to remember. He said: "As a referee, serving on the county, and on the FA which he did for many years, I would like to express my appreciation and I'm sure, for everyone here, for what he has done."

The meeting itself was probably the most poorly attended in the association's history with just a sprinkling of clubs. Many of those who had cash rewards to collect didn't even bother to turn up to receive them.

The cheques that were available went to

Senior Cup winners Truro City, £1,100; runners-up, Saltash United, £600.

Junior Cup winners, Portreath, £700; runners-up, St Dominick, £450.

Sunday Cup winners, Queen's Head, £100; runners-up, Tremough £50.

Ladies' Cup winners, Newquay, £150; runners-up, £50.

Clubs who hosted cup semi-finals and finals also received cheques for staging the games.

In his report, company secretary Barry Cudmore said that the CCFA have been working to develop a strategy for football in Cornwall in line with the FA National Game Strategy. "At present we are awaiting a decision of the FA's National Game Board on our application for funding.

"The need to communicate better internally and smarter with our members and partners was another challenge that was highlighted.

"One of the biggest challenges facing the county is in the recruitment and retention of referees. To tackle this major challenge we are hoping to appoint a full-time referees' development appointment officer.

"We will have funding from the FA towards this, but we will need to dig deep to find the resources locally."

Mr Cudmore also said that for the first time since joining the county in 1996 there had been a decrease in the number of reported cases of indiscipline. Total cases for 2007-07 amounted to 4,779 compared to 4,954 in 2006-07; cautions were 3,966 compared to 2006-07's 4,133;red cards or equivalent offences were 729 compared to 2006-07's total of 734.

On a sad note, Mr Cudmore confirmed that due to a lack of entries the senior section of the South West Counties Championship would not be played next season.

A comprehensive report by the honorary referees' secretary said that 26 new referees had been recruited from courses at Wendron and St Tudy.

It was a good year for Cornish referees with many being promoted.

Steve Annis (Mawgan) received the award for the top-marked referee in the supply league.

Local referees romoted to level four: Tim Burley (Lanner, Royal Navy), Paul Christmas (Truro), Luke Wilkes (Mount Ambrose).

Level five: Paul Christmas (Truro, double promotion to level four), Simon Way (Penzance), Luke Wilkes (Mount Ambrose, double promotion to level 4).

Level six: Ben Minns (Camborne), Justin Moses (Penryn), Ashley Partridge (Truro), Dan Pidgeon (Truro), Greg Wilkinson (Truro).

Futsal National Third Referee panel: Ray Brown (St Blazey Gate).

[Soccer Follower]

Congratulations to Gerald Sobey and Olver Harris,both gentlemen deserving of this recognition of their hard work within Cornwall football over the years.