EGU & EGWA Merge....

Dodger

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Good move in my opinion...........hopefully the SGU can iron out the issues that have stopped it happening up here and get it pushed through up here too.

Interesting that the 1st President of England Golf will be a women.:eek:


[h=3]YES VOTE FOR EGU AND EWGA MERGER SOUTH OF THE BORDER[/h]

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
The merger of the English Golf Union (EGU) and the English Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) was approved today (November 16 2011) at simultaneous general meetings of both organisations.
The merger will come into effect on January 1, 2012 and will create England Golf, one national governing body to represent all amateur golfers in England.
The merger proposal was approved by 86 per cent of the voting members of the EGU, meeting at its headquarters in Woodhall Spa; and by 100 per cent of the voting members of the EWGA, meeting at the National Motor Cycle Museum at Solihull. Both organisations had to approve the proposal by a majority of at least 75 per cent for it to be successful.
The decision was immediately hailed as a triumph for golf and a vital step forward for the game.
Nigel Evans, Chairman EGU and Sylvia Perrins, Interim Chairman EWGA said: “This merger is in the best interests of golf and we are delighted that it has been given overwhelming support by our members. We look forward to a new era and to realising our vision for the future.
“England Golf will speak with one voice and send out the powerful, modern message that golf is a game for all, for men and women, boys and girls.
“A unified organisation, which promotes both the men’s and women’s game, will be more attractive to new golfers, will help us to grow the game, will be more appealing to commercial partners and sponsors and will mean we can be more cost effective.”
The merger vote followed a long period of consultation and preparation, which began in 2009 when a steering group was formed of members of both organisations. Following lengthy discussions, and the involvement of ten working groups, the proposal was produced and ratified by the Boards of both organisations before being put to the voting members.
Key points of the merger
• The headquarters of England Golf will initially be at the National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa. The EWGA offices in Edgbaston will continue in use until at least October 2012.
• The counties will continue to be the voting members. Counties will be encouraged to merge their Unions and Associations, but this will not be mandatory.
• The Board of England Golf will initially include 10 stakeholder non-executive directors, six nominated by the EGU and four women nominated by the EWGA. One of these 10 will be nominated as Chairman.
• The first sole President of England Golf will be a woman. The President will be supported by the immediate Past President and the President-Elect. One of these three will always be a woman.
• Club golf will go on, from day-to-day, as it does now, but members will benefit from the positive perceptions created by the merger and by the better support available for clubs.
• All the championships and tournaments currently run by the EWGA and the EGU will continue.
• The regional and group structures of the two organisations will continue to run competitions. The decision-making role of the EWGA regional committees will end.
• Affiliation fees for men and women will be harmonised and will be equal by January 1, 2014. Women will continue to pay an additional subscription to the Ladies Golf Union.
 

DCB

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Interesting that this has managed to pass without the posturing and politics that seem to have been at the root of the problems up here.

Key Points are fairly straightforward so hopefully it'll help the game in the long run.
 

HomerJSimpson

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Can only be a good thing to have one governing body. Surprised it seems to have gone through relatively easiliy without too much turf protection from either side trying to protect their own interests.
 

Wildrover

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Both sides needed a majority of 75% for it to go through, the EWGA voted 100% in favour and the EGU 86%, which might suggest that the women stand to gain more than the men, this is just reading between the lines.
 

Philm

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Both sides needed a majority of 75% for it to go through, the EWGA voted 100% in favour and the EGU 86%, which might suggest that the women stand to gain more than the men, this is just reading between the lines.

i dont see how the men stand to gain anything, but then i dont see how they could lose anything in the merger either.

so long as at club level you cant have woman teeing off with me a 9am in a saturaday comp then i will continue to play golf happily.
(cause they would just show me up)

Phil
 

Wildrover

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It makes me wonder if this where we will end up in the future, men and women playing in the same comps. I know that is not happening now but it's not exactly a massive leap from combining the governing bodies. I would personally be against that as we are not on a level playing field regarding either course length or handicaps. We have a BB event at my club in the Summer that has been opened up to the women and now hardly any men play in it as it will be invariably won by 2 women off 35 and 36 playing a far shorter course. Now if we were all off the same tees with the same handicap system that would be equality wouldn't it?
(Retires to safe distance)
 

Jonny

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To be honest I don't really care as long as the governing body doesn't spend a disproportionate amount of money developing the womens game. Their funding should remain limited by the number of women paying into the pot.

Besides which I don't enjoy playing mixed competitions anyway.
 
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