STORM BLITZ ISSUE #40 Tuesday 29 April 1997 Sponsorship of Storm Blitz will hopefully be confirmed shortly. If you have any comments on Storm Blitz, please feel free to e-mail inter.the.storm@poboxes.com any time. --------------------------------------------------- In this issue : * The Stormforce AGM * Storm set to sign Chris Miller * Kurt makes offers to current players * Storm and Steelers in Europe - no Cardiff * European League games announced * Kurt Kleinendorst * Premier Leagues to play in new cup * Leeds announce name * Pool B next year * Pool A TV Coverage * Inter The Storm relaunch news * Get back issues of Storm Blitz * How to unsubscribe to Storm Blitz --------------------------------------------------- > THE STORMFORCE AGM The first Stormforce Annual General Meeting took place at the Millenium Suite, Manchester City Football Club on Sunday 27 April at 1.00 PM. Before I start, I'll just point out that anything written below is a summary of the events of the day, NOT any official minutes or an official press release by Stormforce or Ogdens. If there are any inaccuracies, it will be because I made incorrect notes or that the information was confused at the time. If you notice any inaccuracies, please point them out to me and I'll send out a correction with the next Storm Blitz. To the best of my knowledge, everything here is correct. The meeting opened with Dave Biggar announcing, as expected, the news that Stormforce was to become independant of Ogdens and the Manchester Storm team. Dave insisted that Ogdens were still 100% behind Stormforce as the Official Supporters Club of Manchester Storm and that no other supporters clubs would be recognised in the future. He went on to say that after two years in the current situation it had been decided that there were three choices of action. The first would be to remain the same, the second would be to give Stormforce greater involvement in team affairs, and the third, to give them less (or none as it turns out). It was decided that the third option would come into effect making Stormforce the Official, and independant, Supporters Club of Manchester Storm. Dave Biggar then made a number of points in relation to this: - Stormforce can still use the desk in the Arena - There will only be one page available in the new programme - Ogdens will not be taking any sponsorship money from Stormforce - Access to players will be through Ogdens ONLY and not through Stormforce - The 50/50 Draw will be retained, but Ogdens will take 25% of the gross - There will be no complimentary tickets available for 50/50 draw sellers - There will be much tighter control on the players. They will answer to Ogdens much more than previously and WILL attend ALL functions and events whether they want to or not - Birthdays will still be displayed as before on the video wall - Jon Hammond will be retained - The merchandise situation remains the same (this isn't strictly true - see later) - There will be only one source of contact between Ogdens and Stormforce - this means that Ogdens won't be represented at Stormforce Committee meetings - The Press Officer will not be able to comment with respect to the team, he is to give Stormforce's opinion ONLY on events and not to act as though they have any control over the team - this is for press and local media (eg. GMR Talk) - There will be NO discount for Stormforce members on Storm shirts - These rules are being put into black and white so there can be no arguments - The players budget will be unchanged or slightly higher than last season - There will be more extensive merchandise next season (they weren't happy with the current company) - There will be a new shirt next season with a brand new design - There will be a new EHL shirt - Both new shirts will be at the same prices as this year - Match ticket prices next season will be 7.00 and 5.00 - If you have a season ticket, it works out that admission price is 6.00 and 4.00 - Season tickets will now not include three exhibition/challenge games, it will include the European League games instead. Season ticket holders must purchase tickets for these challenge games separately - There will be eight more pages in the programme and it will remain priced at 2.00 - The decision to sack John Lawless was 'hard' and that he 'didn't do what was needed' (he refused to go any further at all with this line, despite many questions, stating that he wasn't allowed to say any more) - This season must be right from Day 1 - We MUST be a top 3 or 4 club this season - There will be better opening sequence and more entertainment The meeting then moved onto the Stormforce Committee's reports. The important points are noted. The Stormforce secretary, Gill, said that she was the link between Stormforce and Ogdens, that PA Business Systems had provided (or were providing?) a computer system for Stormforce. She also said that the Childrens Hospital Appeal target of 8500.00 had been reached. The Events Officer said that she was standing down and that the Nynex staff had all been very helpful. The Merchandise Officer, Julie Abram said that it had been hard sorting all the merchandise and that next season, Stormforce will not be allowed to use the Storm or Lightning Jack logos on their merchandise. The Press Officer, Mick Thompson, said that Stormforce was well recognised by the local newspapers and the local radio station GMR Talk. He reiterated what Dave Biggar had mentioned earlier that Stormforce was to be treated the same as any of the other press and that he was being invited to the press conferences. He mentioned the Inter The Storm pages and also that Stormforce is helping Esbjerg, one of the teams we played in last season's pre-season International tournament, to set up their own supporters club in the mould of Stormforce. The Junior Stormforce Officer, Barbara, said that she dealt with things like autographing shirts for the Junior fans and letters from the Juniors. She also said that she was standing down. The Newsletter Editor said that he was standing down. The Travel Officer and Assistant Travel Officer, Ian and Dave, said there had been at least one coach to every away game including the European League away games except the Telford game, which was arranged without enough time to sort out travel. They also said that there was a 'loyalty' shirt for every member that travels on 10 away games, white with a small Storm logo. The 50/50 Co-ordinator, Peter Robinson, who was also chairing the meeting, said that the 50/50 draw had been a learning curve and that the average payout had been 480.00 - 500.00. He gave apologies to all those that had not received their photo of them receiving their cheques on the ice. Next season will see 25% of the 50/50 draw going to Ogdens. It was also decided that the 50/50 sellers WILL get complimentary tickets and that they will come out of Stormforce funds. It was stated at this point that next year's Stormforce membership prices had not yet been decided. It will be decided by the new committee. The Treasurer, Fiona Loughlin then went through the Financial Statement for the period 18 January 1996 to 31 March 1997. INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT 18/1/96 - 31/3/97 Income: Membership fees 13,923 Travel 42,015 Merchandise 5,299 50/50 19,255 Events 8,073 Auction proceeds 2,000 Advertising/sponsor 1,874 Childrens Hospital 7,702 ------ 100,071 Other income: Bank interest 199 ------- 100,270 Expenditure: Telephone 905 Printing/postage/stat 13,994 Travel 40,526 Equipment 381 Licences 53 Events 5,509 Merchandise 7,121 Presentation Trophies 1,390 Team travel sponsor 6,000 Auction held for team 1,245 Childrens Hospital 535 Sundry expenses 2,286 Auditors renumeration 200 ------ 80,145 ------- 20,125 Finance costs: Bank charges 4 ------- EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE 20,121 BALANCE SHEET : 31 MARCH 1997 CURRENT ASSETS: Stock 355 Debtors 7,900 VAT 689 Bank balances 16,471 ------ 25,415 ------ CURRENT LIABILITIES Accr and def income 5,294 ------ 5,294 ------ 20,121 ------- 20,121 FINANCED BY: CAPITAL ACCOUNT: Net profit - restricted - Ch. Hosp. 7,167 - unrestricted 12,954 ------- 20,121 The meeting then went on to the adoption of the constitution "Rules of the Manchester Storm Supporters Club". This part went on for ages, mainly because no one could agree about minor points and that one side of the room couldn't hear what the other side was saying. Suffice to say that the constitution was eventually agreed but I couldn't possibly note down all the amendments, so I'll leave the details of the constitution for when I have them (it's dull anyway!). The main point to come from the discussions was that Dave Biggar eventaully went back on what he had said earlier and offered season tickets to the committee on the provisio that there were less committee members. I'm not quite sure how that got resolved, but I think 10 season tickets were accepted with the rest of the tickets taken as needed from Stormforce funds. Finally, after close to 4 hours, the meeting concluded with the new elected members being announced after the votes had been counted. Treasurer : Chris Boxall Membership Secretary Adult : Jill Robinson Membership Secretary Junior : Carol Martin Events Officer: Steve Watts Assistant Events Officer : Mandy Allen Merchandise Officer : Julie Abram 50/50 Co-ordinator : Peter Robinson All other positions were unopposed - unfortunately I have lost the details of who "won" these seats. I'll publish them as soon as I have them. I think that just about covers it, except that there was concern expressed that people are being put off travelling with Stormforce because of the so-called fans that choose to travel to the away games. I completely understand the point made as I have seen some of these fans showing less respect for the team than the opposition fans and I myself have no intention of suffering these fans by choice. They seem to think that anyone that isn't part of their "I've been to every away game, aren't I wonderful" club aren't worthy of travelling. Sometimes I wonder how the Storm players must feel at away games when this is the sort of support they have. Although in reality these people are a minority, they are the Storm fans that the public and also Ogdens see. > STORM SET TO SIGN CHRIS MILLER Defenceman Chris Miller is expected to be Kurt Kleinendorst's first signing as coach of Manchester Storm. He should be able to agree terms in the next week or so. Chris has played in the IHL and the AHL in North America and was with the Raleigh Ice Caps under Kurt at the end of last season. Kurt says that Chris has lots of experience and should have played in the NHL but it just didn't happen for him. > KURT MAKES OFFERS TO CURRENT PLAYERS It is reported that Kurt Kleinendorst is still considering which players to invite back from last season. It seems that any negotiations with John Lawless for next season were meaningless. Kurt has already made offers to Mike Morin, Brad Turner, Dale Jago, Craig Woodcroft and Brad Rubachuk. > STORM & STEELERS IN EUROPE - NO CARDIFF Storm have surprisingly been allowed back into the European Hockey League next season despite their poor performance in last season's competition, where Storm lost all their games. It was expected that Storm and Sheffield Steelers would be two of the wildcard applicants fighting it out for a place, but Steelers were accepted automatically as Play-off winners, while Cardiff were refused entry because of their inadequate facilities and the size of their rink, but are expected to appeal against the decision - possible with the proviso that they play home games at an alternative rink. The Cardiff decision did not automatically promote Storm to the competition, as Storm won through as one of 14 wildcard applicants, of which only one was accepted. The reasons given for the choice is that Storm have great potential and that the standard of their facilities is outstanding. The European Hockey League next season will follow a similar format to last season with six four-team groups playing for 8 quarter-final places. > EUROPEAN LEAGUE GAMES ANNOUNCED Storm's European League opponents have been confirmed as DYNAMO MOSCOW (Russia), BOLZANO (Italy) and AMIENS (France). The games will take place on Tuesday nights in the first part of the season with each team playing the other home and away to qualify for the quarter-finals. > KURT KLEINENDORST Thanks to Roger Cook for this info on him: Kurt Kleinendorst - Center 6'2 190 lbs Born: Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Dec 31 1960 Shoots left, brother of Scot Kleinendorst Scot played in the NHL for 8 seasons 82/3 to 89/90 281 games (12+46=58, 452 PIM) & 26 playoff games (2+7=9, 40 PIM) Kurt did not play in the NHL, his playing record to 1984-5 is: 79/80 Providence College ECAC GP 32 10+17 = 27, PIM 4 80/81 ........................ 32 16+20 = 36, PIM 18 81/82 ........................ no record 82/83 ........................ 41 33+39 = 72, PIM 30 83/84 US National Team Intl 44 8+18 = 26, PIM 14 83/84 Tulsa Oilers CHL 24 4+9 = 13, PIM 10 84/85 New Haven AHL 3 0+0 = 0, PIM 0 84/85 Salt Lake IHL 44 21+21 = 42, PIM 10 84/85 Toledo IHL 13 4+9 = 13, PIM 21 June 1980 Drafted by New York Rangers, 4th round , 77th overall, 3rd NYR pick Feb 1985 Traded with Steve Martinson by Salt Lake to Toledo for Kevin Conway, Blake Stephan, Grant Rezansoff and Steve Harrison The Raleigh Ice Caps home page has stats on Kurt and also a photo of him. Home Page : http://www.icecaps.com Kurt Stats : http://www.icecaps.com/coach_stats.html Kurt Photo : http://www.icecaps.com/pic_directory.gif > PREMIER LEAGUES TO PLAY IN NEW CUP The Premier League and Northern Premier League have announced that their combined 16 clubs will play in a joint cup competition called the Christmas Cup and the early games will be at the end of 1997 with the final stages in the new year. > LEEDS ANNOUNCE NAME The Caspian Group, owners of Leeds United FC and the new Leeds Superleague team have announced the winner of the competition for a name for the team. The winning name is LEEDS LASERS and the team will enter the Superleague playing out of an Arena adjoining Elland Road for the start of the 1998/99 season. > POOL B NEXT YEAR Great Britain has applied to host the Pool B Championships next year and the Pool will be made up of the following countries: Great Britain, Holland, Denmark, Ukraine, Slovenia, Estonia and the two unsuccessful teams in the Pool A/Pool B Play-offs. The Play-offs will involve Kazakhstan, Austria, Poland and the bottom placed team in Pool A. The Pool A Championships begin soon and the play-offs will take place at the conclusion. > POOL A TV COVERAGE All coverage is on EUROSPORT on cable or satellite TV. WED 30 APR 0730 - 0800 Highlights 1100 - 1130 Highlights 1300 - 1530 LIVE Italy v USA 1530 - 1630 Russia v France 1700 - 1930 LIVE Canada v Latvia 1930 - 2030 LIVE Czech R v Slovakia (end) 2300 - 2330 Highlights THU 1 MAY 0730 - 0800 Highlights 1600 - 1630 Highlights 1630 - 1900 LIVE Canada v USA 2300 - 2330 Highlights FRI 2 MAY 0730 - 0800 Highlights 0930 - 1000 Highlights 1700 - 1930 LIVE Sweden v Latvia 1930 - 2030 Finland v Slovakia 2030 - 2100 Highlights 2200 - 2230 Highlights 2230 - 0030 Highlights SAT 3 MAY 0930 - 1000 Highlights 1100 - 1200 France v Czech R 1515 - 1700 LIVE Sweden v USA 1700 - 1730 France v Czech R 1730 - 1800 Italy v Canada 1800 - 2030 LIVE Finland v Russia 2030 - 2100 Slovakia v Germany 2200 - 2230 Highlights SUN 4 MAY 0730 - 0800 Highlights MON 5 MAY 0730 - 0800 Highlights 1100 - 1130 Highlights 1400 - 1630 LIVE coverage 1800 - 2030 LIVE coverage 2300 - 2330 Highlights TUE 6 MAY 0730 - 0800 Highlights 1100 - 1130 Highlights 1400 - 1630 LIVE coverage 1800 - 2030 LIVE coverage 2300 - 2330 Highlights WED 7 MAY 0730 - 0800 Highlights 1100 - 1130 Highlights 1400 - 1630 LIVE coverage 1800 - 2030 LIVE coverage THU 8 MAY 0000 - 0030 Highlights 0730 - 0800 Highlights 1100 - 1130 Highlights 1600 - 1630 Highlights 1800 - 1930 LIVE coverage 2330 - 0000 Highlights FRI 9 MAY 0730 - 0800 Highlights 1100 - 1130 Highlights 1400 - 1630 LIVE coverage 1800 - 2030 LIVE coverage 2300 - 2330 Highlights > INTER THE STORM RELAUNCH NEWS Firstly there was good news - I fixed the problem of weird colouring in Microsoft Internet Explorer and also the problem with the Shortcut Menu (it sometimes didn't appear) but then realised that the Shortcut Menu doesn't actually work in a frames-environment, so I've had to ditch that idea unless I manage to get it to work somehow. If you get a message on the screen about not being able to view frames then you will need a better browser to see it. Try Netscape 3 or Netscape Communicator from http://www.netscape.com or if you prefer, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 or 4 from http://www.microsoft.com - other browsers may also work, but I'm not sure which ones. The new Guestbook, called Dreambook, is very good and I'll be swapping to that one in time for 1st May. I'll keep the Lpage one running though as a backup Guestbook. The new pages should now be online at http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/3859/storm.html There is still much that I haven't had time to complete yet though, and as I'm going to London on 1st May until 4th May to see the Rugby Challenge Cup Final, and then I'll be starting my new job on the Tuesday, it may take some time to complete all the work needed to get the pages completely up to date. This is what is DEFINITELY working though (unles something goes wrong at the last minute!) The main page The Guestbook (Lpage AND the new Dreambook, but I haven't completely customised the signing page or the entry layouts, although it still works) The Latest News pages (up to date as of 29 April) The latest NHL News pages (up to date as of 22 April) MISCONDUCT! pages Canadian Junior Hockey Ice Hockey In Canada Manchester, England Challenge Cup matches B&H Cup Web page stats I still haven't set up the live JavaCHAT or the forum message-board, so look out for those. If you spot any problems with the pages (even what may seem minor points) please let me know! > DOWNLOAD BACK ISSUES OF STORM BLITZ All previous issues of Storm Blitz are still available. If you didn't get them, or want them again, you can now download them from the Internet in a .zip file. The URL of these will be confirmed soon. If you don't have web access, I can e-mail you the .zip files. > HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE TO STORM BLITZ Easy! Send an e-mail to inter.the.storm@poboxes.com telling me that you don't want Storm Blitz any more. Also use this address if you wish to change e-mail addresses or if you have any comments. *** END OF STORM BLITZ ISSUE #40 *** INTER THE STORM can be accessed at: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/3859/storm.html INTO THE STORM "BETA" can be accessed at: http://www.zy.u-net.com/storm/index.html ------------------------------ Storm Blitz sponsorship will hopefully be confirmed shortly ------------------------------