MINUTES OF THE 6^th MEETING (2006 SESSION)

OF THE ACU TRIALS & ENDURO COMMITTEE HELD AT ACU HOUSE ON

TUESDAY 10^th OCTOBER AT 10.30 AM

___________________________________________________________________________________

Present -:                                             Mr J Collins       –          Chairman

Mr T Fairbrother

                                                            Mr J Lightfoot

                                                            Mr M Wren                                           

                                                            Mr A Penny                                                                                                                  

                                                            Mr A Rew

                                                            Mr M Bates

In attendance:                                    

Mrs M E Kerr

Mrs A Devine                                                          

1.         APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Mr Willoughby who had circulated his comments on agenda items for inclusion in discussions.

2.         MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the 5^th meeting held on 3^rd August were approved for circulation.

3.         MATTERS ARISING

All dealt with under individual Agenda items.

4.         FORESTRY ISSUES

After discussion at the National Council and subsequently at the Directors meeting, a letter had been issued by the General Secretary to confirm Insurance returns for events held on Forestry land - where the permit would normally be issued by the Centre, were to be sent directly to Locktons (Alexander Forbes) with the Centre thus retaining their Insurance Commission.  Mr Willoughby said he was in consultation with the Forestry Commission producing a concordant to show the strong relationship between the ACU and the FC.

He had requested some photos of Enduro bikes to assist with this.

Action- Secretary

5.         LARA

A report of a recent meeting with representatives of LARA was received from Mr King where discussions centred on the implications for Motorsport with regard to the NERC Bill.

Several Committee members cited examples of problems with land restrictions in their own Centres. It was agreed at present that applications to use land were largely successful or otherwise depending on the attitude of the local Council official. They felt that as the Governing Body of the Sport, the ACU should be capable of offering expert advice on the current issues affecting Off Road events and whether this should involve creating a position for a Consultant was a matter for discussion. 

The Committee wished to query whether the NERC bill made provision for exemption from the necessity of applying for landowners written permission for all use of public land –

The Secretary advised the Committee of an impending round table meeting on 11^th October to discuss Recreational Management issues with regard to Wentwood Forest.

It had been agreed that Mr Burk would attend on behalf of the ACU and he had been given details of the ACU’s agreement with the Forestry Commission and the procedures to be followed when events using FC land were applied for.

He had also been advised to contact Mr Willoughby who negotiated the agreement on behalf of the ACU.

6.         INSURANCE

The Chairman advised the Committee that Alexander Forbes was due to be taken over and would shortly be renamed as Locktons.      

It was agreed to publicise the fact that riders who did not fit the criteria for issue of the standard one event RTA insurance, may apply to the insurers for a certificate which could be presented at any event to advise organisers of the price of that individual’s cover.

It was also announced that in addition to the existing one event RTA cover,  there would from 1^st January, be an annual RTA policy available to ACU members which would cover them on the road during events and against which bikes could be taxed.

The Committee voiced their concerns that the needs created by recent government legislation which required vehicles to be insured in any public place did not appear to be met by current insurance arrangements.

 7.         ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Mr Willoughby and Mr Gregory were currently involved in the task of widening the document drawn up in 2002 for the HSE to demonstrate the ACU’s adherence to HSE legislation

As such it was now necessary to develop and improve the Risk Assessments for motorcycle disciplines across the board and in addition, it would be the task of each individual Committee to produce a risk assessment for all the decisions made which may affect safety or be considered a hazard. These would need to be reviewed on perhaps an annual basis. 

This done, the “ Master Risk Assessment” would remain at the ACU for reference in a serious incident where the HSE may wish to see how we arrived at the list of hazards and the control methods on the Risk Assessment completed by the Clerk of the Course.

Mrs Devine had already attended a previous Environmental meeting and it was understood that she would also attend the next one due on 11^th October, where the process of developing our Risk Assessments and how these would subsequently be presented to organisers, would receive detailed discussion.

Various amendments to the NSC were necessary as a result of changes last year to the Environmental Code. These were approved by the Committee and would now be submitted to the General Secretary. These are as follows-:

5.02 Delete ”Environmental Officer” - This role no longer exists.

6.01.2 Add “Environmental provisions and respect of the Environment Code” to the list of items to be reported upon.

8.02.1 Add “To ensure that the ACU Environment Code is respected”

6.10 Delete in its entirety as the role no longer exists.

8.          REVIEW OF 2006 CHAMPIONSHIPS

British Solo Trials Championship

Mr Willoughby had produced figures demonstrating that the average number of riders in each event had increased slightly and he also commented that the decision to allow riders to drop one round had not affected any winner.  The Committee agreed that they did not wish to drop a round of the Manufacturers’ Championship. The Secretary was asked to arrange for the allocation of finance from the sponsor- Colin Appleyard, together with the ACU’s support to be sent to organisers of the various rounds.

Action - Secretary

British and ACU Solo Enduro Championship

Championship results could not yet be finalised until the Natterjack results had been produced, this had been hampered by extreme weather conditions which resulted in the event being terminated early on the second day.  The Secretary was to contact the Secretary of the Meeting for a set of the final results to be issued as soon as possible, but it was understood that he was away at present.  A revision of the Protest and Appeals procedure was proposed to make provision for similar situations ( Please see item 10 of these minutes).

To counteract the problem of serious Championship contenders missing out on an entry to any round, as was the case referred to the Committee by Mr Mullins, it was agreed that a further clause be added under “Entries” (Please see Appendix 1).

An invoice was to be sent to Motul Oil for their sponsorship monies, and Mr Mullins was to be paid for provision of the Championship Results service.

If organisers felt it necessary, a meeting would be arranged at a mutually convenient time with Committee representatives – possibly at the Dirt Bike show, where one of the items for discussion would be Sponsorship - whether it was necessary to have Sponsorship or not.

British and ACU Clubmans Sidecar Enduro Championship

Results now available.

ACU Womens Enduro Championship

The small number of contenders this year led to speculation that perhaps the Women’s Championship rounds would be better placed with the Non-Championship men’s events, as this may be less intimidating. The matter would receive further consideration.

ACU NOVOGAR TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP

One round remained of the Championship before results could be declared final.  It was agreed that in general, the courses for the newly incorporated Over 40’s class had been pitched at the right severity as requested and had attracted a decent entry. The 125cc class had also been a success and the Committee wished to see these develop.

Mr Thorpe had sent in his suggestions to modify and improve the Championship and had subsequently circulated these proposals to Clubs to gauge their reaction.  The Committee would acknowledge these comments which certainly had merit, but agreed that it was too late to make major changes for 2007and they needed further discussion. Obviously for every belief Mr Thorpe firmly adhered to, there was a counter argument, as a letter from Penny Ludgate on the Novogar Championship demonstrated.

Mr Thorpe’s proposals to form a Championship comprising established National events  required further discussion and in any case had been put forward too late for implementation in 2007.  Sponsorship arrangements for the Novogar Championship 2007 had not yet been confirmed, but it was anticipated that the agreement would remain as per 2006.

BRITISH YOUTH TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP

One more round remained, and the top point scorers were close finishers.

BRITISH WOMENS & GIRLS TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP

Views on how to improve entries for this Championship had been sought from Katy Sunter, who had agreed to act as spokes lady for the women and collate their ideas for presentation to the Committee.  These will be discussed under an individual item.

SAMMY MILLER CHAMPIONSHIP

Distribution of supplementary regulations, collation of results, and collection of the £1.00 awards levy had been handled this year by ACU Head Office and was reported to have worked very well.  It remained to replace the perpetual trophies which had not been released by Mr Moss for the 2005 Awards Ceremony and details of who had offered cups to date were acknowledged.  It was agreed that Sammy Miller would also be asked if he would care to donate one.  Full details would be recorded when all trophies had been donated.

Action – Secretary

TRAIL BIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

Queries had been raised at a recent event regarding bike specifications and it was agreed that further clarification on machine eligibility was required in the Championship Regulations for the 2007 Handbook. 

Action - Secretary

No problems to report regarding this Championship.

CLASSIC TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP

The British Bike Class A and Over 50 Class E, had not been particularly well supported over the year, however there were no plans to alter the Championship regulations for 2007.

ACU SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP

The main championship had attracted more competitors this year, and the Clubman class had again been well supported with more riders doing all the rounds than any other championship.

9.         ACU HANDBOOK

Amendments are to be submitted for the first proof by 17^th November and all disciplines have been asked to document rule changes and other major amendments in their respective minutes for approval by National Council. These were discussed.

The General Secretary would be asked to submit this amendment to the NSC -;

Protest and appeals procedure

Following problems which had arisen at the Natterjack where extreme weather conditions delayed the issue of provisional results, it was agreed that the wording in the Trials and Enduro Protest and Appeals procedure flow chart be amended to make provision for Force Majeure or other occasions where results could not be produced on the day, in which case competitors would be allowed to protest.  The proposed wording to be incorporated was - 

“From 14 days of the issue of the results.”

10.        TRAINING

Much consideration had been given to the best use of training funds and it was concluded that most benefit would be derived from supporting a small number of the better riders in UEM events as this provided in the Committee’s opinion, more valuable experience than that gained in the home events.

In addition it had proved almost impossible for either squad to arrange training sessions at home, due to the concentration of events in the calendar and this reinforced the decision to allocate a limited amount of money to home training and use the majority overseas in UEM events.

The principle of concentrating on training at UEM events therefore was agreed to be sound, but it remained to decide how riders were selected and what support they would receive

All Committee members were asked for their thoughts at the next meeting 

Action - Committee

Women s Trials Training / Womens Trial Championship regulations

Training

Katy Sunter had kindly supplied the female rider responses to questions posed by the Committee with a view to encouraging more women and girls into the sport. As pointed out, we have some of the best female Trials riders in the world and this element of the sport needs nurturing if British success is to continue.

Home training was agreed to be essential for the women – aiming possibly at funding the organisation of 2 or 3 sessions the day before Championship events. It was suggested that Katy be approached with a proposal to organise a training event before the Richmond meeting and possibly another before Bracken Rocks (subject to the events applying for and receiving Championship status).

Future of Women’s Championships

Both Mr Bates and Mr Willoughby had agreed with Katy Sunter that the introduction of a 3rd route to the Championship and renaming of the classes could go some way to improving entries.

Championship regulations would be amended accordingly to include 3 routes in each of Adult Class and Youth A & B classes as follows -:

Championship Route      - Adults or anyone under 16 yrs age

Clubmans’ Route           - Adults or anyone under 16yrs age

Beginners Route            - Suitable for beginners of any age.

Terminology or colouring for the different routes was to be decided.

Action - Committee

The Committee’s decision to allow minders on foot only, as in the Youth Championship, and not on bikes in the Womens’ Championship, would stand. The fact that they are allowed in the Solo Championship is something unique to that Championship

 11.        ISDE

The extensive travel arrangements for the ISDE British and Club teams and supporters had caused considerable problems which took up an inordinate amount of office time. John Collins re-iterated that he would consider whether the T&E Department should in future involve themselves solely with travel arrangements for those involved with the Trophy Teams

12.        NATIONAL LICENSING SEMINARS

These were scheduled to be held at the ACU on 25^th November 2006 and 13^th January 2007.

The South Eastern Centre had had applied for a date for a Regional seminar and it would be queried whether they had the need for many people to be licensed for National events,

The paperwork for seminars would be reviewed at the next meeting at which time the “bank” of questions would need to be available.

Action- Committee

13.        TRIAL DES NATIONS

The Committee were enormously proud of the efforts of the Womens’ Team in coming 1^st and those of the Men who achieved second place.  Letters of congratulation had already been sent to the team members.

One matter that needed addressing was the helmet design colouring and graphics, as the riders did not all adhere to the FIM specifications.  Mr Collins would ensure that this was brought up again before next year’s event.

Action – Mr Collins 

14.        INDOOR TRIAL DES NATIONS

Consideration was still being given to whether a British Team would be entered into this event. The Secretary was to liaise with Mr Willoughby.

Action- Secretary

15.        ITEMS REFERRED FROM THE CANCELLED TRIALS FORUM  

i) Submitted by Alan Pearce/Torridge & DMC

The Club expressed its support for the continuation of the over 40’s and over 50’s class in the Classic Trials Series and reported that their own event had seen a healthy entry for these classes.  Suggestions for improving the entry to Womens and Girls Championships had already been discussed and is reported elsewhere in these minutes.

ii)  Submitted by Bryan Puckett

Education of Observers and the feasibility of a “Bank “ of experienced Observers was the proposal.  Mr Collins agreed to have further discussions with Mr Puckett.

Action – Mr Collins

iii) Submitted by Mannix Devlin

The points raised in Mr Devlin’s letter regarding the future of various series, the number of rounds and the combination of Championships etc were noted.  It was agreed that they warranted further discussion as dates for the Championship were finalised. However Mr Willoughby felt that the points raised were somewhat imprecise and as such felt it would be a good idea to have talks with him, which he offered to do himself.

Action- Mr Willoughby

It was agreed to point out however that sometimes clashes of National and FIM dates were unavoidable and did not always affect the home events as the coincidence in 2006 between the World Trials Championship at Hawkstone Park and the British Solo -Twyi Enduro Championship event in July had shown.

16.        INSURANCE

RTA Cover

One event RTA cover would continue to be offered at events incorporating road sections but in addition ACU members would also be offered the option of taking out annual cover. Full details of this annual scheme would be released in the near future

Action- Mr Bellars

17.        BUDGET 2007

 Mr Collins reported that the T&E provisional budget had been discussed at the recent meeting with Directors and approved with very little amendment.  Written confirmation from the Financial Director was to be received in the near future.   After some consideration it was agreed that Stewards fees would not be increased for 2007.

18.        DATE APPLICATIONS 2007

The provisional fixture list was circulated and the Championship applications considered although until the FIM and UEM dates were confirmed, the remaining Championships could not be established. 

An application had been received from Thames Valley MCC to run a British Solo Trial with an additional Youth “Expert “ event the day before. It was decided to suggest that if awarded Solo Trials Championship status, the organisers might consider a youth event the day before, and see how it ran in 2007 before having any special status allocated to the youth event.  The Secretary was to contact Aled Evans reference the request for them to swap dates with the MWTRA in July.

Action- Secretary

19.        TEMPLATE FOR ENDURO SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS

Mr Bates had submitted his proposals for the production of a set of Standard Regulations which could be used by Enduro Championship and non-Championship event organisers in a way similar to the procedure followed by Trials Organisers for some time very successfully. The benefits of Standard Regulations were threefold in so much as they assisted the Organisers in drawing up their Regulations, speeded up the process of their approval and also protected the Organisers by removing the danger of including (or omitting) wording which could be misinterpreted or indeed vital.

These were approved with some amendments and would be sent out with an accompanying letter to Centres for distribution to their local Enduro clubs, National and Championship Enduro Organisers.

20.        ACU MAGAZINE

The deadline for the next issue – 6^th November - was noted, and suitable material was being produced and gathered by the Committee for the next edition, including a round up of any Championships which had finished.

It was also agreed that a note should be included to advise riders who were anticipating competing abroad next year to contact Mrs Kerr at ACU Head Office to obtain details of procedure.

Action – Committee /Secretariat

21.        FIM -:

i)                     Proposals CER - Alan King had submitted a proposal to amend Regulations 061.42.1 and 062.22legal requirements for registration plates in some countries.1 i.e. delete “----   and must not exceed the width of the rear mudguard “

Explanation – It is not possible to comply with legal requirements for registration plates in some countries if this dimension is enforced.

ii)                  2007 Trial des Nations –

This was scheduled to be held in the Isle of Man next year and it was understood that entrants for the Women’s Championship on the preceding Friday and Trial des Nations would receive warning in the regulations that they would be required to be in possession of a valid road licence to compete. It was pointed out that in the IOM the legal age for a rider on the Public Highway provided they are in possession of a valid drivers licence, is 16 yrs – which is one year less than mainland requirements.

iii)                Alleged absence of Harry Harvey from FIM World Trial-Italy

Photographs of the rider allegedly at the event had been sent to the ACU and also it was noted that he had been recorded in the results. This information had been sent on to the FIM.

iv)                 Alleged absence of Richard Ellwood from FIM World Trial – Andorra

Richard Ellwood had crossed out his original indication of entry to this event on his entry form but it was thought that this would not be apparent in the copy faxed to the FIM.  As such it was hoped that he could be excused the fine.

v)                   Medical for Cross Country Rallies Licence

Mr King had continued to make representation at FIM Level against the requirements for the stress ESG and Electrocardiograph

tests, but to date had made no progress. His efforts would continue at Congress.

22.        UEM

Details of our British riders’ success in the UEM Championships this year were noted and letters of congratulation had already been sent to -:

Alexz Wigg       - Winner European Junior Trial Cup

James Dabill      - Winner European Trial Championship

Jack Challoner   - Winner European Youth Trial Cup

Other notable performances which the Committee wished to acknowledge in the Youth Trial Cup was Louis Haley (7^th), Ben Morphett (9^th), Jonathan Richardson (15^th) and Adam Jones (18^th).

23.        STEWARDS REPORTS

Received from :-

Merthyr C & D                           13^th Aug                         Mr Collins

Lightweight                    13^th Aug                        Mr Fairbrother

Richmond C & D            19^th Aug                        Vicky Ellis

Richmond A & B            20^th Aug                        Mr Ellis

Presidents Trophy          20^th Aug                        Mr Carter

Manx 2 Day                   26^th/27^th Aug                  Mr Penny

ICTT                              2^nd/3^rd Sept                    Mr Collins

Andorra FIM Trial           2^nd/3^rd Sept                    Mr Wren

Rhayader Endure           9^th/10^th Sept                  Mr Lightfoot

Spanish UEM                10^th Sept                       Mr Beardmore

Rosebowl Trophy           10^th Sept                       Mr G Harrison

White Rose Trial            10^th Sept                       Mr Wren

Pre ’70 ICTT                  17^th Sept                       Mr Bates

Lochaber Trial                17^th Sept                       Mr Wren

Mel Harrison Trial           17^th September              Mr Penny

Belgium FIM Trial           21^st/22^nd Sept               Mr Fairbrother

Powys Trophy Trial         24^th Sept                       Mr Lightfoot

World Enduro France     23/24 September           Mr Penny

Travers Trophy Trial        1^st Oct                           Penny Ludgate

Surrey Schoolboys

Youth A&B                    1^st October                    Mr Penny

Bradford Trial                  8^th Oct                          Mr Wren

24.STEWARDS APPOINTMENTS/ OVERSEAS APPOINTMENTS

Lists held at ACU.

25. CORRESPONDENCE

i) Greenlight TV coverage of Bradford round of the Solo Trials Championship

Following discussions initiated by Mr Higgins of the Motocross Committee, arrangements were in place for televising the event, highlights of which were to be shown on Men and Motors, although precise details were not available at this time.

ii) Historic Motorshow.  23-25^th March 2007

Correspondence from the event team indicated their wish to run another indoor Pre-65 Trial as it had proved successful and popular but it was understood however that the ACU did not plan to have a presence at the Historic Motorshow.

iii) Request for Upgrade of Youth rider - Submitted by the South Western Centre

Communications from the Centre referred to a request from one of their young riders for upgrade from C to B class in 2007, a year ahead of his time.  He would be informed that he would still be restricted to the correct capacity for his age group (i.e. 80cc in 2007) but with that in mind if he still wanted to upgrade, the Committee would give the matter further consideration.

Action- Secretary

iv) Suggestion for Purchase of Land for Events

Received from Mr Rew and discussed by the Committee, who agreed however that such issues were not in their remit and considerable problems could be attached which would require specialised knowledge.

26.        ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Proposals to identify youth riders classes on the Trials registration card were discussed but bearing in mind that this would require the licensing dept. to check birth certificates and the format for the 2007 form had already been agreed, it was apparent that the proposal had been submitted too late. It may be put forward for 2008.

27.        DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The 7^th Meeting would be held on Wednesday November 8^th at 10.30 am.

28.        MATTERS FOR THE P.R.O

None reported.