Precis of the Minutes of the Second Meeting (2006 Session) of the Board of Directors of
ACU Ltd at the Offices of the Company held on Tuesday 11th April at 10.30am
Present: Jim Parker (Chairman)
Frank Carter (Deputy Chairman)
Brian Bonny (Financial Director)
Mike Askins
Peter Beardmore
Eddie Bellars
Roger Brown
John Collins
Roy Hanks
Peter Hillaby
Roy Humphrey
Tony Noel
Gary Thompson MBE BEM (General Secretary)
There were no apologies for absence.
Item 2: Confirmation of Minutes of the First meeting (2006 session) of the Board held on
Thursday 26th January 2006
The minutes of the first meeting of the Board of Directors held on Thursday 26th January were accepted as read.
Item 3: Matters Arising
Department of Transport. The General Secretary confirmed that the Directors had received a copy of the consultation paper on proposed changes to the On-Road and Off-Road Motor Event Regulations from the Department of Transport (DOT). The Chairman asked Mr Thompson to arrange a suitable date for the Off-Road Sport Committee Chairmen to meet with Mr Carter to discuss a suitable response.
Action: Mr Thompson
Licences. Mr Thompson reported that Licences were still being issued on the same day of receipt of the licence application. The Chairman asked that Debbie Moulton and the Licensing staff be congratulated on what has been an excellent performance throughout the licensing period.
Sheene Bikes. Mr Thompson confirmed that the Sheene Bikes had been collected by DHL Motorsports and were currently being held in Slough pending shipment back to Australia.
Training. The Chairman commended Mr Beardmore on the first draft of the Regional Officials Training document which he had recently circulated to the Board for their comment. Mr Beardmore mentioned that he had received some helpful comments and would talk to Sport Committee Chairmen individually about their specific discipline requirements.
Sport England. Mr Noel spoke of two recent meetings he and Mr Luscombe had attended together with the MSA regarding the possibilities of Sport England engaging with Motor Sport. It was encouraging that Sport England had recognised the ACU as the National Governing Body for Motorcycle Sport and wanted to get more involved in two wheel and four wheel activity.
Discussions ensued regarding the funding of a formal presentation for an application to be made to Sport England for government funding. However, with the 2012 Olympics on the horizon, the likelihood of any kind of funding in the foreseeable future was debatable. The Chairman said that further discussions should be held with the MSA to take this issue forward and asked that Mr Carter develop this and liaison with other Government agencies through the sub-Committee formed to oversee ACU Business Development.
Action: Mr Carter
ORFA Guidelines. The Board, in principle, approved the ORFA Guidelines that had been re-vamped under the ACU umbrella. The Chairman asked that the sub-committee for Business Development manage this project, and coordinate the distribution of the Guidelines in conjunction with Mr Luscombe. They accepted that the Guidelines would be made available to those attending the LASU conference being held on 3rd/4th May 2006.
ACU Awards Evening. The Chairman stated that he considered the ACU Awards Evening held on Saturday 28th January to have been a splendid occasion and a credit to the staff and everyone who had been involved. The only thing to spoil the event was the number of competitors who failed to attend and collect their respective awards. He asked that the Sport Committee Chairmen review this for the 2006 Awards to be held on Saturday 27th January 2007.
Action: Sport Committee Chairmen
ACU Magazine. The Board thought the latest edition of the ACU Magazine was another excellent publication and asked Mr Hillaby to pass on their thanks to the editor, Mr McGhie.
Item 4: Finance Matters
4.1 Formal Presentation of ACU Accounts for 2005
Mr Shave and Mr Picker joined the Board of Directors at 10.30am. The Directors unanimously approved the accounts after the formal presentation made by the Auditors. The Chairman thanked both Mr Shave and Mr Picker for the time and effort they had put into producing the accounts for 2005 and likewise, Mr Shave thanked Mr Bonny and the Accounts staff for their co-operation throughout the audit period.
4.2 Mr Bonny issued the Directors I & E Comparisons for month ending Mar 06. There were no comments.
Item 5: Legal Issues
Mr Brad Ewin of Freeth Cartwright Solicitors joined the Board to discuss a number of Legal issues. The Board resolved to confirm and approve the established delegation of powers and authorities for the unincorporated association of the Auto-Cycle Union to the Company.
Item 6: Motocross Matters
The Chairman reported on recent meetings held with Gareth Hockey of RHL Activities Ltd regarding outstanding issues from the Weston Beach Race 2005. He stated that matters had been satisfactorily resolved and on behalf of the Directors, he had concluded an outline arrangement for the ACU to organise this year’s event to be held over the period 21st/22nd October. The Directors agreed to this. RHL Activities Ltd would remain the Promoter of the event.
To facilitate the organisation of this and similar events and commercial activities in the future the Chairman suggested that a separate company – ACU Events Limited - be formed. The Board unanimously agreed to this and the Directors of the new company would be; Mr Parker, Mr Carter, Mr Bonny and Mr Brown. The Board agreed to the Chairman making an approach to Mr Appleyard to invite him onto the Board of the new Company. The Company Secretary would be Mr Thompson.
The Chairman confirmed that he had proposed discussions with interested parties as to ways in which the sport of Motocross may be further developed under the auspices of the ACU and that this was ongoing. If at all possible he would eventually like to see this discipline managed from Rugby in the same way as for Road Racing. Consideration would be given to the appointment of an Off-Road Manager.
6.1 Hare Scrambles
After some discussion, the Board decided that no further action needs to be taken at this time. A permit will be issued for either a Motocross event or a Hare and Hounds event. Currently, as there are no rules for Hare Scrambles, events should be permitted as per the standing regulations laid down in the ACU Handbook for a Motocross or Hare and Hounds event.
Item 7: FIM Representation on Commissions and Panels
Mr Thompson confirmed that all necessary paperwork for the various candidates had been received in respect of the Commissions and Panels 2006 appointments. The FIM deadline for receipt of the paperwork was Sunday 30th April 2006. The Board agreed that Mr Higgins should attend the forthcoming FIM Congress as an Observer to the Motocross Commission.
Item 8: Refurbishment of ACU House Reception
The Board gave their approval for the ACU House Reception area to be refurbished and modernised. Mr Thompson to establish a suitable proposal with estimates of cost for Board approval.
Action: Mr Thompson
Item 9: Position of Land Access Officer
Mr Carter outlined his thoughts regarding employing an individual on a part time or full time basis at ACU Head Office to undertake the role of Land Access Officer. After some discussion, the Chairman asked Mr Carter to develop this area. Discussions then took place regarding the LARA AGM being held on 25th April.
Item 10: Business Development Projects
LASU Conference – 3rd/4th May. Mr Carter reported that bookings for the Conference to be held at Staverton Park, Daventry were not going as fast as had first been expected.
Disabled Riders Participating in Motorcycle Sport
Mr Carter stated that Mr Luscombe had written to each Sport Committee Chairman to ask for views on this issue. Mr Collins said that the matter needs to be more specific as the term ‘disabled’ covers a multitude of disabilities that may not necessarily affect the individuals riding ability or their overall safety. The Chairman commented that in this day and age, we would find it very difficult to stop anyone competing who has a disability and the whole matter comes down to a ‘disabled rider’ having an individual assessment by the respective sporting committee. A disabled person would have to prove they can handle the machine appropriate to their injuries and that they are able to remove themselves from the course in the event of an incident taking place. Mr Luscombe would be asked to produce a framework ACU policy to this effect.
Action: Mr Luscombe
Item 11: Any Other Business
Centre/Club Trials Training Officers
After some debate, it was agreed by the Board that the current situation regarding Trials Training Officers at Centre/Club level would stay unchanged. The Business Development sub-Committee would review this with Mr Luscombe at their next meeting.
Directors Visits to Centres. Mr Thompson stated that he had received Centre meeting dates from a number of Centres which he would circulate to the Board. He asked the Directors to annotate their availability to attend Centre meeting dates for 2006 to maintain open communication between the Board and the membership.
Paraplegics Spectating at Events. Considerable email activity had taken place recently regarding paraplegics and the use of mechanical machines when spectating at events. After some discussion it was agreed that this was a matter for each individual committee to address and decide whether it was appropriate for paraplegics to be allowed the use of mechanical machines when spectating at an event within the respective disciplines.
Waterproof/Outdoor Jackets for Committee Members and ACU Staff
The Chairman stated that it would be appropriate for Sport Committee Members and ACU Staff to be provided with an appropriate outdoor jacket/waterproof to wear at ACU events to give a corporate identity, which would add a degree of professionalism to the Company. Mr Hillaby said he would provide Mr Thompson with a contact number for a suitable company who designed this sort of clothing for a number of motorcycle clubs and organisations and were reasonably priced. Mr Nelson was also arranging for some samples for the Board to look at.
Item 12: Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Friday 19th May, preceding the AGM/National Council meeting being held on Saturday 20th May. The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 4.20pm.
