Précis Minutes of the Fourth Meeting (2006 Session) of the Board of Directors of
ACU Ltd at the Offices of the Company held on Thursday 27th July at 10.30am
Present: Jim Parker (Chairman)
Frank Carter (Deputy Chairman)
Brian Bonny (Financial Director)
Peter Beardmore
Eddie Bellars
Roger Brown
John Collins
Roy Hanks
Peter Hillaby
Roy Humphrey
Tony Noel
Gary Thompson MBE BEM (General Secretary)
The Board expressed their condolences and gave their best wishes to the family of Mr Ken Blampied after hearing the sad news of his death. Mr Bonny would represent the ACU at the funeral to be held on Monday 31st July.
Apologies were received from Mr Askins who was involved in BYMX Championship meetings on two consecutive weekends in Northern Ireland.
Item 2: Confirmation of Minutes of the Third meeting (2006 session) of the Board held on
Friday 19th May 2006.
The minutes of the third meeting of the Board of Directors held on Friday 19th May were accepted subject to a line being deleted in the Sport England paragraph on page one. Mr Thompson was asked to delete the sentence “in view of the fact that the MSA had decided not to pursue this any further”.
Item 3: Matters Arising
Department of Transport. Mr Carter expressed his disappointment at the level of response and the actions taken by the solicitors regarding the comments sent to the Department of Transport in respect of the On Road/Off Road Regulations.
Reception and Security. Mr Thompson reported that the refurbishment of the Reception area was due to begin on Tuesday 8th August.
Eastern Centre. Mr Thompson reported that Mrs Barbara Douglas has been appointed as Centre Secretary to the Eastern Centre.
AGM Questions. In stressing its commitment to a policy of openness regarding the ACU Accounts the Board agreed that questions submitted in advance of the AGM should in future be limited to those formally put forward by the Members on a common form. Mr Thompson is to produce and distribute this form which will require details of the Meeting in which the decision to raise the question was made.
Action: Mr Thompson
2007 ACU Star Championship (European Open).
The Chairman spoke about outline proposals for an eight round Championship package. It was envisaged that the Classes would require a ‘stand-alone’ programme – rather than the inclusion of Start races in various Club events – as has been the case in 2006. Discussions were taking place with potential sponsors and other interested parties.
Item 4: Finance Matters
4.1 Income and Expenditure Comparisons
The Income and Expenditure comparisons had been distributed to the Directors prior to the meeting with the Board papers. There were no comments.
4.2 Mr Bonny handed out a copy of the Budget submissions to the Sport Committee Chairmen and asked that they be completed and returned to him by Wednesday 30th August. The Chairman informed the Directors that he had tasked Mr Burk with completing a generic Event Budget Submission Form for all disciplines and hoped it would soon be available for their use.
The Screening Committee for the Budget Submissions would comprise of: Mr Carter (Chairman), Mr Bonny, Mr Brown, Mr Parker and Mr Thompson.
Item 5: Insurance Matters
5.1 Review of current Insurance Requirements
Alexander Forbes. Mr Bellars advised that Mr Bonny, Mr Brown and he met with the CEO of Alexander Forbes to discuss the re-structuring of their Motorsports Department. He had been assured the ACU account is highly valued and the strengthened team dealing with ACU business comprises of Kevin Davies, Dawn Luby, Paul Coxon and Paul Buckle supported by Leslie Kay on the Claims side. The Manchester office will continue to assist ACU Clubs and their Members with increased on-line support to be introduced in the Autumn.
Insurance Cover and Price. Mr Bellars explained it was apparent at times that some Members felt our Insurances were too expensive, too comprehensive, or both. He felt the Board should be aware of the wide cover arranged to protect our Members, paid for entirely by Competitors through their entry fees. Mr Bellars confirmed that savings could be made but only if cover was reduced. It was anticipated that no general increase in premiums would apply in 2007.
Road Traffic Act Contingency Cover. Unlike other Motorcycle organisations the ACU now protects Competitors or Officials who stray onto or across Bridlepaths, Footpaths or onto a Public place “within the confines of the venue specified in the Permit”. This could save a prosecution and deal with a claim from the “sacrificial rambler”. Riding between parcels of land on Public Highways (Roads) remains excluded but the One Event RTA scheme is available in these circumstances.
Annual Limited Mileage RTA Insurance Scheme. Mr Bellars advised the Board that a “badged” product for ACU members is on the stocks and after completion of a market research exercise, it should be launched in the Autumn. The intention is to offer cover similar to the old Norwich Union Rider Policy covering all of a Member’s bikes although in the early stages it will only cover Third Party Liability risks and not Theft nor Accidental damage. The price will be highly competitive and be for ACU Affiliated Members only. Mr Bellars circulated details with a request for information on individuals’ polices. The Market Research would be extended to Centre Secretaries with a request that their Trials and Enduro members complete the market research forms.
Overseas Competitors. Mr Noel felt that Grass Track competitors from other Federations with “Start Permission” from their FMN’s should pay the same £3.00 rate as applied to Road Racing. This was agreed.
Rates for “One Event” RTA Cover. There was some discussion between Mr Bellars and Mr Collins as to how we might encourage greater take-up of the scheme and whether it should be made compulsory. Whilst this reduced the rate from £9.50 per Competitor to £5.00, it was subject to compliance with certain underwriting criteria. Mr Collins felt that when someone had the required RTA cover he was being penalised if made to pay the extra £5.00 in his entry fee. The matter was not satisfactorily resolved and it was hoped the new Annual cover would improve the situation.
Item 6: Motocross Issues
6.1 Terms, Duties and Responsibilities of the Motocross Committee (Also includes the proposed amalgamation of the Adult and Youth Motocross Committees)
The Board of Directors considered a proposal to merge the Adult and Youth Motocross Committees as presented by Mr Humphrey, as part of his remit to formally establish proposals for the Duties, Terms and Responsibilities of the Motocross Committee.
It was also noted that this morning, (27th July), a letter of resignation had been received from Mr Richard Clarke, a member of the BYMX Committee, formally notifying the Board of his decision to tender his resignation from the BYMX Committee. It was noted that under the Rules of the Union Section C (1), the BYMX Committee was left with less than 50% of its membership and thereby without a quorum.
As a result, the Board agreed that the activities of the BYMX Committee would, with immediate effect, be transferred to the Adult Motocross Committee. The Motocross Committee would invite the remaining two members of the former BYMX Committee (Mr Askins and Mrs Lawson) to advise on the BYMX Championships and other youth activities for the remainder of the year. Mr Thompson was asked to write to Mr Askins and notify him of the decisions of the Board.
The Conference of Clubs due to take place on Saturday 7th October would now be an Open Forum and all Motocross Clubs will be invited to attend.
Action: Mr Thompson
In addition, it was agreed that two motions will be put forward to the National Council on Saturday 4th November:
1. A proposal to formally dissolve the BYMX Committee.
2. A proposal to amend the constitution of the Motocross Committee to include two additional members in 2007. Candidates would be as recommended by the Motocross Committee to the Board for approval prior to being forwarded to the National Council for ratification.
Note: It is intended that these two members should be suitably qualified to assist specifically in the development of Youth Motocross.
The Motocross Committee are also to establish a sub-committee to be responsible for the development of BYMX Championships and are to invite person(s) with specialist knowledge to attend any meeting of the Committee. These persons will have no voting rights.
Mr Thompson was asked to write to Mr Clarke and acknowledge the receipt of his resignation and to also inform him that a Court of Enquiry is to be convened to investigate an alleged incident at a BYMX Championship meeting held in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland.
Action: Mr Thompson
Letter from the Motocross Committee
The Chairman advised the Board of a letter received from the Motocross Committee regarding the future appointments of Mr Askins as an ACU Sport Official and an ACU Track Inspector. It was agreed that this should be discussed at the next meeting of the Motocross Committee where Mr Askins would be invited to attend.
Action: Mr Humphrey
PA Promotions
The Board considered a letter received from Mr Armes in response to queries raised by the Chairman in response to a proposal from PA Promotions in respect of the ACU British Motocross Championships. The Board decided not to proceed with the proposal and Mr Thompson was asked to write to Mr Armes and inform him accordingly.
Action: Mr Thompson
Item 7: ACU Competition Licence Fee
The Board discussed the Competition Licence fee for 2007 and decided upon an increase of £2.00 from £40.00 to £42.00 . The Trials Levy would be increased by 10p from £1.40 to £1.50.
7.1 ACU Licence Application Form
There were no major amendments to be made to the ACU Licence Application Form for 2007 other than some minor changes to the last page as suggested by Mr Moram. A statement is to be included that the ‘ACU and The Auto-Cycle Union are trading names of The Auto-Cycle Union Limited registered under Company No. 00134679; Registered Office: ACU House, Wood Street, Rugby Warwickshire, CV21 2YX’, as previously advised by our solicitors.
Item 8: Business Development Projects
8.1 Bio-Fuels. Mr Luscombe reported that a Honda team had been found who would like to run a 250 cc motorcycle on Bio-Ethanol fuel in the 2007 U21 British Championships.
Mr Luscombe suggested that consideration be given to draft an appropriate paragraph for the inclusion of E85 Bio-Ethanol in the Standing Regulations for next year’s Handbook. The Board agreed to this in principle and asked that Mr Luscombe in conjunction with the Motocross Committee provide suitable wording for inclusion.
Action: Mr Luscombe and Mr Humphrey
8.2 MCIA Political Lobby
Mr Luscombe made the Board aware of a recent meeting he had with the MCIA that discussed the possibility of a multi-agency funded organisation to act as a sporting political lobby, effectively to replace LARA which due to the current NERC bill had made their function irrelevant in its current format. The Board agreed to Mr Carter and Mr Luscombe to engage with the MCIA on this proposal and report back to the Board after their next meeting.
Action: Mr Carter and Mr Luscombe
8.3 National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection
Mr Luscombe reported that this organisation had invited him to speak at their Noise Update Conference at the NEC on 10th October.
8.4 SLE Conference
Mr Luscombe stated that he had been invited to speak on the ACU approved Off-Road Guidelines at the SLE Conference to be held at Donington Park.
8.5 Proposal for a Five Round Mini-bike Winter Series
Mr Luscombe spoke about a proposal for the ACU to work with Mr Kevin Newton, who currently runs the UK1 British 125GP Team, to run a five round Mini-bike winter series at Kart tracks across the Midlands. Mr Newton has proposed to work with Lucky Devils (an ACU Mini Bike Club – the only one – however they do not run any events under an ACU Permit). A fleet of identical mini bikes for riders to race in the series would be provided. The events would run under an ACU Permit with an ACU Clerk of the Course. The prize would be a ride in the 2007 ACU Star Championship.
Item 9: Any Other Business
9.1 Individual Subscribed Membership of the ACU. Prior to the Board meeting, the General Secretary had distributed to the Directors proposed new wording for Article 2.05 of the National Sporting Code for their consideration. The Directors agreed the new wording to be put forward to the National Council meeting on Saturday 4th November for adoption.
Mr Thompson was asked to look at the following Articles as some text appeared to be missing: 3.08.4.1, 3.08.4.2, 3.08.5.1 and 3.08.5.2.
Action: Mr Thompson
NSC Article 4.04 particular the wording ‘withdraw a permit without stating a reason’ should be deleted. Mr Thompson was asked to look at the wording of paragraph 4.04. Should a permit be withdrawn or declined, ACU Headquarters or the Local Centre should give a reason why this action has been taken.
Action: Mr Thompson
NSC Article 7.02. Should include the wording Individual Subscribed Membership and refer to Trials Registration.
Action: Mr Thompson
Motocross Des Nations Hospitality. The Board agreed that a hospitality facility should be available at the forthcoming Motocross Des Nations event being held at Matterley Basin, Winchester on 23rd/24th September. Directors were asked to supply Mr Humphrey with names of those individuals they wished to be invited to the event.
Car Park Wall. Mr Thompson reported that the damaged car park wall had now been rebuilt.
ACU Corporate Clothing. Mr Thompson provided some examples of shirts and jackets for the Board to consider for the Directors, ACU Staff and ACU Sport Committee Members to wear at events to give a corporate and more professional image of the organisation. The Board agreed to the clothing produced and Mr Thompson was asked to liaise with Mr Steve Lewis at Techmax to organise the production of the garments.
Recognised Promoters. Marches 4x4 Motorsport Management Ltd were approved by the Board to be affiliated to the ACU as a Recognised Promoter.
Item 10: Date of Next Meeting
The Chairman closed the meeting at 5.50pm. The date of the next meeting is Thursday 31st August 2006.