MINUTES OF THE FIRST MEETING (2006 SESSION) OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL
HELD AT ACU HOUSE ON SATURDAY 20th MAY 2006
Present: President Lt Col (Ret’d) E P Bartlett
Vice-President Mr C Moram
Chairman Mr J Parker
Cheshire & North Wales Mr V Leigh
Cornwall Mr J Stone
Mr J Cullum
Eastern Mr A Foskew
Mr E Wass
East Midland Mr M Jessup
Mr R Smith
East South Wales Mr A King
Mr J Cadogan
East Yorks Mrs P Wood
Mrs E Moon
Isle of Man Mr I Murphy
Midland Mr E Jones
Mid Wales Miss A Bates
North Eastern Mr I Reavely
North Western Mr M Simpson
South Eastern Mr C Boniface
Mr A Clarke
Southern Mr B New
Mr R Collins
Mr C Fletcher
South Midland Mr J Coles
South Western Mr C Somers
Wessex Mr F Sweeting
Western Mr J Willis
West South Wales Mr B Puckett
Yorkshire Mr D Loney
Mrs P Stephenson
Deputy Chairman Mr F Carter
Financial Director Mr B Bonny
Director Mr M Askins
Director Mr P Beardmore
Director Mr R Brown
Director Mr J Collins
Director Mr R Humphrey
Environmental Chairman Mr P Gregory
Business Development Officer Mr D Luscombe
Honorary Member Mr C Armes
Mr J Bussell
Mr K Sprayson
General Secretary Mr G Thompson MBE BEM
Item 1: Apologies for Absence:
Apologies were received from: Mr Bellars, Mr Blower, Mr Brownlie, Mr Burrell, Mr Hanks, Mr Hay, Mr Hillaby, Dr King, Mrs Mellish, Mr Noel, Mrs Payne, Mrs Richardson, Mr Sheddon, Mr R W Smith, Mr Tomlin, Mr Webb and Mr Wilson.
Item 2: To confirm minutes of the Third National Council meeting held on 5th November 2005
Proposed by Mr Clarke and seconded by Mr Leigh that the minutes of the third meeting of the National Council held on 5th November 2005 be confirmed. This was unanimously accepted.
Item 3: Matters Arising
Rights of Way. The Chairman updated the meeting on the situation regarding the appointment of someone to deal with Rights of Way Issues. A person who had been approached for the position had decided not to accept the offer and therefore another candidate was being sought who would spend time on, but would not be exclusively employed for, land access and similarly related issues.
Mr Thompson informed the meeting that for the foreseeable future he would be responsible for the ACU Respondent Scheme.
Mr Loney felt that any person being considered for the appointment ought to have an interest in Land issues in order to understand the documents issued by various agencies.
BYMX Committee. The Chairman advised that a letter had recently been sent by the General Secretary to all BYMX clubs encouraging them attend the Conference of Clubs scheduled to take place in October in order to carry out the election process of the BYMX Committee as outlined in the Rules of the Union (C(15)) and C(16)). He commented that should the apathy shown by the clubs last year be the same this year, then the future of the BYMX Committee would be brought into question as only one member of the Committee would be left if an election was not held.
TT Licence. The Chairman briefed the meeting on the review that was being conducted into measures to improve the safety for competitors and officials at the TT and the Manx GP. Recently the Chairman, Mr Hanks and Mr Nelson had visited the Isle of Man and had a further meeting with the Department to discuss the Licence requirements and some improvements that were being conducted by the Highways Agency. There was some concern that road improvements would make the course faster.
The Chairman commented that the TT licence system was working very well and that the MCUI were now also adopting a qualification scheme for the issue of Start Permissions for their riders wishing to compete on the TT course in the Isle of Man.
Despite recent comments made on various website message boards, the Chairman dispelled the notion that the TT course licence was a money making exercise for the ACU. He had advised the Department and the TT Marshals Association that funds raised from the licences would be available to support initiatives in respect of the recruitment and training of Officials or any other approved proposals in connection with the TT or MGP races.
Disabled Riders Participation. This issue had been discussed at the recently held Business Development Meeting and it was agreed that Mr Luscombe would put a policy in place. This would be based on an assessment being carried out on a disabled rider who had applied to compete in a sport discipline. Subject to the rider’s ability to control the bike, a member of the Sport Committee would assess the rider’s overall ability as to whether they were safe enough to take part in a competitive event. As to when the assessment was to be reviewed would depend on the severity of the rider’s disabled condition.
GMU. Mr Luscombe gave an appraisal of the Government Motorsport Unit. He commented on the money available which must be applied for through Sport England and that there were certain steps to be put in place to be eligible for the funding available. The first step was to produce a Sport Plan which would cover aspects such as Grass Root Sport, National Competition and Elite Programmes. He spoke about a recent meeting with the CEO of Sport England, he and Tony Noel had attended with MSA as the recognised National Governing Bodies of two wheel and four wheel sport.
At a recent NGB forum, Mr Luscombe had obtained copies of a Sport England package called Runningsports. It offered members seminars and workshops on running amateur sport and once put in place would be the first step to producing the Sport Plan. Copies of the Sport England package were available for delegates to take away with them.
Sound. As reported in a recent Press Release, Mr Humphrey confirmed that for all 2006 ACU British Championship events inscribed as a European A or FIM International for Adults & Youth that a 2 dB/A post race tolerance would be introduced for the remainder of the season. Pre race testing will remain at 96 dB/A.
Forestry Agreement. Mr J Collins commented that the Forestry Agreement was generally working very well. Initially, there was a little fine tuning to put the correct procedures in place, but now the system was starting to flow a lot better.
Item 4: Items for Discussion
4.1 ACU Events Limited
The Chairman appraised the meeting of the Board’s decision to form a new company to develop the Commercial side of the ACU in the future. The Company would initially be formed to oversee the organisation of the Weston Beach Race 2006 and similar major National events with a view to the long-term development of the Sport. At the moment the sport relies heavily on Clubs and volunteers coming forward to organise the events but, unfortunately, in many areas the volunteers have been in decline and this needs to be addressed.
The Chairman was then astonished to be advised by Mr Jones that a company called ACU Events Limited had recently been registered at Companies House, under number 05781002 with the registered office at Bryn Garage, Penpergym, Abergavenny, the known address of Mr G Hockey. He asked the General Secretary to investigate the situation and to instruct our lawyers to take any necessary action.
4.2 Recognised Promoters/Non-Territorial Clubs
With the growing number of Recognised Promoters and Non-Territorial Clubs running throughout the country, the Mid-Wales Centre suggested that Centres should be allowed to ask for some compensation from such organisers whenever a local event was adversely affected. The smaller Centres would find it difficult to run events on the same day as these organisers and as such would lose income which they rely upon to plough back into the grass roots of the sport
The Chairman outlined again the conditions regarding the issue of Permits to Recognised Promoters and noted that it was very important to have these organisations as an integral part of the ACU. He spoke about discussions held the previous day by Directors when it had been agreed that some allowance for the Centre could be included in the Promoter’s Permit Fee in appropriate cases when negotiations were being conducted with the Sport Committee Chairman concerned. This would not apply to any event being held on a permanent circuit.
Mr Loney raised his concern that the ACU appeared to be losing competitors to ORPA and similar organisations. The Chairman commented that this was unfortunate, but once these competitors realised what the ACU could offer then hopefully they might come back to the ACU. One of the main reasons the Promoters wanted to affiliate to the ACU was because of the excellent Insurance cover that could be provided for their events.
He noted that he ACU carries the responsibilities of being the National Governing Body and this involves expenditure over a wide area. Whilst our costs have to reflect this the Board is constantly striving to ensure that our services to the sport are delivered in an economic and professional way.
Item 5: Club Affiliations
5.1 St George’s Motorcycle Club Eastern Centre Affiliated
5.2 Mid Wales Dirt Track MC & QC Limited Mid Wales Centre Affiliated
5.3 Norwich New Stars Youth GT MCC Eastern Centre Affiliated
5.4 Fenland Grass Track Club South Midland Centre Affiliated
5.5 Vectis Isle Pioneers MCC Southern Affiliated
5.6 Sideways South West MCC South West Affiliated
5.7 Mercian Dirt Riders Western Affiliated
5.8 NXC (Northern Cross Country) North Eastern Affiliated
Item 6: To Receive Minutes/Reports:
6.1 Directors Minutes
8th Meeting – 28 Sep 05
9th Meeting – 4 Nov 05
10th Meeting – 15 Dec 05
1st Meeting (06) – 26 Jan 06
2nd Meeting – 11 Apr 06
Centre/Club Training Officers. Mr Luscombe outlined the training requirements for Grass Track, Trials and Enduro Training Officers. There would be two kinds of Permit issued (dependent upon what level the training was being delivered), a Training Permit and a Practice Permit. The criteria for both permits is attached.
The Coach Certificate fee will be £25.00. The delivery of the training for a club coach would be free, in other words a new club coach would attend his one day course, free of charge, and then would be required to pay £25.00 a year for his certificate.
Item 7: To Receive Committee Minutes.
7.1 Road Race, Drag and Sprint Committee
6th Meeting – 9 Nov 05
7th Meeting – 21 Dec 05
1st Meeting (06) – 8 Feb 06
2nd Meeting – 5 Apr 06
ACU Star Championships. This series is proving to be very successful and has been well received by the Industry.
British Supermoto Championships. The Supermoto series has not developed as well as had been expected although it continues to provide an excellent relationship with the AMCA. At the last meeting of the BSMC Directors, it was agreed to change the format of the races to improve the meetings and it was hoped that this might bring in more entries and spectators.
European 250cc Championship 2006. The Committee had agreed to support all seven applicants for the European 250 cc Championships.
Mallory Park. The Chairman spoke about the changes made to the circuit and that currently only one club had run an event where the new chicane had been included. The British Superbikes had however tested at the venue recently and had approved the alteration.
The Road Race Committee had nominated Mr Parker for the FIM CCR and Mrs Perks for the UEM Road Race Commission.
Road Race Bulletin No 1 covering a number of changes to the Road Race Standing Regulations had recently been issued.
7.2 Motocross Committee
7th Meeting - 24 Nov 05
1st Meeting (06) - 18 Jan 06
2nd Meeting - 16 Mar 06
Letter received from PA Promotions. A letter from PA Promotions appeared to have been sent to all National Council delegates prior to the meeting. The matter had been discussed at length by the Board meeting held on 27 January 2005 and recorded as such in the minutes of that meeting. The Chairman was disappointed that Mr Armes had distributed the letter on such a wide basis when all contractual and commercial matters were dealt within the Boardroom. He said that a suitable reply had been sent to Mr Armes for which he was waiting a reply.
Joint meeting – 18th January 2006. Mr Humphrey spoke about the new format for Motocross meetings. Both Adult and Youth committees have separate meetings in the morning and then would come together for a joint meeting in the afternoon. These meetings are proving to be successful.
Weston Beach Race. Mr Coles raised his concern regarding the cost of an appeal to the Final Tribunal of Appeal, which is currently £5,000. The Chairman agreed that in the particular circumstances of the recent case involving an official that a fee of £500 would be more appropriate. Although any repeat was considered to be unlikely the Disciplinary Code would be amended accordingly.
ORFA Guidelines. Mr Luscombe stated that the guidelines had now been approved. The guidelines were now available on the ACU website and were fully supported by the Health and Safety Executive. A meeting would be held in August with organisations from across the Industry with a view to improving the document for next year.
7.3 Trials and Enduro Committee
7th Meeting - 28 Oct 05
8th Meeting - 3 Dec 05
1st Meeting (06) - 17 Jan 06
2nd Meeting - 15 Feb 06
3rd Meeting - 22 Apr 06
Forestry Issues. Mr Puckett and Miss Bates raised their concerns regarding the method of payment regarding events being held under the Forestry Agreement. In particular payment of insurance returns through the ACU instead of the payments going back to the Centre, they felt the smaller Centres would lose considerable amounts of money through this system. Mr J Collins said the T & E Committee would discuss this at their next meeting.
ISDE. Mr J Collins reported that the Mr Barraclough had unfortunately stood down as the ISDE Team Manager due to pressure of work. The new manager for 2006 is Mr Andrew Martin. Mr Collins also reported on the recent article printed in TMX regarding the administration and financial aspects of the ISDE which was totally incorrect, he informed the meeting that a reply had been sent to rectify the matter, which had also been placed on the ACU website.
7.4 Track Racing Committee
6th Meeting - 29 Oct 05
7th Meeting - 10 Dec 05
1st Meeting (06) - 14 Jan 06
2nd Meeting - 4 Mar 06
3rd Meeting - 29 Apr 06
7.5 BYMX Committee
1st Meeting (06) - 18 Jan 06
2nd Meeting - 22 Feb 06
Mr Askins stated that manufacturers will be producing 150cc four stroke Motocross bikes and that from 2008 onwards two stroke bikes will not be eligible for competition.
Dual Licences. Mr Askins informed the meeting that the issue of Dual Licences had been reviewed and from now on a Junior Licence would be issued enabling a rider aged between 15 and 17 to be able to ride in both Youth and Adult events.
Item 8: To Receive Sub-Committee Minutes
8.1 Insurance. No meetings since the last meeting of the National Council.
Item 9: To Receive Service Panel Minutes
9.1 Technical Panel. No meetings since the last meeting of the National Council.
9.2 Environmental Panel.
3rd Meeting - 18 Oct 05
9.3 Medical Panel
2nd Meeting - 23 Nov 05
1st Meeting (06) - 8 Mar 06
Concern was raised that the FIM has introduced a medical requirement for Cross Country rallies that each competitor had to have an ECG before competition, which was not available on the National Health and could prove costly.
After some discussion, Mr Bartlett said he would raise the issue at the forthcoming Management Council.
Confirmation of Centre Chairman/Secretary minutes. Mr Somers asked why the minutes of the Centre Chairmen/Secretaries meetings were not discussed at National Council meetings. The Chairman and Mr Thompson explained that the minutes of the two meetings were kept separate as the Centre Chairmen/Secretaries meetings were informal and a discussion forum where no decisions were made, as opposed to the National Council meetings that were held on a formal basis.
Item 10: Any Other Business
Court of Enquiry – Mr Atkinson. Mr Jones and Mr Leigh asked why the General Secretary had refused a recent request for a Court of Enquiry from Mr Atkinson to look at the election procedures of the East Yorkshire Centre. They also asked that if an individual could not appeal against something of this nature, what procedure was available to Centres/Centre Officials should the need arise. Mr Thompson replied by saying that in accordance with the National Sporting Code Chapter 10, paragraph 10.03.3.2, the authority was in place for a Panel to hear appeals against non-disciplinary decisions of Sport Committees or Local Centres. In this particular case it was evident that the complaint should first be dealt with at Centre level.
Electronic/Hard Copies of paperwork distributed from Head Office. Mr Boniface commented that the sending of hard copies of minutes from Head Office was a duplication of effort considering that the same information was distributed electronically by the General Secretary. On the other hand, Mr Sweeting considered both electronic and hard copies to be appropriate as this saved the Centre Secretary/National Council Delegate costs in downloading the material and printing it off to be distributed further. Mr Thompson commented that all minutes are now sent to Directors, Centre Secretaries, National Council Delegates and every Club that he had an email address for.
After further discussion, the Chairman asked Mr Thompson to implement a review as to who would like to receive information by email, by hard copy or both.
Action: Mr Thompson
Mr Boniface also asked if the ACU would consider putting copies of minutes on the ACU website, as he did in a similar fashion with the South Eastern Centre website. After some discussion, it was clear that in respect of the South Eastern Centre website, their members accessed the area concerned by use of a log-in and password and it was felt this would be unworkable for the national site. The Chairman stated that a bullet point brief would be posted on the website following each Committee meeting giving points of general interest.
National Council Meetings. Mr Leigh asked Mr Thompson to clarify how many meetings of the National Council should be held each year. Mr Thompson replied that in accordance with the Articles of Association at Article 4, there should be a meeting of the Company for the Annual General Meeting and two further meetings held each year. The Company was fulfilling its’ obligation and in accordance with the articles, the AGM was held before this meeting, this being the first meeting of the National Council for the year and the second meeting to be held on 4th November.
Adrenalin X. Mr Boniface asked for an update as to the current position regarding Adrenalin X. Mr Thompson replied that the whole matter was now in the hands of the solicitors and a County Court Judgement (CCJ) had been filed against the Company. The matter was now taking the normal legal course.
ACU Handbook. Mr Reavely asked if the ACU Handbook could be produced earlier next year as it had been distributed later than expected in 2006. Mr Thompson agreed that this was the case, however, this was exacerbated by the fact that many of the Centres and Clubs sent in amendments much later than the deadline of 18th November. As a recent innovation, the copy for the Handbook is being amended as an ongoing process now and it is hoped that this will make earlier production of the 2007 Handbook possible.
Item 11: Date of Next Meeting
The Chairman thanked the President and everyone for their attendance. Their being no further business he closed the meeting at 4.00pm. The next meeting of the National Council will be held on Saturday 4th November 2006.