Waltham Chase Trials MCC

Minutes of AGM – 2023

Held at The Mortimers Arms, Ower on October 17^th, 2023

Apologies

Apologies were received from: Maria James, Ian Bird, Dave Henvest, Terry Graves and Shaun Francis

Attendees

A total of 25 Club members were present. The meeting was declared quorate.

Minutes of the 2022 AGM

The minutes of the 2022 AGM were uploaded to the Club Website in November 2022, giving all members the opportunity to review or comment.

No comments have been received.

It was agreed that they were an accurate account of the 2022 AGM.

Proposed JD. Seconded SG

Any outstanding actions from 2022 have been carried forward to the 2023 AGM.

Chairman’s Report for 2023 and 2024 Plan.

2023 was another good year for Waltham Chase, with 27 events, two Camping weekends and an Awards Presentation run by the Club.

Waltham Chase supports the Southern Centre Championship, hosting three rounds in 2023, with the same events planned for 2024.

The Club has an active and dedicated Committee that enables these events to take place with the workload shared amongst the team.

The Bryant Family are worthy of special thanks for managing and hosting the August Camping Weekend. Above and beyond the call of duty.

As a club we enjoy the social scene almost as much as the sport, we are a “Family Club”

The Club has a current membership of 240.

The Waltham Chase committee do not receive any honorarium payments, but can claim travelling expenses, some free rides, and “refreshments” are provided at Committee Meetings.

 Without their committment there would be no Waltham Chase.

 We do have a very small Youth Membership, as do many Clubs, and also a very small number of Expert Riders.

We are a sort of SAGA Trials Club, with our “Grey Team” doing a lot of the work to make the trials happen.

Andy Ball is to become more involved with marking out. A young man it the team.

We are where we are and are happy with the membership base we have.

 We have processed over 1600 “rides” in the last year via Sport80, with minimal problems, but we accept that we can never please all members all of the time.

 We did have a few negative comments earlier in the year regarding section marking, which seem to have been resolved. We do welcome help from any members wishing to get involved.

 The sections at the Keith Marshall were spot on, marked out as a non-stop trial, which made for a 2024 rules change proposal to be made. (More on this later)

 We took the decision last year to use all of the land available to us, except Treefields, as it was too wet.

 We pay £5.00 per rider for the use of land away from Hut Hill. We believe it is cash well spent.

On a personal note, and as recorded last year, I plan to step back from some more of the “at venue” activity and tasks. I still enjoy it all, but we do need more volunteers to get involved with marking out and helping on the day to secure the Club’s future.

I am happy to find a section in the woods to while away a few hours on a Sunday.

I am not giving up just yet.

Following on from discussions at Committee meetings the roles of a Clerk of Course and Club Secretary have been documented and shared at the AGM.

I have also detailed a number of responsibilities to be redistributed for 2024 which will be reviewed at the next Committee meeting.

Finance Report

Accounts Summary

The Club reinvests income into either sporting or social activity.

The Club has no ambition to make a profit but does need to maintain an adequate reserve fund.

Charity Donations

It was agreed that 2023 would be our last season supporting Macmillan, with profits from the 2024 “November Charity Trial” being donated to Prostate Cancer UK.

 A new charity will be nominated each year by a Committee or Club member.

Club Assets

All Club assets have been written down to zero in previous years.

The club has, as of the date of the AGM, Club Merchandise in stock to the value of £362.00.

Club Affiliation (ACU or Other)

It was agreed unanimously that Waltham Chase MCC would remain affiliated to the ACU.

Election of Officers for 2024

The Club officials for 2024 are:

§  Chairman: Mike Wiseman

§  Secretary/Treasurer: Mike Wiseman

§  Awards & Events Team: Sue Wiseman, Mo Latham, Sally Garland

§  Minutes Secretary: Mo Latham

§  Membership Secretary: No longer required.

§  Child Protection: Clerk of Course.

§  Defibrillator: Sally Garland

§  Environmental Officer: Gary Plews and Trevor Gatrell

§  Youth Representative: Leon Baude

§  Club Merchandise: Maria James

§  Club Coach: Ian Bird

§  Clerks Of Course: Steve Greenen, Jim Gray, Andrew Bryant, Jack Bryant, Bill Latham, Ian Bird, Jamie Rowden, Matthew Rowden, Shane Babey.

§  PR and Photography: Andy Withers

§  “Gate” & “On the Day” Admin: John Denham, Sue Wiseman, Mo Latham

§  First Aiders: Ian Bird, Andrew Bryant, Paul Garland, Jack Bryant, Martin Penfold

§  Committee (Not listed Above): Dave Henbest &Tony Knott

Committee Meeting Structure

It was agreed that the Committee would meet bimonthly in 2024.

The proposed dates are:

5^th December 2023

5^th Feb 2024

2^nd April 2024

4^th June 2024

6^th August 2024

1^st October 2024

15^th October 2024 (ACM)

3^rd December 2024

Other meetings of subgroups to Organise The Awards Presentation, Camping Weekends and any other nonsporting activity will be held on an ad hoc basis.

The venues for meetings for 2024 will be confirmed.

Sport80 – System Training:

MW will organise Sport80 system training early in 2024 as part of the Clubs futureproofing process.

2024 Membership Fees

It was agreed that Club Membership fees will remain at the 2023 rates.

Adult Membership £15.00.

Youth Membership £5.00.

Social Membership £5.00.

The Club Membership process will change for 2024 with renewals and new memberships being managed via the ACU transactional platform.

A Club Membership “link” will be sent to all members in early November to simplify the process.

It was noted that the new online system is better than the old “Magic Number” and paper form process.

Event Entry Fees for 2024

Club Trials (No Change):

Adult £20.00.

Youth £15.00.

Practice Trials: (No Change)

Adult £15.00.

Youth £10.00.

Open To Centre Trials:

Adult £25.00.

Youth £15.00.

The additional fee for OTC Trials reflects land costs, observer’s expenses and the purchase of awards.

Observer Expenses

Observers at Club Championship and Summer trials will be paid £20.00 expenses.

For all OTC events Observers will be paid £20.00 plus a lunch allowance.

Late Entry Fee

A proposal was made that a late entry fee should be applied when entries are made after the documented event close date.

The reason: All Waltham Chase Observers sheets, and event paperwork are produced on the Friday before a Trial. Late entries result in additional administration and time.

Riders are encouraged to enter by midnight on Thursdays to assist the Club Secretary.

Any late entry fees applied will be printed in the relevant Supplementary Regs.

Event Administration

There is no plan to revert to on the day entry. Sport80 works well for the Club and provides a suite of admin features.

By using Sport80 we are able to plan our events in advance by knowing what riders to mark out for.

Sport80 has no negative impact on the Club, with entry numbers not affected.

The Stripe (Event Finance Management) and Sport80 administration cost is absorbed by the Club.

Events to be held in 2024.

§  Club Championship (7 Rounds confirmed)

§  Youth and Wobblers - Summer Series (6 Rounds).

§  Three Southern Centre Championship events.      

 (The Keith Marshall, The George Greenland and The Geoff Chandler.

§  Other OTC Trials – The Dick Hoyles, Alan Sansom.

§  The john Wright will be included in a Club Round.

§  Practice Days. Paul Garland to organise at Hut Hill. Ian Bird has COC Licence and will co-ordinate coaching. Andrew and Jack Bryant to organise at Oakridge.

§  Easy Trials. To be reviewed subject to dates availability.

§  Two Cadnam Camping Weekends.

Summer Series

It was proposed that the Summer Series be renamed “Youth and Wobblers” as part of the Clubs past history. It differentiates the series from The Championship as an easier series.

Event “Rules” for 2024

“Stop Allowed” rules will be applied at all Waltham Chase Trials except The Keith Marshall.

It was proposed that “Non-Stop” rules are also used for the “Youth and Wobblers” series.

An initial proposal was made for a two round trial period, but this may confuse riders.

It was noted that if non-stop rules are used at a trial Observers must be fully briefed.

Score Recording

The Club will continue to use waterproof score sheets. The printed cost is circa £1.00 per sheet.

The Club also has a stock of “Punch Cards” and clippers which could be used for one-off events.

Dates Calendar for 2024.

The 2024 dates calendar has now been uploaded to the Club Website.

(Link: Home - Waltham Chase Motorcycle Trials Club (walthamchasetrials.co.uk)

Venues for 2024

It was agreed that all available venues should be used in 2024, either for Trials or Practice Days.

§  Hut Hill

§  Oakridge Copse

§  Cadnam – Two Weekends

§  Treefields Farm (Andy Ball to review)

§  Bunny Lane

§  Limekiln Lane 

§  Manor Farm

§  Ham Lane

§  Woodberry Lane

§  The Hop Garden

Rider Classifications for 2024

Rider Classifications will not change for 2024.

There are no plans to introduce 50/50 classes, except for Centre Championship rounds.

Rider Numbers

It was agreed that the current system of members retaining a dedicated “Rider Number” for the duration of Club membership will continue.

Rider Numbers will be reallocated if a membership is not renewed for 12 months. This keeps lower numbers in use.

Numbers in the series “800” are issued to non-members and those entering late.

Members are reminded that they should provide a clear, printed number for their machine. Please ask for one to be made if you have no printer available. Contact for Rider Numbers: sallygarland@sky.com

It is important that rider numbers are clearly visible to Observers.

Riders are also reminded not to use headlamps when riding as when lights are on, they make it difficult to read number cards.

Club rider shirts are available with your printed “Rider Number”.

Talk to Maria James at any Club Trial for further information.

Back Markers

The Club will endeavour to provide “Back Markers” when possible, and always at long lap Trials. They can give observers a break and also confirm when sections can be closed. Volunteers appreciated.

Club PR and Photography.

Andy Withers was thanked for his continued support with PR, report writing and event photography.

Event photographers, who are also competing, should go to the front of any section queue. This gives them the opportunity to spend more time taking event photographs.

Defibrillator Review

Sally Garland is to investigate servicing requirements for the Club Defibrillator.

 First Aid Training

The Southern Centre is funding local first aid training. The one day course, to be held on a Saturday early in 2024, covers incidents likely to occur at Trials plus Defibrillator training.

If of interest, please register at walthamchasetrials@outlook.com

Club Coach & Coaching

New (or not so new) members are reminded that our Club Coach, Ian Bird, is available at most Club Trials and practice days to offer advice and support. Please ask if of use to you.

Professional Training

A training day for Youth Riders, hosted by Billy Green and Jaz Hammond, will be organised early in 2024. The cost per rider will be circa £50.00. Full details will be published when finalised.

Observers

As a Club we have been well supported by our regular “Observers” in 2023, but we do need more volunteers.

A condition of Club Membership is that you personally observe, provide an observer, or fund an observer once each year. With the current membership that is just one session each per year.

We plan to hold an “Observers Training” session early in the New Year and we also invite candidates to “buddy up” with an experienced Observer at any Trial to learn the job. Volunteers are very welcome. Register interest via email.

Waltham Chase Website

With ACU support we now have fully transactional website functions for event entry and Club Memberships.

The Waltham Chase website is really an “Information Centre” where you can find out about upcoming events, view results, read news, look at the Clubs history and view over ten years of members images in the “Gallery”.

The Adverts page has never really been used.

A number of recent updates and enhancements have been made and any further suggestions would be welcome. If we don’t know what’s wrong, we can’t fix it.

The “Contact’s” page is currently under review and will be updated.

Facebook

A small team are going to investigate the use and review the Club Facebook page. The club has 240 members and over 900 FB members. It may need a cleanse.

Bike and Vehicle Security

Andy Withers and Andy Parkes have provided some valuable information regarding bike and vehicle security. This has been copied to all current members.

2024 Awards Presentation

The 2024 Awards Presentation will be held on February 24^th at Otterbourne Village Hall.

All award winners will be notified by email.

The evening will be a celebration of 2023 and is for all family members – not a riders only night out.

Carl Barr has been asked to quote to provide a buffet for the event.

Random Cow and Ria Osborne have been booked to provide the entertainment on the evening.

Social events for 2024

Two “up to five day” camping breaks at Cadnam are planned and booked.

The June weekend will be a “do your own thing” break with two Club Trials, with the August weekend being “The Party” weekend where there will be a BBQ, live entertainment and more. The Barn has been booked for the entertainment in case it rains.

Catering at Trials

Reports are positive regarding “Debs Catering”. Please support whenever you can to make it worth them attending.

Club Merchandise

Maria James will be promoting the core range of rider shirts, polo’s, fleeces, gilets, beanies, and caps at the Francis Family Trial on the 11^th November.

It was noted that water bottles proved to be unpopular, and similar “merch” may not appeal to members.

It was noted that “Rider Shirts”, with your printed Club Number make ideal presents.

Load Lugger

John Denham agreed to take the Load Lugger to the winter trials where the weather is likely to be inclement.

The Loadlugger, pre covid, was the focal point at all Trials. It will be at the Francis Family Trial, The Christmas Trial, and the Dick Hoyles.

If you retire or have any problems, please report to the “lugger”.

The Committee will review its future long term use.

Section and Course Marking

It was agreed unanimously to use the current route marking colour scheme in 2024. i.e., Red and Blue with deviations.

A proposal to have one colour flags for each complete route was not accepted.

MW is reviewing route marking material. The existing “Orange Arrows” are not clearly visible to all. Any suggestions from riders appreciated.

Secretary’s Equipment

It was agreed that a “Club Laptop” will be purchased in 2024 to enable all club information to be stored and available in one location.

AOB

Fencing and General management at Hut Hill

Trevor Gatrell raised concerns regarding fencing and security at Hut Hill.

To address issues a subgroup will be formed to carry out necessary work. To finalised at next Committee Meeting.

Date of 2024 AGM

Confirmed as being Tuesday 15^th October 2024. Venue to be confirmed.