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Bournemouth BMX Club AGM and Open Meeting

East Dorset Rugby Club, 1900, 29 June 2021

Annual General Meeting

1. Welcome and apologies

Members present:

Michael Whittaker; John Twitchen; Andy Davies; Kevin Cowlard; Paul Manns; Will Stephens; Lee Hunt; Karon Grant; Lucie Holt-Davies; Cathy Willcocks; Mike Sylvester; Steve Willcocks; Tom Whittaker; Steve Johnson; Bryan Daly; Ian Dickeson; Norbert Marko; Tim Chetland.

Apologies:

Paul Miller; Sarah Clark; Richie Clark; James Phillips; Jon Moore; Tracey Whittaker; Vicky Gardner; Paul Gardner; Julia Sylvester; Julian Tucker; Cheryl Mainwaring.

2. Review of previous AGM

The previous AGM was held in January 2020 just before the Covid pandemic kicked off. As a result of lockdowns, the 2021 AGM was delayed by three months in order to be able to meet in person and to make sure the club and region got ‘back on track’ with racing, noting the significant involvement of several club committee members in helping that to happen safely and smoothly.

Significant progress had been made by the club and committee since the last AGM – progress had been made throughout 2020 after the long first lockdown including fencing and repairs, finish line area and funding for bikes and helmets, with notable input to the interclub race series which got the club and region’s riders back on track.

A full summary of 2020 highlights is provided in the Chairman’s report (see below) and 2021 activities will be reported fully at the next AGM.

3. Chairman’s Report

Chairman’s Report, presented by Michael Whittaker.

The previous year on so many levels has been a disaster and one to forget for many reasons but rather than dwell on the negatives I’d like to share the many positives that have happened within the club over the past year or so.

With limited opportunities for racing, we managed to get a Regional and two National rounds in before everything stopped but for those that made the journey Oooop North as many Southerners like to say, the Club had a fantastic outing and finished the weekend top 4 in the overall National club standings which was our best result that I can remember.

Shortly after everything stopped and we were left wondering what’s going to happen and, in all honesty, more important matters took priority.

During the lockdown lots of work was done into looking at how we could start sessions up again safely and in line with Government guidelines, and also how we could keep our members engaged during the difficult lockdown periods.

I’d like to say a huge thanks to John for his work in finding ways for us to operate in these new Covid times and also Kevin for providing us with the necessary graphics to allow us to operate safely.

We have had to look at how we run sessions and I’d like to thank everyone who has followed the guidelines throughout the past year or so which haven’t been easy, but we have had some big wins in how the club operates that can be used going forward. Reorganising gate practice sessions allows us to run more efficiently and also riders spend more time riding rather than sat on berms; and the use of our web shop has made booking and payment easier for members and also the admin.

Coaching wise, it’s been tough with limited opportunities and multiple lockdown periods, but Jon and James have run some great Saturday morning sessions which has really seen new starters and members increase as well as catering for some of our more experienced riders.

John and Steve have started their level 3 BMX Coaching badges which will allow them to offer another level of coaching for our more advanced riders, and we have plans for 3-4 new coaches to start their badges as soon as courses become available.

Race-wise, James has been busy again running our club series which is no small task and I’d like to thank him again for his time and support – this year’s series has been fantastic with over 100 riders at each of the first 3 rounds which is the biggest turnout we have had in many years. We also had a hugely successful inter-club mini-series in 2020 which provided some great racing for everyone.

Membership has continued to grow, and it’s been great to see so many girls getting involved and riding as well as the BMXercise ladies and Rad Dads who are growing in numbers and becoming regulars at our sessions.

Other bits and bobs that have gone on have included securing the fencing around the track so it doesn’t get stolen – a big thanks to Mark Miller for his welding skills – and also the pens have had a makeover thanks to young Steven Johnson who also did a fantastic job on our new tarmac area finish line and coaching area. Special mention to Mavis and Ian for their digger driving skills which was very much appreciated.

We have a new gate box that will be up and running in the next few weeks before we hope to replace the gate barrel with a shiny new one at the end of the year; and many other great things in the pipeline which we will discuss in a while.

This year could have been a disaster for the club which in comparison to what else has happened to so many seems rather insignificant, but the club has continued to grow and come out of the past year even stronger, so a huge thanks to everyone who has helped make it happen.

We started off the 2021 shortened summer season in fine form with Bournemouth hosting the first round of the regional series in less-than-ideal weather before moving on to Cyclopark for regional round 2 followed by the first National rounds at the same venue. At the time of writing, our club currently sits in 4th place again in the National Club standings, so we started back where we left off in 2020, in fine form and in a great place to really take things forward.

Thank you again to the committee, riders, members and everyone who has supported us over the past year or so – for a 40-year-old pump track, things are in a great place and can only get better.

4. Financial Review

Highlights on 2019/20 accounts, presented by Andy Davies.

• Turnover/income for the year was £26K which is normal for a non-national/Brits season.
• £3K of this was bike sales for members which is cash neutral and should be discounted from club turnover
• Outgoings for year: £13,500
• Opening balance = £4319.83
• Closing balance = £16,873.71
• Including donations and grants received = £6,451.17
• Intention of monies raised is to invest in track by installing tarmac at the back of the start hill, as an additional coaching area and to improve safety and event delivery
• We always retain around £4K reserves to cover any emergencies, e.g. gate, compressor etc
• Income breakdown was discussed and shared in excel sheets; in summary:

Membership

1,400.00

Club Race

1,477.50

Coaching Saturday

1,135.00

Coaching Sunday

1,130.00

Misc

945.00

Night Gates

265.00

Race Shirts

1,045.00

Saturday Gates

315.00

Sunday Gates

170.00

Supporter T's

255.00

Thurs Gates

1,135.00

Weds Gates

485.00

5. Elections

Members were invited to stand and to attend via digital communications including via posts on the club’s Facebook group page. Committee members were voted in for the following year – all posts were uncontested, hence no ballot was necessary.

• Chair – Michael Whittaker
• Vice Chair – John Twitchen
• Treasurer – Andy Davies
• Membership secretary – Lucie Holt-Davies
• Website/Digital – Kevin Cowlard
• Race admin – James Phillips
• Welfare – Cathy Willcocks
• Funding /Bids – Mike Sylvester
• Catering – Tracey Whittaker

Michael Whittaker thanked Sarah Clark for her previous support as Welfare Officer and thanked all those for attending. With this, the AGM formally closed.

Open Meeting

The Open Meeting which followed the AGM discussed plans for the coming year.

National Application – submitted; fingers crossed for either British Champs or a national series round. Same overall plan as per 2019 national. Main difference is that the proposal is a joint bid with BCP Council, whose support is most welcome and deserving of club members’ recognition.

New Gazebo – agreed 3×3 of the same design; Kevin to design/place order.

New gate barrel – agreed to allocate funds towards a new gate barrel this winter; MW to liaise with Nik-Nak and Pro Start.

Coaching Plans – coaches were meeting shortly to produce revised coaching plans and group structure. More Level 1 coaches were being funded including young people/club racers with support from BC South Region; the club is also supporting Level 3 for SW/JT.

New Club Race Shirt order/t-shirts – cost, club member discount and ‘white hot’ design approved. Costs kept to a minimum as a thank you for supporting the club during the season, with record numbers racing at regional and national level. NB: club shirts in lieu of ‘regional shirts’ for those without a current regional or club shirt and wishing to represent their club, in line with BC guidance. Supporters’ t-shirts also available to purchase.

Lighting for winter – portable rechargeable battery lights to be purchased subject to successful funding applications, c £6k required including contribution from the club. This is to ensure more of the track can be lit for winter ‘night gates’ and also reduce noise and cost of running multiple generators to power LED lights.

Funding bids – MS leading, supported by Will Stephens. Funding sought for lights (see above), gate barrel, permanent lighting and other track improvements (longer term strategic investment); JT leading discussion with BCP Council, pending national series/British Champs bid.

End of summer club series event – agreed to host ‘weekender’ style event with Mind fundraiser fun day on the Saturday and final club series race held on the Sunday with evening presentation; marquees to be erected, Paul Manns to assist and local scout groups approached to provide additional shelters; James working to a similar budget for trophies as per 2019 (our last club series presentation).

Poole Panthers event – celebrating their 40^th anniversary in 2021, Lee and Karon shared ideas to support the Mind fundraiser and share the marquees on the Saturday evening; the club agreed to provide food for these events with proceeds going to Dorset Mind. JT supporting on detail.

Meeting closed at 2100.