AGM 2008 Minutes-Scottish Orienteering

AGM 2008 Minutes

Minutes of the AGM held on 14th June 2008 Cattrell Building, Stirling University.
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Present:
Hilary Quick, Lynne Walker, Paul Frost, Paul Duley, Robert Philp, Phil Smithard, Jane McQuillen, Dave McQuillen, Theresa Perry, Eliza Perry, Melvyn Perry, Marsela McLeod, Bill Stevenson, Margaret Dalgleish, Leslie Dalgleish, Brian Bullen, Ian Pyrah, Roger Scrutton, David Nicol, Donald Grassie, Catherine Goodfellow (SportScotland).

Apologies:
Robert Hickling, Anne Hickling, Liz Fraser, Sarah Dunn, Susan Harvey, Paul Caban, Marjory Craig, Benedict Bate, Terry O’Brien, John Emeleus, Ken Daly, Majory Forman, George Esson, Lindsey Knox, Jonathon Oxley, John Colls, Kate Robertson.

1. Acceptance of 2007 AGM Minutes

Acceptance of the Minutes was proposed by Robert Philp, seconded by Hilary Quick.

2. Matters arising from minutes of 2007 AGM

Donald Grassie raised various points that arose from the 2007 AGM:

1. At the end of point 4, referring to educational materials, these are now available from Hilary. 2000 leaflets were printed and most of these have been used. Feedback is requested from members before more are produced.
2. In point 5, referring to first claim club, the British Orienteering rules (3.2) state “a competitor shall only compete for the open and / or closed club which is indicated on their British Orienteering membership card for that year”. It lists 3 conditions when this can be waived.
3. On point 7, Donald commented on the successful completion of the priorities detailed at the 2008 AGM – establishing the new Directors in their new roles; developing a new 4 year rolling plan; preparing for the Sportscotland grant bid; and completion of the Incorporation process for SOA.
4. From AOB, Donald apologised to the membership that the timing of this years AGM was poor. The 2009 AGM will be held in the early evening at Glenmore Lodge as part of the Scottish Championships weekend.
5. Also from AOB; the benefits of British Orienteering membership will be discussed further at the forthcoming British Orienteering / SOA joint meeting (August). A statement explaining the benefits of British Orienteering and SOA membership will be posted on the SOA website shortly.

3. Annual Reports

Donald Grassie stated that the reports would be as presented in the AGM booklet. Any highlights that have arisen since that time will be presented.

President

Donald discussed management changes, the SOA plans and the new structure.

Management: The board is new and each director has a portfolio and a budget to work to. Scott Fraser has recently been appointed to fill the Professional Officer position vacated by Donald Petrie. Scott will be spending most of his time (60%) on 6 Day matters and major events). Hilary will continue to develop the National Centre, where she is based.

Child protection issues will be shared with another sport through a pilot being set up by Catherine Goodfellow of Sportscotland.

The new bye-laws have been agreed by the board. The membership bye-law will be voted on by the attendees under point 5.

The management processes have recently been audited by Sportscotland. Actions are being reviewed.

Orienteering is a vibrant sport with 465 events held last year with over 4,500 attending the 6 day event. Over the past 2 years our Club Development programme has benefited 14 clubs by £27,000. This includes various Club Development courses planned and run by Hilary for our members. Tribute was paid to Hilary and Marsela for masterminding the programme..

Some of the other highlights in the past year include…

The World Schools Championships came to Scotland in August, when our sport was showcased in front of the Scottish Parliament. We are indebted to Blair Young and his team who made the event such a success and the many that supported the event. Congratulations to Aboyne Academy for their Silver medal.

The British Championships came to Culbin in April – resulting in 2 days of excellent competition in a superb area, on an excellent map – even the weather was superb. A big thank you to Jon Musgrave and his team of officials and volunteers.

The Scottish 6 Day event was once again a tremendous success in August 2007, involving over 4,500 runners in the Grantown area. Mike Atherton’s team, involving all the clubs in Scotland have left a memorable legacy on Speyside. The Scottish 6 Day Company has also had its share of changes. Lynne Walker has taken over the reins as Chairperson from George Esson. The team have recently been working on an “Ethos” statement, which is well worth looking at once it is published.

Good work has been carried out on understanding the impact of changes to the coaching scheme – the UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC). Scotland has led the way, and Hilary Quick and Sarah Dunn are to be congratulated on their efforts. IT is hoped to run our first UKCC coaching session later in the year,

President’s Medal

There were several contenders for the President’s Medal; Blair Young for co-ordinating the World Schools event, Mike Atherton for the 6 Days; Juniors – Holly Orr and Scott Fraser have had real success on the National stage - but they will have their opportunities in the future.

Donald Petrie has been selected this year as the recipient of the President’s Medal for the 16 year contribution he has made to Scottish Orienteering as Professional Officer. Donald has been the driving force behind the 6 Day event for the past 8 events, and has made a significant contribution to Land Access agreements and Child Protection – ensuring that SOA is recognised as best in class in both areas. However, it is not so much what Donald has achieved, but the way he achieved it. Over the years Donald has shown tremendous patience and teamwork in assisting the Event Co-ordinators and their Central Organising Committees. He is a real team worker, who has worked closely with and supported all officials, volunteers and Directors he has worked with over the years. I am sure that all past Presidents would fully support the awarding of the President’s medal to Donald.

Operations – Paul Duley

Paul introduced himself and stated that the feedback regarding the prize giving at the Scottish Championships will be considered for future events.

The Operations team is looking at data protection issues to make sure we are compliant.

It is hoped that we can recruit a volunteer to the role of mapping co-ordinator.

We are looking for more grade 3 controllers as advertised on the website.

Thanks are extended to Marjory Craig, Phil Smith and Paul Caban.

Margaret Dalgleish asked about the article on SOL points in Score written by Phil Smith. The response was that for now there would be no changes made to the SOL competition.

Bill Stevenson asked about the plan to change the 11 person relay to a 8 person event. He suggested that if a small club could not gather a team then they should combine with another club rather than reduce the competitors. A further point was made by Paul Frost on how the competition had been changed by clubs that fielded teams of elites through the desire to win.

Performance – Sarah Dunn (Donald Grassie)

Donald reported that Sarah sent her apologies for missing the AGM. Sarah had asked that Donald highlight a couple of points – UKCC and support to Squads.

Hilary explained the background to the UKCC coaching scheme changes. The main changes introduced by UKCC are focused on bringing the training of coaches into line with all other sports - reducing the number of levels from 5 to 4. It is hoped that the new level 1 coach training is to be piloted in Scotland later this year - therefore there will be no new level 2 coaching training this year. Hilary explained that the changes in the training and coaching levels mean that those wishing to move up will not actually be delayed in achieving their desire.

A new course for teaching orienteering (part 1 for primary school teachers) has been run 4 times so far. There is no assessment of the trainees. The courses have been well received.

Hilary has been trained to the required level to deliver the new UKCC coaching training and will be keeping up to date with further changes as they come along

British Orienteering has contacted the tutors and assessors regarding these changes.

Donald then discussed the pressure on funding for the squads. In the future this will mean that there is greater focus on supporting the top performers rather than the broader approach which currently happens.

Marketing and Communications – Kate Robertson (Donald Grassie)

Donald passed on Kate’s apologies for not being able to be present. Thanks were extended to Paul Frost for maintaining the website and ensuring that it was kept alive. His introduction of new tools behind the scenes has ensured that it is much easier for Co-ordinators, Professional staff and Directors to update the website. Anne Hickling was also congratulated for continuing to make Score such a professional magazine.

Donald commented on the work with Gordon Brown on creating a marketing strategy for the SOA. Two meetings have been held, and all members had been requested to provide input to the strategy through the SOA website. The strategy is for visibility of the sport, for access to opportunity. Once formulated this will feed into the operational plans for 2009.

Development – Marsela McLeod

Marsela extended her thanks to Hilary for the courses that she runs for volunteers and officials, and the improving profile of NATCEN through these courses and map of the month. A total of £27,000 has been committed to club spending over the year. The details are on the web site and have been published in Score magazine.

Partnerships – Ian Pryah

This is a new role and thus some time has been taken in defining it. Any items on sport politics are passed to the board members and the website.

The Winning Zone, a privately funded website (inthewinningzone.com) focuses on Scottish sporting success. Orienteering, originally listed under other sports, has recently moved to the main page. Scott Fraser is frequently mentioned and members of the national squads, including junior & vets, have also featured during the first nine months of the sites existence. The website is seen as an important source of copy for sports journalists as well as being of interest to the sporting public.

Sportscotland and the Scottish Sports Association have helped with identifying threats to the sport, such as the proposed government changes to immigration.

Public consultation meetings have started for the 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy are currently taking place – transport, culture, health, environment, internationalism are all being promoted by interest groups. Paul Frost suggested that these should be publicised on the web.

Bill Stevenson pointed out that the British Orienteering website comments on other sports trying to attract orienteers; e.g. cycling and adventure sports.

Margaret Dalgleish asked about how to capture the participation of families at local events that are not interested in becoming club members, or running in higher category events, since it is important to demonstrate and publicise this aspect of our sport.

Scottish 6 Day Company – Lynne Walker

Lynne started by recognising the efforts made by all club members in making the event successful.

An Ethos statement is to soon be placed on the 6 Day Company website.

Bill Stevenson commented on the target to increase participation at subsequent events. Lynne stated Spey 2007 was run with this idea in mind. At Tay 2009 numbers are likely to be down due to the clash with the Swiss event. However, promotional material is being translated into many European languages. Also, negotiations are underway with British Orienteering regarding the two levels of entry fees, which are a deterrent for overseas visitors. In terms of numbers at the event the parking of the large number of cars and particularly motor homes sets a limit.

Donald closed this section of the AGM by providing thanks to the Directors and to those that provide support, such as the Webmaster, Controller of Controllers, the Squad Leaders, etc. We had been fortunate that at last year’s AGM, when the new Board was appointed, there were few changes to the engine-room of SOA – the Volunteer Co-ordinators. He thanked them, on behalf of the membership, for their silent running.

4. Accounts – Les Dalgleish

Since preparing the accounts for publication in the AGM Booklet, a number of changes have been made, by Les and on the advice of Robin Orr, who has examined the Accounts. An amended version of the Accounts was handed out at the meeting.

The 2007 Accounts show a surplus of £16,372.

Income

The main highlights are that Event Levies are up £3,500 on 2006 mainly due to the levy from the 2007 Scottish 6-Days. £8,941, representing 50% of the total is included in the Levies figure. The other 50% being reported within “Creditors” and will be reported with the Levy figure in the 2008 Accounts. Bank Interest up £212. Sales and Equipment Hire includes net income from the Laser Printer of £1,358 and also £2,326 in respect of the Modernisation Grant now brought into Profit and Loss. Membership Fees were down slightly.

Expenditure

Expenditure for printing and distributing “Score” has increased this year by just under £1,300. Income from adverts was £1,025. Capital Grant Release and Depreciation charges are in line with 2006 figures. Administration Costs show an increase of £600 on 2006.

Grants

Although the Investment Funding from Sportscotland was £56,000, the accounts show £68,000. The £12,000 transferred to the Revenue Reserve in respect of unspent Development Funds at December 2006 is now included.

Development Expenditure

At £87,000 the Development Expenditure is up £6,500 on the 2006 figure. The Club Development total of £19,111 includes not only the 2007 amount but also the amount unspent, but allocated, at end-December 2006. Professional Staffs cost have reduced by £4,800

Les thanked Robin Orr for the time spent examining the Accounts and his advice on their presentation. Les also thanked Donald and the other members of the Executive (now the Board of Directors) for their comments and feedback during 2007.

Roger Scrutton mentioned that at the British Orienteering AGM, concern was raised regarding the impact of major events (Olympics, Commonwealth Games, etc) on funding. This might lead to an increase in levies to prevent a funding short fall. Donald Grassie agreed that the SOA must be careful with the impact on major events on our financial position. The SOA Reserves policy is to have sufficient funds to cover employee costs for at least 6 months – at the moment this is closer to 9 months.

Phil Smithard commented on the reserves in the junior squads accounts. Bill Stevenson explained that squads used to be independently funded and agrees that with funding from the SOA the balance on the account needs to be considered. However, the tour to Scandinavia will cost £14000, which will require some of the reserve funds.

Subscriptions and Levies

Hilary Quick asked if new members were still able to benefit from free membership in their first year. Donald Grassie agreed that this was the case. Paul Frost stated that the web membership system did not offer this. Dave Nicol said that membership was usually handled through the clubs. For clarification Donald Grassie proposed (David Nicol seconded this proposal) that free membership of the SOA would be available to new members for the first year. This was unanimously passed by the meeting. This will be raised at a liaison meeting with British Orienteering.
Action: Donald Grassie.

Subscriptions were left unchanged. Levies were increased as in the AGM booklet. These levies have not been changed since 2002. Margaret Dalgleish asked if the £6 cut-off was to be changed? Les stated not at this stage. Margaret then asked if the £6 limit be reviewed annually. Les and Donald agreed this was acceptable. The clubs would be consulted about this to understand what the best way forward. Action: Les Dalgleish.

The levy changes were proposed by Brian Bullen and voted in unanimously.

5. Bye-Laws

Donald took the members through the new bye-laws which supported the Memorandum and Article of Association.

The Publication bye-law and the Areas bye-law came from the previous constitution. The discipline bye-law is new. Anti-doping and Anti-doping education refer directly yo the British Orienteering policies. The statement on the defintion of Juniors and Seniors arose from a question regarding a young person becoming a controller.

Changes to the membership bye-law were explained.

Bil Stevenson asked why a child was such up to 25 years old. Dave Nicol stated that this arises from British Orienteering. Hilary Quick asked about youth membership. Dave Nicol commented that Scottish Law permitted voting from 16 years old. It was noted that there were many terms in the family membership. Specific advice was requested about a daughter or son being a family member whilst at university. Discussion suggested that this depended on which was the official address.

Robert Philp asked if the use of BOF was permitted. Hilary Quick stated that either the British Orienteering Federation or British Orienteering was permitted. Donald stated clarification would be sought and the bye-laws amended accordingly if necessary. Action: Donald Grassie.

The membership bye-law was accepted unaminously.

6. Elections

Donald highlighted the relevant section in the Articles of Association, which referred to the election of Board members. He noted that no other nominations had been received apart from those of the existing Board. The members present unanimously agreed to accept the all nominations. Donald highlighted that the Articles of Association stated that all elections were for 3 years, with two exceptions. The articles state that a third (two in our case) of the Directors would have to undergo re-election in 2009.

The members also unanimously agreed the appointment of the Honorary Officers.

Position

President: Donald Grassie

Secretary: Mel Perry

Treasurer: Les Dalgleish

Communications and Marketing: Kate Robinson

Performance: Sarah Dunn

Partnerships: Ian Pyrah

Operations: Paul Duley

Development: Marsela Mcleod

Competitions Convener: Phil Smith

Fixtures Secretary: Paul Caban

Honorary President: Bob Climie

Honorary Vice Presidents: J Colls, S Harvey, C McNeill, W A Robertson

7. AOB

Brian Bullen thanked everyone for setting up the Board and Board structure.

Donald Grassie, in closing the meeting stated that after a year of focusing inwardly on Incorporation and structure, the priorities for the coming year would be more Operational, and include: establishing a Marketing Strategy; completion of the UKCC process; establishing a strategy for a Coaching Pyramid or Pathway; improving communication with British Orienteering.

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Photo of author Posted on 10th Aug 08
by Mel Perry - Ex Secretary (?-2009)

Filed under: Admin/Board • News

Scottish Orienteering