South Eastern Centre Motocross Combine Minutes July 1998

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SOUTH EASTERN MOTO CROSS COMBINE HELD ON WEDNESDAY 1ST JULY 1998 AT BLINDLEY HEATH.

PRESENT : 20 delegates representing the following clubs signed the appearance book ; Brighton :Crawley : GEST : Greenwich : Horsham : Sidcup and Twickenham. Also present Mr. Wood [ SE Centre Gazette ], Mr. Woodrow [ Chairman SE Centre], the Chairman and Secretary.

CHAIR : Mr. Eddie Herd took the Chair and welcomed Mr. Woodrow to the meeting.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE : There were no apologies for absence.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING : It was proposed Mr. Dixon and seconded Mr. Brown that the minutes of the previous meeting on 11th February be adopted. Carried.

MATTERS ARISING THEREFROM :

New Entry and Signing On Forms : Mrs. Clarke asked if anyone was having difficulties with the new style entry form for under 18's, she asked if Mr. Piles was sending out the new signing on forms for under 18's and their responsible adult and it was thought not, the ones the Clubs had seen apparently coming direct from Rugby when a National permit has been issued. Mrs. Clarke to check with Mr. Piles. Seminars : Mrs. Clarke read a reply from the South Midland Centre welcoming a tie up with the two Centres for Seminars and agreeing they would issue their own licence providing the candidate had reached a satisfactory standard as set by us. She also reminded Clubs that she was keeping a list of people waiting to go on a seminar and asked if anyone else needed to be added. Mr. Herd said the Management Committee would probably think about a seminar in the Autumn as some existing licence holders would need to attend for re-newal purposes.

Additional Class : Mrs. Clarke said Sidcup had come across a new problem with the additional class system and was changing it's views on the matter. At a recent meeting they had taken some riders for 2 classes, one of which was the Expert Class, they then had to turn away Experts as the line was full. The Sidcup Club did not think this was fair that certain riders were having two bites at the cherry whilst some others were turned away without a ride.She wanted a proviso added to the standard regulations which stated that riders could enter more than one class providing there were vacancies at the closing date.Riders should also state which was their first choice. Mr. Brown said this had always applied to the Junior riders and there was some more discussion with Mr. Wood agreeing that he still had room on the gazette entry form to have this included. It was proposed Mr. Herd and seconded Mr. Bird that Mrs. Clarke liaise with Mr. Wood on adequate wording to this effect.

Bank Account : Mrs. Clarke said that when she tried to submit the change of signature forms to the Bank they informed her that we had an account that we were not entitled to. She was unable to pay the subscription monies in or to lodge the change of signatory forms but the Bank were looking into the matter. Mrs. Clarke said it all stemmed from when the Combine were dormant for so long and the Bank wanted to write the monies off.

Bowrings Insurance : Mrs. Clarke said that she had written again as instructed at the last meeting to invite Andrew Link from the ACU's insurance brokers Messrs. Bowrings to give a talk to the meeting but once again they have not bothered to reply. Mr. Herd said the Management Committee had been given a very informative presentation by Eddie Bellars and it was understood that the ACU were reviewing the insurance cover for next year. It was agreed that perhaps it would be a good idea to have Mr. Bellars once things were a bit more finalised to give us a broad picture on insurance.

RAISING THE PROFILE OF THE CENTRE CHAMPIONSHIPS : Mr. Wood was keen to do as much as possible to make our Centre Championships the one to win. He had ideas on a common program cover with annual advertising and perhaps Clubs contributing to a prize fund.Mr Batten said the last time their was a levy for prize money it proved unpopular with the majority who contributed to see the funds distributed to a minority of Expert Riders, he also added with the new experiment we could quite easily have someone who does not live in our Centre win it.Mr. Dixon said we must also be very sure we could get promised monies in from sponsors as last time 2 defaulted on their deals.Mrs. Clarke thought a common logo such as a border which could go across the regulations and the top of the page in the program would highlight the event. Mr. Herd asked what would happen to the existing scheme where the Ace Four Stroke Series had common covers for all rounds, Mrs. Simpson thought this could be got around.Mr. herd suggested that Mr. Wood goes away and produces something for the meeting to consider next time. Mr. Brown asked for clarification on a Championship point .The Brighton Club were going to run a round of the joint AMCA and ACU promotion Sidecar Championships at their meeting in September but it would also be a SE Centre Championship round for Sidecars, he wanted a ruling on whom should get points and prize monies in the race.There was some discussion on what had happened in the past and it was proposed Mr. Dixon and seconded Mr. Brown that only ACU licence holders would be eligible for points and prize monies that related to the SE Centre Championship sidecar round.Carried.

FOUR CENTRES MEETING : Mr. Brown said that after our last meeting when it was unanimously agreed to go ahead with the experiment he wrote to the other Centres concerned but some took umbrage that we had gone ahead too quickly and had the matter referred to the National management Council. The ruled that we would be breaching certain rules but agreed that we could run under a "stretched RR" permit to include 4 centre and not the usual 3. He, together with Peter Burrell and Ken Piles then attended a meeting of all 4 Centres at Watford but it was not very forthcoming with everyone having a good reason why it should be stalled.The outcome being that we must write to each Centre seeking their permission to invite their riders to our RR events and that the matter would be looked at again at the next NMC meeting.He felt the South Midland Centre would be co operative, the Eastern did not like our attitude and the Southern seemed to be for it but have since turned both Brighton and Sidcup down. He had found the Oxford Club to be very positive and had good reports from regulations being printed in our Gazette. The Crawley Club were not happy with this situation as they also had regulations for a meeting in the same gazette as the Colchester Club's meeting on the same day. It was pointed out that this event was still run as an Eastern centre only event.Mrs. Clarke read the reply she had drafted on behalf of the Sidcup Club to the Southern centre in reply to their refusal to let Southern Centre riders ride at their October meeting.There was much discussion but it was agreed to let the Editor accept regulations from out of Centre and that we would continue with a positive attitude. Mrs. Clarke added that when working the signing on table at their recent meetings she found it would be helpful if all membership card sizes were standardized to a credit card size like the ACU licence so that they could be carried more easily by the riders. Mr. Herd would make sure the item was still discussed at centre Management meetings.

INTER CENTRE TEAM MOTO CROSS : Venue : Mr. Dixon confirmed this would be 20 kms outside of Dublin, Ireland on September 13th. Funding : Mr. Herd said the Management Committee had agreed the travelling expenses for the riders of £60 plus the marshal and Team Manager.Mr. Brown [ Centre Treasurer] had also been instructed to provide an additional £1000 to go towards covering the costs. Revised Team Make Up : There would only be 3 adult riders as per the Moto Cross Des Nations idea and no reserves. Mr. Dixon said the Irish would have to provide marshals as part of the deal. The Youth Class would be made up of 3 riders in each class and there would be 4 classes making 12 riders in all.Mrs. Clarke wondered if this ratio was fair when you work out how much the adults contribute to the Centre Budget as opposed to the Youths, Mr. Brown concurred. Mr. Dixon said he had done some figures and thought it would only cost each rider another £55 or less if they doubled up. Mr. Horton had been approached to see if he could raise a Youth team but he reported that due to a date clash with the BSMA Team Event he thought he would struggle to raise a team.There was some discussion on this matter. Nominations for Team Manager : Mr. Brown said he had spoken with Mr. Pringle and he had for one reason and another declined to accept the job this year. Several names were then suggested but again for one reason or another they were not available.It was agreed to ask Mr. Pringle again. Selection Criteria for Team Members: Mr. Brown felt uneasy with past selections who have not competed in our Centre. Mrs. Clarke said the Sidcup Committee had discussed the matter and come to the conclusion that if you did not send your best team it was not worth sending one at all.Again there was lively debate with the outcome being the meeting wished the best team to be selected but with perhaps care over certain foreign riders who now resided in our Centre.Mr. herd said the date clashed with a 250 GP so Mark Eastwood would not be able to represent our centre.

ACU MOTO CROSS COMMITTEE MINUTES : Mrs. Clarke had copies of the minutes for January, March and May which included references to the Inter centre, Under 15's riding and yellow flags. Mr. Batten asked for a matter regarding yellow flags to be aired.At the Twickenham Club's Clubmans event recently they had a n accident with a rider in the track with a badly broken leg being attended to with riders on full racing chat going past yellow flags.He remonstrated with the one rider whose number he managed to take. The next round was held at Wrangway where he heard the very same rider being warned over the PA system for ignoring yellow flags.He had talked about the matter with fellow Twickenham members and they wondered if a yellow card system, as in football could somehow be employed with details kept at Rugby so that cross Centre offenses would be recorded. Mr. Woodrow felt the rider should have been told his entry would not be accepted again by the Club.Mr. Bird thought licences should be kept and stamped and Mr. Herd that he should have been disqualified there and then. It was generally thought the riders did not know the flag rules anymore and Mr. Dixon would like to see a riders briefing when they come to the line.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS :

Letter from Witley : The Secretary had received a letter from the Witley Club with their views on certain happenings between themselves and the new Pathfinders MCC which was due for ratification to the centre at the next Board Meeting.It was read and no discussion was allowed to take place.

Change of Championship Round Date : The Secretary had a phone call from a rider who complained that regulations have appeared in the latest gazette for a Greenwich Meeting on a date that in the published calendar says it is a GEST Closed to Club event, the Greenwich meeting states that it is a Junior and Expert Championship round. She said the rider in question was in contention for the Expert Championship, had a sponsorship deal hinging on his results and that he had committed himself elsewhere on July 26th. There was some discussion and Greenwich said the change of date appeared in the May issue of the Gazette. Mr. Brown proposed that once the Championship Calendar was published it should not be changed and that this meeting should not count. It was defeated with 6 in favour and 8 against. Mr. Brown asked that an item be included on the agenda for the next meeting which states that once a Championship dates calendar is set it cannot be moved and will be lost.

DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING : It was agreed that the next meeting would be the Moto Cross Dates meeting on October 14th at Blindley Heath. There being nothing further to discuss the meeting closed at 10.10pm.