South Eastern Centre Motocross Combine Minutes April 2001
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SOUTH EASTERN MOTO CROSS COMBINE HELD ON WEDNESDAY 11TH APRIL 2001 AT BLINDLEY HEATH.
PRESENT ; 12 delegates were present representing the following Clubs :- Brighton, GEST. Horsham, Sidcup, South Eastern Marshals and Twickenham.
CHAIR : Mr. Eddie Herd took the Chair and informed the delegates of the sad loss of Elaine Pringle, he reminded the room that she had been a friend and tireless worker for motocross and would be sorely missed. He asked for a minute's silence as a mark of respect to Jack, Kurt, Sten and their families.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE : Apologies were received from Frank Dixon, Stella Slight, Roy Humphrey and Ashley Gregory.
REVIEW OF THE AGENDA : Mr. Brown asked for helmets and balloting of marshals to be discussed and Mr. Wood the new style regulation forms for the Gazette.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING : It was proposed Mr. Burton and seconded Mrs. Hayden that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 10th January be accepted as a true and accurate record of proceedings. Carried.
MATTERS ARISING THEREFROM :
National Membership : Mrs. Clarke reported back from the recent Chairman and Secretaries Meeting at Rugby where the ACU Treasurer gave notice that the renewal dates for licences and affiliations would be extended in 2002 to birthdays to try and alleviate the problems caused in the Office at Rugby this year when all forms had the same renewal date. Mr. Brown was not sure if this applied to licences and it was agreed the Secretary should check up on this , the extended licences would be charged per rata of the annual cost. Mr. Wood asked if the question had been tabled to NMC asking the Treasurer where he was at with the new scheme, Mrs. Clarke said Brian Bonny, the ACU Treasurer, had specifically replied to this at the last Centre Management Meeting and stated he would categorically not answer any direct questions on finance to the NMC, the meeting agreed this should still go ahead and the Secretary was asked to check with Peter Burrell to make sure the item was included on the next NMC agenda.
Paramedics : Mrs. Clarke had been invited to attend the last Medical Panel meeting at Rugby to put our case to them following the papers she had written. She was somewhat disappointed to find the panel had already discussed the matter previous to her arrival and arrived at a different conclusion to their last paper i.e. compulsory doctor and paramedic. She put our case for having Emergency Medical Technicians included with Doctors and Paramedics and left the meeting not knowing the outcome. On telephoning a couple of days later she was informed they had been included but she had not seen written proof of this and was dubious especially as there had also been a further development with Kate Howey , the Minister of Sport, asking all governing bodies for their medical requirements to assist in an enquiry following the Winstone case, [the boxer ] .The Secretary was instructed to seek a copy of the minutes of the meeting from the ACU.
Marshals Forum : Both Mr. Wood and Mr. Burton expressed congratulations on an excellent event. Mr. Herd said that he was pleased with the attendance figure of 29 but disappointed by the number of genuine yellow flag people present. It was clear that those that had attended would like some sort of badge as recognition of their office. Mrs. Clarke said she had submitted an expense claim to the ACU Training Trust for £125 to cover the costs. Mr. Burton expressed a wish that we hold another one at the start of next season. Mr. Wood thought we should explore all avenues to try and get those volunteer marshals into the fold who were perhaps on the peripheral of Club life, it was agreed to constantly advertise in the press and the Centre Gazettes and to have handbills printed to handout to balloted marshals with details for them to put their name and address on so that we can contact them when the next forum is run. Mrs. Clarke said that she had written to Mr. Humphrey and thanked him but that she would like our appreciation minuted for the efforts Mr. Herd put in.
Programme Covers : Mr. Wood said that he had heard nothing at all from Mr. Dixon regarding either copy for adverts or finance but that he felt it unfair in the present foot and mouth vacuum to extract any sort of fee out of the advertisers.
Trophy Winners : Mrs. Clarke said that Sidcup had been unable to present Ben Taylor with the Experts Trophy and it was hoped he could have attended the meeting but she could not phone him as he was ex directory and was not sure if he had read her e mail. It was suggested perhaps a presentation could be made at the next Centre Board Meeting.
Background Plates and Riding Bibs : Mrs. Clarke said the moto cross committee had misread her request and assumed we wanted the introduction of bibs nationally and suggested the matter be discussed at the grass roots forum. She showed the meeting a sample of the bibs purchased by the Centre to sell to riders at meetings. It was proposed Mr. Brown and seconded Mr. Batten that they will retail at £7 each and be taken from meeting to meeting en bloc. The background plate request had also been deferred to the grass roots meeting by the moto cross committee.
Grass Roots Forum : Mr. Herd said this had been set for the Saturday afternoon before the British Championship meeting at Hawkstone but because the meeting had been cancelled he thought the venue would be changed to Rugby. Mr. Herd would check to see if anyone had been notified of the meeting and it was agreed to ask for the noise of fourstrokes to be added to the agenda.
Riders Handouts : Mr. Wood said the F & M crisis had rather put this on hold at the present time.
CENTRE MAMAGEMENT MEETING REPORT : Mrs. Clarke said that she had attended the last meeting and the minutes had been published in the Gazette. She had been told to find out the price of adverts in farming magazines but again had put the matter on hold because she thought it would be an inappropriate time to advertise. Mr. Batten thought it should be in place and ready to go as soon as we had the green light.
CENTRE CHAMPIONSHIPS & FOOT AND MOUTH CANCELLATIONS : Mr Wood suggested in view of the current situation lasting for some time, the number of events available for hosting rounds could be very few and should we consider if the number of rounds falls below 3 we should abandon the Championship. Mr. Brown said he thought no rider in a championship should be discriminated against so we might have to abandon the whole idea. Mr. Batten wondered if we could add extra rounds for those that were lost during the crisis and there was some discussion as to whether the rules would allow this. Mrs. Clarke said that Sidcup had been approached to stage their cancelled British Championship meeting on a date that would clash with a Twickenham meeting and that no doubt other similar clashes would follow making it difficult for riders to compete in our Centre Championships. Mr. Herd proposed that we have an emergency meeting as soon as we are given the go ahead to run again. Agreed. Mr. Wood said that he would print some championship covers when racing recommenced although they would not be as colourful and he would bear the costs or see how far Mr. Dixon had got with the advertisers. There was much discussion on the foot and mouth crisis and what might happen perhaps on a regional basis to restart the sport, Mr. Brown suggested what sort of restrictions might have to be applied. Mrs. Clarke read a request from the ACU's F & M appeal fund but after some discussion it was decided not to contribute to a Central Fund. Proposed Mr. Brown and seconded Mr. Batten.
ACU COMMITTEE MINUTES & ELECTIONS : Mrs. Clarke announced that Andy Crawford had secured the vacant position on the Moto Cross Committee. Mrs. Clarke read salient points from the minutes of the 1st meeting of the 2001 session of the ACU Moto Cross Committee as follows :- Free Style Competitions : The Motocross Committee confirmed that in previous events free style competitions have been covered by ACU Insurance. The need to introduce a licence system and provide adequate insurance cover are the committee's main objectives. The Chairman agreed to investigate the matter further with representatives from the FIM and Mr. David Bromilow of SLE before final decisions are made. FIM Motocross Conference : An application for the World 125/250/500 cc Motocross Championship has been made to the FIM for July 27th/28th 2002 Correspondence : The South Eastern centre Combine would like the committee to introduce a national rule that it be compulsory for riders to have numbered bibs or shirt. It was decided to monitor the need for this rule based on inclement British weather. Also included on the Motocross Forum agenda would be the need for coloured number plates. ACU Training Panel : Marshal Training is high on the agenda and the Motocross Committee will encourage Marshal briefings at Motocross events and will support the first Off Road Marshal's Forum to be held In the South East Centre in April. By working with experienced Off Road Marshals, FIM and National Clerks of the Course, the ACU will produce a marshal's guide handbook which will be available for the 2002 season. Safer racing is the aim and by making more people aware of correct procedure when marshalling then the sport will certainly reap benefits. And ACU Technical Panel as follows :- Mr Moram read out a letter he had written regarding the welding of Kawasaki Motocross frames. Mrs. Clarke deplored the lack of detail in the minutes but Mr. Horton said he thought it related to a recall that was being done on 65cc Kawasaki frames. Helmets : The question of helmet attachments was again raised, in particular "stabilisers" or fins on types already approved. It was agreed these could continue to be approved provided the distributor agreed to emphasise in a written notice with each helmet sold the importance of not reattaching any such fitment should it become detached. Mrs. Clarke said that Brian Edwards had met with the Management Committee because he could not get a definitive answer from the Technical Panel to an article he had seen in Trials & Moto Cross News which contradicted the 2001 handbook ruling saying that fins were now permitted. Mr. Brown said he had written on the Centre's behalf and a copy of the reply clearly stated that providing the helmet had a valid ACU sticker and showed no obvious signs as to having been modified and was in good condition, then it was acceptable. If the scrutineer was not sure as to the authenticity of the sticker or an attachment then he must ask the competitor and note his reply on the report. A false declaration is the responsibility of the person that made it and not the scrutineer. Although Mr. Herd was not happy because he felt it was down to the ACU it was agreed the Secretary would copy this letter out to Clubs to inform their scrutineers of the change to the handbook ruling. Agreed to also have this discrepancy discussed at NMC. Motocross : The entry of Yamaha 250cc four stroke machines being allowed in Adult 125cc races at National Level was raised. After discussion it was recommended that a record be kept comparing the performances between the two engine sizes, with a view to possibly handicapping the 250 cc machines at a later date. Exhaust sound level would also be closely monitored. The above brought a smile to one or two faces. Correspondence : Husaberg mudguard. It was suggested a scrutineer should be asked to visit a dealer of this machine to look at the design of mudguard. [ Secretarial note : since the meeting Dr. King has agreed to do this ] It was thought this might be a letter from Brian Edwards as it was known he was not happy with the pointed shape of the new Husaberg mudguards.
INSURANCE RELATED MATTERS : Mrs. Clarke said that this year's Talmag trial's large foreign entry had stirred up thoughts of re patriation insurance , or the lack of, in Eddie Bellars which had lead to a consultative paper being issued by Geoff Wilson. It appeared that many of us had erroneously been taking entries from MCUI Licence holders thinking they had some sort of affiliation with the ACU but this was not so, nor was any foreign entry to an Open to Centre meeting .There appears to be many anonomolies to do with British Championship events in particular which will now have to be sorted out as . at the moment, foreign riders do not have PA cover or re patriation cover from Alexander Forbes. David Willet in particular was mentioned as he rides under a Luxembourg Licence. Mrs. Clarke reminded people that with every permit there was an automatic £100 abandonment insurance for which some Clubs will be able to claim for cancelled meetings. Mr. Burton also mentioned the ACU's master policy covered non motorcycling events that Club's may put on although it was not widely known.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS :
Balloting Marshals : Mr. Brown asked how other Clubs balloted for marshals because he felt early entries might be unfairly discriminated against. Sidcup balloted as they came in but Twickenham waited until the majority were in and then conducted their ballot. GEST used their marshals club and Brighton did not ballot although they reserved the right to.
New Gazette Regulation Forms: Mr. Wood gave everyone a new type of Gazette regulation entry form and asked for comments. He would not be printing a big run as things were always changing.
Events Running during the ACU's Foot & Mouth Ban : Mr. Batten expressed concern over the confusion caused by a SMX event running so close to the Horsham Club's track which caused their farmer hassle on the day. Mrs. Clarke reported on the frustration felt by the Southern Centre because 2 events are to be run at Matcham's within their Centre by the Welsh Dredgers Club on an ORPA permit.
There being nothing further to discuss the meeting closed at 10.47 pm.