TRC COMMITTEE MEETING – 15th July 2010
In attendance: Judy Mills (Chair), Arthur Renshaw, Jacqueline Wadsworth, Mark Grimsey, Gareth Thomas, Rob Watkins, Jo Plumbley, and Angela Bushell.
Welcome and apologies: Apologies were received from Jo Williams, Maddie Parrott, Caroline Lansdown, Craig Carscadden, Karen Carr and Janet Constable.
Matters arising from previous meeting (6th May 2010)
- The three free places for the Tintern Trot had been allocated.
- The Team Captain confirmed that Malcolm Carr had agreed to co-ordinate the Steve Jones 10.
- Angela Bushell had now taken over the Diary of Events.
- Graham Bishop had confirmed that he would co-ordinate the back-up timekeeping operation for the OPS10.
- Malcolm Carr had agreed to join the Club’s first aid team.
- The Club Captain reported on the meeting she had convened of group leaders on Club Night. The use of G-mapping was being encouraged, so that we built up a record of the routes most commonly used.
- The choice of Oldbury Cricket Club premises at Marsh Lane for our next May’s Mob Match would be addressed later in the year. The plan would be to use the Oldbury Fun Run course. [Action: Deputy Chair]
- The Secretary had not pursued further the issue of evidence of UKA affiliation being required for race entry, but at least one on-line system used had accepted the Club registration number (2658698) on a race entry form.
- The Secretary had substituted for the Deputy Chair as referee for the Bradley Stoke 10k.
- Janet Constable was in the process of purchasing extra trophies, as agreed.
- Despite difficulties, the June issue of Prattle & Run had been published (online).
- Treasurer’s report
The Treasurer reported a current surplus of £808, but expected to end the year with a slight deficit. Despite lower numbers on the Sundayshill 10k, that race’s surplus was still likely be around £250. The budget set for the Anniversary Party would probably work out to be about right: there were some expenses outstanding, but there was some wine left over that could be used for future prizes. The deposit account remained unchanged at £5175.
Secretary’s Report
The Secretary reported that there were no new members since the last meeting. He had written to those members who had been expected to rejoin, but who had not done so. Only one name remained outstanding, and this matter was being pursued informally.
He had received two resignations from the Committee due to pressure of work. Caroline Lansdown and Jo Williams were thanked for their contributions to the Committee over the year to date.
The AAA (whose meetings the Secretary attended) had decided to limit their support for coaching courses to one third of the cost of the course. A cap of £2000 had also been set for AAA’s overall expenditure on coaching.
Avon Network were planning to hold a County Event Development Day for endurance and road running on 26th September 2010. It was hoped we could benefit from this.
National Triathlon Club Relays
In response to a request from Martyn Green, it was AGREED to provide £100 to support a men’s team entry in the NCR Championship. It was further AGREED that next year, this Championship should be publicised more widely in the Club, to encourage competition for places. It would also be helpful if Martin and colleagues could report back (e.g. in Prattle & Run) to make this competition better known among members. [Action: Team Captain, Treasurer]
Thornbury Carnival and Sundayshill 10k
The Thornbury Gazette had carried an article in which the Club was thanked for its support in manning one of the gates to the Carnival field. One member of the Committee felt strongly that the Club should not be drawn into providing volunteers for the Carnival, given the many other volunteering demands made on our members during this period of the year. It was AGREED to make this an agenda item for a future meeting to resolve the issue. [Action: Secretary]
It was generally agreed that although numbers were down on previous years (132 entries), the Sundayshill 10k had been a great success for those that took part – for which thanks were expressed to the Deputy Chair. The Deputy Chair had now received a proposal from Chepstow Harriers to fix the date of our event for the Thursday following the Thornbury Carnival to avoid competition between the two clubs’ events (Tintern Trot and Rose Inn series, on the Chepstow side). The Committee AGREED to this proposal. In 2011 the date for the Sundayshill 10k will therefore be 7th July. [Action: Deputy Chair]
OPS 10
Plans for this event were proceeding as announced previously, the exception being that work on the Visitors’ Centre was more advanced that expected, so that we would probably not need the quantity of tents we were planning for. There would be some back-up timing cover, provided by Graham Bishop and his team. This year the race is a BVAF, Avon & ARC National Championship event, and a £100 prize is being offered to the first man or woman to break the relevant course record.
25th Anniversary Party
Committee members unanimously agreed that the party had been a great success – so much so that some members of the Club had proposed replacing the annual dinner with an annual garden party. It was AGREED that this should be a substantive item on a future agenda. [Action: Secretary] Special thanks were offered to Rob and Cathy Watkins, Karen Carr and Vic Harding for their contributions in preparing the event.
Website issues
Jacqueline Wadsworth raised a number of issues around the website that needed addressing.
While she was happy to continue writing and overseeing the content (with Judy Mills), the following areas needed someone else to take them on:
- A number of people appear unable to access material on the website.
- The website needs a members’ forum, with separate password and username.
- We need to be able to use the website to email all Club members.
- We need to be able to post race entry forms on the website.
- We need to transfer and update the London Marathon archive.
It was AGREED that these issues needed to be addressed and that there were members of the Club with the necessary skills. Judy Mills thought that posting entry forms was probably straightforward, and she would investigate. The Deputy Chair thought that Ed Hawkins held a useful spreadsheet of London Marathon results, which he would pursue. It was AGREED that Rob Watkins should also seek the support of Rob Cowlard in resolving some of these issues. [Action: named] If these problems cannot be addressed there is a serious question mark over renewing this licence at the end of the year.
Road Race Championship
Some disappointment had been expressed by the organisers of the RRC that there had been a low take-up in this competition. Committee members were not entirely of this view, and it was AGREED to wait until the final results were known before reviewing it for next year. It may be that the number and/or choice of eligible races will need to be reconsidered. [Action: Secretary]
London Marathon results
Angela Bushell raised this item, which is addressed above under ‘Website issues.’
Midland Road Relays
In response to a proposal by the Team Captain, it was AGREED to cover the entry fees for up to two men’s and two women’s teams in the Midland Road Relays on 25th September 2010. The entry fees are £34 and £24 per team, respectively. [Action: Club Captain, Treasurer]
Severn Walkway Relay
The Committee considered the operation of the 2010 event and concluded that some rethinking of the format may be necessary. The summer programme is quite full, and triathlon events are taking up more and more of our members’ time. It proved impossible to field enough runners last year, and this year numbers only materialised after considerable pressure by the organisers. There was general consensus that if the relay format is not going to attract a field we need to discuss other ways of doing so, or reward the commemorative
plate for some other purpose (c.f. the Helen Ralphs trophy). It was AGREED that the Secretary should discuss these issues with Bob Hall. [Action: Secretary]
Coaching issues
The Team Captain proposed more energetic action on the coaching front, quoting the endeavours of other local clubs. It was AGREED that she should work up a specific proposal, e.g. for an Improvers Course, to be run by those members of the Club with coaching qualifications. [Action: Team Captain]
TRC race information
The Team Captain put forward a proposal to maximise race entries by sending out details of all our races and entry forms at the beginning of each year. This proposal was AGREED, with the proviso that, given its timing, the Riverbank Rollick would need to be publicised twice. [Action: Team Captain, Race Directors]
Any Other Business
- Thanks were expressed to Garry Slater for his smooth organisation of the Cotswold Relay, and to Selina and Garry for the post-race barbeque. It was hoped to attract new runners next year who might have no experience of the Cotswold Relay, and increase the number of reconnaissance runs to make this possible. [Action: Team Captain]
- The Deputy Chair reported that he had received a thank you letter from Keith Sullivan, Chairman of the Oldbury Fun Run Committee. There had been 1020 entries this year – a record.
- It was AGREED that Turnberrie’s continued to be an excellent venue for Club Night.
- The Committee was reminded that January 1st was the date on which our subscription to CTK was due. [Action: Treasurer]
Date of next meeting
The date of the next meeting will be September 9th. The Committee was reminded that it is free to choose an alternative evening and earlier hour for our meetings from time to time. [Action: Secretary]
Gareth Thomas,
Secretary