HCC Committee Meeting

Ashby Rd Sports Club
5th December 2018 – 7pm

Attendees:

Guests:

Katrina Smith (KS)

Phil Riley (PR)

Fraser Watson (FW)

Lesley March (LM)

Hayley Clarke (HC)

Dave Clarke (DCL)

Neil Smith (NS)

Paul Morgan (PM)

 Nikki Aldridge (NA)
Apologies: Martin Stretton (MS) Robert Newitt (RN) Dale Clarke (DC)

Minutes & Matters Arising

Minutes need to be circulated as a soon as possible after the meeting to allow people to complete actions.  Action: KS to try & circulate actions or minutes within one week.

The November meeting notes were approved for publication.

Club Admin 

The British Canoeing affiliation will be done this week.  KS asked for some information to enable completion of the affiliation form.

AGM

The nomination form will need updating for the AGM.  Actions:

HC to send a copy of the form to KS

KS to update the form and include the AGM date then send to RN

RN to email the club membership and to send reminders in Jan and Feb.

KS advised any procedure updates will need to be sent to British Canoeing, HC advised that all that has changed is the addition of the social media policy.  Action KS to check & action

KS advised she would be happy to step down if someone else wanted to take on the Secretary role.  NA, PR & HC advised they will be stepping down from the Committee so the following roles will be vacant Chair, Membership Secretary, Paddlesport Development Officer but HC will support whoever takes it over.

Action: PR to put something out about advertising the Committee jobs

Action:  KS to ensure notice to say all Committee posts are up for nomination.

Finance

November bank balance was £8155.34

Current bank balance is £7890.90

BC Affiliation payment to come out £422.20

Lake fees will be going up by 3.4% and will be due 31st Jan.  The 2019 fee will be £2,148.80

There is £300 to bank for the sale of the polo boats.

Equipment

A working party was at the lake in November.

A new lock box was put on the end container.

The buoyancy blocks & painters from the canoes were removed.

SUPs let down slightly.

The polo boats have been sold.

The playboats had gone up for sale but as yet there had been no interest.  It was agreed to leave till after Christmas then if there is still no interest the price will be reduced.

PR & HC met with Mick & Helen and as a result of the development discussions have requested a plan / sketch detailing the proposed changes to the bank steps and decking.  

This should also show the proposed club house position & size.

Feedback from Mick & Helen were that they appeared to be quite open to the suggestion of a club house but were concerned that we may not hire the existing facilities.  It was explained that the size would limit this use so would still need occasional hire of Stanton facilities.  Their main concern was that they would like the club house to be clearly seen as a temporary building that could be easily moved.  As part of Mick & Helens long term plans there may be a possibility of having access to electricity.

Events

KS read out DC’s message as he was unable to attend the meeting:

Grade 2/3 trip 15 Dec

Touring trip 23 Dec

CIWW trip 6th Jan

Weekend away May Bank Holiday (End of May)

DC also advised in his message about signing off Leaders

He agrees “more flexibility is required but is wary of the Club’s responsibility.  He thinks Phil’s idea could work but that it may not be as simple as it appears particularly if the group were in disagreement.  He personally feels the ratios should change and have the option to allow people to go outside ratios with Committee approval”.

PR thought the best people to review a proposed trip were the current Leaders and 

Coaches as a group.  They should be empowered to say what people can do.

Planning should be agreed / approved with the other coaches and leaders then information passed to the Programme Coordinator to be included in the event list.

What happens on the trip is the remit of the trip Leader (s) on the day.

It was suggested that if the group were unable to agree on something the Committee Programme Coordinator would have the final say.

The Coaches & Leaders group could also ask for feedback from trip attendees.

The leader forum would have a role of progressing Leaders and those who wish to assist.

The Committee felt and suggested the minimum criteria of working towards Leading or Assisting should have FSRT & First Aid.

KS personally felt that any policy should reference the BC environmental definitions and deployment guidance for instructors, Coaches and Leaders.  If the Club were to abandon these guidelines then we would need alternative documentation, procedures and written records that would legally satisfy that we have maintained our Duty of Care to club members.

FW advised that he felt the club did not encourage or give people the opportunity to Lead or Assist.  He also felt the BC guidelines did not work for the club due to the lack of qualified Leaders / Coaches as you would not be able to attempt some features on some of the trips or have trips on higher grade waters, he also thought people were actually put off from having a go.  He feels that for people to develop they need to be able to do features that would be outside the Leader’s remit and that due to the shortage of Leaders and higher qualified Leaders that if we stuck to the BC guidelines people will never be able to progress.

There was still much discussion about the existing list & also the difference from what a Trip Leader does or can do on a Trip and a Coach.  KS asked if the existing list should be scrapped and a new one created from scratch.  FW did advise that he was happy to stay within any specified guideline but felt that if a new list were created then the rules should be applied across the board.  The main issue appears to be around how many people a Leader can take and without having an assistant especially if they are not a qualified Leader.

PR thought there were two separate issues

  • Encouraging people to have a go at leading and assist leading and their development.
  • Then how to deal with trip planning and leading trips.

Actions:

PR to write up the proposal for Committee to review then it should be shared with the Coaches & Leaders group for their input.

DC to draw up a new Leaders list

KS asked if Phil Burgess had been sent a response.  PR advised he had spoken to him

Club Development

HC, PM, NS & KS attended the BC roadshow regarding the new award system.  HC was re doing the club programme to suit the new system and will go through it at the Coaches meeting in Jan.

Membership

Membership stands at a total of 139 consisting of

101 Adults

38 Juniors

Of the above 38 are BC members.

Club Communications

PM advised the phone number does not work. Nikki advised the battery is constantly flat.  It was agreed to not use the club phone anymore and to remove the number from the website.

The contact us link did not work but this has now been recently fixed.

Website says you can upload your own trip reports but this is not possible so needs amending.

There is still some reference to the Polo which needs removing.

Action: RN to update.  KS will find polo references and advise location to RN

Some profiles out of date.

Action: KS offered to go through all the profiles discuss with people concerned and update.

Post Mtg Note:  RN reported that the annual web site hosting fee had been renewed this was £104.89

AOB

  • Christmas meal was cancelled due to only having 5 booked onto it.
  • PM asked if there were any spare lake days? HC advised 2 lake days were available before the end of the year.  Paul would like a training day in the Canoe Action:  PM to organise.
  • PM suggested that social media was not an appropriate forum for the Committee to engage / debate with Members about Club issues (i.e. Facebook & Messenger).  It should not be used for trying to solve Club problems.  Action:  It should be clear that the process is to encourage members to talk and or email direct to a Committee Member or even better to attend the next available Committee Meeting.  
  • DC asked of NA that Martin Aldridge was really missed from the Club whether there is anyway back and if anything could be done to encourage her not to leave.  NA said no
  • Sea Cadets – Mick & Helen feel the same as the Committee about the Sea Cadets and if we want to do something then they are fine about it but if not, they are ok with this too.  Action:  HC is going to contact them to see if they want to do anything.If they do contact us then we will have a meeting to discuss.
  • Easter onwards for booking kayak / canoe Coach discipline specific training.  Paul Bull’s name was suggested as a possible alternative.  PM & NS were also happy to use Adam Harmer.  Action: HC to book

Meeting closed at 9.15

Next meeting, Mon 7th January 7pm @ Ashby Rd Sports Club Hinckley