HCC Virtual Committee Meeting

Held online at 7.30pm on Thursday 15th May 2020

Present:     Paul Morgan (PM) Chairman Dale Clarke (DC) Trips and Events Officer
Alison Hardy (AH) Secretary Ben Hardy (BH) Development Officer Lesley March (LM) Finance Officer
Liz Owen (LO) Membership Secretary Neil Smith (NS) Equipment Officer

Minutes: These having been previously circulated and were accepted as a true record.

Matters Arising:

  • HCC Ongoing CV19 Restrictions and BC Guidelines out this week – PM to post a statement on the Facebook Page in light of the current continued restrictions. British Canoeing Guidance this week only permits resumption of paddling where paddlers are from the same household, or where an individual paddles with another member of a different household. Access to the Lake is still not possible either. All agreed that HCC could not resume paddling at the Lake or on trips with the current guidelines. Future changes will be reviewed, and any developments will be conveyed to the Membership, as soon as possible.
  • Kit Hire – HCC continues to only support the hire of club kit for HCC club members for HCC activities. NS had declined an enquiry to hire kit for personal use. Kit cannot currently be accessed as the Lake is closed. This has prevented return of kit by Carolyn Peacock, Salim Sidat, Mike Dallaway, Malcolm Soulsby and Mark Warrender.
  • Steve Jowett – PM has spoken to the family, Steve’s recovery is making progress.
  • HCC Clothing – clothing range photographs updated on HCC website as colours available and prices have changed.
  • New HCC Website – Huge thanks to Rob Newitt (RN) for the virtual training he held for BH, AH, DC and LO. RN covered basics for editing the existing website pages. RN has agreed to continue to support HCC with the website as required, but those trained should now be able to make basic changes without having to burden RN for these updates. Action: BH, AH, DC and LO.
  • New HCC Facebook Page – Richard Matthews (RM) has passed on log in details to the Committee for the new outward facing Facebook page which he created. The original HCC Facebook group page will continue, but in time this will become for HCC Members only. Given the current impact of lockdown on membership, it was not currently felt to be appropriate to amend access. Action: In time, LO to update access to the as Membership is paid.

Club Admin (AH):

  • HCC Secretary duties Handover – KS had provided a further virtual handover including access to the BC Portal.
  • Meeting minutes – AH has added notes for February’s meeting to the website following RN’s training.
  • LOROS donation – AH confirmed a donation was made to LOROS on behalf of HCC following the sad news that Chris Crane has recent passed away. Condolences have been sent to Chris’s husband Kenny and son Stan Crane.

Finance (LM):

  • Book When – KS to provide the necessary details to access the online accounts. Action: KS
  • McMillan Cheque – this has not yet been cashed, possibly due to CV19 and possibly due to less access to banks. Action: PM to make enquiries.
  • Tesco – DC confirms the Blue Token Local Charity money has been paid to HCC by Tesco.
  • Insurance and Kit List – LM paid an additional £21.55 for a mid-term Insurance Policy adjustment. Last year £259.60, this year £321.94 to include the additional kit items.
  • Stanton Lakes – the site remains closed due to the CV19 Restrictions so no scope to discuss lake fees. All agreed that this should be reviewed once there is an indication of when restrictions change. PM to contact the owners to see what plans they may have if restrictions begin to lift. Action: PM
  • Sport England Grant – DC has received confirmation of PM’s grant aid submission for possible grant support to offset HCC’s financial loss during the CV19 Restrictions.

Equipment (NS):

  • Income – AH has paid HCC £15 (kit hire and extra pool session).
  • Lakes Container Roof – before the restrictions, NS had visited the containers with Mike Dallaway (MD) to look at a design to replace the roof. MD has provided NS with an estimate of approximately £400 + VAT for the timber. NS estimates a total of £1,200 + VAT for timber and roofing material. With consent, MD offers to get the timber delivered to his home to begin cutting to size. NS will arrange transport of the cut timber from MD’s to the Lake once access resumes. PM to ask if MD can access the Lake to work on the containers, ideally as soon as possible although the main gates to the site appear to have been closed since lockdown began. Action: PM to speak with the Lake. Committee agreed to reimburse MD (either bank transfer in advance or after purchasing if MD provides a receipt) for the timber and consent to him proceeding. Action: NS to contact MD.
  • Annual Kit Safety checks – NS will need to arrange kit to be checked and certain items such as buoyancy aids to be safety tested prior to use. This to be considered a priority if access can be gained to the Lake and if restrictions lift. AH and BH offered to assist if access is permitted. Action: NS

Events and Trips (DC):

  • Trips and Events still on hold due to continued CV19 restrictions.

Club Development (BH):

  • Post meeting update Coaches’ Survey emailed by LO and further responses have been received by BH.

Membership (LO):

  • Paid Membership renewals – membership uptake still very low and unlikely to change greatly until there is news about the lifting of CV19 restrictions. Members to be reminded that online payment are a possible option and the website page has been modified to make the link to online membership clearer to find. A further discussion about Membership will be arranged as soon as there is news on any change to restrictions. Action: Meeting date to be confirmed as applicable.

Any other Business:

  • BC Safeguarding – NS advises that BC Safeguarding training is now not “for life” but needs to be renewed every 3 years.
  • Virtual Trip Planning Training – NS offering to give a virtual training session for HCC on Trip Planning. All agreed this is a great idea and particularly good timing if HCC paddlers are considering paddling on their own, or with their household. Action: NS to offer date for this to be promoted.

Next meeting and Location:     

Potential Virtual meeting 7pm Thursday 4th June 2020, or earlier if BC Guidelines enable a return to paddling.

Meeting closed 8.27pm