British Canoeing Marathon Racing Committee

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 24th March 2018

Eastwood Hall, Nottingham

  1. Present at the meeting were:

Stan Missen (SM) (Chair)
Mick Nadal (MN)
David Enoch (DE)
Dyson Pendle (DP)
Roland Lawler (RL)
Jim Taylor-Ross (JTR)
Richard Ward (RW)
Kat Wilson (KW)
James Smythe (JS)
Graham Warland (GW)
Andy Daniels (AD)
Brian Chapman (BrC – SCA rep): note BC = British Canoeing
Jim Rossiter (JR – Southern Region rep)
Molly Green (observer)
David Green (observer)
Teresa Gregory (TG - reporting, for item 8 only)
These people are referred to by their initials hereafter in the Minutes.

Apologies for absence were received from Alan Laws and Keith Moule.

  1. Retirement of Alan Laws
    The Chair has accepted the resignation of Alan Laws from his role on the Marathon Racing Committee and as Chair of the Selection Committee, after nearly 50 years’ service. The Committee gives its grateful thanks for Alan’s service and the support of his wife Christine. A perpetual trophy is to be renamed in Alan and Christine’s honour as a mark of the sport’s gratitude.
  2. Approval of minutes

The minutes of the Committee Meeting of 18th November 2017 were reviewed.
Item 6d was amended to note that RMA’s allow the listing of Hasler Races in their areas, and are not responsible for approving those races, so do not have liability for them.
The minutes were approved by the Committee and signed by the Chair, with this amendment. They will now be published as final.
Action: JS

  1. Matters Arising
    The following matters were noted that were not covered by the current meeting agenda:-
  2. The MRC trailer has been advertised for sale by sealed bids at the April regatta, with a reserve of £1,500 (the cost the MRC incurred in its repair). The sale has been advertised on the MRC website and social media.
    Action: DP
  3. Worcester CC have requested via Gemma at BC that an ICF representative conduct a course visit. They have received the ICF guidelines. Gemma is managing the liaison between Worcester CC and the ICF; the MRC’s support will be called upon if the ICF responds positively. JR and BrC noted that the ICF’s own guidelines have been stretched by recent successful applicants so the width of the river may not be the problem it once was. JR and BrC agreed to support BC’s approach by discussing with Ruud Heijselaar at forthcoming World Cup in May.
    Action: JR, BrC
  4. There remains no official custodian for trophies and medals on the committee. A few cubic metres of storage space are required, plus time to get them engraved and cleaned annually, and transported to the relevant events. The Committee agreed to ask for volunteers via the website, and to ask BC if they can help store them.
    Action: JS, SM
  5. MNhas not yet received details of the BC regional event dressing kits from Anna Gray. JR reported that LSE region have arranged to collect theirs, and confirmed that it is comprised of event dressing like scrim and gazebos, and not course material such as buoys, markers or finish funnels.
    Action: MN to discuss with Anna Gray, and review the usefulness of these materials in LSE region via JR
  1. Coaching
  2. RW reported progress on the new L2 Race Coach awards scheme. This is likely to be rolled out fully by June, with initial courses being used as a test. The total cost to a student would be roughly £600, which is tough for volunteers.
    BC have also appointed 12 clubs as Talent Clubs, with financial support for coaching, although these plans will not benefit the general volunteer club coaching base.
    19 course tutors were recruited and approved via the process previously agreed by the MRC. Concern that BC added an extra tutor from outside of the canoe racing community was noted.BrC reported that an additional 3 or 4 more tutors have been appointed in Scotland.
    A course comprises up to four candidates per tutor, with registration, a two-day Core Coaching course, a two-day Race Coaching course, and an assessment. They can be entirely arranged through BC, via clubs or via tutors themselves.
    Action: SM to ask Anna Gray and David Joy for more information about the Talent Club plans.
  3. A proposal was put forward by JTR with the support of RW and JS, to underwrite the cost of courses hosted in racing canoe clubs for unsupported, volunteer tutors and candidates.
    At a total cost of £6,000 this year, our objective will be to qualify 30 to 40 Club Race Coaches in 2018. This MRC funding can at least halve the cost of the course to the student, and possibly reduce it further if clubs offer their facilities at a reduced cost.
    The audit trail for this MRC funding is particularly important. JTR explained the application and completion process the unsupported Race Coach Tutors would need to follow to qualify for funding via the MRC Coaching Representative. Giving full details of the course and students, with signed declaration that neither the tutor nor students were not being funded from British Canoeing.

MRC funding to the qualifying Race Coach Tutors would be £100 per student on each of the Race Award courses and £50 per student for the Assessment, on completion.

It would also be required that the course be advertised via the MRC website, to ensure that every club had a fair opportunity to send a candidate.
This proposal was approved unanimously by the Committee.
Action: JTR and JS to finalise the application process and publicise

  1. Governance

a)The Committee discussed what measures may be taken if a committee member fails to take up his or her elected position, and what specific responsibilities are required of elected members. Item 4.10 of our current Terms of Reference specifies that:
Elected and co-opted members of the MRC are expected to:
a) act as a representative of the MRC, and fulfil any roles to which they have been appointed to the best of their abilities, both during and outside committee meetings.
c) delegate decisions or refer enquiries to the appropriate MRC member, in keeping with the decision-making processes of the committee.
However nothing is specified in terms of meeting attendance or a requirement to take on specific committee roles.
The Committee agreed that the Terms of Reference should be updated to require attendance at a minimum of two ordinary meetings per year, and the taking on or sharing of a committee post, with discretion applied where an individual’s circumstances require it.
The Committee also noted that because of AL’s resignation and a possible extra vacancy, we should invite prospective candidates for election to attend the MRC meeting of 11th May as observers, to see how things work.
Actions: JS to redraft Terms of Reference item 4.10, and invite candidates to 11 May meeting;
KW to approach the recently elected committee member who has so far been unavailable, to request a resignation or a commitment with effect from the next meeting

b)BC have issued guidelines on the upcoming GDPR (data privacy and protection) regulations that will affect all holders of personal data, including the MRC and Race Organisers, from 25thMay this year.
The principle first requirement will be clear documentation of how we hold and use Personal Data – including names, personal details and contact information.
Action: GW and JS to follow up with Barry Wade at BC to ensure we have a clear MRC position to discuss on 11th May.

  1. Finance
  2. DE reported that the new British Canoeing auditors have complained about the finance arrangements of many of BC’s Discipline Committees. Many have considerable sums of cash in bank accounts not controlled by BC. As a result, accounts will need to be under the BC umbrella, and surpluses returned to BC (and ringfenced for the discipline in question)
    The MRC has been compliant for several years and will not need to change banking arrangements or transfer funds. There will be small details to improve such as account signatories and standardized record keeping. Our VAT status on race levies will remain as it is, even if BC are being required to raise VAT on much more of its income in future.
  3. DE reported that the final 2017-18 budget still had to be approved following the welcome but late addition of another £10,000 to the Central Grant by BC. This additional sum cannot simply be used to boost reserves.
    Amendments were agreed to the budget to incorporate the underwriting of coaching courses agreed in item 5b, and the adjustments to international costs caused by the switch of development international from Ghent to the French Nationals.
    DE anticipates a loss of levy funds of up to £2,000 following the cancellations of Watersides C and D.
    The final accounts were agreed.
    Action: DE to notify BC
  4. Safeguarding
  5. TG attended the meeting to update the MRC on the BC Wellbeing Group. There is some overlap with athletes in Marathon where they are also involved in the Sprint Talent squads.
    The emphasis is now very much on the “whole person” when setting policy. The appeals process is being reviewed, as well as contracts for funded athletes. TG reported that the new Performance Department management are very much behind this.
    The question was raised of how Marathon can best support athletes with ambitions and commitments in multiple disciplines, or their personal lives and education.
    Action: KW to devise a plan for when MRC should be talking to key athletes’ coaches (support from JS)
  6. KW reported that AD will shortly take the Safeguarding Course, so all MRC members will be compliant.
    Action: AD
  7. Two members of staff on any international trip will need to have done the new Anti-Doping course. GW has contacted Team Managers and will ensure each staff team is compliant.
    Action: GW
  8. GW will also check that DBS certificates obtained for contracted British Canoeing work in the past are transferable to voluntary MRC work.
    Action: GW
  9. Domestic racing
  10. JS explained the new online results tool, the aim of which is to reduce admin while improving access to current season and historical race information. It is also better for GDPR compliance as we are better able to control which personal information is put into the public domain, and can delete an individual’s records on request. The tool has been well received by the racing community, with improvements suggested and made.
    A connection to British Canoeing’s database to verify BC membership status has yet to be established but is being pursued. This will be clearer following BC’s adoption of the GDRP guidelines.
    MN raised a potential problem where club points could potentially change after application of Ps and Ds. Common practice however is that they are final once this has happened. JS reassured the Committee that all results on the tool are final and have passed the full review process by RMA, Race Records Officer and Rankings Officer.
    Action: MN to send JS a communication for the website, to notify clubs of the standard practice of considering club points final and not revisable following approval of each race’s results.
  11. An update on the online race entry system has been carried forward to the next meeting.
    Action: DS
  12. BrC reported that the new Azolve race entry system is now live in Scotland. Race entry requires the completion of an online disclaimer by each entrant, and checks BC membership status. Team entries have not yet been enabled. Online payment is available with payment directly into the race organiser’s account. The system also allows email communication in the case of an event cancellation or modification, for example.
    Action: BrC to report back on success at next meeting
  13. KW and MN presented their final guidelines on the future of U12s racing, and will post a final set of rules in June.
    Action: KW and MN to finalise rules and publish.
  14. GW has publicized our ambition to develop a series of DW preparation and qualifier races, to support classic races and the need for DW participants to have experience of racing over long distances with portages. Responses have been received from several races and clubs including in the North of England. To be included in the official series, races will need to participate in the race levy scheme.
    Action: GW to collate list of races for 2018-19, and share with DW Committee.
  15. MN reported that some Race Organisers are using an out-of-date ranking list due to downloading it too far in advance of their race. They need to be told to do this no earlier than the Friday evening before the race.
    Action: JS to add note on website
  1. Communications
  2. The Committee discussed the ongoing need for a paper Handbook. This is useful for sections such as rules, but other parts get out of date quickly (e.g. ranking lists) or can be accessed easily elsewhere (e.g. calendar). We agreed to inform Diane Bates that we may not want to publish a 2019 marathon section. In preparation, we will research how to publish the key parts in printable form.
    Action: MN
  3. The Committee thanked Siobhan Urquhart of Banbury CC for writing the Marathon section of the BC Annual Report.
  4. Calendar
  5. GW outlined plans to require improved race description information from Race Organisers when compiling the 2019 calendar. These descriptions should provide adequate details for those new to the event or relative beginners in the sport.
  6. Internationals
  7. The Selection Committee met earlier in the day to discuss AL’s resignation. It was decided that no Chair would be chosen at this stage, and that JS would instead act as Secretary of the Selection Committee to ensure it runs effectively.
    Team Managers for each international being discussed, plus the Logistics co-ordinator GW would be invited to attend meetings of the selection committee and ensure effective distribution of information.
    A single member of the Selection Committee will be nominated as liaison for each assessment race, to ensure effective co-ordination and clear communication. These will be:-
    Worcester – DP
    Nottingham – DE
    Maidstone – RL
    National Champs – KW
  8. A question was raised on course safety assessments for internationals was raised. GW agreed to investigate the need and report back next meeting.
    Action: GW
  9. Progress on BC’s organization of new Errea international kit has been disappointing, with no plans to hold stock and an eight-week lead time on orders. A topline order has been placed by KM for the World Cup as team composition is unknown. Orders for the European Championships will need to be made by early May.
    Action: KM
  10. GW reported that the new athlete code of conduct has been agreed by BC with input from the athlete welfare group, and will be in use for 2019 internationals.
  11. KW reported that the new Athlete Development Sub-Committee of KW, KM and AD organized a training day at Dorney in March, which was cancelled last minute due to heavy snow. This is being re-scheduled. Athletes are being asked to contribute £10 per head for events based at Dorney, as this allows good training irrespective of most weather and river conditions. The squad approach used in recent years is not being used, and a division-based approach taken to inviting paddlers in different age/gender/boat classes.
    Younger paddlers are being dealt with by the Racing Skills days organized by BC. GW commented that these could/should be complemented with regional, marathon-specific days as the Racing Skills days are relatively infrequent and not held in all regions.
    The Committee asked that invitations should involve the athletes’ coaches, as going direct to athletes can create confusion or division.
    Action: KW/AD/KM to gather coach contacts for comms; organize additional training days; investigate need to co-ordinate regional days with GW.
  12. We received an invitation to take part in the Irish National Championships as a potential development experience to replace Gent. WE were also invited to a two-race weekend at Neerpelt and Eindhoven in Belgium/Netherlands. It was agreed that these were too late for 2018, GW to develop a recommendation for 2019 before the November meeting.
    Action: GW
  13. Major Championships
  14. BC have proposed a new standard National Championships medal for use across all disciplines. While the MRC applauds the idea, the very modest cost per medal suggests a much lower quality than those we currently provide. We have also not seen a proof, and urgently need to order ahead for the next few seasons, for both the Nationals and Hasler Final. It was agreed that we would order a new three-year supply of the existing medals to take us to 2020.
    Action: DE
  15. Planning is very advanced for the 2018 Nationals at Reading. DP suggested an earlier start window for U16s to reduce congestion in the afternoon sessions, which has been used successfully at Norwich in the past. KW agreed to take this to the organisers.
    Action: KW
  16. DP outlined plans for the Hasler Final at Norwich. To aid speedy production of results, the 12 mile course will be moved to the earlier start window with the 4 milers, and the 8 milers left in the second session.
  17. The Men’s K2 shield will be renamed the Laws Trophy in honour of Alan and Christine’s service to the sport.Some work is needed to bring the shield up to standard and a new brass plate is to be added renaming.
    Action: GW
  18. As DS was unavailable, KW agreed to take up the questions of Open Women’s C1, and pre-published start lists to the Nationals organisers.
    Action: KW
  19. MN has discussed the idea of asking regions to host the Hasler Final in rotation with RMAs. Most are concerned about finding an organising team and venue, to it was agreed to leave the sourcing of venues as it is for the time being. It was suggested that one reason that clubs were perhaps reluctant to take on the major events may be because of the concerns over dealing with entries and especially results. At a meeting with BC during 2017 it was suggested that a specialist BC team might for fill this role, leaving logistics on the day to the host club, removing them having responsibility for the onerous results work. Venue, parking and suitable water was however still cited as the major concern for any region being asked to find a host club.
  20. A similar question on offering clubs the chance to host the National Championships for multiple years was discussed. Past organisers have fed back that every year would be too much, whatever the potential financial gain for the club which has shown to be considerable. The Committee agreed to review after Reading, and that MN should tell RMAs that this could be offered to clubs willing to take it on and ‘invest’ in an infrastructure.
    Action: MN
  21. 2018 Meeting Dates
  22. Fri 11th May, 7pm, HolmePierrepont BC HQ
  23. ACM 21st July, Reading 6pm ( following Prize giving )
  24. 28th July PM, venue tbc – possibly Southampton?
  25. 17th November, all day meeting, Cropredy.9am to 3pm

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 17.00