23 February 2016
ENGLISH COUNCIL
PROCEDURE FOR NOMINATIONS TO THE BOARD OF BRITISH CANOEING (BC)
1. Introduction
This notice outlines the essential information regarding the appointment of two nominees from the English Council on the Board of British Canoeing (BC).
2. The English Council Nominations
The English Council has the right to nominate 3 members to the Board of British Canoeing. Currently the holders of these positions are:
● Greg Smale
● Andy Maxted (Retiring in rotation following the meeting on 02 April 2016, but eligible for a further 4 year term and wishing to stand again)
● 1 vacant (Previously David Gent - resigned 25 January 2016)
The English Council is therefore required to nominate 2 representatives to join the Board from its meeting in June 2016.
3. The Role of the Board and Board Members
The Board of British Canoeing (BC) consists of 10 members in total; 6 members who are nominated by the National Councils of England (3), Scotland (1), Wales (1) and Northern Ireland (1), 3 Independent members and the CEO.
The current members of the Board are shown below:
● Mohamed Elsarky - Independent
● Denise Barrett-Baxendale - Independent
● Alan Baker - Wales
● David Belbin - Independent
● Stephen Craig - Northern Ireland
● David Joy - CEO
● Steve Linksted - Scotland
● Andrew Maxted - England
● Greg Smale - England
The role of the Board of British Canoeing (BC) is detailed in the Articles and can be summarised as acting on powers delegated by the Members to manage the company.
The role descriptor of individual Board Members is attached as Appendix 1. This is being reviewed by the Board and will be updated in 2016.
The nominees of the English Council should have a good understanding of the structure of canoeing within England, and ideally have experience of working within one or more of the committees of the English Council.
The Board has recently completed a skills audit and is committed to working to create the ideal skills mix within the Board. As a consequence, the Board would particularly welcome Board nominees from the English Council who have an understanding and involvement within the structure of canoeing in England, but who also have a background in one of the following areas; Legal, HR, Digital Strategy and Communications, Membership Engagement and Customer Service. These are desirable experiences and are not essential.
The Board currently comprises of 9 members, only one of whom is female. The Board is keen to establish a better gender balance within the Board and would therefore welcome at least one female nomination from the English Council to join the Board. Research evidence shows that Boards with a gender balance tend to perform better and it is important that the Board of British Canoeing is representative of its membership. For these reasons, the Board is keen to create a better gender balance within the Board. For clarity, this is desirable for the Board but not an essential requirement for these nominations.
The role of Non Executive Directors of British Canoeing is not remunerated, although expenses are reimbursed in accordance with the expenses policy.
There are usually five or six Board Meetings per year and the English Council nominees are expected to also attend the meetings of English Council (two per year). The dates of these meetings in 2016 are shown below:
Board Meetings 2016:
● 04 June
● 27 August
● 01 October
● 03 December
English Council Conference and Meeting 2016:
● 19/20 November
Board Members will also be required to contribute to meetings of one of the Committees of the Board (Finance, Governance, HR and Remunerations and Nominations) and these groups would usually meet two or three times a year.
4. The Nomination Process
Nominations for these two Board positions must be made by one of the Committees who make up the English Council. ie a Regional or Discipline Committee. This should be made on the form attached as Appendix 2.
This requires a nominee to have a proposer who is a member of the English Council. In line with custom and practice, each member of English Council may propose only one nomination.
Each committee may nominate from within their own committee or any other member of British Canoeing who they feel is suitably qualified for this position.
This notice is issued on 23 February 2016.
Nominations must be submitted by email or post to British Canoeing by 12 noon on Thursday 31 March 2016. Please forward to: or Aimee Sallis, British Canoeing, National Water Sports Centre, Adbolton Lane, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, NG12 2LU
All nominations will then be circulated by email to all the voting members of the English Council by Friday 08 April 2016.
Each member of the English Council will then be invited to vote for two people to sit on the Board and these votes will be submitted to British Canoeing by 12 noon on Friday 22 April 2016.
The CEO of British Canoeing, Vice Chair of the English Council and Independent Board Member, David Belbin, will scrutinise the voting and determine the result of the election.
The announcement of the results will be made by email to all Members of the English Council by 5.00pm on Monday 25 April 2016.
5. The Voting Process
A ‘first past the post’ voting system will be used with a follow up vote used to resolve a tie. Voting members of the English Council will each have up to two votes and be invited to vote for two nominees. The two nominees with the highest number of votes will be invited to join the Board. Should there be a tie between more than two candidates for first place, or more than two candidates for the second place with a clear majority for the first place, then there will be a second round of voting held to determine the result.
Kevin Dennis
Vice Chair, English Council
British Canoeing
Appendix 1
BRITISH CANOEING (BC)
BOARD MEMBER - ROLE DESCRIPTION
1. Role title: British Canoeing Board Member
2. Responsible to: Chair of British Canoeing
3. Purpose of role:
3.1 Support the effective management of the BC decision making and management process.
3.2 Support the effective management of the BC voluntary officers and committees.
3.3 Encourage high standards of propriety and promoting the efficient and effective use of BC resources.
3.4 Contribute to the overall implementation of the BC Strategic Development Plan.
3.5 Bringing independent judgement to ensure that the Board, in reaching decisions, takes proper account of guidance given by members, other volunteers, staff and appropriate outside bodies.
3.6 Represent BC to government, sports bodies, the media, members, and the general public.
4. Specific responsibilities:
4.1 Ensure with the Chair and Chief Executive that the BC discharges its duties in a legal and effective manner.
4.2 Be conversant with the Articles of Association and Regulations of the BC, and with the procedure for the conduct of meetings.
4.3 Ensure that Board members, on appointment to the Board, are fully briefed on the terms of their appointment, and on their duties, rights and responsibilities.
4.4 Ensure the Board has a proper balance of professional, financial and other expertise, together with due regard to the principles of equity and diversity.
4.5 Ensure there is a code of practice in place to ensure Board members and other volunteers operate on the best practices of openness and fairness.
4.6 Ensure that the BC administration, planning and budgeting procedures are carried out in accordance with the BC Strategic Development and Business Plans and the policies of BC.
4.7 Ensure the BC policies are implemented in accordance with the wishes of the members.
Advise and support the Chief Executive as necessary in the role of managing the BC office, paid staff and volunteers.
4.8
Appendix 2
ENGLISH COUNCIL
NOMINATIONS TO THE BOARD OF BRITISH CANOEING (BC)
NOMINATION FORMDetails of the Nominee (The person being nominated)
Name:
Address:
Email:
Phone:(h) (mob)
Canoeing background/experience (Pen portrait max 300 words)
Relevant career background experience (Max 200 words)
Any other relevant information (Max 200 words)
Details of the Nominator/Proposer (The person making the nomination)
Name:
Title: / Committee:
Signatures:
Signature of the Nominee:
Date:
Signature of the Nominator/Proposer:
Date:
Nominations must be submitted by email or post to: or
Aimee Sallis, British Canoeing, National Water Sports Centre, Adbolton Lane, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, NG12 2LU
Closing date: 12 noon on Thursday 31 March 2016.
Returning the Nominations Form:
Nominations must be submitted by email or by post to British Canoeing by 12 noon on Thursday 31 March 2016. Please forward to: or Aimee Sallis, British Canoeing, National Water Sports Centre, Adbolton Lane, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, NG12 2LU
All nominations will then be circulated by email to all the voting members of the English Council by Friday 08 April 2016.
Each member of the English Council will then be invited to vote for two people to sit on the Board and these votes will be submitted to British Canoeing by 12 noon on Friday 22 April 2016.
The Vice Chair of the English Council, the CEO of British Canoeing and Independent Board Member, David Belbin, will scrutinise the voting and determine the result of the election.
The announcement of the results will be made by email to all Members of the English Council by 5.00pm on Monday 25 April 2016