Secretary's report
Francis points out that fewer riders than ever have completed an SR series this year. He also noticed that more than 60 riders attempted the only calendar event of more than 600k. His conclusion is that we need a challenge. Next year, of course, there is the London-Edinburgh-London. But we are also planning a higher profile for a national SR series based on some well-known classic events. Watch this space.
This year we are being asked to take a momentous step. The proposal is to change the club of which we are all members into a company of which we shall all be shareholders. There are precedents for this: Cycling Time Trials and British Cycling have both recently made the change. There is a good reason for it: To protect the club against possible financial ruin resulting from litigation. We recently rejected an advert from a firm offering to pursue claims for accident or injury, an ambulance-chaser if you like. There is a growing number of firms touting for such business. Their actions can put clubs such as ours in jeopardy. Becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee will protect us against unlimited claims.
Organisers of events now have well-defined legal responsibilities towards both those who take part and the public in general. We, in common with other organisations, have been feeling our way towards providing a safe framework in which they can operate. Thanks to all the organisers who have been helpful and patient with us during this period.
I look forward to seeing many of you at Llandrindod Wells for the AGM.
Ian Hennessey
Chairman Report
see Arrivee
Treasurer's Report
2005 expenses are expected to increase in certain areas (higher insurance premium, Arrivée moving to full colour, separate handbook, etc). I am therefore proposing a small increase in membership fees to become effective for 2006.
With the membership team, I have also been investigating how we might use direct payment to streamline the membership fee process and we are considering how we might use standing orders in the future. While this is less helpful than direct debits, our bank has advised us that as a comparatively small members club, the direct debit system is not open to us. However, as we do not envisage any further increase in membership fees at the current time beyond that outlined above, we believe standing orders are viable. Hopefully, automatic renewal will save members time and also significantly help the membership team in their job. However, standing orders are only practical if at least around 500 members enrol this way. To gauge interest, we will be asking you to indicate on the next renewal form whether you would like to pay your membership fees by standing order. Assuming we get the required level of take-up to make the system practical, your 2006 fees will be collected in this way. We would also propose waiving the new members joining fee for new members joining via standing order.
ITEMS FOR INCLUSION IN THE AUDAX UK 2004 AGM AGENDA
Treasurer’s recommendations
Membership fees
Expenditure is expected to increase in the next year (for example with higher insurance costs, separate handbook, etc). To ensure current expenditure is covered by current income, I am therefore proposing an increase in membership rates of £1 per person. The single member rate will therefore become £10 for the 2006 season. In addition, the household second member rate will increase from £2 to £5 although each additional household member will now receive their own copy of the handbook. Commuted membership (effectively 5 for 4) will remain at £40. No increase in fees is proposed for card production and validation.
Renewal date cut-off
It is also proposed that the renewal date for membership fees will be fixed at 31 January. Members failing to renew by that date will now be liable to the £5 new member joining fee. We currently also send the missing back copies of Arrivée to late joiners. This practice will also cease. The main purpose of this change is to reduce the time the membership team currently spend on membership renewals by encouraging members to renew on a timely basis. However, late renewal incurs direct costs as well as Committee members’ and delegates’ time costs which the joining fee was itself introduced to cover.
Honoraria
I am also proposing an increase in the honoraria paid for selected Committee posts. The proposed increase is £50 per honorarium.
At the same time, I would like to change the way we pay honoraria. Currently, I am authorised to pay the recipient a pre-set cash amount. To deal with the income tax payable on the honoraria, I account for this separately to the Inland Revenue. To simplify the administration of the honoraria but ensure we continue to comply with our legal obligations, I propose that we pay future honoraria inclusive of income tax. This is illustrated in the following:
Old arrangement new arrangement Net cash honorarium 500 Gross cash honorarium 641 Tax paid to Inland Revenue 141 141 Total paid by AUK 641 641 Recipient total cash net of tax 500 500The change simply moves the responsibility for tax from AUK to the recipient. This will not increase the amount of the honoraria we currently pay but means we can deduct a flat rate amount from the payments we make and do not need to investigate the recipient’s personal tax position.
To operate the club through a company
Members passed a resolution last year permitting the Committee to investigate incorporating the club with a view to minimising as far as possible the risk of litigation affecting individual club members. The Committee has concluded that the club should be operated through a company limited by guarantee set up for the purpose.
The change will not affect the rules and regulations of AUK (validation of rides, voting, etc) although its constitution will need to be adapted in a small number of specific areas to comply with company law. Everyone who is currently a member of AUK will become a member of the AUK company. The individual liability of a company member (that is, the amount creditors could call on in the event of AUK being wound-up for example) will be limited to £1.
Ritchie Tout
Membership Secretary Report
see Arrivee
Validation Sec Report
see Arrivee
Permanents Secretary Report
see Arrivee
Events Secretary Report
The number of Organisers was 188; many thanks to all of you, and to the Helpers who make it all possible.
This year has seen many new Organisers coming along, with the retiring ones, in many cases, acting as Mentors so that the newcomers aren’t starting from scratch. I have noticed that events being run by the new Organisers are going noticeably smoother with this system in place. Our thanks to all involved.
Please get in touch with me if you fancy running some events. We have a scheme for covering the Organisers of longer (above 200km) and new events against financial loss; also all Organisers and Helpers are covered by AUK's insurance for third-party claims (note that BC/CTC events' insurance still applies where relevant).
The figures for 2004 are:
Cat. ‘50’ 100+ *150+ 200+ *300+ 400+ 500+ 600+ 1000+ Totals BP 48 200 52 -- -- -- -- -- -- 301 BR -- -- -- 110 19 13 -- 3 -- 145 BRM -- -- -- 10 6 5 -- 5 1 27 Totals 43 170 49 125 26 21 0 19 0 473
* includes Arrows and Darts.
As usual there’s been an increase in BPs and 200s but the longer events are down, although some of that is due to there being no need for qualifying rides.
Unusually for post-PBP year there has not only been a record number of events but the change was significant. Entries have been down but validations haven’t been affected by the same percentage, suggesting fewer DNS/DNFs. I hope that the numbers will pick up next year when the PBP riders have recovered!
Peter Coulson
International Events Secretary Report
AUKs have been making their presence felt abroad this year...
We were well represented on Boston-Montreal-Boston, on which George Hanna, on an Airnimal folding bike, and exiled AUK Jan Christiansen caused consternation with an impressively swift ride at the front of the field, and Robert McHardy left no mind unboggled, riding a space-frame bike of his own manufacture in civvies, having no truck with fripperies like cycle clothing.
Quite a few AUKs rode the Sicilia No Stop 1,000km, of which I’ve heard mixed reports. The night riding and organisation were excellent, but some of the roads were unpleasantly busy, according to Martin Lucas.
Arthur Vince rode Paris-Roubaix Cyclo, which takes place every other year, and didn’t merely live to tell the tale—he says he enjoyed the event. It must be all that training on the pavé of Wessex!
Needless to say, there were quite a few AUKs on L’Etape. I was pleased to hear of Chris Rutter’s successful ride only weeks after he injured his knee on the Brian Chapman 600.
Many of the queries about international events that I received were from non-members, which presumably shows that the AUK website has a wide readership. Almost all queries related to cyclosportif rides rather than randonnées, so I propose to give preference to listing these in the International Events Bureau, at least in non-PBP years.
Please let me know if your favourite international ride doesn’t appear in the list I provide. It’s all the better if you can also let me know why it’s your favourite ride!
If the international events listing on the website doesn’t answer your question or you don’t have access to the internet, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or drop me a line. I’ll always do my best to locate a ride that meets your requirements...
Peter Marshall
ACP/RM Correspondant Report
A quiet [post PBP] year. The majority of the work has been: responding to enquiries about the 2005 London-Edinburgh-London event and diffusing ACP Brevet 5000 claim forms, checking those completed and forwarding them to Paris.
And during the Xmas festivities I found time to translate into English, for ACP, several articles about the 2003 PBP which appeared later in the post PB publication called the Plaquette. Many thanks to Roland Masset and Peter Marshall for some much appreciated help with this.
A major disappointment has been the failure to retrieve personal belongings lost by AUK members on the 2003 PBP. ACP has not responded to my several enquiries. Riders of the next PB event in 2007, if sufficiently compos mentis at their return to St. Quentin [!], should claim lost items when these are brought back shortly after the final control closes. In 2003 they filled 2 large vans!
Noel Simpson
Brevet Cards Production Secretary Report
see Arrivee
Publication Manager Report
Arrivée has seen some vast improvements this year: a third editor, Maggie Lewis, has joined Tim and myself, thus making the future of the publication more secure, plus, as you can see, we’ve splashed out in full colour and are, therefore, in a position to do more justice to your photos.
The Handbook is undergoing its own quiet revolution and the 2005 Events Calendar and Permanents listing will be sent to all the 2004 membership, hopefully to arrive before Christmas. All Handbook information, which is not vital to the events, will be produced as a separate publication in the New Year. This enables the Calendar to go to press earlier than previously and anticipates an AGM and Reunion in January in 2006.
We are an amateur production, for a club, and remain dependant on what the membership provides in the way of articles and pictures, so, please don’t be afraid to send your work to the editors. A big thank you to this year’s contributors and also to Quorum and the AUK Membership team who, between them, sort out the printing and distribution of our publications.
Sheila Simpson
Press Secretary Report
See Arrivee.
Graham Mills
System Manager Report
In general terms, AUK continues to provide improved services to members, without raising fees. This is partly due to the ever-improving technology at everyone's disposal, at affordable prices. Just one example - to get a colour photo from a modern digital camera to the Arrivee on your doormat is a vastly simpler and quicker process now than it was even 5 years ago, and this among other things (not to belittle all the hard work by the Editorial team) is how we find ourselves with an all-colour magazine.
As Systems Manager, I have nothing to do with this - all I have to do is sit back and watch Technological Determinism do its stuff.
But sometimes a bit of hard graft in the right place can help things along - Neville Holgate put some work into producing the nearest we'll ever get to an all-time SR list - we've never had such a thing before - and as a result we are now able, for the first time ever, to identify 1st-time SRs as and when they achieve this landmark - and a list of the "class of '04" should be available in this magazine.
Francis Cooke