Present: - Doug Alsop STARC (Chair); Jan Sargent NRR (Treasurer);

CAC Angela Burrows, Rachael Thomas, Dave Angilley; HR Andy Moore

Moorhaven Dave & Ruth Hatch; CR Barrie & Denise Cardew

TT; John Smith, Helen Roper, Diane Sweet,  STARC Paul Bullock

LRR Peter Thorp, Kevin Marshall, Martin & Ann Venning Tri L Ceri Harvey

NRR Kevin Burnett, Graham & Lesley Dobson. FRR; Jan Watson,

MBH Ian Mathews, Yvonne Turner, LP Gary Bennet, John Bowden

TRC Diane Boardman, Nick Jeans. BWRC Amanda Dymond, Hazel Maclaren ECH Revis Crowle, Amanda Erith

 

Apologies: - ECH Ian Ringer (Min Sec. & CLO); KR Dave Gordon FRR  Caroline Hemsworth LRR Stephen Hutchinson TRC & DAN Rob Cockings CAC Alan Rowling, Neville Witham.

 

Minutes of the last AGM:  Sept 20th 2010 were agreed

Proposed by Jan Sargent, Seconded by Dave Hatch.

 

Matters Arising: There were no matters arising

 

Agenda Items to be voted on

 

Motion 1 To adopt the proposed weighted voting system as attached at appendix 1.

 

CAC had proposed two amendments to this motion but withdrew amendment 2 before the debate took place.

 

It was explained that as this was a change in the method of voting the votes for this motion and amendment will be counted on the existing voting system. The method of subsequent voting will depend upon the outcome of motion 1.

 

The initial Motion 1 to adopt a weighted voting system was passed by 36 votes to 8.

 

Amendment 1 was then debated and CAC explained that the original voting system with the highest club vote of 6 against the lowest vote of 2, gave a 3:1 ratio. By comparison Motion 1 has a ratio of 8:1. CACs amendment to give all clubs below 8% 2 votes would reduce this ratio to 4:1.

 

The vote on the amendment 1 was taken and was a dead heat with 22 votes in favour and 22 against. There being no direction in the rules or the constitution as to what action to take in the event of a tie, the Chairman made the decision that as this was an amendment to the previous motion and it had not gained a majority then the amendment was not passed.


Motion 2 To increase the ladies scoring team from 4 to 6 (3 to 4 in marathons to be in line with the men).

 

CAC had proposed an amendment to this motion for the ratio of the men’s and women’s teams to track the ratio of men and women in the GP currently 60/40, hence to move to 6/5 when the ratio hits 55/45 and 6/6 when 50/50.

 

A debate was then held on the motion and amendment 1.Points in favour of the adoption of 6 in a team were that it would encourage runners who fill positions 4, 5 & 6 of a team as they would normally be outside of the other awards. Clubs should encourage their runners to participate by underlining their value to the team. Points against the motion were that for the smaller clubs it is difficult for them always to get a team of 4 let alone 6 ladies to compete and rather than being a measure of quality it could become a measure of quantity. This could lead to a situation where good runners are disillusioned if they regularly cannot field a team.

A similar debate had taken place when the men’s team was raised from 4 to 6 but in retrospect it has not proved problematical.

 

The vote was taken on Motion 2 and it was carried by 29 votes to 26.

With motion 2 being carried then amendment 1 was no longer relevant.

 

Motion 3 To alter GP team calculations to take account of all races in the series rather than just the best of 8 scores.

 

This was debated and it was explained that the logic has always followed that of the individual GP, but there is difference between an individual being able to complete 8 races and a club being able to field a team in 8 races. Points in favour were that it could make the GP less predictable whereas currently a team that has 800 points has won the GP and this can happen after only 8 races rendering the remaining 7 races less interesting. Points against were that it could again lead to quantity over quality and the winners could be a club that could field teams in all events rather than win all events. Andy Moore HR suggested considering that we had already made one major change to team calculations this motion was a step too far. Doug Alsop said that it would be his preferred option to trial a major change like this off-line during the GP next year to see how it works.

 

As a result of this discussion the vote was taken and Motion 3 was rejected by unanimous vote on the proviso that different methods of team calculations are trialled off-line for review at the next AGM.

 

Motion 4 To amend rule 1e “To raise the number of competitors that a GP race must provide for from 300 to 400”

 

During this debate it was queried whether this should also apply to Marathons as the Cornish in its HQ at Pensilva might struggle to meet the criteria. It was agreed that the situation regarding marathons had not been properly considered so an amendment to the motion to leave the minimum at 300 for marathons was proposed by John Smith TT seconded by Revis Crowle ECH

A vote was taken on Motion 4 with the amendment and passed unanimously.

 

Motion 5 To create a Multi terrain GP to run in parallel with the existing GP

 

The document “Considerations for the creation of a Multi Terrain GP was discussed and it was pointed out that in addition to the last issue both the 5 Tors and Bocconoc have re-considered their position and have now expressed an interest in taking part.

A concern was raised over the use of the Term “Grand Prix” or “GP” as our existing GP is well known by that title and it was felt that some other term should be found for this “Off Road” series so as to avoid confusion and to protect the image of the existing GP. It was agreed that the actual name of the series will be determined once the inaugural meetings take place but the term Grand Prix or GP should be avoided. It was acknowledged that some existing races in the GP are categorised as multi terrain due to the amount of non sealed surface on the route. Nick Jeans provided a sensible definition between these and other multi terrain races. A multi terrain race in the GP should have a course where irrespective of the surface it should be possible to overtake another runner at any point of the course.

 

A vote was taken on Motion 5 and passed unanimously.

 

Motion 6 To adopt a definition of the GP structure to be filled with suitable races.

 

Considerable debate took place on how we can control the structure of the GP and it was generally agreed that it should be managed by design rather by default. There was a consensus that the structure having three half Marathons was good but there was a reluctance to agree on a definitive structure as it was considered to be too prescriptive. There was no agreement on how we should vet the application from a new race to enter the GP. There was agreement that races need to be trialled before being accepted and although this rule had not been enforced for the last three additions (Marazion, Treggy 7 and Trevornick) it should be enforced in future. This also applies to races already in the GP that wish to or need to significantly change their distance or course. Each of these circumstances should be reviewed by the GP committee to agree if they should remain in the GP before having a trial run under the new circumstances. The Trevornick race falls into this category as it wishes to avoid the beach and issues with tide times to change from a 10 mile to a 10k to. Paul Wright Race Director was not present and the Chairman agreed to take this up with him.

 

With there being no agreement on a motion on which to vote this item was held in abeyance until the next meeting when discussions have taken place on Trevornick.


Treasurers Report

 

Jan tabled a statement of accounts for the year to date which showed that we were £3,885.88 in credit which is in line with the budget. The budget was quickly reviewed and the quantity of runners who are likely to complete the GP is again in line with budget but the purchase of the Trophies for the presentation will eat up all the working capital leaving us only just in credit going forwards into next year.

 

Formal Agreement of Levy

 

It was proposed that the levy for a GP race remains at £0.60 but the levy for a non GP race increases from £0.10 to £0.20

 

Proposed by Nick Jeans Seconded by Ruth Hatch.

 

Formal Agreement of Races for 2012

 

The races currently in the 2011 GP were accepted  for 2012 with the exception of Trevornick which may change to a 10k and move to the multi terrain series.

 

Election of Officers

 

The existing officers were all prepared to stand for another year and there were no other applicants hence the existing officers were proposed and seconded en-block

 

Chairman Doug Alsop

Treasurer Jan Sargent

Secretary Ian Ringer

 

Proposed Graham Dobson Seconded Dave Hatch

 

That concluded the business of the AGM