British Canoeing Marathon Racing Committee

Minutes of the Annual Consultative Meeting held on 29th July 2017 Home Farm, Pangbourne.

1. Present at the meeting were:

Elena Golder (Seren Dwr) Paul Postill (Truro)* Dan Golder (Seren Dwr)* Holly Noonan (Leighton Alice Murphy (Banbury) Buzzard) Graham Warland (Banbury)* Paul Stenning (Leighton Norman Mason (Nottingham)* Buzzard)* Alan Laws (Lincoln) Sam Simpson (Longridge) Christine Laws (Lincoln) Andrew Daniels (Longridge) David Green (Exeter) Tom Daniels (Longridge) Molly Green (Exeter) Mike Taylor (Longridge)* Richard Ward Teresa Gregory (Longridge) Andy Coomes (Poole Harbour)* Kat Wilson (Reading)* Jose Guerra (Poole Harbour) Evan Shephard (Reading) Matthew Lodge (Norwich) Chris Blacker (Southampton)* Arthur Urquhart (Banbury) Jim Taylor-Ross (Exeter)* Siobhan Urquhart (Banbury) Ollie Harding (Longridge) Janet Gillespie (Pangbourne) Tim Scott (Norwich) Lynn Francis (Pangbourne) Dyson Pendle (Norwich) Dave Martyn (Wey) Ali Pendle (Norwich)* Paul Thompson (Wey)* Jo Bates (Falcon)* Vicky Metcalfe (Pangbourne)* Mick Nadal (Nottingham) Kevin Dennis (Pangbourne) Stan Missen (Bradford-on-Avon, Ian Kershaw (Gloucester)* Chair)* Rob Guest (Lincoln)* David Enoch (Nottingham) Dan Seaford (Reading) James Smythe (Bishops Stortford, Mark Wilkes (Chelmsford)* Secretary)* Pete Wilkes (Chelmsford) Bryn Price (Maidstone)* Deborah Wilkes (Chelmsford) Brian Chapman (Kirkaldy) David Joy (British Canoeing) Margaret Chapman (Kirkaldy)* Cassie Byers (Truro) *Voting representatives of each club are indicated with an asterisk

Apologies for absence were received from Roland Lawler (Elmbridge), Alice Clarkson (Cambridge), and Jim Rossiter (Wey)

2. Approval of minutes The minutes of the 2016 Annual Consultative Meeting were approved and signed by the Chairman.

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1. Matters Arising Matters arising had all been addressed or were scheduled to be covered in the 2017 agenda.

3. Report from the Chair, Stan Missen The Chairman, Stan Missen delivered a verbal summary of the past season.

The Committee has been working hard to improve marathon and we welcome any comments good or bad on what we are doing. The past year for the MRC has been a busy one, assimilating changes and new governance requirements from British Canoeing; these are taking time but overall the MRC are very encouraged. Statistics compiled for the strategic plan exercise have shown that race participation has been growing at a healthy pace.

International performances at the World Cup and European Championships were excellent, with five European medals. Stan acknowledged the problems the MRC is having with international travel logistics for the GB team, especially in light of the 2017 World Championships being in South Africa, as well as the request for greater clarity on international selection policy by many athletes. These are to be addressed as a priority by the MRC in the coming off-season period for improvement by 2018.

4. Election of Committee Posts a. The MRC elects committee places on a rolling basis, for a period of two years, with the election of the Chair taking place annually. Six ordinary committee places, plus the Chair were therefore up for election. With only six candidates for the ordinary committee places having put themselves forward, the Secretary proposed a voting process; whereby any candidate gaining at least 50% of the votes of clubs present would be elected to the MRC for the forthcoming two-year period. This proposal was adopted by show of hands, and nominated club representatives from 18 clubs voted. b. As a result of this vote, Stan Missen was re-elected as Chair of the MRC for the forthcoming year. c. Alice Clarkson (Cambridge), Andy Daniels (Longridge), David Enoch (Nottingham), Graham Warland (Banbury), Keith Moule (Chelmsford) and Dyson Pendle (Norwich) were all elected as members of the committee for the forthcoming two years.

d. The MRC would like to record its thanks to Ollie Harding (Longridge), who retired from the MRC prior to this election.

5. Governance a. The Chair explained the MRC’s process in creating a strategic plan for the next four years, and how this ties in with BC’s new overall planning process. The headlines of the MRC’s draft plan were submitted to the meeting for discussion, and the Chair proposed that any clubs who wished to make comments after the meeting could do so in writing to the Secretary by the end of September. b. A question was raised about the plan to evolve the competition structure for under 12s; this was dealt with in item 9a below. c. The lack of a specific growth target for participation was raised by Wey KC. James Smythe, the plan’s author, explained the difficulty in forecasting growth in participation, when it is the success of clubs rather than the MRC which drives new people into racing generally. With a very full calendar there is little scope for more races, and much of the recent growth appears to have come from paddlers doing more races each, rather than more paddlers. The MRC can work within its remit to continue to grow the number of people racing, but is hesitant to set a hard target as a measure of success. d. The Chair emphasized the MRC’s commitment to good governance in the draft plan. Guidelines from BC are still being issued, and the MRC will adhere to them as far as possible to ensure the good governance of the discipline, while meeting the needs of our stakeholder clubs.

6. Finance a. David Enoch (MRC Treasurer) presented the committee’s income and expenditure for the previous financial year to October 2016, as well as projections for the current year. These are summarized in the attached report. b. The budget item on Committee Members’ expenses was queried by Longridge CC, as none were claimed in 2015-16. David Enoch explained that Committee Members were able to claim expenses under BC rules and rates, and were not discouraged from doing so, but chose not to. It was pointed out that this should not be seen as

an expectation on new committee members who are free to claim expenses. c. David Enoch outlined the proposal to raise the Racing Levy. At current levels of race participation, an increase would bring in enough extra income, to allow the MRC to maintain current expenditure on the discipline with a balanced budget. Such a position is expected by BC, and would permit the MRC to hold reserves equal to around a year’s operating costs.

Two broad proposals were discussed, either £2.50 for all entries, or £3 adults/£2 juniors. The Racing Levy is currently £2 for all. The latter proposal received more support as junior entries had only recently seen an increase.

Truro CC raised a question about sponsorship opportunities for Marathon. David Enoch replied that such income would be welcomed but that balancing the books with sustainable income was the priority.

Dyson Pendle pointed out the contribution by athletes to international events, which varied depending on the duration and distance of the event. Longridge CC asked if the athlete contribution could ever fall to zero; Stan Missen replied that several models were under consideration, but that the MRC’s aim is that an athlete’s ability to pay should never be a barrier to GB team selection. This principle is one reason why we do not allow self-funded entries for places not taken up by the GB team at major international events.

Responses from other clubs indicated that many face costs when organizing an event, so would struggle to break even if a greater proportion of income had to be paid in a levy. David Enoch replied that the previous levy increase had no impact on race entry numbers which had continued to rise, but the same could not necessarily be expected if we raised the levy substantially; in any case there was no planned expenditure that required it. Clubs are not expected to cover increased levies themselves and should increase entry fees to cover them.

Wey KC asked if an increase in race participation driven by the strategic plan could grow income via the levy. James Smythe replied that although this would be a result of increased participation, the expectation of raising more income through increased race numbers was limited by the points raise in item 6c

above.

Finally, a question was asked as to why BC had not increased its grant to the discipline for more than 20 years. Replying on behalf of BC, David Joy said that BC would like to raise more money for non-Olympic disciplines, but some of this is outside BC’s control due to central Government grants and their stipulations. Raising more money which the sport is free to spend as it wishes is dependent on growing participation and BC membership, which are central parts of BC’s overall strategic plan.

7. Safeguarding a. Stan Missen emphasised the MRC’s commitment to best practice in safeguarding. Several new measures are already in place following guidance from BC, including all MRC volunteers and committee members undertaking safeguarding courses, portable DBS certification for all those with exposure via the MRC to young people, and guidelines for international team managers being updated. BC are appointing a new Safeguarding Officer, and the MRC will be re-appointing their own member responsible for safeguarding at the November meeting, following the retirement from the Committee of Ollie Harding.

8. Domestic racing. a. Mick Nadal outlined discussions taking place in conjunction with the SRC, to evolve the rules for U12s racing. The Lightning scheme was originally intended as a stepping stone towards racing, and the craft designed with Centres in mind, rather than racing clubs. A consultation has been ongoing to gauge racing clubs’ feelings about Lightnings and a potential change.

The pros were felt to be that Lightnings are robust boats requiring little maintenance, that they levelled the playing field for young racers, and that the numbers racing them are healthy.

The cons are the weight of the boats, and the differences to a racing K1 which delay the progression of racing kayak skills including technique. There is also a sudden break between an age and gender based system up to 12 years, and an open ability based system thereafter, which can be daunting for young paddlers who have not gained proper racking kayak skills when they move

across.

Given the attachment of many clubs to U12 competition, it is important to find a halfway house that allows the sport to progress while keeping the benefits gained.

The key points from this discussion were:- - To fine-tune what should constitute a promotion up from Lightnings to a “Division 10” type class, as low numbers mean children in some regions reach this point at a lower ability level than in more competitive regions. - Take care not to empty the Lightnings class. A good coach recognizes the difference between teaching racecraft and technique in an appropriate racing boat, and the benefits of a level race playing field in Lightnings. To empty the Lightning classes of the faster paddlers could demotivate U12s. - There should be an incentive for clubs and U12 paddlers to progress from Lightnings when their ability merits it. - There should be no effect on the rules for the Nationals or Hasler Final, and the Geoff Sanders Trophy. b. A proposal was made by the Rankings Officer, Roland Lawler to devolve nominations for promotion and demotion as far as possible to team leaders. P&Ds could be removed altogether from the system, or notified as advisory only with a final decision to be made by the club.

There was considerable discomfort about this proposal for a number of reasons:- - Outcomes in the Hasler Series and Final are very likely to be affected. - Coaches may have different opinions on what is the right experience for the paddler – e.g. having an easy win or a tough, mid-race experience. - Such a move would put pressure on the parent/coach relationship as the sensitive area of “status” would no longer be decided by a third party. - Paddlers value a promotion partly because it comes from “on high”, not from their club coach. - Independent paddlers, and many smaller clubs may not have a coach with sufficient experience to make such a decision.

The recommendations from the meeting were that the MRC should not change a K1/C1 system which works for the most part, but

should address the problem of people being over-promoted based on K2 results. It should also be made clearer to paddlers that P&Ds can easily be challenged by emailing their Regional Hasler Adviser, who can advise the Rankings Officer on a decision.

9. International a. Chelmsford CC asked the meeting to review the MRC’s recent decision to require the wearing of club vests in assessment races, and to sanction non-compliance. There was considerable support for the MRC’s decision from the floor, given that paddlers should represent their clubs domestically with pride, and such a rule also exists for internationals.

The MRC agreed to consider how Independents may be treated under this rule.

10.Coaching & Development a. Richard Ward and Jim Taylor Ross, MRC co-opted members helping to design the new BC Race Coach qualifications, gave an update on progress. BC are delivering on their promise to introduce discipline-specific qualifications at an equivalent level to Level 2 and 3 coaching awards, and direct entry at Race Coach level for experienced race paddlers and club coaches.

The Race Coach qualification will include a generic two-day course on Coaching, with content decided by UKCC. In addition there will be a 2 day course specific to racing, and a course outline has been agreed.

For this to be a success for racing canoe clubs, it is up to us to implement it and provide both support and a workforce to deliver the racing specific module. BC have opened up an application process for clubs wishing to be course providers. Clubs should identify the best individuals to make applications, and where these people or clubs may not meet all the usual BC pre-requisites, the MRC/SRC are able to make dispensations for appropriate cases.

Between 10 and 12 course providers nationwide is felt to be an ideal start point, with each course provider delivering two to three courses a year in their region.

At the time of writing, the MRC understands that this scheme relates to England and not the UK as a whole. 11. Major Championships a. Stan Missen gave a brief summary of major event planning for the year ahead. Plans for the 2017 Hasler Final at Richmond are going well, and the event is being marketed by British Canoeing under their “Super September” initiative. The 2018 final will be hosted by Norwich CC. An offer from Reading CC to host the 2018 National Championships has been received and is under discussion.

Clubs are encouraged to look into organizing major events, possibly in conjunction with other clubs, and if necessary to look beyond their usual stretch of water, as the numbers of participants at these events necessitates a larger body of water. The MRC will support host clubs and is compiling a best practice guide for major event organization. While the commitment is substantial it can bring good financial return for the host club as well as motivation!

12.Any other business a. The creation of an Open Canoe national championship event has led to the largest ever field in a C1 race at the Nationals. The MRC are asked to consider creating an Open Women’s C1 race also.

b. With many clubs close to the edges of their regions, while being a long way from other clubs in the region, the question was asked whether clubs could be able to score Hasler points in races outside their region.

c. A question was asked about why Masters racing in ICF/ECA international masters races are unable to buy GB kit, in the same way that other nations allow their masters to. The MRC has only ever sourced and purchased kit for selected, representative GB teams and Masters racing abroad are not subjected to an assessment process. Nevertheless, the ICF requires GB racing kit for British masters.

d. The Chairman Stan Missen proposed a round of applause for Pangbourne CC for having organized another excellent National

Championships.

e. An event photographer requested that start lists published before the start of major events also include corresponding race numbers, to facilitate the identification of paddlers.

f. The MRC will discuss these questions and any other matters arising from the minutes at their all-day meeting of 18th November.

The Meeting ended 7.30pm with the Chairman thanking all those who attended.