Minutes for approval v2 AP

THE COUNCIL OF BRITISH - MINUTES OF AN ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL held on Saturday 23rd February 2013, at The Watermen’s Hall, St Mary-at-Hill, London EC3R 8EF at 12 noon.

PRESENT AND APOLOGIES

EXECUTIVE BOARD Mrs D.M. Ellis CBE, Chairman * Officer Present G. Harris, Deputy Chairman * Officer Present Mrs A. Phelps, Deputy Chairman * Officer Present O. Kimberley, Hon. Treasurer * Officer Present

M. Morrice* President, Apologies S. Osborne* Chairman, Welsh Rowing Apologies M.D. Williams* Chairman, Finance Committee Present M. Stallard* Chairman, Sport Committee Present A. Crawford* Deputy Chairman, Sport Committee Present P. Hill* Athlete Representative Apologies

NON-VOTING MEMBERS Ms. K. Burt* Chief Executive Officer Present C.G.V. Davidge OBE Hon. Life Vice President Apologies Dr. C. Killick Hon. Rowing Safety Adviser Apologies J.A. Veats Hon. Life Vice President Apologies M. Brandon-Bravo OBE Hon. Life Vice President Present

REGIONAL CHAIRMEN AND REPRESENTATIVES B. Hawden East Chairman Present Dr H. Hedgeland East Regional Representative Present A Johnson* East Regional Representative Present G. Nicholls East Midlands Chairman Present M. Laing North Chairman Present B. Millns North Regional Representative Apologies C. Edwards North West Chairman Present J.C. Davies North West Regional Representative Present M. Humphrys Thames Chairman Present M. Blandford-Baker* Thames Regional Representative TU-1 Present P. Knowles Thames Regional Representative TU-2 Present A.J. Evans Thames Regional Representative TU-3 Present R. West Thames Regional Representative TU-4 Present F. Ljubicic Thames Regional Representative TC-5 Present L. Dillon Thames Regional Representative TC-6 Apologies C. George Thames Regional Representative TC-7 Present M. Teale Thames Regional Representative TL-8 Present P. Clements WAGS Chairman Present C. Eales Wessex & South East Coast Chairman Present R. Mallett West Chairman Present R. Bayliss West Midlands Chairman Present C. Anton West Midlands Representative Present A. Cawood Yorkshire Chairman (Substitute – see below) Apologies

BRITISH ROWING STAFF Hazel Mosienko Finance Director Present Mrs R.E. Napp National Manager Present Sir David Tanner, CBE International Manager Present Mrs P. Randolph Minute Secretary Present Miss W. Kewley Rowing & Regatta Apologies

ALSO ATTENDED N. Walton Yorkshire Chairman Substitute

* Denotes member of Executive Board.

1. CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS Council stood to remember in silence members of the rowing community who had died since the last meeting; Acer Nethercott, Olympic Silver medallist 2008, John Bell of Bedford RC and recipient of the Diamond Jubilee Medal, Simon Porter of , Keith Green of Bridgnorth Rowing Club, Robert Bruce of Medway Towns Rowing Club, Alf Botterill of Erith Rowing Club and formerly the .

The Chairman welcomed Nick Walton attending as substitute for A. Cawood, and also the new Finance Director, Hazel Mosienko, to her first Council meeting.

Mrs Ellis congratulated Sir David Tanner on his knighthood, and the coaches and athletes who had been recognised in the New Year’s Honours. With the legacy of London 2012 in mind the Chairman said it had been very pleasing to see so many medals won by young rowers at the Youth Olympic Festival in Australia. At home there was further good news as membership figures rose to 32,000, reflecting the hard work of everyone in the sport to increase participation.

2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Noted and recorded above.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Non pecuniary Mrs. D. M. Ellis : SRA Director; BOA Board Mrs A. Phelps : BPA Trustee Mr. M.D. Williams : FISA Treasurer Pecuniary A. Crawford : UKCC Assessor G. Nicholls : UKCC Assessor G. Harris : UKCC Tutor, Assessor and Verifier

4. MINUTES The minutes of the meeting held on Saturday 24th November, 2012 were agreed to be an accurate record and signed, subject to the following amendments; Agenda Item 1: Les Evans of Furnivall Club (correction to spelling). Agenda Item 3, Declarations of Interest: A. Crawford is an Assessor and not a Tutor. Agenda Item 5, Matters Arising – para 3 Canal & River Trust (C&RT) and not River & Canal Trust (RCT) as recorded. Agenda Item 6, (Questions – para 5): correction noted as follows- It was agreed that, on behalf of Council, the Chairman should write a letter of support to the Trustees of Dorney Lake, over the matter of fibre optic cabling the droveway.

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5. MATTERS ARISING a) Optic Cabling (6.0) The Chairman confirmed that she had written to I. Lloyd, Chairman of the Dorney Lake Services Trust, on the matter of the droveway. A. Crawford said the cabling would be left in place for the in June. b) Regional Visits (6.0) The CEO had embarked on a series of visits to the Regions. She had recently spent two days in Yorkshire with further visits planned to the East, North East and North West Regions. She said it was extremely helpful to meet clubs and Regional representatives and she looked forward to extending this programme. c) Event Budgets (9.6) The Hon. Treasurer was pleased to report that all Events had now submitted their budgets and he thanked members of Council for their input. d) Membership (10.0) Additional information about the breakdown of membership would be sought from clubs when the declaration forms are sent out. Action: REN

6. CEO REPORT a) CEO’s Report Miss Burt informed Council that her priority at this time was the forging of new partnerships and the replacement of a key funding partner for the GB Rowing Team. The establishment of an endowment fund was progressing well with a view to a launch event at the World Rowing Cup in June and also at the River & Rowing Museum during . i. Strategic Plan 2013 – 2017: The plan will be submitted to UK Sport by the end of February. A copy would be forwarded to the Regional Chairmen in due course. Action: KB ii. Human Resources: The Staff Handbook and contracts had been reviewed and updated. The Finance Director has been looking at financial reporting systems and the CEO continued work on a centralised plan for external communications. iii. Indoor Rowing: A number of new products and programmes were in development, to be aligned to the Competition pathway. iv. Endowment Fund: A fund operated on a charitable basis was also being researched. O. Kimberley explained that the aims of meant the governing body could not be run as a charity. However that did not preclude specific areas, such as an Endowment Fund, applying for charitable status. b) Whole Sport Plan 2013 – 2017 Mrs Napp presented a Report to Council with an update of the current status. British Rowing was still waiting on final confirmation of the funding award before the plans could be implemented. Mrs Napp told Council that funding would be on a payment by results basis and if annual targets were not met, future funding would be cut. A number of locations had been identified as having the capability to increase participation. A map illustrated the locations of the three key strategic development areas (Birmingham, Leeds and East London) where we have a range of different stakeholders and delivery partners, where there is well-established evidence for a strong market for rowing, and where there is the potential to increase participation by 300-500 people.

Another twelve areas across the Regions have been identified as having above average potential to involve a number of delivery partners, and which can produce increases in participation of 200+. Participation programmes will be delivered through a number of different supporting programmes including education & training and ‘Generating the Habit’, a skills development programme for rowers and volunteers. Club volunteers are vital to the success of the sport and the Regions will play an important part in identifying key people for the future.

Specific delivery programmes aim to engage people and keep them in the sport. The England Talent Development Pathway programme, being developed on a collaborative basis with the GB rowing team, will be delivered through four talent coaches working in clubs, and by a new programme designed to support the development of the higher level of competition, leading to the newly programmed British Rowing Championships at its October date.

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Adaptive Rowing was to be re-branded to ‘RowAbility’ to bring Rowing in line with other water sports.

The CEO was involved in initiatives to expand Indoor Rowing and Sport England had indicated there could be further funding for IR programmes. This would allow British Rowing to expand the sport in areas with limited or no access to water.

Mrs Napp said she would welcome input from Council for a ‘Primary Service’ – the establishment of a service level agreement for Clubs and Regions. She would be exploring what would be a reasonable level of support that our clubs could expect whilst aiming to provide an excellent on-line resource in a ‘Club Handbook. This will ensure that we are able to make best use of our staff resources, to support delivery of our WSP targets. She asked Members to let her know where they most need support and to identify their priorities. Action: Regional Chairmen and Representatives

In the light of the WSP priorities there would be changes to the ways the staff operate. A number of titles were changing to bring British Rowing in line with delivery of our programmes and also to reflect the way governing bodies had to work with partners on a county basis. In addition to the core membership services team there would be three teams covering ‘Participation’, ‘Education & Training’ and ‘Insight & Product Development’.

An important aim is to provide more local and affordable training for volunteers across a wide range of subjects to sustain and improve delivery of our sport. Research and evidence gathering were increasingly important and provide insight to the viability and success of our programmes. The team at Hammersmith was completing work on a Project Management System which could eventually be available for Committees. This was a user-friendly online tool that allows useful reports to be produced in a clear and consistent fashion, and it was hoped that both staff and Committees would find this a helpful new resource.

Questions were invited: Dr Hedgeland asked whether the participation figures needed for submission to Sport England measure i) those who take up the sport at university but do not go on to become members and ii) those who move regions following the end of their studies. She would wish to see regional staff receive fair credit for their involvement with students who tend to move around and so may not end up being credited to the region that was most involved in getting them started in the sport, and also to ensure that the non-member participant figures are being used in the best way to support the case for continued funding.

C. Eales said Sport England had recently withheld funding for a project until they had evidence of how it would work with the BCU and RYA. The CEO said she had met with the BCU and RYA to look at ways to promote all three sports at Watersports Centres. B. Hawden asked if the Eastern Region would have a participation manager. Mrs Napp said there would be a named member of staff as the primary contact for each region; this person might be a participation area manager, an education & training manger, or a project officer. He asked if the new role would be split between expansion and retention. Mrs Napp said that efforts to increase participation needed to address both. B. Hawden referred to a club in his region that had hoped to receive more support from staff. Mrs. Napp said that she was aware of this particular club, which had 14 British Rowing members with 20 people on the waiting list and 2 qualified coaches. This did illustrate the fact that we needed to be sure that we were using our limited staff resources to the best effect and had to be confident that investment of time was effective. It was increasingly important to target efforts in order to secure future funding for the sport. B. Hawden asked if the Region could have a greater say in where funds were directed. Mrs Napp reiterated that there had to be robust evidence that the effort and investment would be successful. British Rowing would consult with the Regions on a regional SLA. M. Laing said he would welcome the SLA idea, and suggested there should be the flexibility to allow clubs to trade up and buy more resources. JC Davies said he was very pleased to hear of investment in courses and

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felt the targeting was open and clear. He hoped staff would be able to continue to help regions with funding opportunities. Mrs Napp said there would be the same number of people, but their roles would be more specialised.

The National Competition Committee was looking at the cost of racing licences as part of the review of the competition programme. There is a need to look at the funding formula for those who do not want to pay for a full racing licence but may wish to compete occasionally.

There was discussion about running more Coaching courses. Mrs Napp said she hoped to see a nationally organised programme of courses. It was agreed that an online booking system would be helpful, with flexible and easy access. In the past the Regions have kept the profit from running courses; in the future British Rowing would like to offer a similar system of subsidies where additional qualified coaches are required to deliver our participation targets. F. Ljubicic said that coaches were supported with subsidies in his Region but had to give back hours of coaching over the course of a year.

A.J. Evans asked when all the changes would be communicated to the sport. Mrs Napp said that she had still not received final confirmation of funding but hoped that the Regional Chairman would inform their Regions of the changes discussed today. There would be publicity in Rowing & regatta, and through the various e.newsletter communications.

Dr Hedgeland asked if British Rowing would be able to extend e.learning opportunities. She said she would be happy to assist in developing this area. Mrs Napp said this was a particularly important area for the student market. c) ‘Rio Cycle’ Sir David Tanner reported that the Rio Cycle of funding had been awarded and that once a sponsor had been secured he hoped the GB Rowing programme would continue very much as before. It was pleasing that the key coaching staff have remained with British Rowing. The season ahead promised new experiences, with the first of the World Cup series in Sydney and the World Rowing Championships in Korea. As was customary at the beginning of a new Olympiad there would be changes to the crew line-ups. Council was pleased to note that there would be Paralympic events at the World Rowing Cup at Eton. The GBRT Juniors had rowed very successfully at the Youth in Australia and returned home with three gold, four silver and three bronze medals. It was noted that there would be amendments to the Senior, U23 and Paralympic Strategies following the FISA Congress. Action: DWT The Performance Director confirmed that the GB Rowing Team would once again be very happy to support the British Rowing Championships with the popular new format in October. The work to upgrade the facility at Caversham was now complete and had been finished on budget. Thanks were recorded to M. Hayes who had been Project Manager for the works. Questions were invited: C. Anton asked about the medal targets. The Performance Director said it was wise to be cautious at this stage, particularly with a number of new rowers and adjustments in the squad. The Team would not participate in the European Championships this year. In response to a question about any plans to introduce a W4-, C. Anton was told FISA must guide nations to engage more women in rowing and meanwhile GBRT would focus on the Olympic boat classes. Selection Policy: The policy is reviewed every four years and compared to other sports British Rowing has very few appeals. Subject to minor amendments the Policy was approved.

d) Matters from Executive Board i. Appeals Procedure: The Chairman said she had spoken to athletes and proposed that in future British Rowing should take the same independent route for Selection Appeals Panels as it would be looking at for Anti-Doping Appeals. M.D. Williams had volunteered to run sessions for the athletes on the procedure. The aim was to make the process as athlete friendly as was possible.

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ii. Canal & River Trust: A paper from the Development Director had been circulated following approaches from the C&RT who plan to regularise the licensing of rowing boats using their waterways. The proposals put forward by the C&RT were complex. A number of clubs had not been paying for licences and the C&RT had made it quite clear that this could not continue. Mrs Napp said that she would endeavour to secure an interim payment based on the figures proposed (which were around 50% less than the full fee). However she was not negotiating from a position of strength because clubs who should have paid in the past have not been. British Rowing could lobby the C&RT about maintaining the waterways but it should be remembered this was a new charity, and that its funds were very limited. It was noted that canoeists have had a licence with British Waterways since 1986 and the BCU cover the cost in their individual membership fee. Any reduction on the full fee would be on the basis that a larger numbers of boats would be licensed. B. Hawden advised members to ensure that representatives of rowing clubs had a presence on their local C&RT bodies which relied heavily on the support of volunteers. C. Anton said he did not believe that clubs in his area were opposed in principle to a fee, but they did object to being taxed three times over to use the waterways. Events were also concerned that the cost of day licences would deter people from entering crews into local competitions. The view was put forward that one universal licence was the answer and that should be the main negotiating point. Mrs Napp said that a concession from the Environment Agency was that they are prepared for Regattas to use their block purchasing scheme for day tickets, and she thought some might wish to do that. G. Harris said he had recently attended the C&RT Navigational Users Forum. It had been spelled out that there was a very tight budget for the next three years although it was understood that they had to do something about maintenance and repair. They were keen to establish partnerships and to see rowers make more use of the waterways. G. Harris said he welcomed Council’s views and was happy to forward any recommendations to the NUF. iii. Job Titles: The new funding cycles had brought new job titles, bringing these into line with Sport England and UK Sport. Mrs Napp was now Development Director, Sir David Tanner, Performance Director, and the Child Protection Officer became the Lead Safeguarding Officer. Other changes were recorded in the British Rowing Almanack. iv. Safeguarding Policy: The policy had been updated and would be circulated to Council with the minutes. Action: PR v. National Water Sports Centre: M. Brandon-Bravo reported that a new contract had been drawn up with Serco and the proposed level of investment indicated a sustainable future for the NWSC. Serco has asked British Rowing to be part of a strategy group of users for the NWSC. Action: KB vi. Company Secretary: Council approved the appointment of Mrs Hazel Mosienko as Company Secretary. vii. National Facilities Panel: The membership of the National Facilities Panel was approved; A. Johnson (Chairman), M. Blandford-Baker, A. Bryant and R. Mallett.

7. FISA MATTERS a) World Rowing Cup 2013: All was on track and there was nothing further to add at this stage. b) European Extraordinary Assembly: The Assembly, held on 14th February in Copenhagen, had been attended by 27 countries. It was noted that the 2015 European Championships will be held in Poznan. c) FISA Extraordinary Congress: The substantive items are listed in the report. British Rowing was sorry to lose the vote on which means that the racing distance remains at 1000m. The vote was recorded as 86:85. The World Rowing Junior Championships will revert to one day of finals after 2013 and that was welcomed. P. Clements asked about the future of static umpiring. M.D. Williams said it was an option that could be used, and that it would be used in . The Performance Director said that the athletes were strongly in favour of static umpiring. An election for a successor for the President of FISA, Denis Oswald, would take place at the next Ordinary Congress in South Korea. Once a President-Designate was elected Mr Oswald would begin the hand-over. The Chairman said any views on a potential successor would be welcomed.

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8. FINANCIAL REPORT a) National Management Accounts (nine months ended 31.12.2013): The position was very much as reported to the last Council meeting. Membership income was once again ahead of budget, as was the income from bank interest. It was noted that Rowing & Regatta had been affected by bumper Olympic issues but was expected to recover. b) International Cashflow (nine months ended 31.12.2013): The situation had not changed significantly. There were no questions on the management accounts. b) Budgets: A summary of the consolidated budget for British Rowing had been circulated with the papers, together with four appendices. The Finance Director went through the key assumptions and the appendices. With no main sponsor the worst case scenario had been assumed for the Budget. British Rowing was also committed to underwrite a potential deficit for the World Rowing Cup. M.D. Williams said it was unusual for a budget to be proposed with such a large deficit, much of which came from the cost of hosting the World Rowing Cup at Eton. In future if no main sponsor was secured British Rowing would have to look very closely at expenditure. R.J. Bayliss asked why the British Rowing Championships was allowed to budget for a loss when other national events were not. M.D. Williams said that the BRC Committee had looked at its finances quite closely. The Junior Championships had broken even and next year the Senior Championships would be held at the NWSC which would help to keep costs down. The organisers have argued that the format makes it impossible for them to break even and keep entry fees at a reasonable level. There was discussion about the importance of attracting and retaining members. The CEO said that she was looking at the value of membership and would be reporting back on that in due course. With regard to the British Rowing Championships, she was also following up sponsorship opportunities for domestic events. Council approved the Budget for 2013 / 2014.

c) Matters Arising from the Finance Committee M.D. Williams advised Council that the Pension Scheme for staff was to be reviewed by the Finance Director in the light of new legislation.

9. REPORTS a) Sport Committee M. Stallard said Mrs Napp had presented the new Whole Sport Plan programme to the Sport Committee on 12th January and the role the Committee could play in taking forward the aims had been discussed. As a follow up to that meeting the Sport Committee was talking to its members to see how their committees would support the implementation of key initiatives such as ‘Generating the Habit’. M. Stallard had attended the first meeting of the Young Persons’ Panel who had now appointed their Chairman, Tom Townsend. With regard to a request from the British Rowing Championships regarding the inclusion of a single sculls event, the Chairman advised that due process should be followed, ie the Organising Committee should put forward any request to the Competition Committee, for consideration by the Sport Committee who could make a recommendation to Council. b) National Olympic Committee - Nil Report c) National Paralympic Committee - Nil Report

10. APPOINTMENT OF BRITISH ROWING DEPUTY CHAIRMAN/MEN In a memo to Council on 12th January, the Chairman had advised members that Article 13 in the new Constitution allowed for one or two Deputy Chairman; Mrs Ellis had put forward a proposal that one should be elected and the need for a second considered for 2014. This would not only stagger the appointments of Executive Officers but would also mean there was a year in which to agree the make up of the Executive Board in line with funding requirements. Council voted to elect one Deputy Chairman. (Majority show of hands, with one vote recorded against from C. George). Following a secret ballot G. Harris was elected as Deputy Chairman to serve a three year term,

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ending in the fourth year of the Olympiad (February 2016).

11. APPOINTMENT OF BOARD MEMBERS a) Update on appointment of Independent Directors: Before advertising for the two positions the new Chairman would carry out the annual skills audit to identify what areas of expertise would strengthen the Board.

12. REGIONAL CONSTITUTIONS The Chairman asked Regional Chairman to give Head Office due warning if they would like the office to administer elections of Regional Representatives and Chairmen.

13. AFFILIATIONS AND RESIGNATIONS New Affiliation Queen’s Gate Rowing Club (Thames Central – 7) Boat ID: QGS. The objectives of the club are to promote rowing at the School for the pupils. Approved.

14. CORRESPONDENCE There was none.

15. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Mrs Phelps thanked Mrs Ellis on behalf of everyone at Council. She said that during her twenty-four years as Chairman she had transformed the sport in every way. Mrs Ellis had attended 200 Executive meetings, as the Board had recently learnt when she had chaired her last meeting. As a small token of appreciation from Council, Mrs Phelps presented the outgoing Chairman with a voucher for a sitting with portrait photographer, Jil Orpen. It was planned that the portrait would be hung in the new meeting room at Head Office which would be named The Di Ellis Room. Mrs Ellis thanked Council, a body that she had been a member of for twenty-nine years. She said it had always given her great pleasure to visit the Regions and Clubs and she wished to thank everyone who had made her so welcome across the country. She wished rowing all success for the future and assured Council that she would remain involved in the sport.

16. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting of Council takes place on Tuesday 11th June, 2013 at the later time of 1.00 pm.

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