Just a Sec

It is now almost exactly a year since the Board took the unprecedented step of suspending all AUK activities. I do not think any of us expected then that we would be taking the same decision again at the start of 2021. As the nations of the UK announce their plans to release lockdown, it is looking increasingly likely that we will be able to resume our own activities sooner rather than later and I am sure that day cannot come soon enough for our members.

For my part, I will spend a significant amount of time over the coming days and weeks scrutinising the guidance and legislation coming from the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations in order that I can advise the Board in its decision-making. We are fortunate that we have already gone through the hoops for the formal return to organised outdoor sport in every part of the UK so we will be in step with other national governing bodies as we move forward. We have taken a slightly different position on permanent events which we are not treating as organised sport; meaning we can be slightly more flexible but also that we are on our own when it comes to interpreting the guidance. Even the very largest funded NGBs have struggled at times to keep up with changes so please bear with us as we try to resume as quickly as the guidance allows.

Spare a thought too for our organisers as they try to plan ahead in uncertain times. I am sure they will do their best to put on your favourite events wherever possible but they will need your patience and forbearance as they do so.

AGM

The formal notice of our AGM is set out below. This year’s AGM will be different from recent years and the meeting itself will be at least partly virtual. Further details will follow as soon as we know the most likely format.

You will see there are a number of director elections taking place. I am hopeful that most of our outgoing executive directors can be persuaded to serve another term but there are two vacancies for non-executive directors and it would be heartening to see contested elections for these posts.

BOARD MEETING

Our latest board meeting took place on the 13th of January.

We discussed the ongoing suspension of AUK events in some detail with a particular focus on the practicalities of resuming events as the lockdowns were eased across the country. Our Calendar Events Secretary, Ian Hennessey, is already working hard with his regional delegates to ensure that organisers are supported in their planning and decisionmaking. Meanwhile Permanent Events Secretary, John Ward, is preparing himself for the Herculean task of manually opening permanent events as they become available to ride.

John reported that, despite the lockdowns, there had been circa 6000 permanent validations during the latest season compared to 6600 the previous season.

Membership Secretary, Caroline Fenton, also reported that she had been pleased with the membership renewal process on the new website.

AUK’s IT Manager, Kevin Lake, joined the meeting to report on progress with the IT Refresh Project. He and his team had largely been concentrating on improvements to Phase II before proceeding with the planning for Phase III. They were looking at implementing the Stripe payment system as a replacement for Paypal on a gradual basis.

As usual, you can find the minutes of the meeting and copies of the directors’ reports in the official section of the website.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS

Arrivée magazine is very happy to receive submissions from readers. In fact, your contributions represent almost the entire content. Arrivée is written by members, for members and about members. We do, however, reserve the right to edit, amend or abridge submitted copy. By submitting copy, contributors are understood to consent to this policy.

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We will always endeavour to publish your story but it might be in a later issue as we are currently limited to 64 pages.

ISSUE 152 – SUMMER 2021 EDITION

Send your stories to gedlennox@me.com There is no copy deadline for stories as most will be published, but not necessarily immediately unless they are time-imperative. COPY DEADLINE FOR ADVERTISERS: 26 April 2021

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