Just a Sec

I am writing this on the 17 May which, for Scotland, England and Wales, marks another milestone on the road back to normality. This has been a difficult period for everyone involved with AUK and it will remain so as we grapple with the constantly changing environment and as, in particular, organisers try to plan ahead. Events are likely to be a bit different for a while yet so please continue to support our organisers and volunteers in complying with the necessary restrictions they have in place.

AGM

Our AGM was another event with a difference this year. It is normally held on the second Saturday in February but was delayed this year in a forlorn attempt to hold a physical meeting. It was eventually held on the 15 May via Zoom. This was entirely new ground for us but the meeting did seem to proceed well and we even had a few more attendees than usual. Those attending were able to participate in the debates about the resolutions put to the meeting and question the Board on a number of points. Overall, online voting was significantly lower this year (approximately a third) which may reflect the fact the resolutions were not controversial or some disengagement from the continuing lockdown. When we discussed the format of future AGMs there was some interest either in continuing with a virtual meeting or, possibly, some hybrid of a physical and virtual meeting. Those present from further afield (including Japan!) were glad of the opportunity to be able to attend without travelling. The minutes of the meeting are available on the website. Having been co-opted to the board during the year, Dan Smith was confirmed as our Events Services Director. Meanwhile, Chris Crossland was re-elected as Chair, John Ward as Permanent Events Secretary and Caroline Fenton as membership secretary. It was all change with our Non-Executive Directors. John Sabine, who had served since the post was created, was finally able to stand down. As did Martin Stefan who is currently living in New Zealand. The Chair thanked them both for their services to AUK. Lucy McTaggart and Andy Yates were duly elected as our new Non-Executive Directors.

BOARD MEETING

Our latest board meeting took place on the 14 April. One of our more pleasurable tasks each year is to consider the nominations for the various awards. Details will be published separately but we had some particularly strong candidates this year, particularly when you consider the absence of any points competitions. We also considered AUK strategy document but, once again, took the view that it was impossible to conduct a proper review of future strategy while in the grip of a pandemic. We were joined at the meeting by our IT Manager, Kevin Lake. Kevin reported that some initial work was being done in-house on Phase III of the IT Refresh Project. This work was around how our payments systems work and some initial scoping of the requirements for DIY entries. We also discussed the ebrevet app as developed for us by our web content manager and our membership secretary. This was now available on Android and Apple but work was ongoing to ensure it was a stable system on both. We noted the requirement for brevet cards on BRM events and our ACP Representative agreed to approach ACP to ascertain their views. We also agreed that it would not be appropriate to force riders to use ebrevets as not everyone would have the technology or the desire to abandon route sheets and cards. With ebrevets it is very much a case of watch this space. As ever, you can look at the board minutes and board reports in the Official section on 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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ISSUE 153 – AUTUMN 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 July 2021

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