National Council 2008
Saturday 15 Nov 2008
Links: Download Page - Annual Reports | New Chief Executive for British Cycling
British Cycling's 2008 National Council meeting opened with the organisation's president, Brian Cookson, welcoming 81 voting delegates and then inviting them to observe a few moments silence to remember members who had passed away in the past 12 months. These included former senior vice patron Chas Messenger, as well as younger members such as Jason McIntyre.
Opening his introduction, Brian said: "This has been a fantastic year and we have lots of great things to talk about today." He added that there would be a new structure for National Council , with time for workshop sessions in the afternoon, giving everyone present the chance to discuss and feed back on British Cycling's key issues and plans for 2009 onwards.
Brian then passed on apologies from past presidents Ian Emmerson, Tony Doyle and Eileen Gray, before introducing a video to set the tone for the rest of the day: it showed great Olympic moments from history, culminating in clips of GB cycling team's preparation and success at Beijing 2008.
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Presentations
A series of interesting and revealing presentations were then given by chief executive Peter King, deputy chief executive Ian Drake and performance director Dave Brailsford.
Peter King:
Peter gave an account of his past 12 years as chief executive of British Cycling before announcing that he is to stand down at the end of the year. Current deputy chief executive Ian Drake will take over as chief executive and Peter will continue to work for British Cycling as executive director.
"The figures speak for themselves both in terms of medals and growth," said Peter. "Success has not been a flash in the pan. All of you in this room have been key players, your input has been crucial and it is right for you all to take pride in all our successes. I thank all of you and the regions you represent for the contribution you have made and continue to make."
He added: "I am also grateful to the talented and hard working board and to the senior management team, including Ian Drake, who has taken responsibility for all of our strategic planning during the current funding cycle"
Peter concluded in a heartfelt manner.
"In the Annual report I likened my role here to that of a harbour pilot. I came on board in late 1996 when the engines had failed, the cargo had shifted, the fuel had run out, many of the passengers had jumped ship and we were almost on the rocks. Somehow we managed to make it safely into port and after a complete re-fit, with new engines, full fuel tanks, more crew members, more passengers and more cargo we set sail again. The good ship British Cycling has left the port and you are all on board the fastest ship on the ocean. The ship is back on course, the crew know where they are going, and have the resources to get there as well as the confidence to ensure that they do. So, to complete the analogy, it's time for the pilot to leave the bridge.
When I wrote my survival plan for the BCF in 1997 for presentation to the Sports Council I started with my own personal mission statement. It was to be able to hand over, to the right person and at the right time, the best run Governing Body in British sport. In my assessment we ARE now the best run Governing Body in British sport and the time is right to hand over the helm."
Ian Drake, left, and Peter King
Delegates then treated Peter to sustained and enthusiastic applause. Brian Cookson then said: "I thank Peter for the superb job he's done over the past 12 years. He's been pivotal in transforming British Cycling and I am particularly pleased to add that his expertise won't be lost. I will be proposing to the Board that he is co-opted to the board as an executive director "
Brian went on to say: "In Ian I am convinced we have found a worthy successor. He has a fantastic track record"
Ian Drake
Ian then took to the floor, saying: "I'm delighted and proud to step up into the role of chief executive."
"This is a unique moment in time for cycling, given the success in Beijing and the growth of the sport."He outlined how British Cycling's 2005 to 2009 plan has begun the process of getting more people involved in cycling as well as continuing the unprecedented elite success. "We can't win medals without the underpinning grass roots activity and by working together we can transform the sport in the run up to 2012 and beyond.'
Ian then provided an update on British Cycling's current UK Wide One Stop Plan, with increased participation across all disciplines, over 150 Go-Ride clubs working with young people and 28% growth in young people in those clubs.
He added that there is a need for more facilities as well as continuing to work to secure the long-term future of events on the highway. British Cycling has developed 14 traffic-free facilities over the past 4 years through the Community Club Development Fund. Around these projects, under-16 participation is up 83% compared to the overall Governing Body average of 23%- proving the impact and the need for more traffic-free cycle sport facilities.
Ian stated that the current plan has proved that British Cycling can provide a good return on funding investment. "The vision has remained the same," he said. "This was never a four year journey - it's about making cycling one of the biggest sports in the UK."
He then outlined how the political and funding landscape has changed in the past 12 months, and how British Cycling has adapted its plans to lobby for additional funding through to 2013 from UK Sport, Sport England and government departments.
He outlined the areas in which British Cycling has to deliver against to secure funding from Sport England - and which formed the basis of the afternoon's workshops. These are:- Children and Young People - contributing to the 5 hour offer of sport for Young People
- Excel - improved talent development systems
- Sustain - increase in the satisfaction of the sporting experience.
- Grow - get one million more people doing sport.Ian went on to show how the involvement from major sponsor Sky has supported the funding application to Sport England. "This is the strongest commercial partnership of any national governing body," he said.
Dave Brailsford:
After a short break performance director Dave Brailsford took to the floor to thank the room for the support of the regions for the work they've done. He also thanked Peter for the work he's done over the past 12 years.
He then gave an insight into how his department works, its structure and how it plans to progress. He explained how there is a focus on the relationship between coaches and riders and there is now a plan to give coaches "room to grow" so that they can develop to their full.
He used the example of the team pursuit race to show how his department works. "We came up with this idea to ride a 3.55 in the semi final in Beijing. This was decided 3.5 years out from Beijing."
"We don't set medal targets in our day-to-day lives we talk about target times and processes. We know how much power you need to generate to do a 3.55"
Dave went on to outline some of the analytical tools used to help produce the best possible times, including some of the work done in the wind tunnel at Southampton University as well as some of the tools borrowed from Formula 1 racing that have been adopted. He also explained some of the challenges of training for the Beijing track and road in Manchester and matching training as close to the reality of racing in the Olympics.
Looking forward to 2012 he said: "We have some ideas: there's no reason why we can't perform better or as well as we did in Beijing". Dave then finished off by showing a video of some of the great results from the 2008 Olympics.
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Annual Report
Brian Cookson then went through questions and answers relating to the annual report, which had been submitted in advance. The Annual Report was then unanimously accepted.
Elections
Brian Cookson was then elected to stand for another year as president and was warmly welcomed and received by National Council.
Other elections were as follows:
VICE-PATRONS (to serve for one year)
W Squance
C Boardman MBE
EXECUTIVE BOARD (to serve for 3 years)
Bob Howden, Yorkshire Region
Vic Hopkin, Eastern Region
Colin Docker, Central Region - rejoins the board
APPEALS BOARD (to serve for one year)
Don Povall, North West Region
Peter Sutton, Yorkshire Region
Martin Bridgwood, West Midlands Region
John Crawford, West Midlands Region
Richard Kennedy, East Midlands Region
Tom Morley, Eastern Region
Rod Scott, Eastern Region
Tim Knight, South Region
Jock Shaw, SCU
A number of useful suggestions and debates were then had to ensure the continued and improved success of British Cycling. These included possible ways for the board to be remunerated for the work they do for British Cycling; a comprehensive rewriting of the British Cycling handbook; and for ways in which British Cycling headquarters can work more closely with the regions.
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Fees for 2009
Proposed membership fees from 1 January 2009 were then agreed, with small increases in line with inflation:
Affiliation Fees
1. Affiliated Clubs at the rate of £88.00 per club, 10% of which shall be returned to the Club's region. For renewals from existing clubs received prior to 31st December a discount of £25 will apply.
2. Commercially named Clubs, Teams or individually sponsored riders at the rate of £175.00 per club or team, 10% of which shall be returned to the region of the Club or Team. For renewals received prior to 31st December a discount of £50 will apply.
3. Affiliated Associations at the rate of £88.00 per association, 10% of which shall be returned to the Association's region. For renewals received prior to 31st December a discount of ?25 will apply.
4. Affiliated School Clubs at the rate of £10.00 per club (£35.00 if third party liability insurance cover is to be included).
Sponsorship Fees
The fee for the registration of sponsors shall be £62.00 for each of the first four registered sponsorship agreements, 10% of which will be refunded to the club/team's region. Additional registrations are without charge. The registration fee paid by a commercially named club shall include the registration of that main sponsor.
Membership Subscriptions
Bronze Individual (Senior & Junior only) £13.50
Everyday Cycling Individual (Senior only) £24.00
Silver Individual
Senior £36.00
Junior £24.00
Youth £13.50
U12 £8.00
Silver Family £82.00
Gold Individual
Senior £64.00
Junior £46.00
Youth £34.00
U12 £28.00
Gold Family £138.00
Life Membership *
Under 65 yrs £768.00
* - available to those having ten years consecutive membership. All Gold membership benefits apply except for Personal Accident insurance which is limited to members aged 75yrs and under.
Full Racing Licence Fees
Senior Categories £32.00
Juniors £13.00
Youth Free
Under 12's Free
Members of a UCI Registered Trade Team £74
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Special Awards
National Council concluded with the announcement that Gold Badge of Honour to had been awarded John Barclay, with board member Barry Broadbent commenting: "This is of great pleasure to me personally. He has been instrumental in the development of many of our riders but until now has been largely unrecognised."
The Sunday Mirror Trophy, which is awarded to the region with the highest growth in membership was awarded to the South East region, with John Hawkrdige accepting the trophy on their behalf.
John and Doreen Mallinson were then awarded the David Saunders Memorial Trophy for their services to cycling.
National Council ended before lunch with the majority of delegates staying for the afternoon workshops on topics surrounding the future for British Cycling based around its funding structure from Sport England.
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Workshops
Four workshops were delivered to delegates to get their valuable input and feedback against the proposed interventions aligned to Sport England's desired outcomes for 2009-2013. The proposed interventions will require a significant increase on current funding levels and there is already significant pressure on the budget available for National Governing Bodies.
Outcome 1 - Grow
About 15% of Sport England's investment will focus on increasing regular sports participation by 1 million more adults.
o Aligned to this outcome British Cycling have proposed to expand the existing Everyday Cycling programme by deploying 10 full-time Activators to create a new network of organised activities and opportunities to participate e.g. led rides and coaching sessions to bridge the gap between informal activities and organised events and club activities for adults (16+)
Outcome 2 - Sustain
About 60% of Sport England's investment will focus on sustaining current participants in sport by making sure people have a quality experience and by action to cut the number of 16 - 18 year olds dropping out of sport
Aligned to this outcome British Cycling have proposed:
o The deployment of 10 full-time Regional Competition Development Officers to co-ordinate and support the delivery of the competition programme for each region to improve the quantity and quality of events for participants.
o Capital funding of ?10 million to invest in a new network of Traffic Free Cycle Sport Facilities
o The creation of a Sporting Events on the Highways Unit to support organisers and to work towards the necessary legislative and guidance changes to allow events on the highway to flourish in the future.
o The continued delivery of Cycling's UK Coaching Plan is required to increase the quantity and quality of existing coaching and therefore participants' satisfaction levels as well as ensuring there is an appropriate coaching structure to support the development of talent and lifelong participation.
Outcome 3 - Excel and Children and Young People
About 25% of Sport England's investment will focus on systems and pathways to accelerate talent development. In addition, we will contribute to the Five Hour Offer;
Aligned to this outcome British Cycling have proposed to continue to deliver the Go-Ride programme with the continued deployment of 20+ full-time
Delegates input from the workshop will prove invaluable in the planning process once the level of funding has been confirmed from Sport England for 2009-2013 in December. The Board and staff would like to thank everyone for their time and input into the workshops.