AGM 2019

BURTON BUGGY CLUB

Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on

Tuesday 12th November 2019 at Gresley Old Hall

The Club Chairman Bob Harley opened the meeting, welcoming everyone present and thanking them for attending.

Adoption of the 2018 AGM minutes

Copies of the minutes were available on the club’s website and hard copies at the AGM venue prior to the start of the meeting.

The minutes of the 2018 Annual General Meeting were proposed for adoption as a true and correct record by Richard Parker and seconded by Courtney Orme.

A vote was taken of the members present and the minutes approved.

There were no matters arising.

Chairman’s report

Bob Harley stated that it had been a successful year for the club.

Improvements had been made to the track including new bends, a tape marking applicator had been purchased to make it easier to tape together the carpets.

In addition to the normal race calendar the club had organised the first round of the BRCA Midland Regional GT12 Championship on Sunday 29th September.

He expressed his thanks to the members who regularly arrive early each Tuesday evening along with himself to set up the track and equipment to ensure racing can start on time, especially Steve Donald, Courtney Orme and Mike Simpson.

A custom-made carpet stand has just been purchased by the club to provide better carpet storage. It should make it easier to roll out and store the carpet away. He asked that everyone would please give a few minutes of their time to help before leaving each race night.

Secretary /Treasurers Report

Mike reported on the Clubs finances for the year ending 31st October 2019 and briefly went through the detail of the financial statement, copies of which were made available at the meeting.

The club has a total of 60 members with an average of 23 racing each week, the highest at the present venue.

The Clubs financial position remains healthy and should be sufficient to cover the unplanned replacement of a major item of equipment.

However, a significant increase in expenditure is expected during 2020 and subsequent years.

Election of Officers and Committee.

All the present 2018/19 committee members stood down.

Chairman

The Secretary reported that only one nomination, Bob Harley had been received for the role of Chairman. He asked if anyone else wished to stand for election, there were no other nominations.

Richard Parker proposed that Bob Harley be elected, this was seconded by Michelle Snowden

A vote of members present was taken and Bob was elected for one year.

Secretary / Treasurer

Only one nomination, Mike Simpson had been received.

The chairman explained that if there were no other nominations from the meeting for the roles of Secretary or Treasurer Mike is prepared to continue in both roles for one year only. No other nominations were forthcoming.

Nick Wallace proposed that Mike Simpson be elected, this was seconded by James Krych

A vote of members present was taken and Mike was elected for one year.

Other committee members

Nominations were received for Michelle Snowden, Courtney Orme, Simon Pole and Richard Parker.

A vote of the members present was taken and all were elected.

Membership and Race fees

Club Membership

The Club annual Membership fee for 2020 will remain unchanged at £6 for members and £1 for junior members (16 years of age and under when joining).

Membership runs from 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020 in line with the BRCA.

Membership forms for 2020 are available at Race Control.

For new members joining from now up to the 1st January 2020, membership for the remainder of 2019 will be included.

Race Fees

Due to the projected increase in the club’s annual expenditure it was agreed that the following race fees will apply from 1st January 2020.

Members £5 (an increase of £1)

Junior Members £4 (unchanged)

Non-Members £7 (an increase of £1)

£1 returnable at the end of the evening for those drivers helping with storing away the track equipment.

Proposals

I Propose using the same track layout for 2 meetings back to back. The main reason for this is to help the younger drivers to improve and assess they performances.

Proposer:-  Simon Pole

Seconder:-  Bob Harley 

This was generally thought to be a good idea the only two reservations.

It was difficult to ensure the track configuration was exactly the same on each occasion which could affect the lap times.

Racing consecutive weeks will result in higher levels of grip building up in some areas of the carpets.

A vote of all members present was taken and the proposal passed.

Initially to be implemented at approximately six weekly intervals.

To reduce costs to the club and be more eco-friendly, replace most trophies with chocolates/sweets. Keep 1st place in the leagues with the re-usable trophies and Juniors at trophy nights but replace rest.

Proposer:-   Steve Donald

Seconder:-  Ashley King

Steve explained that several clubs give chocolates and sweets instead of trophies to reduce the use of plastic, another option was to present certificates.

The Secretary commented that for several years new trophies had only been purchased for the three annual trophy meetings, some of these being subsequently reused. All the leagues generally use reused trophies with Dymo labels apart from the winners main trophies which are re-used and fitted with new engraved labels. No trophies are presented for the LMP12 class at the request of the drivers.

Comments were made that giving sweets and chocolates to Junior members is not a healthy option and that the cost may be more than the recycled trophies.

As very few Junior members were present the Chairman agreed to seek the views of more members.

(During the race evening on Tuesday 19th November the members present were asked for their views on the above proposal by the Chairman. The result was 2 in favour and 22 against) 

I would ask the committee to look into 2 issues.

1.The carpet. Although not in terrible condition it is becoming more rippled. Do we have a plan to replace the carpet? I understand a carpet roller is being looked into and this may resolve the ripples.

Proposer:-   Steve Donald

Seconder:-  Ashley King

Two or three of the carpets have ripples.

Bob Harley had been advised by a carpet specialist company that the ripples are most likely to have been caused by the way the carpets have been rolled up and stacked on top of one another on the racking. It is hoped that the new carpet stand, which supports each carpet on an individual tube will prevent further deterioration and possibly improve their condition.

If the carpets become unusable the options for replacement of selected or all the carpets will be looked into by the committee.

2. GT12 and LMP with latest 13.5 motors is very quick. Would it be better for beginners (F3) or drivers wanting to race but have a car that’s easier to drive to move to 17.5. If so a control motor such as the Hobbywing G2.1 is a great option.  Could the committee look into a new competition that would allow this to happen whilst not increasing the numbers of heats.

Proposer:-   Steve Donald

Seconder:-  Ashley King

It was recognised by everyone that most novice drivers try to drive their cars too fast resulting in crashes and less numbers of laps.

A control motor could improve the driving situation but has the disadvantage of having to subsequently upgrade.

An alternative option to the proposal would be to turn down the cars ESC to limit the speed which could be gradually increased as the driver becomes more competent.

It was pointed out that experienced drivers are always willing to give advice and drivers with less experience should be encouraged to ask.

As very few Junior and F3 drivers were present the Chairman agreed to seek the views of more members.

(During the race evening on Tuesday 19th November the members present were asked for their views on the above proposal by the Chairman. The result was 4 in favour and 21 against)

AOB

James Krych suggested that a club-car could be provided for newcomers to use.

Date of next AGM 

To be held at 7-00pm on Tuesday 10th November 2020 at Gresley Old Hall.

The meeting was closed by the Chairman and followed by free racing for members.