BOARD MINUTES

Transcription

1 A B C MEETING Yachting Australia Board Meeting DATE Friday 2 July 2010 TIME VENUE Cruising Yacht Club of Australia AGENDA ATTENDANCE AND APOLOGIES Andrew Plympton President Karyn Gojnich David Gotze Nick Hutton David Kellett Rupert Leslie Wally Rantanen David Tillett ISAF Delegate Apologies: Adrienne Cahalan In attendance: Phil Jones Alastair Snell Louise Tillett CEO Executive Assistant General Manager MINUTES OF LAST MEETING To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 28 May 2010 MATTERS ARISING To consider any matters arising not appearing on the agenda The President welcomed attendees and outlined the schedule for the day and the key matters for discussion. The Board noted that Malcolm Speed would join the meeting later in the morning to present the Interim Report of the Structure Review Independent Working Party. It was agreed that the minutes of the Board meeting held on 28 May 2010 be accepted as a true and correct record. Salt Sportswear - The President noted the Board s interim decision to enter into a Deed of Debt Deferral (DODD) to support a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) of Salt Sportswear on the basis that the Yachting Australia/SLAM sponsorship agreement would be honoured by SLAM S.p.A (Italy) and guaranteed by the proposed new Australian SLAM distributor, Just Add Salt Water Pty Ltd. The CEO updated the Board on recent developments in light of Salt Sportswear being in administration. The Board was informed that: 1. The Creditors had accepted the draft DOCA; 2. Following the 2 nd Creditors meeting on 29 June all parties had 14 days until the deadline for the DODD and DOCA to be executed; and 3. Yachting Australia had received legal advice from Landers and Rogers and had requested a Guarantee from Just Add Saltwater Pty Ltd (the new Company set up to distribute SLAM products in Australia) as a precondition of Yachting Australia executing the DODD. ACTIONS Board Meeting Minutes 1

2 The CEO noted that developments in the last few weeks had caused SLAM S.p.A to focus strongly on the relationship with Yachting Australia and he had been given verbal guarantees of a positive ongoing relationship. He noted that SLAM S.p.A had been stretched by its commitments to BMW Oracle and the 33 rd Americas Cup. The meeting was made aware that SLAM S.p.A was very enthusiastic about the production of an AST High Performance dinghy range which would be developed in conjunction with the AST and rolled out worldwide as one of SLAM s headline ranges of sailing gear. The Board discussed the importance of the sponsorship arrangement between SLAM S.p.A and Yachting Australia. In particular discussion highlighted the support of SLAM for not only the AST but also the ASDS, Australian Youth Team, and other High Performance teams and squads. The Board emphasised its strong support and endorsement of SLAM as the exclusive clothing supplier and major co-sponsor of the AST and other national sailing teams and squads. would be advanced once the new company arrangements were settled. The CEO advised that Yachting Australia and SLAM had yet to finalise arrangements in regard to preferential pricing for Yachting Australia affiliated clubs as had been proposed some time ago. The Board was advised that this program Additional ASC Funding Bids - The CEO updated the Board on the development of submissions for additional Federal Government funding through the ASC for both Participation and High Performance initiatives. The Board was advised that Yachting had been confirmed as one of the 27 priority sports encouraged to take part in the submission process for additional High Performance funding. The submission was due on July 14. The CEO advised the Board that indicative allocations of the new funding would be released in late July and confirmed early in the second quarter. NOTE: The ASC has confirmed that no announcement regarding indicative funding would be made until after the Federal Government elections. The Board was advised that emphasis was placed on the fact that sailing had historically been underfunded when compared to other Olympic sports. The bid was supported by a strong planning framework. Arrangements had been made to brief key people at the ASC, SIS/SAS and other stakeholders on the details of the bid in order to firm up Yachting Australia s position. The CEO informed the Board that sailing also appeared likely to be invited to make a submission for Participation funding. It was critical that the submission overcame the stereotype of sailing being an elitist, expensive sport. The Board was advised that the management team, Matt Owen (YACT), and Ross Kilborn (YV), had Board Meeting Minutes 2

3 participated in a recent workshop which had determined the priorities for any submission for participation funding. The meeting noted that the group had recommended that any additional funding should be applied to enhance and/or accelerate initiatives and programs already under development, such as Tackers, rather than developing new ideas outside of current plans, an approach that had been well received by ASC personnel. The CEO informed the Board that the 5 key items of focus in the Participation submission would be: Tackers - junior sailing program Developing a Go Sailing type entry level brand to make it easier for people to find out about and start participating in sailing Sailability developing a strong disabled sailing brand and encouraging participation by creating a more structured program and pathway for disabled sailors Support for volunteer programs, particularly as they relate to the National Officiating Program Coaching and Talent identification NOTE: In discussions with the ASC it was subsequently agreed that support for Coaching and Talent identification should appear in the High Performance submission The President reinforced the issues raised by the Crawford Report in regard to a national approach to sports administration and the centralisation of sports funding. He commented that State Governments had agreed to work closely with the Federal Government and ASC in determining the allocation of funding to state sporting organisations. He emphasised that this would mean it was important for Yachting Australia to take a leadership role in securing government funding. 1 TRAINING 1.1 Training Update Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT The Participation and Training Manager, Chris Kameen, joined the meeting to update the Board on progress made in the Training and Participation area to 31 May. The Board welcomed the format of the new report. The report highlighted that the sale of training materials had been strong, with the take up of Course Packs increasing significantly. The meeting also noted that the number of Yachting Australia Certificates issued was on track and that the number of Joint Scheme certificates issued had exceeded targets. The Board was advised that the high number of certificates issued had been driven by particularly strong growth in powerboat and small boat schemes in Victoria and a focus on training by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. Board Meeting Minutes 3

4 2 SPORT SERVICES The meeting was briefed on work being done in visiting YATCs in order to establish strong relationships and ensure consistent national standards were being maintained. The feedback was that the visits had been extremely well received by the YATCs concerned. The Board noted the auditing of the SSSC providers and the recently run SSSC Instructor course which was the first one since the course was developed 10 years ago. The Board noted the strong progress that Training had made in the last 12 months, in particular with the progress towards financial sustainability. Discussion was held on the importance of Training meeting the objective of becoming self funding by the 2011/12 financial year. The Board asked management to review the 2010/2011 Training Budget to ensure it better demonstrated that this would occur. 2.1 National Safety Committee Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT To receive an update on matters being considered by the National Safety Committee The National Safety Committee Chair distributed a paper outlining some issues that had been raised with the National Safety Committee (NSC). The Board was made aware that following review of the Yachting Australia Special Regulations a number of inconsistencies with the ISAF Special Regulations had been identified which had the potential to expose Yachting Australia to a greater level of risk than necessary or desirable. In addition, the current process for updating the Yachting Australia Special Regulations was relatively informal which could lead to changes being made with less than the appropriate level of justification. The Board was advised that the NSC had sought quotations from four reputable professional risk management services providers to assist Yachting Australia. These would be assessed in the coming weeks. Following the selection process one of the services providers would be appointed on a retained basis. An appropriate budget allocation would be required. The Board supported management and the NSC in engaging the services of a consultancy that best meet the needs of Yachting Australia. Discussion was also held on appropriate candidates to be involved in the National Safety Committee. Rear Admiral Chris Oxenbould, who had chaired the Flinders Islet Inquiry, was suggested and supported by the Board. 4 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 4.1 Structure Review Working Party Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT To receive a presentation of the interim report from the Chair of the Independent Structure Review Working Group The President welcomed the Chair of the Structure Review Independent Working Group (IWG), Malcolm Speed (MS), to the meeting and commented that the Group had met 7 times in Melbourne over the last 2 months. Board Meeting Minutes 4

5 The President reinforced that the IWG had been appointed by the Board and had been endorsed unanimously by the Federal Assembly to conduct the review. He also highlighted the composition of the IWG, which was skills based and included people with strong backgrounds in sailing administration and in dealing with legal and commercial aspects of restructuring organisations. The President had previously advised the Board that unfortunately one member of the IWG, John McQueen, had resigned after the third meeting. Malcolm Speed then presented Interim Report of the IWG. The meeting was advised that the IWG still had a considerable amount of work to do before presenting a final report. It was noted that the next stage involved consultation with the MYAs in order to gain feedback on the Interim Report. MS noted that the Working Group was planning to complete the consultation process in July and August and would then reconvene to develop a Final Report. The Board thanked the Malcolm Speed for his and the IWG s hard work to date and looked forward to receiving the Final Report in September. to provide specific feedback for consideration by the IWG. Discussion was also held The President invited each director to provide their immediate reaction to the report. The view was generally positive. In discussing the draft report the Board was invited on the planned consultation process and the importance of engaging stakeholders at both MYA and Club level. 4.2 Yachting NSW Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT To receive an update on discussions with Yachting NSW The Board was updated on recent discussions with Yachting NSW. The Business Plan had been refined and final proposals were to be provided to Yachting NSW shortly for consideration and discussion. The Board was advised that the proposed Contract between Yachting Australia and Yachting NSW would be circulated for comment and would set out Yachting Australia expectations regarding the required level of club support. Following further discussion the Board supported the approach being taken and encouraged management and David Gotze to continue to work with Yachting NSW and the major clubs to advance the implementation of the agreement. 4.3 Finance Report Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT To receive the finance report for the 11-month period to 31 May 2010 The Treasurer presented the finance report for the 11 month period to 31 May 2010 to the Board. The meeting noted that there was a $22,000 surplus from the non High Performance activities, which was marginally ahead of the budgeted figure of $18,000. The Chief Executive, through the President, thanked the General Manager and other department managers for their work in saving money and remaining on budget. Board Meeting Minutes 5

6 The Treasurer reminded the Board that YA was in a reasonably healthy financial position, with some $980,000 in retained earnings at the end of financial year. The Board s target was to have a year s operating cash in reserves. The meeting noted that there were some long standing debts that should be assessed to determine how likely payment will be and encouraged management to address these as part of the audit /2011 Operations Plan & Budget Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT To receive the draft 2010/2011 Operations Plan and Budget The Board received the 2010/11 Operations Plan and Budget which had been circulated prior to the meeting. The Board commented that there had been a small surplus projected in the 2009/10 financial year budget and emphasised that it would like to see a larger surplus in 2010/11 year. Discussion was held on the projected budget figures for each department and some adjustments were requested to the Training and Sport Services areas. The Board noted that staffing costs had increased reflecting a CPI increase following the freeze imposed in the previous year. The Board resolved to accept the 2010/11 budget pending adjustment to the areas discussed. The meeting noted that further changes would be made once advice was received from the ASC on any additional government funding for High Performance and Participation. Once available the Board recommended that the 2010/11 Budget be forwarded to the MYAs for approval by circular resolution. 4.5 Sports Super Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT To receive a presentation on the possible roll-out of an offer from Sports Super to Silver Cardholders, Clubs and MYAs The General Manager gave a presentation on Sports Super outlining a proposal to roll out their Superannuation Product to Silver Card holders, Clubs and MYAs. The Board noted that Sports Super is Yachting Australia s default Superannuation fund for employees and is backed by BT Financial. The meeting noted that the proposed timeline to roll the offer out in the next couple of months was not realistic and the commission rate was questioned given the recent changes by the Federal Government. The General Manager undertook to seek more information on the approach to fees and work with Sports Super to test the proposition first. D GENERAL BUSINESS Directors Present: AP/KG/DG/NH/DK/RL/WR/DT Yachting SA Membership Fees - The CEO updated the Board following a recent conversation with Wayne Thompson, the new President of Yachting SA in regard to the request by 3 South Australian clubs for a waiver of fees on the basis of hardship due to drought conditions. The meeting was advised that the request made was the Board Meeting Minutes 6

7 fees due from the 3 clubs combined and Yachting SA would now revise the request and resubmit it The Board noted that this was the first formal request for assistance due to drought conditions and that $5,000 had been budgeted in the current financial year to create a fund for clubs experiencing financial difficulty due to external factors. Discussion was also held on the suggestion that it would be prudent to make a permanent contingency in the accounts, and it was agreed that Yachting Australia should work towards creating a provision of $30,000 over the next 3-4 years. Membership Fees - The General Manager informed the Board that the Secretary of a Yacht Club in NSW had written to Yachting NSW following a complaint by a member of the club in regard to an alleged breach of the Trade Practices Act relating to the way membership fees were charged. The Board noted that the issue was one that was common to a number of sports with similar membership requirements, and it was suggested that the ASC may be able to provide advice on the matter prior to the issue being referred to Lander and Rogers. Media coverage Discussion was held on the quality of the media coverage of the Australian Sailing Team and its athletes and the functionality of the website. The meeting noted that were logistical issues in regard to covering events in Europe and limited resources to undertake additional media and PR activity. The Board agreed that it very important to continue to cover high performance sailing as well as possible, but also emphasised the importance of conveying Yachting Australia s efforts on issues for all members. The Board recommended that a review of the Yachting Australia and AST websites be conducted, and that an amount be budgeted for further development of the sport s online media activities. E F Next Meeting To note the next meeting of the Yachting Australia Board is scheduled for Friday 13 August Close of Meeting The Board discussed a possible postponement of the next Board Meeting, scheduled for August 13 th, due to the inability of some directors to attend and the need for the Structure Review consultation process to be completed. It was agreed that management would consider alternative dates for consideration by the President The President declared the meeting closed at 1540 Board Meeting Minutes 7