Minutes of the Executive Board Meeting of the British Triathlon Federation held at 9.00 am on Sunday 25 March 2007 at Beckwith Meeting Room, Loughborough University Present: Apologies: In attendance: Sarah Springman OBE (Chair), Tom Chambers, Steve Collins, Annie Emmerson, Chris Kitchen, Jem Lawson, Howard Vine, Norman Brook (CEO) Dean Hardie Katherine Brand Item Minute Action 1 Opening Remarks SMS welcomed everyone and thanked them for their attendance given the change of date. 2 Apologies Dean Hardie 3 Minutes and Matters Arising SMS confirmed that all Board members had returned the Register of Business Interests and thanked KB for producing the minutes, and in such a timely fashion. She handed over a copy of the minutes amended for publication on the website as soon as possible. Member s Issues NB reported on the progress of the Strategic Plan and it was agreed that this would be brought to the next meeting. Final drafting of Policies would be passed to Helen Wyeth, the recently appointed Operations Director, who would commence employment on 10 April. Helen would attend the next Board meeting in Scotland. NB/KB by 11 th April Events Officer Board Meeting of BTF Directors: 25.3.07 1 /5
This position is currently being advertised with a closing date of 28 March. Agreed that Katherine Brand circulate a list of the National Championships to all Board members in order to assess (and ensure) BTF representation at each event. KB by 11 th April 6 Committees Terms of Reference International The Board approved the International Terms of Reference. There were no comments. Performance CK highlighted the main points of the report previously circulated. With regard to changes within the Performance staff, redundancy notices had been issued and the jobs advertised internally. The interview for the Performance Programme Director would be held on 16 April, with interviews for the other positions to be held on 23 April. It was anticipated that the recruitment process would be completed by the end of April. CK advised that Brad Goggin has been appointed to the post of Long Distance Manager. Team kit is still being supplied by Orca and bikes are being supplied by Trek. Decisions for 2007 season: Performance Committee membership - this was approved by the Board. Selection Committees the membership of these were all approved. TC stated that Fiona Lothian would not be available long term due to an imminent change of job. Age Group Teams HV stated that the Terms of Reference were to be expanded. He tabled the costings spreadsheet for forthcoming ITU and ETU events and explained the figures to the meeting. SC noted that the net financial outcome for the age group events should be neutral. TC stated the importance of recording where funds are apportioned. SMS added that it would be important to include the costs of staff time in supporting the age group team in the age group budget per se now that we are dividing work done in the office (and hence the budgets) according to BTF/TE. Due to the increase in popularity of the Age Group events, HV suggested looking at potential qualifiers for Long Distance races next year to identify the best athletes for the team. He suggested identifying key races, with a specified finish time for potential qualifiers. Kit TC asked how the changes in the ITU kit regulations would affect the current range. HV stated that the only item affected was the Women s two-piece. NB added that the Orca representatives, our Board Meeting of BTF Directors: 25.3.07 2 /5
current kit supplier, were advising ITU on the kit regulations in any case. SMS expressed the Board s thanks to Jasmine Flatters for her handover of Age Group issues and to Gareth for his work on the online system. Events There needs to be a discussion with the Home Nations regarding National Championship events for England and/or Britain, whether there will be a National Ranking Series for Britain and/or each Home Nation and the allocation of qualifying races. There is also the possibility of an Inter Regional Championships (IRC) for Seniors in order to help build Regional identity. JL thought it would be logical to hold English Championships. TC suggested that events could double up, e.g. the Scottish and British Sprint Championships. British age group championship events were still thought to be important by some members. This also means that there would not need to be any extra funding for the British events and there would be no extra events needing to be serviced by HQ. It was decided that JL would report back to the next meeting with comments from the regions. JL 4 Financial Management Report SC gave a brief précis of the accounts. NB explained the current shortfall in cash was due to the lack of membership income (due to the new web payment (debit) system), which had previously been received in January and February. SMS welcomed questions and comments regarding the accounts. NB also reassured the Board that Jonathan Ainsley has recreated the management accounts programme in order to provide information with far less manual work than has been the case in the last year. The Board expressed their thanks to Maria Brown and Jonathan Ainsley for the progress that has been made with the accounts. JL informed the meeting that the Triathlon England budget had been approved at the Board meeting yesterday. Budget NB explained the principles of the budget and where money from various Sports Councils would be allocated. He explained that staff costs had been allocated due to either where funding originated or where work was carried out and that each Departmental Manager would manage their own budget. NB went on to explain the various sources of income and advised that expenditure was split into various cost categories. He explained that the performance costs were all funded by Government-type grants. NB advised that the performance budget funding an allocation of 2,000 per region for a talent academy as part of a regional talent programme, with a further 3,750 for a regional talent coach to run the academy. Board Meeting of BTF Directors: 25.3.07 3 /5
Advanced negotiations are underway with a secondary sponsor, 50,000 of which may be allocated to regional talent. SMS invited questions about income and expenditure. SMS enquired as to which area of income was most likely to pose an element of risk and where an overspend was most likely. NB explained that the current area of risk was the Hyde Park event, but interest for funding is currently being generated. It was agreed that NB would provide a breakdown of the accounts for the Strathclyde and Bryn Bach Parc events. NB by end April Home Affiliation Fee JL informed the meeting that this decision was accepted by the TE Board yesterday. SMS summarised an email sent from TC regarding the fees from Triathlon Scotland, stating the suggestion that the organisations meet half way on the costs. The Board accepted this offer, taking into account the hard work that TC had done on the Edinburgh event. NB to speak to all Home Nations regarding the distribution of membership costs in future years. 5 European Duathlon Championships, Edinburgh A letter of agreement has now been drawn up between the BTF and Edinburgh Racing. Bruce Kidd is being very constructive as we approach the event. The surprising introduction of speed bumps on the race course has been postponed until after the event. Realistically, there is an expected shortfall of 5,000 to 10,000. Ongoing action is being taken by NB/TC, who will also pursue obtaining a signed ETU contract from Bruce Kidd as soon as possible, for passing to SMS for signature and subsequent submission to ETU. NB, TC asp 7 Board Vacancies It was reported that the posts of Events Director and Independent Business Director are still vacant. SMS & NB are currently pursuing a couple of suggestions for these positions. JL also stated that the TE Board has a vacancy for a Finance Director. NB, SMS asp 9 Staff Reports CEO Report He informed the meeting that WADA have published a new code for next year giving an international standard for testing in all countries. SMS suggested AE meet with NB to discuss these regulations to help her to understand the implications thereof on the elite athletes (soon to include world class duathletes and long distance triathletes as well). AE, NB Development Report Board Meeting of BTF Directors: 25.3.07 4 /5
It was highlighted that the next level in Child Protection had been achieved. SMS expressed her congratulations to Mark Barfield and his team. Operations and Performance Reports Both taken as read. 10 AOB JL agreed to attend an information event for NGB Presidents at UKS on 28 th March, hosted by Sue Campbell since SMS was unable to attend. The next meeting will be held on 26 May, preceded by a meeting with Derek Casey (Glasgow 2014) at 11am. The meeting closed at 11.56am. Minutes circulated to Board 9 th April 2007. Minutes approved 26 May 2007. Board Meeting of BTF Directors: 25.3.07 5 /5