NORTHBROOK ATHLETIC CLUB COMMITTEE MEETINGS

held by video conference on 6 July 2021

Present:

A. French (President)
R. Adams (Chairman)
M. Baker (Secretary)
A. Mackness (Treasurer)
S. Duffy (Social Secretary)
S. Davies (Men’s Captain)
S. Eason (Women’s Captain)

In attendance:

R. Cox (guest)

  1. Apologies – T. Hughes (Membership Secretary)
  2. Matters Arising from previous meeting – none
  3. Northbrook 10Km race – There is a Strava segment for the 10km. The Northbrook 10Km plans to return in July 2022.
  4. Treasurer’s Report – Tony Mackness circulated details of accounts before the meeting. Approximately 221 members have paid subscriptions so far. The club is supporting ongoing CIRF/LIRF courses. Tony Mackness and Spencer Davies discussed Thunder Run finances.
  5. England Athletics (EA) Coronavirus COVID-19 Advice – Current COVID rules for full lockdown, restrict training in groups. The latest information is always available on the EA website or from the leaders and coaches. Leaders and Coaches are continuously reviewing the rules. The club COVID officer is also available for advice.
  6. Return to Training Pattern – Thanks to Rob Cox for attending. Currently, training places are limited until more leaders have been trained. The current leaders will only be able to organise a limited number of sessions per week, so patience is needed from members, Rob Cox said that we hope that some guidance rules may be changed soon, or removed, to allow larger groups. As ‘normality’ returns there were some concerns about returning to training at Jaguar, and options are being looked at. We cannot expect to congregate in large numbers before training. Also, the booking system may need to be extended for a while to have manageable group numbers. The committee is still considering options. Rob also discussed whether extra training level groups were needed, or whether mixed season focussed training sessions could be organised.
  7. Leaders and Coaches – The club is committed to increasing the numbers of leaders and coaches by funding CIRF/LIRF courses. A small part of the funding will be paid by the candidate, then claimed back later. There was a communication to members about funding and what is expected, with a commitment to organising a minimum number of sessions. There was a great response, and we agreed to fund 10 candidates (8 will attend courses online, 2 will attend face to face courses later). Qualified leaders who are less active, were also encouraged to help the active leaders to share out sessions.
  8. Events – there has been great club interest in all the virtual events, and ‘NOT’ race series. Virtual training sessions will be displayed on the club website. In June, the ‘Train Relays’ and ‘Beer Relays’ were great events. In July, it’s the Sphinx 1 mile relays, and the 24 hour Thunder Run relays. We will be funding a limited number of teams to the Sutton Park relays in September. Spencer Davies and all the leaders are doing a great job. Also, Kevin Coughlan and Roger Ladbury have been providing lots of running statistics and points tables.
  9. Social Events – Sarah Duffy has booked the first club event after lockdown – it is a ‘welcome back’ event on Saturday 10th July at Jaguar club. The event will be preceded by some children runs, and a bouncy castle. There will also be a 2.5 mile loop for members to run as many times as they like in the afternoon. We will need to consider Jaguar COVID rules, and circulate details to members.
  10. Runners of the Month – June 2021 – Men: Dan Stevens (very fast runs in Hilly 100 and Train relay), Women: Debbie Campbell (lots of great running).
  11. Any other business:
    1. Club of the Year – Spencer Davies has again nominated Northbrook for the award.
    2. Race Numbers – remind members not to try and transfer race numbers to others.
    3. Cross-Country Events – dates and venues have been confirmed.
    4. Award Cups – Bob Adams discussed clarification of the criteria and wording for winning some club cups.
    5. Parkrun – it looks like Parkrun will return soon, but we will wait for a specific date.
    6. Equipment – Clive Horton has some items which can be collected.
  12. Next Meeting – Tuesday 3 August 2021 at 7.30pm to be held by video conference.

Minutes prepared by Mark Baker