NORTHBROOK ATHLETIC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

held at 8.15pm on 22 January 2025
at Jaguar Sports & Social Club and by video conference.

  1. Present – 53 members in attendance, including 10 online.
  2. Apologies – Fraser Barrett, Sarah McNaney, Martin Winch, Steve Simpson, Jan Watson
  3. Welcome – Bob Adams chaired the meeting.
  4. Minutes of Last Year’s Meeting – Last year’s minutes accepted
    (Proposed: Bob Adams, Seconded: Terry Moynihan).
    VOTE: Accepted – 38 for, 0 against.
  5. Chairperson’s Report – Bob Adams stated:
    ‘With the increase in our membership numbers, this has probably been the busiest year that I can remember since I first joined the club 40 years ago.

    At the latest count, we now have over 260 members, and great credit goes to Tim Hughes for the way he continues to deal with all of the administration involved. Thanks also, to both Spencer Davies and Simon Aldridge for leading the Thursday evening training sessions throughout the Summer – quite a few of the runners involved enjoyed it so much, they decided to join the club.

    The structured training sessions continue to be very well organised, and I would like to acknowledge the tremendous work that has been done in this connection by Rob Richardson and his dedicated team of run leaders. (If anyone else would like to become a run leader, please let either Rob or myself know, as we are always looking for more volunteers to help out with the workload that is involved).

    We are currently three quarters of the way through a very busy cross country season, and it’s been great to see so many of our members running in the league races, thanks to the gentle encouragement of our inspirational captains, Sally Eason and Spencer Davies.

    With just one more race to go, our Women’s team is performing really well in the Midlands league, whilst our men are involved in a very close battle with Kenilworth Runners to secure that all important 3rd place overall in division 3 to gain promotion.

    Please note that the final races for both of our teams are taking place on 8th February at Coombe Abbey. Northbrook will be co-hosting this event with Sphinx AC, so we will be looking for volunteers to help out on the day. Even if you can’t run yourself, please make every effort to be there, as your vocal encouragement could make a difference to the results that can be achieved (I know that Coventry are playing at home on that day, but some things are even more important than the Sky Blues!)

    Our teams have also competed in all of the championship and relay races. Mark Baker continues to top up his number of appearances, and he is now ranked in the top 10 in the whole history of the Birmingham League.

    On the road, our members competed with distinction in the Warwickshire Road Race League – our Men’s team was 2nd in the Masters category.

    Northbrook fielded 5 teams in the Cotswold Hilly 100 relay in May. We were 1st Mixed ‘A’ team, and we were also the leading Mixed ‘B’ team.

    On an individual note, Adrian McBride smashed the long standing marathon club record at Abingdon. I’m confident that some of the remaining club records are going to be under threat in the next 12 months.

    The support from the membership for the Summer Handicap competition was really encouraging last year. A total of 61 women and 94 men ran at least one of the races involved – perhaps running up Staircase Lane isn’t so bad after all! Great credit goes to Richard French, for the great job he continues to do as the handicapper. Thank you also to all of the volunteers, without whom these races could not take place.

    Our members also completed fun events such as ‘Race the Train’ and the ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ relay, and a large group of members enjoyed their trip to Benidorm in November to take part in the half marathon or the 10km race. As the saying goes ‘what went on in Benidorm stays in Benidorm!’

    Once again, the Northbrook 10km race was an enormous success, with nearly 600 entries being received. Mainly due to the efforts of Joanne Evans, we also saw the return of the Junior 2km race – the speed of some of the youngsters at the finish was just incredible! The whole event greatly contributes towards the club’s finances, and we were also able to make charitable donations to UHCW, Allesley Scouts and the Allesley Festival.

    The race is now firmly established in the Summer calendar for lots of the runners in this area, and some of them actually enjoy it! Long may it continue.

    Great credit goes to all of the sub-committee members and the club members who volunteered to help out on the big day.

    At the end of last year, Sarah Duffy decided to stand down as the Social Secretary, due to her heavy workload and family commitments, but I am delighted to report that Daisy Robbins put her name forward to take on this demanding role. As well as greatly reducing the average age of the committee membership, she did a tremendous job in organising the Christmas party in Earlsdon, and the next big event is going to be the Annual Awards evening which will take place in March.

    I’d like to thank all of my fellow committee members for the support that they have given me over the past 12 months. I particularly want to mention Sally Eason and Terry Moynihan, who have decided to stand down from their respective roles for personal reasons. They have both done a tremendous job, and I know that they will continue to give support and guidance to their respective successors.

    I also want to personally thank our website administrator, Roger Ladbury, for the support and guidance he has given me (particularly if it involves anything technical).

    The atmosphere at the club, and the enthusiasm of the membership as a whole, is as good as I’ve ever known it to be, and I am confident that this will continue to be the case in the immediate future.’

  6. Treasurers Report – Tony Mackness sent a detailed presentation of accounts to all members, and showed the presentation at the meeting. The accounts were audited by Matthew Hathrell.
    The committee recommended that subscription fees remain unchanged, as England Athletics affiliation fees are also unchanged.
    Proposed by: Tony Mackness, Seconded by: Tim Hughes.
    Vote accepted – 43 for, 3 against
    Membership Renewal £34
    Non-competing membership £15
    Concessions £25
    Second Claim Renewal £20
    New Members/Rejoining Members:
    Full rate (including club vest): £49
    Full rate (including club T-shirt in lieu of vest): £57
    Concessionary rate (including club vest): £40
    Concessionary rate (including club T-shirt in lieu of vest): £48
    Second claim (including club vest): £30
    Second claim (including club T-shirt in lieu of vest): £38
    Concessions – State pension, Unemployed and Students.
    Fees are now due.
  7. Election of Officers
    Bob Adams thanked everyone who participated in any club role last year. In accordance with club rules, all the current officers stood down, and all of the roles involved were made available for any of our members to be nominated to take them on. Members were given nearly 4 weeks to do this.
    There was a requirement to propose a candidate for the role of Club Coaching Co-ordinator. Rob Richardson was proposed by Rob Cox and seconded by Bob Adams.

    The following officers and committee members were elected unopposed:

    • President – Rob Richardson*
    • Chairperson – Bob Adams
    • Secretary – Mark Baker
    • Treasurer – Tony Mackness
    • Men’s Captain – Spencer Davies
    • Women’s Captain – Joanne Adams
    • Membership Secretary – Tim Hughes
    • Social Secretary – Daisy Robbins
    • Club Coaching Co-ordinator – Rob Richardson

    *Rob Richardson was nominated by the committee to take on the role of Club President.

    Non committee

    • Welfare Officers – Tracey Williams, Collette O’Keefe
    • Health & Safety Co-ordinator – Catherine Dear
    • COVID-19 Officer – Sean Duffy
    • Summer Handicap – Richard French
    • Website – Roger Ladbury
    • Kit Person – Damian Pharoah
    • Race Champs Administrator – Kevin Coughlan
    • Auditor – Matt Hathrell
    • 10km Race Sub-committee – Terry Moynihan*, Steve Turvey, Tony Mackness, Richard French, Simon Aldridge, Malc Copeland, Cliff Evans, Joanne Evans, Catherine Armstrong.

      • *Terry Moynihan’s final year serving on the 10km sub-committee.

  8. Proposals Received
    Proposal 1 – Amend the qualifying requirements for the Cross-Country Championships

    Rationale
    The Cross-Country Championships were introduced to increase a Northbrook presence across all the cross-country events, making team requirements more likely to be achieved and to reduce the stress on captains trying to fill teams, whilst ensuring individuals are not disappointed to be part of a team that does not qualify as a team due to lack of numbers.
    Original Positives: the thinking was that everyone would have had to run the same course so it would remove different course issues that could affect pace.
    Original Negatives: if a member could not attend on Wednesdays then the Summer Handicap was not possible for the individual to get an average handicap pace and hence not qualify for the cross-country championships.
    Currently the Cross-Country Championships uses a baseline target pace calculated from the Summer Handicap series.

    Proposed amendment
    To take the 5k time of the (Race Championship) points table for the individual or the handicap time for the individual (whichever is quicker), and use that as a qualifying average pace to compare across the winter championship.
    Comparing 107 men and 85 women recording 5K times on the (Race Championship) 2024 table (mainly parkruns) to 93 men and 58 women recording handicap times on the handicap over the season clearly shows that the possibility of capturing an individuals 5K/handicap time to use as a baseline for the Cross Country Championships is higher, if both 5k and handicap times are used.
    If the times are taken from the (Race Championship) points table it would mean the fastest recorded time for everyone is used and would eliminate any times that may be affected by ie tail walking at parkrun. It would also mean that individuals have more races to target to challenge in the Cross-Country Championships.

    In 2024:
    5 women who did not complete a 5k recorded handicap times, and 34 women recorded a 5k time but not a handicap time.12 men who did not complete a 5k recorded handicap times, and 27 men recorded a 5k time but not a handicap time.
    Times are to be used up to the weekend of the 1st cross country race of the season.

    Proposed by: Spencer Davies, Seconded by: Tim Hughes
    VOTE – Accepted – 38 for, 2 against.
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    Proposal 2 – Introduce a Northbrook AC parkrun Grand Prix

    Rationale
    A new competition – parkrun Grand Prix (PGP) designed to

    • maintain runners’ motivation during the winter
    • build on the success of the summer handicap; and
    • raise awareness of the club in Coventry and the local area.

    This will encourage runners to try out other parkruns and enjoy the benefits of parkrun tourism.
    Importantly, runners will be required to wear Northbrook kit, which will serve as an opportunity to market the club at our local parkruns1.

    Proposed format
    The PGP will consist of 8 handicapped runs at seven of the local parkrun venues as follows on the first Saturday of every “winter” month2.

    1. September – Coventry
    2. October – Holbrooks
    3. November – Bedworth
    4. December – Leamington
    5. January – Warwick
    6. February – Brueton Park
    7. March – Babbs Mill
    8. April – Coventry

    Rules

    • 5 ‘races’ to count out of 8
    • Position based on Summer Handicap
    • Handicap based on final Summer Handicap values
    • Men’s and Women’s Competitions
    • Northbrook kit to be worn

    Notes:
    1. We could amplify the messaging with leafleting at the end of each run.
    2. During the Cross-Country season these may be moved to avoid clashes.

    Proposed by: Rob Richardson, Seconded by: Tim Hughes
    Amendment – Northbrook ‘takeover’ to meet every month at Parkrun in club vests for Grand Prix
    VOTE – Accepted (Original Proposal) – For Amendment 21, For Original Proposal 25.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Proposal 3 – Addition of a Social Media Officer non-Committee Role

    Rationale
    The task of promoting the club to an outside audience on social media is a difficult role. Not many people will step forward to take this role on. Because of this the task should be recognised and have one person responsible for the social media posts. Without having a person nominated into the role means that the clubs social media postings can be very limited.
    Having a person in this role will ensure there is a consistent level of social media posts going out. This person could delegate the role to both male and female sub-leads. This is also a role that is recognised by England Athletics.

    Proposed by: Tim Hughes, Seconded by: Rhys Robbins
    VOTE – Accepted – 40 for, 0 against.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Proposal 4 – First, Second and Third places to be recognised in both Male and Female Miles Champs

    Rationale
    There has been a 30% increase in club membership to 260 members.
    The present award system is limited to only 2 in 260. If first second and third places were recognised there would be an increased incentive for all levels of runners to enter races.
    This would create a healthy competition for more runners to increase their mileage and promote the club as more members may enter races and club events.

    Proposed by: Tracey Williams, Seconded by: Tracey Cox
    VOTE – Accepted – 45 for, 5 against.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Proposal 5 – On Wednesday training, if a new person attends or if a person moves up from another level, then the group leader should be able to nominate a buddy to assist and support that runner for the duration of the session.

    Rationale
    When a new runner comes to a running session, they are usually a little nervous, don’t know the format of the group or many of the other runners. This is also true of someone moving up to another level. The run leader obviously needs to supervise the whole group and new people can often take some of that focus.
    At each session the run leader is notified of a new runner to that level.
    They could then ask or nominate a regular member of that group to buddy or support the new person for the duration of the session. The buddy should be an experienced runner who is used to running with that group and understands the session planned. This will include explaining the session in more detail if required and ensuring the new person does not feel left out or get left behind. If there is more than one new person to the group a different buddy could be allocated to each person. This will be at the discretion of the run leader. This will free up the run leader to focus on the whole group.

    Proposed by: Tracey Cox, Seconded by: Tracey Williams

    Amendment – Agree in principle to implement the intention of the proposal, but without changing club rules.
    VOTE – Rejected Original Proposal, Accepted Amendment – 22 for amendment, 18 for original proposal.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Proposal 6 – Trial a parallel run for alternative age category scoring during 2025 to run alongside the current race champs scoring.

    Rationale
    During a journey back from a recent race, the conversation turned to the race champs, and it was pointed out that there are some unfair aspects to how the current scores are calculated for age categories.
    In the current format, you are not simply competing against other people in the same age category as yourself, as results posted by people in other age categories can directly affect
    the results of unrelated age categories.
    I have been exchanging a number of emails with Kevin, discussing these points, and he described them as a the “beauty and the ugliness of the Northbrook Race Champs”, and some people might say,
    “Buts that’s how it is” and others might say “But it’s not entirely fair”.
    After discussing the pro’s and con’s of alternative methods, he suggested that a proposal be put forward to trial a parallel calculation for age category scoring for 2025. This parallel run would not change how the 2025 results are calculated, but hopefully provoke conversation between everyone over the next 12 months, perhaps suggesting improvements, etc. (even if the consensus ends up being, leave it as it is).
    To be clear, the 2025 Race Champs will be calculated exactly how it is today. This parallel run is for information only.

    Example
    Mr A and Mr B are in the same age category
    In his 5 best races, Mr A is couple of points ahead of Mr B in 4 out of the 5 best races.
    In one race (say, the 10k), Mr B is slightly ahead of Mr A by only a few points.
    Overall Mr A is leading his age category, with Mr B in 2nd place slightly behind on points.
    Then half a dozen people in completely different age categories, post 10k times which are slower than Mr B but faster than Mr A.
    This means that Mr A loses a few points in the 10k, meaning overall Mr B is now leading the age category.
    So essentially half a dozen people in a selection of different age categories have directly affected the results in an age category none of them are in.
    Alternative Scoring
    For the overall Race Champs, leave it exactly as it is today, but when scoring for age categories use a different “pot”.

    e.g.
    In the 10k, Mr A had 180 points in the main Race Champs contest, but in the age category champs (say, MV35) he has 199 points (because he has the 2nd best time for his age category, as Mr B has 200 points).
    So when those half dozen people post 10k times better than Mr A, he loses 6 points in the main Race Champs contest, but still has 199 points in the age category contest because none of the half dozen people are in his age category. His time is still the 2nd best in his age category.
    The result of this is that the age category scores are always calculated in isolation.

    Conclusion
    There are pros and cons of both methods; the current method does add in the option of a late curve ball result affecting results, which some people might consider as unfair, and favours people doing the less popular distances (20 miles, 10 miles and marathon), whereas the new method is more exact in that you are only competing against people in your own age category.
    As a footnote, a real world example. In the current Race Champs, one of the age categories had 2 people tied for 3rd place. Kevin then discovered a result from a new member (in a completely different age category), a 5k race which had not been applied. That race resulted in one of the 2 tied people losing a point, and therefore losing their joint 3rd place in their age category as a direct result of someone in a different age category.

    Proposed by: Alan Smith, Seconded by: Kevin Coughlan
    VOTE – Accepted – 45 for, 0 against.

  9. Any other business
    • None.

Meeting closed at 9.55pm.

Minutes prepared by Mark Baker