Motocross Committee 30.03.2011
SECOND MEETING (2011 SESSION) OF THE
MOTOCROSS COMMITTEE
HELD AT ACU HOUSE ON WEDNESDAY 30th MARCH 2011
Meeting commenced at 10.00am
MX 11 - 016
Present:
Mr D Williams
Mr R Humphrey
Mr E Herd
Mr A Summers
Mr C Warren
In Attendance:
Mrs S Goggin (Secretary)
Miss N Morley
Mr Edwards
Mr Reeves
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Mr Higgins as he was called away on urgent ACU
business. Mr Hail and Mr J Percival also sent their apologies.
MX 11 - 017
CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE 1st MEETING
The minutes of the first meeting (2011 session) of the Motocross Committee held on
19th January were accepted by the Committee as a true and accurate record.
MX 11 - 018
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
a)
MX of Nations
Mr Herd enquired whether the Secretary had received the short list of riders from the
Team Manager, Mr Dixon. Mrs Goggin replied that nothing had been received to date
but the matter would be followed up.
b)
Red Dragons MCC
Mr Summers informed the Committee he had been in contact with the club, Mrs Goggin
also informed the Committee that Mr Higgins had visited the club secretary and
reported back that the club were struggling with low entries. Mr Higgins had agreed to
support the club by covering the cost of three books of day licences to issue to the local
AMCA riders to encourage them to join the ACU, for one event only. It had been
agreed that the ACU would provide some track tape and also to offer some low key
support to encourage auto and 65cc riders to enter their event.
Mr Summers expressed his concerns with the clubs in the Cheshire area and felt the
ACU could help them to work together to benefit the local riders as well as themselves.
All members in attendance agreed to discuss the matter further with the Youth SubCommittee members at the next meeting.
Mr Herd had received feedback at a recent seminar from club officials who felt there
was a lack of communication between the clubs and the Centre. The Committee
suggested the Clubs should deal directly with the ACU Office if they felt it to be more
beneficial.
c)
South Western Centre
Mr Herd enquired whether the Chairman had raised this issue with the ACU Board of
Directors; Mrs Goggin had not received a response from Mr Higgins but would follow
the matter up.
1
Motocross Committee 30.03.2011
Secretary’s after note: Mr Higgins confirmed that the South Western Centre were not
charging centre levy’s to clubs running events under basic permits and any charges
made in 2010 would be refunded.
d)
Northampton Schoolboy MCC
Mr Humphrey reported that the club are unlikely to run events in 2011 but would stay in
touch with Mr Bob Jones the club president. .
MX 11 - 019
GRASS ROOTS MX
a)
Motocross in the North East
In Mr Higgins absence, Mrs Goggin reported on the progress with supporting the North
East Motocross Club. The club will be holding the first round of the British Sidecar
Cross Championship in conjunction with members of the ACU assisting where
possible. The club had received a lot of support and assistance which would be
ongoing.
b)
Dredgers Club
Mr Warren enquired whether the Dredgers ORPA club would be holding a round of the
British Sidecar Clubmans Championship; Mr Humphrey replied that they would not
although they would be running sidecars at some of their events.
c)
South Midlands Centre
Mr Humphrey confirmed that the Centre clubs still wished to meet with the South
Eastern Centre clubs to look into working together. The Centre had also expressed
their interest in investing in a timekeeping system in the future
Mr Humphrey had attended the first CJSC meeting of the 2011 season at Mildenhall
where the club used their own Mylaps system and transponders and felt Mr Hearn and
the club members had done very well.
Mr Higgins, Mr Humphrey and Mr Thompson had recently met with HS Sport and
discussed offering packages to organising clubs and centres to purchase their own
electronic timekeeping. Mr Humphrey confirmed the matter will be moved forward.
d)
YDP Racing
Mrs Goggin informed the Committee that the club had now affiliated to the MCF and
will be running events under the MC Federation.
e)
Quad Racing
Mr Humphrey wished to note that the first two Regional quad events had been run
successfully.
Mrs Goggin informed the Committee that the T9 Quad event scheduled for May had
been cancelled, although the Organiser’s wished to introduce the event in 2012. A
Quad Cross Country event will replace the T9 on the same date.
f)
Low Entries
Mr Warren informed the Committee that the entries for solo events in the Centre had
been fairly low for the start of 2011. Mr Williams confirmed that Rhayader MCC and
Cheshire North West club had also noted the lack of entries.
2
Motocross Committee 30.03.2011
g)
Quad Cross Country Series
Mr Humphrey informed the Committee that the first round of the series had been run
successfully with very good level of entries. The Nora Off Road club had assisted the
Cross Country event with equipment and support.
MX 11 - 020
TRAINING / SEMINARS
a) Regional Motocross Official’s Seminar
Mr Herd gave a brief update to the Committee on the Seminar; there had been a good
number of officials in attendance all of which passed the Seminar.
Mr Herd had since held a seminar in the Southern and Cheshire & North Wales
Centres. Mr Higgins had also held a seminar in Jersey and the South West Centre
while Mr McCauley had held one in the North East of England and East Yorkshire area.
Interest had been received from Rhayader MC to attend a Seminar although the club
officials had not been able to attend any of the recent ones held. Mrs Goggin agreed to
look into arranging one for them.
Action: Mrs Goggin
Mr Edwards raised the subject of the Rule Infractions Form which is not explained in
detail at seminars. Mr Herd asked Miss Morley to include this and the Risk Assessment
form into the presentation used in both the National and Regional seminars.
Action: Miss Morley
The Committee then discussed the use of the Rule Infractions Form and all felt that for
any issues regarding noise penalties there would be no need to complete the form as
the riders are aware of the penalty immediately but for any other issues the form must
be completed. This would be discussed at any Seminars to ensure officials are aware
of the procedure.
Secretary’s after note: The Chairman emphasises that the written penalty must be
transmitted to the penalised rider – even if it is only a copy of the results sheet.
b) Marshals Training
Mr Reeves noted the need for training for marshals and enquired if there was a budget
allocated for this. The Committee agreed the best format for training would be to hold
regional seminars for Chief Marshals who would then be expected to teach their
marshals. The Secretary will liaise with all active motocross clubs later in the year with
a view to hold the seminar between October and November.
Action: Mrs Goggin
The licenses for marshals that had received training approximately 3 years ago were
due to expire and Mr Reeves requested they be extended; Mrs Goggin would
investigate the possibility further.
Action: Mrs Goggin
c) Technical Seminar
Mr Summers had recently held a seminar in the South Midlands Centre and confirmed
he would be holding a regional seminar in the Wessex Centre on 23rd July at Foxhill
Moto Park. Mrs Goggin would email all Centre and Club Secretaries to inform them.
Action: Mrs Goggin
MX 11 - 021
UEM SIDECAR CROSS OF NATIONS
Mr Guildford had responded to Mrs Goggin on the subject of Team Management as he
felt he could carry the responsibilities of Team Manager alone. The Committee agreed
they would like Mr Guildford to officiate as Team Manager although the Management
Team would also consist of Mr Warren and Mr Helm to deal with PR with the assistance
3
Motocross Committee 30.03.2011
of Mr Williams. Mr Warren would be ACU Delegate for the event which includes the
Quad team event.
MX 11 - 022
MX1/2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – GREAT BRITAIN
Mr Warren updated the Committee on the progress at the venue. The Promoters had
established a good relationship with the local council who were working on the access /
exit of the venue.
Mrs Goggin also reported on the officials for the event. Mr Reeves enquired about the
response from marshals and the Secretary would confirm numbers to Mr Reeves
following the meeting.
This discussion lead onto the start gate for the event and following discussions the
Committee wished to suggest that the ACU MX Committee purchase a start gate to be
hired to clubs.
MX 11 – 023
EUROPEAN MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mr Herd raised this subject as the interest from ACU riders in 2011 had been quite high
for the EMX2 Championship, however the maximum number of entries taken is 50.
Nine entries had been submitted although two had been withdrawn due to injury, which
left seven possible entrants:
Scott Elderfield
James Cottrell
Alan Keet
Lewis Rose
Anthony Reville
Marcus Lee Soper
Lewis Tombs
The Committee felt they should create an order of grading to suggest to Youthstream if
requested. The Committee agreed Mr Elderfield should be first in the list and Mrs
Goggin was asked to review the current British Championship standings to decide on
the other riders.
Action: Mrs Goggin
MX 11 – 024
STEWARDS REPORTS
The Committee reviewed the following Steward’s reports:
a) Supercross Championship, O2 Arena
5th February
Mr Edwards explained the event had run well, with a good number of spectators. He
noted the confusion with Mr Williams being ‘Race Direction’ at the event which was
outside of the NSC or the MX Standing Regulations.
b)
Supercross Championship, Echo Arena
19th February
Mr Warren had submitted this report and felt some concern with rider conduct at the
event. Mr Warren wished to thank Mr O’Reilly for his assistance at the event.
The Committee felt the misconduct displayed by Mr Greedy and Mr Davies at the event
should receive correspondence from the ACU office, with a copy of their penalty form
informing them this behaviour will not be tolerated.
The general consensus of the Committee was that there was lack of advertisement for
the ACU at the Supercross events. All members would like to see some ACU banners
at future events.
c)
Hawkstone International, Hawkstone Park
20th March
4
Motocross Committee 30.03.2011
The event had been ran with success although there had been an accident involving
Luke Hawkins. The Committee expressed their best wishes for the rider.
d)
BYMX Championship, Brampton
12/13th March
Mrs Goggin expressed the ACU’s thanks to East Cumbria MC for picking up the event
at such short notice and working so hard to ensure it ran well, despite the poor
weather.
Mr Higgins had submitted a report for this event and also had a meeting with the new
series Race Director Mr Percival to explain some procedures which need to be
implemented.
The Committee wished to write to the club to express their thanks for all their efforts but
also note the issue with the Assistant Clerk of the Course withdrawing his services on
the Friday of the event and the Committee’s concern with the work area.
Action: Mrs Goggin
e) Maxxis Championship, Little Silver
6th March
The Committee were pleased with the report received from Mr Coles; the event had
been a great success for the Championship and Organiser’s.
f)
Maxxis Championship, Canada Heights
29th March
The Steward of the meeting had noted in the report that he felt there should be extra
blue flag marshals for this venue and he also had some concerns with the entry to the
work area. The Club were congratulated on a well organised National event.
MX 11 - 025
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
a) Signing On Form – Date of Birth
Mr Humphrey enquired about the inclusion of Date of Birth’s on the 2011 signing on
forms. Mrs Goggin was asked to find out more information about this.
Action: Mrs Goggin
b) Online Entries
The Committee discussed the possibility and process of online entries. Mr Humphrey
informed the Committee of a Company already offering this service to Organiser’s of all
types of sporting events. The Committee asked the Secretary to make a proposal on
their behalf to the ACU Board of Directors to look into other companies that offer these
services and possibly liaise with the SACU and their clubs as they already use a
system.
Action: Mrs Goggin
Mr Humphrey was concerned that any system used is established and works, problems
associated with other online ACU services should be taken into account.
c) European Quad Cross Championship
Due to the clash of dates between the EMX Quad Cross Championship in France and
the opening round of the British Quad Championship, the Quad Sub-Committee had
recently agreed to make a rule change in the British Quad Championship Regulations
whereby riders were permitted to drop 2 of their race results. This was envisaged to
enable the riders taking part in the Europeans to compete in both Championships
without causing detriment to their results for either.
Since the rule change, Mrs Goggin had received correspondence from one rider who
had entered and been accepted for the EMX Quad event in France, to explain he
wished to compete in the British Championship event rather than the European round.
Unfortunately the ACU could only withdraw the riders entry from the UEM if the rider
was injured, which would make him unable to compete at the British round.
5
Motocross Committee 30.03.2011
A letter will be sent back to the rider explaining that the ACU would not sanction the
rider withdrawing from the European event (unless due to injury) in order to compete in
the British round.
Action: Mrs Goggin
d) Events 22
Mr Higgins had received a letter from Events 22 regarding affiliating with the ACU as a
Recognised Promoter in order to run the Beach Race event under an ACU permit. The
letter was circulated to the members present for information and a copy of the response
will be forwarded to Committee members.
e)
Phoenix Moto Park – Track Certificate
Mr Higgins requested the Committee discuss this item as a recent certificate had been
issued for this track, (Formerly known as Whiteway Barton) however part of the track
had cause for concern. The Committee agreed the track complied with the Course
Guidelines although they felt the certificate should be amended to highlight a section of
the track between marshal points 5 and 7 which could alter significantly during the
season therefore this section must be risk assessed by the Clerk of the Course.
Action: Miss Morley
f)
Rider Upgrade
Mrs Goggin received an application for a rider to upgrade his youth licence before the
required age. The Secretary was asked to reply to inform the rider he would need to be
assessed by an ACU Coach before the application can be reviewed further.
Action: Mrs Goggin
g)
Practice Tracks - Sound Testing
Mr Summers enquired about the sound testing methods used at practice venues as
some editorial had reported that they would be complying with ACU sound level
requirements. Mrs Goggin would forward the ACU Best Practice Guidelines to Mr
Summers and ask the ACU Training and Development Department to liaise with Mr
Summers.
Action: Mrs Goggin
h) Sidecar Cross Championship
The Sidecar Clubman’s event that was due to hold a qualifying race for riders to
register for the series had been cancelled; therefore there were some Sidecar Teams
that had been accepted into the Championship without qualifying through the usual
procedure.
Mr Warren had expressed some concerns with one of these teams ability to race at a
British Championship event. Therefore the Committee would like to review how the
riders compete at the first round at Wooley Grange.
i)
Black Flag
Mr Herd raised his concerns with the use of a black flag at a recent motocross event.
Mr Reeves confirmed the use of the flag was due to a rider failing to comply with the
two lap noise board.
j)
Seminars
Mr Herd discussed the role of a Steward at a race meeting as the official should have
no major involvement in the organisation of an event, although he felt Mr Warren had
taken on more roles than necessary at a recent meeting where he was officiating as
ACU Steward. Mr Warren felt he carried out no duties which would have affected his
role as a Steward.
6
Motocross Committee 30.03.2011
k) Mileage Allowance
Mr Williams felt the ACU Board of Directors should review the allowance for petrol
expenses due to the current climate and continuous increasing costs of fuel. The
Committee agreed to make a proposal to the Board for this to be reviewed.
Action: Mrs Goggin
l)
BYMX Class Age Restrictions
Mr Herd suggested the Committee review the age restrictions of the Youth classes.
Mrs Goggin expressed the need to hold a BYMX Sub Committee in the near future; a
meeting will be arranged following the next Championship round at Finningley.
Action: Mrs Goggin
MX 11 - 026
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Committee will be 1st June 2011.
The meeting closed at 15.30pm.
7