CYCLING IRELAND AGM 2011

Post date: Nov 14, 2011 7:34:23 PM

CYCLING IRELAND AGM HELD SATURDAY, WYLEY RETURNS AS PRESIDENT

By Shane Stokes

Nov 14, 2011,

As expected, the outgoing Honorary President Rory Wyley was returned unopposed to the post at the Cycling Ireland AGM on Saturday. “I’m genuinely happy to serve the members,” he said during the meeting, explaining that he would stand for another two year term but then definitely give up the position in 2013, requesting that someone else take his place then.

There was a modest turnout for the meeting, which was held over several hours in the Radisson Blu hotel in Dublin 8. Many topics were covered, and some changes to the board resulted from the AGM.

Orla Hendron stepped down after three and a half years in the role, saying that she wanted to focus on other areas including her work as child protection officer. Wyley said that it was disappointing that no other woman went forward for her place, but John Horgan, the husband of Siobhan Horgan (nee Dervan) was elected to the board and said that one of his goals is to help advance women’s cycling.

He also emphasised that he understands the general demands and needs of high performance competition due to his observations of Siobhan’s career, and that he would seek to use this experience.

Horgan was one of four who went forward for a place on the board. Anto Moran’s term had reached an end and he stood again; the other two were Richie Byrne and Noel McGlynn.

Byrne spoke about his MTB experience before the ballot was held. He said that last year Ireland could have been hosting the European championships but that it didn’t end up happening; he said that while nobody in particular was to blame, he hoped to make the most of such opportunities in the future. He also said that there is little development of young and high performance riders from mountainbiking.

McGlynn said that he felt there has been a lack of communication from the board and from Cycling Ireland in general, and if he was elected he would seek to improve this area.

Horgan and Moran were subsequently elected and took their places.

One of the motions passed was to enable an additional two people to become part of the board; according to CEO Geoff Liffey, this is to enable relative outsiders with business backgrounds to bring fresh knowledge. He said that the two have already been identified and, given that the members had accepted the increase in numbers, that their names would be announced in the next fortnight.

A long and somewhat heated debate on membership fees eventually led to the agreement to add five euro to all of the senior fees, with the employment of an extra staff member being one possible use for the revenue generated. According to Cycling Ireland, the growth in membership numbers made it difficult for those members to be adequately served by the staff, and that an addition would help greatly.

Most of the proposed motions were passed, including a change to the Memorandum of Association and also a modification to the Articles of Association of CI. The latter enabled the quorum from 20 % to 5%, reflecting a drop in attendance at recent AGMs.

Another approved change was a limit in the number of consecutive terms a member can serve to three; proposed by CI itself, it said that a rotation of board members after three terms would introduce fresh ideas. Anyone who had to stand down as a result could go forward again after missing a complete term.

Motion 18, reintroducing the junior category as a stand alone for 2012 and also requiring them to compete in separate A3 events when held was passed. A motion by the same Drogheda Wheelers club to introduce shoulder and frame numbers to aid identification of riders was modified to introduce two back numbers.

The final motion approved, albeit with modifications, was one by Cycling Ulster seeking to enable a club running an open race to run a non-open race on the same day. It was allowed for over 50s and women only.

Another motion by Curran Racing relating to riders of over 45 years of age was dropped as the club itself didn’t turn up at the AGM.

Speaking at the AGM, CEO Geoff Liffey talked about the ongoing growth in membership, stating that numbers were now just under 12,000, far higher than they had been during the Kelly/Roche era. He said that a 45% growth before last year had been followed by one of a further 29%, but also emphasised that retention of 65% needs to be improved upon.

He also highlighted the need to bring in more young members, with the average in the federation being 39 and only a small number of youth and junior riders being signed up.

One tactic to address this is the running of the Sprocket Rocket programme, which was showcased by coach education officer Rachel Ormond in a well-made powerpoint presentation. She said that 1876 riders have now gone through the programme, and that a new Gearing Up programme would be added to it.

She also spoke about a new partnership launched with British Cycling which would see Cycling Ireland licence their level 2 awards.

More details of this and other reports can be found in CI’s AGM documentation, which can be downloaded from here: http://www.cyclingireland.ie/Key-Documents/Technical/AGM-Manual_V2_2010_FINAL.aspx

The accounts are available from here: http://www.cyclingireland.ie/Key-Documents/Technical/Typesigned-Accounts_2010.aspx

A video interview carried out by Irishcycling.com also covers more details, including the aimed-for opening of a new indoor velodrome in Tallaght plus the completion of a long downhill course in Kerry.