For potential Timekeepers

The South West DC have organised a course for timekeepers which will take place on Saturday 21 October. They have extended an invitation to anyone in our District that is interested in becoming a timekeeper. The course is free and will take place at Axbrook Sports and Social Club, Kingsteignton, Devon from 10am to 1pm.

If you would like more details or are interested in taking part then please contact Ken Robertson on 01803 525573 or e-mail him

Affiliation Fee

The CTT 2007 affiliation fee is now due. The cost is £30 per club plus £50 for sponsored clubs (which includes clubs whose name contains an internet address or company name). Cheques should be made payable to CTT. If you haven't paid by 1st December the cost will rise.
Please note that riders cannot participate in any event until their Club has paid its Affiliation Fee.

Voluntary District Levy .

Clubs are also invited to contribute a voluntary levy of £5, or more if you wish, to enable the District to provide the medals and certificates for the District Team Championship, engrave the Annual Trophies and to promote time trialling in our area. Cheques made payable to West DC please.

Club event levy

A reminder to that the 50 per rider levy for Club events needs to be paid within 7 days of your last event of the calendar year. For most this will be after a club hillclimb. If you hold a Christmas event then, which takes place before 1st January 2007, then please wait until after that event.

All of the above need to be paid to the district Treasurer:

Christine Foster, 19 Marston Lane, Frome, Somerset, BA11 4DR

Committee.

Firstly I would like to thank Geoff Lonsdale, who stepped down from the committee at the AGM, for the contribution he has made to the West DC over the past years. His experience and knowledge combined with his willingness to support events throughout the District were a great asset. I know he will continue to be a stalwart of our sport and hope he now has a little more time to participate. Thanks Geoff.

We welcome onto the committee Nick Tidman, Team Tor 2000 and Andy Greatwood, Frome and District Wheelers. Their appointment will bring experience and enthusiasm to the committee and help to ensure we have a good representation from clubs across the region.

Thanks to Christine Foster too, who agreed to remain as our Treasurer for another year, after a little persuasion!

Motions.

That for 2007 the District Championship Levy of 60p per rider is replaced with a voluntary donation of £5 per club, to be paid at the same time as the CTT annual affiliation fee.

Passed following an amendment. That for 2007 the District Championship Levy of 60p per rider is supplemented with a voluntary minimum donation of £5 per club, to be paid at the same time as the CTT annual affiliation fee. The commitee will report on the take-up and itemise how any additional money was spent, accounts to be presented at the next AGM.

That the Start Timekeeper may, at his discretion, hold the rider for increments of 5 seconds up to a maximum of 10 seconds where he and/or the Start Official feels that approaching traffic poses a danger were the rider to be released.  The time is to be deducted from the riders recorded finishing time in order to give a correct time.

Passed

That organisers may, at their discretion, allow late entries to participate in their event even though the Start Sheet has been dispatched. There is no requirement to resubmit the Start Sheet.  Such entries are not to count to the prizes or points in local or national competitions.  Late entries may be accepted up to seven days prior to the day of the event.

Passed

Guidance will be sought from National Committee to ensure that the motions are correctly worded. Any amendment will not alter the spirit of the motion.

John Galway Memorial Award.

Two nominations were received; Dave Keene for for his work on new courses, and in particular for the new 100 course. Bridget Boon for her tireless work, measuring, signing and organising events. In a close result Bridget was awarded the Trophy.

You can download a copy of the AGM Agenda, as a word document, by clicking on the following link: Agenda.
  
I would like to bring your attention to three motions on the agenda which the West DC Committee regard as worthy of debate and implementation. Two relate to motions for the National AGM. We would appreciate your views even if you cannot attend the meeting.

The meeting is on Sunday 24 September at 2.30pm at Falfield Village Hall (a change to the initial advice sent earlier).  Please ensure your club is represented and that the attendees (the West DC delegates) are mandated by your club.  If you are not a delegate, please pass this on to the relevant person and let me know for future communications.

The West DC look forward to seeing you on the day.

Toby Wooldridge

1) Severn RC 50 on Sunday 17/09 has had a change of course: it is now based on the U46/50. This is a fast course based around Cirencester A419 and the Spine Road in the Cotswold waterpark. A last chance to get a good 50 time! Please advise your racing members of this change.

2) Clubs promoting time trials: I need to know if you have an adequate stock of 'Cycle Event Warning' signs. These are rectangular signs that can be mounted on posts etc and meet the relevant highway regulations. If you need more then we can arrange this. Please advise me if you require some (how many) or not.

3) Delegates - if you are not the delegate to West DC and did not reply to an earlier request, please let me know who the delegate is and their e-mail address (or postal address if no e-mail).  I will be sending the AGM notice out very soon.

4) Final call for motions for the National AGM / changes to rules etc. I need these in the next 7 days please.

5) Reminder to return the Open Event forms for your 2007 events. We would like to have a full racing callendar, but clearly need clubs to organise these events. Please call me if you need a form. These must be returned to Dave Keene in early September.  

6) The WTTA is looking for a new Hardrider series co-ordinator as Simon Townsend is stepping down. This is a great series but needs a co-ordinator to monitor the results and allocate the points etc. Use of a website would be desirable - so if you have someone interested in that angle please put them in contact with me.

Toby Wooldridge

Severn RC event on 15 July 2006. The correct address for the organiser is:

12 Victoria Road,
Saltford,
Bristol
BS31 3AW.

Phone: 01225 341949

Frome and District Wheelers 10 scheduled for the 27 May has been cancelled again arising from concerns over the traffic volumes on the A361

Clevedon and District 25 on 9 June This event has now been moved to Sunday 11 June, 6:30am start. This is also due to the high volume of traffic using the A38 to avoid the M5 roadworks.

Cancelled After much deliberation between Steve, Mike Dix and the Weston CC committee, they have decided that the course is not safe to run for an open
event.

Major concerns were the right turn on top of Burrington, (occasional very
fast traffic). The fast descent to Chewton Mendip, twisty, muddy and
through cross roads before coming out on to dangerous turn on A39, and the
descent through Blagdon.

Cancelled Bath CC have cancelled their event on the Frome by-pass after concerns over the high volume of fast moving traffic on a Saturday afternoon. Traffic counts in early April varied between acceptable and over 50% too high.

Further investigations are underway to find an alternative for the remaining two events scheduled for Saturday afternoons, and to see if there are predictable periods when the U361 may be used on a Saturday afternoon.

Wrong address the address for Paul Meyer is incorrect on page 224 of the Handbook, it should be 21 Pickering Road, it is correct on page 226.

Sid Marks is currently not avaialbe to act as time keeper. Sid had a heart attack recently and is now recovering. We wish him well and hope to see him out and about again soon.

We are getting very short of time keepers in the District, if you are acting as a time keeper for your Club then why not become an authorised timekeeper for the District too. There are a number of possible reasons why people are not coming forward as timekeepers:

• Fear of making a mistake: CTT has a guidance note outlining good practice for timekeepers. By following a few simple procedures, the likelihood of making an error can be greatly reduced. Most timekeepers learn the tricks of their trade by working with other timekeepers and timing Club Events.
• Mathematics not up to it: The job of a timekeeper is not to calculate the riders’ time, but to record his start and finish time. If that information is accurately recorded, the calculation can be carried out by another individual(s). The mathematics is really quite simple and with a bit of practice becomes almost second nature, hence the practice of most experienced timekeepers to do the calculation.
• Cost of timing equipment: Electronic timers that meet CTT requirements for specification and accuracy can be obtained for a little as £30 including postage and certification. Remember that the best timekeeper is not the one with the most expensive watch, but the one who can read and accurately record the time on the watch. Most timekeepers prefer to have their own watches, whilst others rely on their club to provide the timer for them. The important thing is that you have access to a timer that carries a valid certificate.
• I can’t afford the time to go to events: Timekeepers are asked by promoters to time their events. If you are not available for whatever reason, you simply decline the event. There is no minimum number of events that you are required to cover. Most clubs will also pay you out of pocket expenses for petrol etc.

How to apply: Individuals willing to act as timekeepers are required to register with a District Committee. Initially you are taken on as an Assistant Timekeeper, restricted to setting off riders in events. You may time at the finish under the supervision of a full timekeeper. After a period of 12 months, you may apply to join the list of full timekeepers. Once registered with a District, you can work in any other District.

The Handbook shows the Clevedon District RC events, on the U21/25, as being on Sat 1 July at 6.30pm Tandems and Sunday 11 June at 6.30pm  solos.

Both events are on:
Friday 9 June at 6.30pm.

Organiser: Ian James. 30 Grange Avenue, Hanham, Bristol.
BS15 3PE 0117 967 5741.

The Newsletter has been sent out to all club secretaries, it contains a lot of useful information for Organisers as well as riders. Most of this information can be found on the website, any updates will be posted here too as the year unfolds.

The document is in Word. You can download a copy by clicking on the icon to the left. I have also included details of the Hardrider series for you to pass round your members and a document regarding risk assessment for club events. If you have not already done so, please arrange for your club event courses to be risk assessed and the information to be returned to Ann Wooldridge.

Hope you all have a successful and safe 2006 -
All the best,
Toby Wooldridge

09/02/06

Newsletter

Hardriders

ClubRA

The Events page has now been updated to include the Open Events for 2006. Club events will be finalised and posted soon.

Some debate centred around how much time this may take, or how it might impact on current activity. There was support from the Chair of the meeting provided the objective could be achieved, and overall the opinion was that it was a desirable facility to have on the website.

Our proposal in support of the motion was:
We appreciate that there is already a very good results service on the website but it is not comprehensive. It is the contention of the West DC that the coverage of our events in the national press has been in decline for some time. It was not many years ago that you could rely on both a National Newspaper and a well known cycling magazine to report the results in the week that they happened. These days if they appear at all it is more like two to three weeks after the event.

Rather than rely on the publishers of these periodicals we feel that we should use our own website to greater effect. The results are often the full result and in an ideal world we should like to see that for every event, but as an expedient starting point we have proposed just the top 10, plus prize winners.

If you want to find the results of any sporting event where would you look, presumably the Governing Body’s website would be your first stop. Hence our desire to see this on our own website. We are not dictating how this should be done, (we are sure that there is a simple solution that could be implemented using e-mail), all we are asking is that these results are published within a sensible timescale for the benefit of all riders and interested parties. It may even prove to be of benefit in getting the media to improve their coverage providing a single source of information.

Summary. We submitted this motion knowing that the implementation of it will need support from the event organisers. If you support this motion then you will also need to support it in a practical way too. But we feel this is essential for the good of our sport.

Most of the other motions also went the way they we had instructed our delegates to vote. The decisions were:

Item 6:  Subscriptions for commercially-named clubs. Passed

Item 7:  Voting procedures – straight majority for Regulations. Failed

Item 8:  Layout of Circuit events. Failed

Item 9:  Paced Riding. 25m distance. Failed (guidance note to be produced)

Item 10:  Extend start / finish distance to 2 / 3 miles. Amended to 1.5 and 2.5 miles. Passed

Item 11:  Delete reference to approved timers. Passed

Item 12:  Allocation of Championship medals Passed

Item 13:  Championship regulations to be applied. Passed

Item14a:  DC member to be part of organising committee. 14b:  Budget to be jointly controlled by DC and promoting club. Item 14c:  Field placement to be jointly controlled by DC and promoting club. Item 14d:  DC representative to be invited to meetings. All passed

Item 15:  Increase Mens 10 and 25 fields to 180. Passed

Item 16:  Reduce Mens BAR certificate qualifier to 21 mph. Failed

Item 17:  Abandonment of event – payment of levies. Failed

Item 18:  Club event levy increase – decision by National deplored. Failed

Item 19:  Recognise competition records by Juveniles (additional categories added). Passed

Item 20:  Extrapolate the speed for over-distance courses. Failed

Item 21: Publishing of top 10 results and changes by CTT on website. Passed

If you would like to know any more about the meeting then please feel fre to contact me. David Notley.

Dave Keene has taken up the position of Open events Secretary. Mike Dix, who has done a fantastic job for us, has completed the task of submitting the 2006 events (these will be posted on the events page shortly) and has now passed the job onto Dave. On behalf of us all I should like to extend our thanks to Mike and wish Dave well in his new role.

Andy Cook has been co-opted back onto the committee now that he has relinquished the Chair of the CTC and taken up a full time position with BC.

A reminder that the subscriptions for 2006 are due, if you haven't submitted your payment please do so promptly (see below).

Finally, all Club events must also be submitted by 1 December, to Ann.

After more than ten years service as our Chairman Ron Diplock stood down at the AGM this year. Our thanks to Ron for all the hard work and dedication he has given to the District during his time in office. In recognition of his service Ron was awarded the John Galway Trophy.

David Notley (Yeovil CC) was elected as the new Chairman.

Toby Wooldridge has taken on the position of Secretary.

Mike Dix stood down as the Open Events Secretary, but as yet a replacement has not be found. This is a very important and essential role that must be filled, if you would like to volunteer or know of someone in the District that would be willing to give something back to the sport by way of taking on this role then please contact either the Chairman or the Secretary.

We are pleased to welcome Dave Keene onto the committee. There are also four further places vacant on the Committee, again if you would like to join the team then please contact either David or Toby as above.

Both resolutions were passed after amendment:
The first was amended to give the Committee authority to spend the money, raised from the District levy, on any project that it deems appropriate.
The second was amended to remove the method of funding (by an increase in the club levy). But simply to request that the CTT website publish the results for each event on the website in the same fashion as they currently appear in Cycling, ie the top six plus any other prize winners.

Mike Dix presented the schedule of Open events. Thanks to his sterling work prior to the meeting any clashes had been resolved. There were still a few minor matters to be resolved. The full list will be sent to National within the next few weeks, at which point Mike will officially retire from the position. Once again our sincere thanks to Mike for all the hard work he has put in as Open events Secretary and we hope to welcome him back to the Committee if his circumstances allow.

Please remember Club Subscriptions are due on 1st October, please forward in good time to Christine Foster, 19 Marston Lane, Frome, Somerset BA11 4DR. The fee remains at £30.00.

Have you paid your club event levy for 2005? Late payment for this charge will mean payment in advance for next season. Again these should be sent to Christine.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING WEST DISTRICT COUNCIL 2005

The Annual General Meeting of Cycling Time Trials, West District Council will be held on Sunday September 25th at Falfield Village Hall, commencing at 1400 hours.

AGENDA.

1. Apologies for absence.

2. Minutes of the AGM held on 26th September 2004.

3. Matters Arising.

4, Secretarial Report.

5. Treasurer’s Report.

6. Motion for the West D.C. by the Committee. That the local levy charged on the Team Championship events should be used to cover costs for all West D.C. Competitions, not otherwise funded.
Note. National have been very generous in start up costs, providing a shield for the Team Championship and a quantity of medals.The Short Bar has a trophy for the winners , both Men and Ladies kindly arranged by Allan Tebbit from the Gordano Trophies, also there is the John Galway shield provided by Subscription, All the above carry engraving costs together with appropriate medals also engraved. In addition a considerable number of certificates are awarded. Should this motion be passed, the single levy will be sufficient to cover the above costs.

7. Motion for the CTT National Council by the Bath C.C.The CTT should appoint an Internet Results Editor to be funded by a ring fenced increase to the Club’s annual subscription. The editor should be responsible forobtaining and publishing on the Internet each week’s time trial results (eg. first ten placings and prize winners.) The editor should also publish changes to event details sent by clubs, notices from the National Committee and competition tables supplied by associations.
Note. The cost of this service would be borne by the 990 clubs affiliated to the CTT. The CTT should ensure that it has it’s own publication network for disbursing information To clubs and competitors which will maintain the highest possible level of interest in the sport.The CTT should not rely on the Cycling Press for this service.The Cycling Press although a valuable part of our sport will follow their commercial Interests and these are not synonymous with those of CTT. (Although the proposer of this motion sent the result of his event to Snowdens by 11am on the morning of the event, the result was not published for three weeks.)

8. Election of Officers and Committee.

Current Officers and Committee.
Chairman, Ron Diplock.
Secretary, Vacant.
Treasurer, Christine Foster.
Open Events Secretary, Mike Dix.
Club Events Secretary, Ann Wooldridge.
Courses Assessment Secretary, Toby Wooldridge. 
General Committee, Bridget Boon, Andy Cook, Arthur Comer, John Else, Mary-Jane Hutchinson, Geoff Lonsdale, Brian Miller, David Notley. There are two vacancies.

A. Chairman. As previously announced, Ron Diplock is retiring. David Notley has been nominated by the Committee to take over, however further nominations are invited  
B. Secretary. We have been without a permanent Secretary for two years, the Chairman has been covering this role in an acting capacity. Toby Wooldridge has been nominated by the Committee to take over this role, however further nominations are invited.
C. Treasurer.
D. Assistant Secretary Open Events. As announced in the Secretarial report, Mike Dix found it essential that he relinquishes this role (With sincere regret) We therefore need a replacement for this very important job.
E. Club Events Secretary.
F. Assistant Secretary Course Assessment. If Toby is elected Secretary, he is prepared to also continue in this role
G. Committee of 10. 
H. 4 Delegates to the National Council, in early December.
I.  Auditor.
J. Test Co-ordinator.

9. Selection of events for the District Team Championship.

10. GHS Heat for 2006.

11. John Galway Award.

12 Time Course and date fixing for 2006 Open Events

13. Any other business, at the discretion of the Chairman.

29/07/05

25/07/05

26/06/05

22/06/05

27/05/05

20/05/05

11/05/05

30/04/05
Ann Wooldridge

16/04/05
David Notley

14/04/05
David Keene

01/04/05
David Notley

18/02/05
Bridget Boon