1. Welcome & apologies for absence.
Apologies: Terry O’Brien (TOB). It was noted that Colin Matheson (CM) was on furlough.
2. Register of interests
The register of interests had been sent out with the papers for the meeting. All Directors were asked to inform DK of any changes – none were mentioned at the meeting.
3. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of Directors on 18 May 2020.
One addition was noted to the minutes – TOB had informed the Committee by email on 30 March 2020 that he had decided to step down as Coordinator for 2021 due to family commitments. The revised minutes were approved.
4. Matters arising from previous meetings (not covered in the agenda below)
RO advised that he still needed to address the map copyright issue.
5. Finance report
KR advised that there no changes since the last meeting. No expenses had been received or paid since the meeting.
6. Lochaber 2021
A review and discussion of the 2021 Comparison sheet (Commitments; Attendance / revenue; Other Considerations / Risk) took place. Key points discussed were:
- DK had approached MOR about moving the Moray 2023 event to 2021, but they were not keen and thought it was too soon for another big event in their area.
- It was agreed that if the event could not go ahead in Lochaber in 2021 due to Covid-19, it was unlikely to be allowed to go ahead elsewhere in Scotland as the same restrictions would apply.
- Paying for mapping for Lochaber would not be a lost cost if the event was cancelled, as this would be needed for a future S6D event there. There were sufficient cash reserves to cover the mapping costs.
- A revised mapping budget was presented of £25/30,000.
- The largest financial commitment where the Company would lose money if the event was cancelled was the contract for toilets required by the end of the year, so a go / no go decision would be needed before then.
- The status of parking for each day was not known. From July, CM would be employed 2 days per week, split between SOA and the 6-Day Company, and so would be able to progress parking and confirm whether landowners were content for the event to proceed.
- EM advised that in Sweden, they were currently holding events for up to 50 people, with this was increasing to 250 shortly. Learning from how they run such events in Sweden would be useful to feed into the Lochaber Central Organising Team (COT).
- RO had an email ready to go to Controllers to ascertain whether they would be prepared to be involved in the event and Ross Lilley had prepared a preliminary allocation of clubs to each day.
It was agreed that the latest time for a Go / No Go decision was the autumn and that monthly 6-Day Board meetings would be held to monitor event progress and the ongoing Covid situation and restrictions.
ACTION:
- RO to confirm status of day parking with C CM
- RO to engage with controllers to get signed up for 2021
- RO to engage with clubs / planners to get signed up for 2021
RO felt that there was sufficient management resource available to properly direct and oversee the event and that the coordinator role could be covered by the COT if a replacement for TOB could not be found.
It was agreed that the recent statement on the website regarding the 2021 event did not need updating at this time.
7. WOC 2024
The Durty Events contract still needed to be reviewed. Consideration will be given to a modest retainer for the additional 24 months.
ACTION:
- DK to discuss Durty Events contract with Burness Paull.
- DK to agree appropriate press / web-site announcements with Paul McGreal.
8. SOA business relevant to 6-Day Company (RO)
The SOA Board were meeting every 2-3 weeks to work through the practical details for starting up orienteering events when allowed, being mindful of the differences between British and Scottish Government guidance. A route map had been published on the SOA website. SportScotland were currently unaware of the date when orienteering events would be allowed to start in Scotland.
9. AOB
None
10. Future meeting dates
27 July at 7.30 pm via Zoom
The meeting closed at 8.15 p.m.