Welcome and Apologies
DK welcomed everyone. Apologies were received from Kevin Reynard (KR).
Register of Interests
EF reported her membership of National Trust for Scotland.
Approval of Minutes of Meeting of Directors held on 16 March 2022
Approved as read.
Matters arising from Minutes of 16 March 2022
No matters to be dealt with other than those on the agenda.
Finance Report
No report available as KR was unable to attend the meeting.
Moray 2023
Day teams
EF indicated that all Day team positions had been filled other than Days 1 and 2.
FVO are leading Day 2 and EF is chasing but has confidence that FVO will provide officials – an assistant planner and organiser are required.
INVOC were asked to lead Day 1 with the support of STAG, RR and SOLWAY. INVOC have provided planners for the Day, but a Day organiser has yet to be identified. STAG have indicated they are unable to provide a Day Organiser. EF indicated that she is approaching individuals directly and is going to approach RR/SOLWAY as well. RR had previously indicated they would be able to help on the day.
EF indicated that the volunteer burden is something which must be seen as a concern for this and future events.
Mapping
EF reported that Mapping Tenders had been received and Donald Grassie was looking to finalise mapping procurement shortly. The area of Culbin to be mapped has been rationalised, after a meeting with the Day 4 and 5 controllers, to 71% of the initial area. This area is to accommodate long and middle races with long walks to the starts.
Technical
David Esson is liaising with the computing team to finalise the manual.
Computing/ Entries
EF reported that the computing team are meeting before the next COT meeting and will report their discussions.
Publicity
EF reported that a press release went out to local news outlets. A flyer is being prepared for distribution at the Lakes 5 Days event.
Embargoes
Maps have been prepared of the embargoed areas and are ready to go on SOA, BOF and 6 Days websites.
WRE
EF indicated she has received the application form for the WREs which is to be submitted to BOF in June and confirmation of whether the application is successful will be received in October.
Arena / Parking
FLS have indicated that they are processing the application, but its finalisation has been delayed now that the Trail O application has been submitted for the Rest Day. Discussions with FLS in respect of their new charging policy has been positive and they had indicated that they would treat the 6 Days competition as a special case. We are awaiting confirmation of the charge when permission is finalised.
NH reported that Moray Council have confirmed that they the arena area can be used if local groups do not object for Day 3 and parking has been agreed. They are agreeable to the use of Forres Academy for parking for the rest day and the location of the sprint download. The sprint event is not intended to be a full sprint but a normal rest day sprint.
Contracts in respect of the use of the parking arenas is being sent to relevant owners. We are trying to finalise costings to allow budgeting to progress with expected numbers in the hundreds.
Bussing
EF reported that she had consulted with several local campsites which took in campervans, and it was being investigated whether it would be viable to run a bus to events for those staying in the camp sites to reduce parking.
Event Centre
Forres Town Hall has been booked and will be the location for Saturday registration and for the proposed ceilidh on Tuesday night.
COT
next meeting is on Monday 13th June
WOC 2024
NH reported that the IOF visit went well and IOF are happy with progress so far. Venues and arenas were visited and discussed with the controllers/ planners. TV coverage was discussed and how it would work with the venues/arenas. The IOF met with the representatives of City of Edinburgh Council and Event Scotland.
Bulletin 1 is ready to be published after WOC 2022. Members of WOC team are attending WOC 22 in Denmark.
Next IOF visit is likely to be the Big Weekend 2023.
6 Days 2025
DK reported he had been trying to persuade clubs in Deeside to host the 6-Days in 2025. MAROC/GRAMP are discussing whether they have sufficient volunteers/forests.
RO indicated that Terry O’Brien was still wanting the competition to be hosted in the south and was advocating a change of formats. It was agreed that this was something to be discussed at a future meeting.
Succession Planning
DK had prepared and circulated a draft succession strategy together with a list of dates of appointment for the current directors. It was agreed that the term of service should coincide with the current SOA policy – 2 x 3-year terms – and the strategy should be adopted.
It was discussed how a timeline of when existing directors retire should be determined, and it was agreed that no more than 2 directors should retire at each AGM. Those considering retiring should inform DK so that it could be discussed at the next meeting. It was agreed that the position of Director should be advertised but that the person retiring should also assist in identifying a potential replacement. Action: All
Strategy and Business Plan
DK had prepared a paper for discussion in respect of the strategy and business plan for the period 2023 to 2030.
Aims and Objectives
It was discussed whether the aims and objectives should be clearer about the format or should retain the flexibility of providing for a multi-day event. It was agreed that any event should have the forest at its core but maintain the flexibility to evolve and be more specific about a weeklong multi day event rather a long weekend.
It was agreed that the aims and objectives should provide that one of the aims was to support SOA and clubs to develop the sport including financial support.
Key Partnerships and Funding
It was agreed that most of the funding would realistically come from the public sector but that external funding would continue to be sought. It was highlighted that external funding can be helpful for event enhancements, but they can increase the volunteer burden.
Competitor Numbers
DK highlighted that the event would seek to encourage growth of competitors from abroad within the constraints of the event and sustainability must be balanced against growth.
Maps and Terrain
It was agreed that the event should continue to move around Scotland and develop new areas but not at the expense of the event.
Competitor Experience
It was noted that 5 days gave more time for competitors to have a holiday as well as compete. The event should continue to seek to attract elite competitors as this had pushed standards for the whole event. The event / race formats should continually be reviewed and adapted as appropriate.
Event Support
RO raised that the company should continually challenge whether the volunteer requirement can be reduced / event simplified. A review of the number of courses should be considered for each event as it impacts on the volunteer requirement, but the issue is start windows. It was emphasised that volunteers should be able to claim reasonable expenses.
Sustainability
it was agreed that the strategy should state the intent of the company re each heading and all reasonable endeavours should be used. The wording in the current strategy should be maintained and should include a section in respect of working with local communities. It was agreed that reference to carbon neutral should not be included as it could potentially tie the company to something which may not be possible.
Publicity / Marketing
It was agreed that economic impact assessments were a good tool to support the relationship with councils and funding bodies.
Risk assessments/ rescue plans
it was noted that the risk register was last reviewed a year ago and it would be appropriate to have a summary of the key risks at the end of the documents. This would be reviewed at the next meeting. Action: DK
SOA Business relevant to 6-Day Company
RO reported Keith Dawson had been elected as president and he was taking the place of Ann Hickling on the WOC Steering Group.
RO reported that agreement had been reached with BOF for funding for the WOC legacy project and Ann Hickling was drafting an advert. WOC was to be used to develop the profile of the sport.
NH reported that Lochaber 2021 had been nominated by Torquil McLeod of Visit Scotland for the Outstanding Sporting Event at the 2022 Scottish Thistle Awards. NH was to complete the entry form and would circulate it to RO and DK for comment. It is a national award but very competitive.
A controllers / planners CPD meeting is being organised for 8th October on the weekend of the last SOL/JHIs.
The FLS agreement has been circulated for comment and as previously indicated FLS were looking at the 6-Day event as a special event and a reduction in fees will be applied.
AOB
None
13. Date of Next Meeting
TBC September/October. Action: DK