At its meeting on 15 July the OACT Board noted progress on previous action items as follows:
- Signage has been developed and circulated to all clubs for day organisers to use to promote local events.
- In the absence of a dedicated ‘Newcomers Welcome’ officer, all organising clubs have been asked to promote welcoming duties.
- All participants at the Broulee events were sent a survey about their experience. Comments (received from c.25% of all participants) have mostly been very positive, with an emphasis on having enjoyed access to new maps and sand dunes terrain. Accommodation and expenditure data will be useful for making our case to potential future regional/government sponsors.
- Following the Easter break-in at the OACT shed, John Scown has been following up with ACT Property Group seeking to replace: the floor hinge plate which was wrecked during the break-in, the chain and lock on the small oval side gate, and the opaque roof sheet of the shed that is cracked and partially causes the water ingress (not break-in related).
The President reported that:
- there was a last minute problem with the coming event at the Arboretum, as previously granted permission had been varied
- Cockatoos members will be running Map Mates for the next six weeks
- Shannon Forrest has agreed to run Keeping Up With The Kids
- OA has provided $5000 funding to host the current MapRun series, which will include season prizes.
The Board noted OA is hosting a Zoom meeting in the coming week to discuss a nationally consistent membership model, including whether there should be a family membership category. OV has proposed a model with no family category, but that would see all adults paying $40 and all children $6. The Board considered the implications of this model for the ACT and concluded that it would be acceptable from our perspective, especially if it promotes a national solution. We should confirm what age is meant for ‘child’.
The Secretary reported that:
- an email discussion was held out-of-session about the possibility of following OV’s example of replacing old Version 5 SportIdent loan sticks with Version 8. The Board noted (and agreed with) the conclusion that there was not a pressing need to replace our stock.
- ACT Sport & Rec have started to be more proactive about sending invitations to sporting organisations to participate in forums of interest to members of sports bodies. These will be advertised through the bulletin where of possible interest/relevance to orienteers.
- Susanne Harrysson has queried whether OACT should/would subsidise any members to receive first aid training. The Board considered the merits of trying to identify, train and/or allocate first aiders at our events. Members recalled that previous attempts to do so had been met with a low response (not just where training was offered in return for being allocated to a particular event/series), and noted: most of our events are in or near urban areas and therefore have reasonably ready access to health or hospital services; where incidents occur on courses, the first aider may not be nearby, and if an injured person comes to or is at the assembly area they can usually then access any significant treatment in the community; our equipment officers ensure the basic first aid kits available at all events are kept up-to-date for the treatment of the most common/likely cuts and abrasions.
The Treasurer reported that:
- funds have been disbursed to Cockatoos
- our Bank balance remains very healthy incl funds from the Broulee event.
The Board continued the discussion about making changes to our bookkeeping arrangements, whether by streamlining our existing MYOB system, changing to another system (eg QuickBooks) as suggested by the auditor, or procuring the services of a bookkeeper – either to assist with any transition or taking on a full range of services.
Geoff has called a meeting of the Events and Planning Sub-committee for 22 July. There is a proposal for the Mt Stranger and Stromlo events to be swapped, but there is a possible limitation arising from access to Mt Stranger for parking.
Easter 2023 – Stephen has made contact with Jindabyne Sport & Rec Centre and Tom Landon-Smith about possible accommodation and map options and will convene a meeting of the steering committee for early August.
AusChamps/ASOC/ISANZ update
The ACT team for the Schools Championships has been announced. All 20 participants have accepted their offers. The Board thanked the selection panel for their work in achieving this outcome.
The Board ratified the agreement Phil gave out of session to subsidise the costs of the third official travelling with the ASOC team.
Valerie reported that Carnival organisers are mindful they will have to make a decision as early as practicable about the carnival going ahead (or not) in the event of any COVID-19 outbreak. This would enable any available refunds to be obtained (eg for travel and accommodation), and should guard against any of our competitors getting stranded in Tasmania. The Board considered options for providing team members with a general subsidy as well as a possible hardship subsidy. The Board agreed to subsidise each participant $200 and encouraged clubs to match this funding for their member competitors. The Board agreed that if team members are prepared to organise the final Saturday event for the season, the team can have an amount equivalent to half the nominal takings from the event.
OA has agreed to facilitate ISANZ, an independent schools program in which students from Australia and New Zealand can participate over the same championship courses as their representative peers. Valerie informed the Board that this has been a very contentious issue at OA level, but has been settled on the basis of ISANZ entrants being required to be endorsed as competent at the level by their home jurisdictions. If ACT individuals enter for ISANZ prior to seeking local endorsement, Tasmanian organisers will refer them to the ACT coach, Andrew Cumming-Thom, in the first instance. The Board endorsed the out-of-session acceptance of Toni Brown’s offer to act as facilitator for any interested ACT students.
Other business
Mapping: Hugh Moore has identified an area near Bournda that could be considered for mapping for future events.
Audit: Geoff took the Board through the process and comprehensive documentation required to prepare for the annual audit. Geoff currently stores the historical records at his home.
Next meeting
23 August (when we will need to set next year’s fees)