Minutes of the Executive Board meeting held in the Michael Pearson East Building, Loughborough University on Saturday 26 April 2014 at 10.

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Executive Board meeting held in the Michael Pearson East Building, Loughborough University on Saturday 26 April 2014 at Present: Ian Howard (Chair), (IPH), Zara Hyde Peters OBE (CEO), (ZHP), Jem Lawson (JL), Stephen Moffatt (SM), Malcolm Westwood (MW), Ryan Wilkinson (RW), Mike Battersby (MBa), Neill Craigie (NC), Mary Hardwick (MH), Via Skype Link: Jon Ridgeon (JR) In Attendance: Brendan Purcell (BP) Judith Brand, Minutes, Referenced: Mike Townley (MT), Jonathon Riall (JR), Gareth Hall (GH), Helen Wyeth (HW) Sally Lockyer (SL) Item Minute Owner and due date 1 1 Opening Remarks IPH welcomed all present to the meeting and following the recruitment process, recommended to the Board the reappointment of NC as Independent Director for Communications & Marketing. Congratulations were offered to NC on his reappointment. 2 Apologies Apologies had been received from David McNamee and Sarah Springman 3 Declarations of Interest IPH - ETU Board 4 Actions from the Strategy Review The Strategy Review papers from the January Board had been re-circulated and IPH was keen to monitor progress, and asked all action owners to update ZHP in the next 7-10 days with agreed timings and next steps. This item will be included on the agenda at future Board meetings and the action owners were confirmed as MH, NC, SM and IPH. IPH confirmed that 1 Unless otherwise specified all actions due by next meeting

2 he will visit triathlonscotland later this year and discuss triathlon branding. Action: ZHP to generate an action list and timetable for Board monitoring. 4.2 Financial Update and Review Year End Accounts RW advised that the Year End Accounts were near completion and we were still on track to achieve the forecast year end results. Provisional accounts would be circulated to the Board week commencing 12 May Action RW to authorise distribution of provisional accounts. RW It was noted that the fully audited accounts would be presented at the July Board. RW advised the Board that UK Sport had confirmed that BTF and TE had met all their funding triggers criteria for the period with one remaining trigger for the coming financial year, the achievement of the Intermediate Equity Standard. 4.3 Performance BP summarised the Olympic process for triathlon from British Triathlon s perspective. He reminded the Board that our objective is to secure three slots in the men s and women s individual events. He noted that in 2015 the European qualifying event is the European Games in Baku not the ETU Championships in Geneva. IPH advised that he would confirm this understanding of the continental qualification. IPH BP advised of the changes in World Class Squads for both triathlon and paratriathlon as a result of increased funding and highlighted some recent performances. The media launch of the World Class Paratriathlon squad will be held in Loughborough on the 6 May 2014 and Board members were invited to attend. BP noted for the record the professional way in which JR had dealt with the challenges of classification uncertainty and the potential Rio qualification. BP explained the new ITU points system for paratriathlon and advised that we would be sending a small squad to the WTS in Yokohama to secure some early season points. In conclusion IPH thanked BP for his contribution to the Board s understanding of the Performance programme. JL enquired about preparation for the Commonwealth Games in respect of the British Performance team. BP advised that staff are working closely

3 across all three HN teams provision of shared support through co-location of athletes and selection support where requested Major Events PruHealth London WTS Update JR gave a brief update on preparations for the 2014 PruHealth London WTS which were going according to plan. Liverpool Festival Update JR reported that the initial take up of entries had now slowed and there was still significant event capacity to be filled. JR recommended to the Board that the mass participation event that takes place around the British Triathlon Championships be rebranded as Tri Liverpool. The two reasons given in support of this were that the championships brand might be off putting for novice participants and Liverpool City Council are supporting the event to encourage greater level of activity amongst local people. The use of the Tri Liverpool brand was seen to be addressing these concerns and will hopefully drive more entries over the coming weeks Commercial Sponsorship ZHP gave an update on current sponsorship opportunities and advised that contracts had been agreed with two of the outstanding negotiations with a further two in the final stages of discussion. Synergy Report ZHP gave an update on the Synergy project and explained that the final resources had been received and tested. The joint marketing group had access to the resources via a Dropbox folder. The target brand list (Gold Group action plan) had also been shared and the responsibility for initiating contacts had been assigned. It was agreed that from the 1 June IPH would be the lead contact supported by MH and NC as required. UM would maintain and administer the project fields and the action plan and support any customer presentations. On a question raised by JL on the impact on the Home Nations, ZHP advised that updates to the Home Nations would be facilitated through their representatives on the joint marketing project and via the Chairs. A tentative value has been placed on the rights that have been packaged together but there is an acceptance that the financial impact will depend on the sponsorship secured. Action: ZHP to deliver a training session on the marketing tools to interested Board members. JR left the meeting.

4 4.6 Communications NC presented a paper which outlined the plan to spend the additional 30,000 awarded by the Board in the budget process to support the communications strategic objectives. The two key projects were the website redesign and redevelopment in partnership with Triathlon England and a series of social media campaigns highlighting specific events such as the 2014 PruHealth WTS and Glasgow 2014, in order to build the fan base. IPH asked for information on timelines and NC confirmed that this project was one of a number being considered under the Digital IT platform review which MH explained briefly to the Board. A full report of this project being delivered by Kynsale would come to the next Board meeting Business ZHP requested the Board s approval of the reappointment of MT as British Triathlon s Legal Adviser. She noted that MT s lengthy relationship with triathlon, along with his extensive sports law knowledge and his role as IPC adviser meant that this was an extremely good arrangement for the sport. The Board agreed his reappointment on the same terms as previously agreed. Risk Register Update MH drew the Board s attention to the Risk Register Update paper previously circulated. IPH queried the four new risks highlighted, three of which had already been discussed during the meeting. The replacement of the CEO was a new risk but IPH advised the Board of the processes to mitigate the risk including detailed handover documentation and the recruitment process that was currently running and expected to complete on the 22 May. IPH proposed that he be considered the acting CEO which in practice meant that with the support of other key Board directors they would ensure that the Senior Management Team would continue normal operation. RW requested that the new appointment process consider a longer notice period for the CEO ZHP has also offered to provide a handover to the new incumbent if required. BP requested that the Senior Management Team have the opportunity to meet the prospective candidates at the final interview stage. All of the above proposals were agreed Action JB to advise Board on final interview dates. BTFT update BTFT report was noted. JB

5 Draft Social Media Policy The Board approved the new Social Media Policy as an addition to staff policies and procedures. Action HW to circulate to staff and update staff handbook. HW 4.8 International IPH confirmed that as a result of ZHP s resignation HW would attend the ETU Congress along with SL, IPH and MBa. The Board agreed that BTF would be represented at the ITU Congress by IPH and MH. Once the new CEO was appointed and availability ascertained, additional delegates would be added subject to compliance with ITU Constitutional requirements. If there is eligibility for an additional male delegate MW confirmed his availability. Action IPH to confirm final delegation on conclusion of CEO recruitment. IPH 4.9 Triathlon England Membership update JL updated the Board on TE membership review which is being conducted by Two Circles. A final proposal is planned to be presented to the TE Board on May 17 which will be attended by IPH and HW. The review is looking at a variety of membership packages that could be considered and the anticipated growth that TE would wish to target. The issue was raised about the alignment of HN membership benefits. MB questioned the implications for Welsh and Scottish membership schemes. IPH suggested that the views of Wales and Scotland be taken into account on the final decision of TE Matters Arising from the Minutes not dealt with in meeting & AOCB AGM Date It was agreed that the BTF AGM would be held on the same date as the TE AGM which was scheduled for 15 November; the timing would be agreed in consultation with the TE staff team who were planning a series of activities over that weekend Awards Reception A paper outlining the proposals for a change of format for the 2014 Awards evening had been previously circulated. After some discussion it was agreed that an evening reception, by invitation, at a venue in the Midlands/North, sometime during the first two weeks of November, was the preferred option. Action: HW to circulate best proposals. 5 Reports for Information HW The reports were noted with interest.

6 Sub-Committee/Programme reports The previously circulated reports were taken as read with the exception of the following: Technical Committee Report It was noted that some staff support to the Chair of the Technical Committee had been offered by TE, the process to be managed through GH. The Board approved the Terms of Reference of the Technical Committee previously circulated. Action: JB to post to the BTF Website JB Home Nations ZHP agreed to follow up completion and sign off of Memorandum of Understanding and Management Agreement with Welsh Triathlon and triathlonscotland. ZHP