New Chair, positive AGM looks to the future

admin   November 30, 2023   Comments Off on New Chair, positive AGM looks to the future

Our top officials – secretary Stephen Beattie, (outgoing) chair Darren Colville and Treasurer Heather Hamilton.

It was the club AGM last night, and the big news was that Darren Colville has decided to step down after eight years on the committee, including the last four years as Chairman. Darren reflected on an enjoyable time as chairman – not everything went as planned, but he greatly appreciated the enthusiasm and support of the committee and the wider club over the years. Particular highlights included the 75th anniversary celebrations and the success of the Race Team. Bernard proposed a vote of thanks, and this was warmly endorsed by everyone present.

Darren was presented with a certificate and trophy in recognition of his work as club chair.

Secretary Stephen Beattie then presented his report. Membership was down to 101, reflecting a general trend in amateur sports clubs this year. We now have 19 accredited marshals, who are essential for running events, and we got a grant from Ards and North Down council to buy signs. We ran a full programme of events in including the Tour of Ards and the Town Centre Races. The latter would not have been possible without another grant from Ards and North Down Council to cover the cost of traffic management.

The new Inter Club League with North Down was a great success, with numbers higher than previous years. And even better – our own Stuart Millar won! Unfortunately the Champion of Champions had to be cancelled due to roadworks, but we ran two popular trail quests as well as a full programme of club races. Stephen thanked everyone who helped out during the year, including our club run road captains, website contributors, Bernard for graphic design, and Sean Hardon for organising the marshal rotas.

Heather Hamilton presented her second treasurer’s report. Overall, the club made a slight loss on the year, in spite of generous grants from Ards and North Down Council, and ongoing sponsorship from Boyd Rice Solicitors and Ulster Property Sales. John Green was thanked for his sterling efforts on the grant applications (which photographs from the Belgian Project’s David McVeigh), but the bottom line is that we need more sponsors if we are to keep running our ambitious and successful calendar of events. Let us know if you have any suggestions.

To help close the funding gap, and after a decade of no increases, the committee proposed increasing club membership to £20 for seniors, £5 for supporters and £5 for youth. This was accepted by the meeting. Club membership is due on 1st December. The best way to pay is by Bank Transfer to the club’s account, but you can pay it to Cycling Ireland as part of your licence application, or give Heather a cheque or cash. More details will be sent to members shortly.

The was a good turnout. Light refreshments always help!

Next up was Ben Healey with the Race Team Report. The Inter Club League was a great success, and attracted many riders who wouldn’t normally tackle road races.

The new Tour of Ards course was widely praised, and will hopefully be easier to run now that we have experience of it. The town centre races were well supported (the biggest turnout of club riders and marshals all year), and it was great to see Barry Mitchell take a dominating win in the A4 race. There was also success at the Ulster Hill Climb Championships, with Kieran McKenna winning the M50 class and Stuart MIllar second overall. Stuart also finished the Irish road race championship, in some very famous company.

The Team used the Boyd Rice sponsorship to cover a trip to the Newry 3-day, with Ian Carson, Aaron Fegan and Ben Healey supported by Sean Hardon, Lindsay Gamble and James McFarlane. It was a great learning experience, and all our riders finished. The team also rode a team time trial.

The Team now have an established Sunday training run, and are looking to build the squad for next season.

Election of Officers

  • President – James McFarlane (re-elected)
  • Chair – Dean Bradley (taking over from Darren Colville). Dean thanked Darren for his leadership and drive, and for leaving the club in good shape.
  • Secretary – Stephen Beattie (re-elected for a second 3-year term)
  • Treasurer – Heather Hamilton (2 years left to run)
  • Child Protection Officer – Dany Blondeel (re-elected)
  • Committee – William Orr, Bryan Craig, Colin Wilson, Richard Williams, Ben Healey, Joan Lewis and John Green agreed to continue. There are two vacancies – let us know if you’re interested.
  • Time Keepers – Darren Colville, Gavin McBride, Deidre Murray, Paul Robinson, Stephen Beattie and Evie Martin agreed to continue.
  • Auditor – Richard Hanna (re-elected)
  • Kit Officer – Gavin McBride.

Any Other Business

The following subjects were discussed.

  1. The Christmas Fry Run will be on 17th December. Likely venue is Saints and Sinners in Donaghadee, with groups leaving Conway Square at 9am, and fries served from 11.30. Cost £8.95. Seasonal dress encouraged!
  2. Don’t forget the Christmas Day 10 – first rider off at 10.01 from the Flood Gates on the Portaferry Road. Always great craic – all welcome.
  3. Accredited marshals should have got an email to confirm they’ve covered at least two events this year. Contract Stephen if you didn’t get this.
  4. We’re hoping to open a White Kit order soon. This is the Ards CC official racing design, so don’t miss out if you’re planning to ride open races next year.
  5. Two green ways have recently received planning permission – from Ards to Bangor and from Ards to Comber. John Green encouraged members to take an interest in these, and also in discussions about the remodelling of Newtownards town centre. We should also consider Sustrans, and cycle training, as part of future events.
  6. There was a big debate on the club’s website and social media presence. The club committee with review this – any comments (and volunteers to help) welcome.
  7. If the Woman on Wheels initiative is run again next year, Bernard offered to help with an Ards CC group as this has proved a successful route to recruiting new members in the past.
  8. We’ll be firming up plans for the next ICL in January. Again, suggestions welcome.
  9. There was a wide ranging discussion, initiated by Ian Carson, on how do we help members becomes better cyclists. Comments included –
    • How can we make our club runs more popular? (Is there anything we can learn from North Down?)
    • Are there any Cycling Ireland coaching courses
    • The Age Profile of the club is quite old.
    • Cycling is very broad – where can we get the “best bang for our buck”?
    • Could we target a couple of Sportives? (e.g. Clare, ToS)
  • It was also highlighted that the club is already doing a lot. For example –

As the building staff came in to close up, it was agreed that there was lots of material for the committee, and all members, to mull over. Good luck to Dean and the team, and see you at our events over the Christmas period.