QUESTION TIME

ASK THE COMMISSION

WONDERFUL RESPONSE - posted 24 November 2011

Our new feature, "Question Time - Ask the Commission" is proving a great hit with Spokesman readers.

Already we have received over a dozen first class questions which are being processed.  We plan to publish all the Commission's replies on a progressive basis over the next few days.  Keep the questions coming by sending you queries to   - and keep clicking www.spokesman-online for the replies.

Question Fifteen

Since we have lost the Cycle Speedway Council AGM, how can the sport describe itself as democratic and why have British Cycling taken over running cycle speedway without being accountable to the membership?

British Cycling is a democratic body run by a Board, the members of which are elected for terms of up to three years. The democratic accountability in British Cycling is via the regional boards, the members of which who are, in turn, elected each year at their annual general meetings.  A number of these Boards do include persons from cycle speedway.

The day-to-day running of the sport is administered through discipline-specific Commissions which are made up of persons closely connected to the discipline of the Commission they serve. The members of each Commission are approved by the Board, for
whom they act. The Cycle Speedway Commission is almost wholly made up of persons from within the discipline, often with particular knowledge or expertise of benefit to the work of the Commission.

Four members of the Commission are democratically elected each year by their regions as the regional representatives. The only persons
on the CS Commission not originally from Cycle Speedway are Colin Docker (Chair and BC Board Member) and Paul West (Administrator).

Question Fourteen

BC and the Commission have often spoken of the need to have a public relations officer for the sport. Andy Whitehouse did a good job for us, but has now moved on.  Wouldn't it be advantageous to use Joe McLaughlin's knowledge and expertise.

Joe is already engaged in a number of promotional areas within Cycle Speedway.

Question Thirteen

Without last minute sponsors, our 60th anniversary would not have made the Sky programme. Will the Commission and BC look forward to supporting cycle speedway, especially as its a first time event in Wales.

See answer to Question 14

Question Twelve
Can BC give CS more up to date coverage on its website.  It has improved but still remains far behind in terms of being up-to-date especially with giving dates / times of forthcoming fixtures.

We can always improve communication, and constantly work to do so. The matter of dates of fixtures is covered, immediately the fixture list is finalised work begins to ensure the site reflects the dates. The matter of times is being reviewed to offer a good reference point. The BC CS Newsletter, which is published both on the BC site and its contents referred to in Spokesman-Online, does carry information on all calendar updates. The calendar on the BC website is continually updated as and when changes and additions become known. All reports received from clubs, be they updates or reviews, are included in the BC website as soon as they are made available.
 
What drives the content of the BC website are: the number of person hours available to input the work, information received from promoting clubs and organisations, and the mantra “Better Never Stops”.

Question Eleven
Do the Commission feel that disciplinary matters should be
dealt with in-house given our sport is far removed from any other BC
discipline. The very unfair treatment meted out to Scott Doherty an
example.

... and Question Ten
Will any further discipline meetings fully adhere to the BC code of
conduct in conducting the meeting, ie sufficient notification,
representation, opportunity to call witnesses to support your side of the
story, or at least give statements for consideration.

All disciplinary meetings are held under the conditions stated within the BC bye-laws. There is no evidence to suggest that these have not been fully complied with in each and every case so far heard. The BC CS Commission have ensured that all those disciplinary hearings held in the last two years have had present, a representative from cycle speedway to give guidance to the panel where appropriate as the workings of the discipline. This person has been there solely in an advisory capacity and not as part of the panel itself.

You may be interested to note that as of 1 January 2012, a new centralised system will be in place, and regions will no longer deal with disciplinary matters. This new process has been developed by the BC legal team with input from the disciplines, and is carefully designed to be transparent, open, objective, and fair. The system will apply to all disciplines with BC. There is no case for having separate systems per discipline, which could result in inequality which would be totally wrong. However it is the case that the makeup of each disciplinary panel will include a representative of that particular cycling discipline. 

The Commission cannot, and will not, comment on individual cases.

Question Nine
It's great to see that BC has developed a coaching course for cycle speedway, but cannot  understand the need to take a level 2 prior to adding this qualification, if your only interest is cycle speedway. I'm sure there are many riders who would do the CS course but who are put off by having to be a Level 2.  Surely the objective is to have more coaches.

Indeed, an increasing number of properly qualified coaches is the overall objective. Coach education is aligned to national standards which apply across the sporting spectrum, not just in cycling. Thus the attainment of a level 2 specific qualification ensures that anyone qualified has a good understanding of coaching practice, fitness, physiology, and all the attributes that ensure that they are knowledgeable and able to safely and correctly apply that knowledge to any rider they are coaching. The coach is then able to add their own experience and technical
skills knowledge to the solid base provided by the level 2 qualification.

Question Eight
Is the decision to replace the under-16 final on Bank holiday Monday with the Women's final the correct decision?  No issue with women's/girls' racing but the under-16 final generally provides a real starter for the main event, the senior final.

The key final day for the individuals weekend should be allocated to the key categories of cycle speedway sport for that weekend – the Open Championship and the Women’s Championship. The under-16’s and under-10’s now have a day dedicated just themselves rather than playing ‘second fiddle’ to the more senior categories.

Question Seven
Given the well documented negative attitude to officials, referees
especially, are the Commission looking to impose fines on clubs as well as the penalty points advocated?

Discipline is always a concern for the Commission. If disciplinary action is required against a club, it will be considered and may be processed through the BC disciplinary system in the same way as all other matters are dealt with. It needs to be noted that a number of clubs have, over the past two years, been disciplined and/or reprimanded by BC for their poor disciplinary record and where appropriate individuals within those clubs (both officials and riders) called to account for their actions. The BC CS Commission agrees that a considerable number of club officials within the sport do little to ‘lead by example’ when it comes to the treatment of officials within cycle speedway and will continue to work with clubs in this area.

Question Six
In June the Commission, quite rightly, made a decision to stamp out violent conduct within the sport.  This started by referring Robert Bandosz to the Yorkshire Board of BCF for a disciplinary hearing. Why did this stance stop there and why were other instances of violence, some of which actually occurred on the track and received red cards, not reported down the same route? It simply cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another.

The issue of discipline is one which the Commission views very seriously.  Action is taken when the Referee's Report is received which gives details that suggest that further action should be considered against an individual as a result of their actions or conduct within the environment of a match. On some occasions it might be that other reports (verbal or written) might trigger an initial investigation.  There is absolutely no case of one rule for one, one for another. We are all responsible for projecting a fair and decent image of the sport, and will do all in our power to promote this image.

Question Five
Could the thinking behind the scheduling of all the Veteran events over one weekend (a bank holiday one at that) be explained and why no consultation has been undertaken with either teams or individuals regarding this change?

The logic behind the bringing together of the various groups of British championships is to both save travel and fuel costs for individuals and to try to provide space on the calendar for other events. Furthermore it makes sense for riders who may wish to participate in a number of championships related to their age group to have the opportunity to do so in one hit over one weekend rather than having to travel up to four different parts of the country at four different times of the year to compete. There is also a social element as well and enables those more serious with regard to their participation to have to peak just once rather than a number of times throughout the season. Bank Holidays suit this purpose well.  

Question Four
Whilst I understand the Commission is trying to reduce costs, has any real thought been given to the staging of all the Vet's events over three days in June. If you are unfortunate to be injured on Saturday, you miss all three meetings.  Cost savings in fuel are going to be absorbed by hotel bills.

See response to previous question above.

Question Three
Why is the Development Plan taking so long to develop?

Ian Brown and his development group have actually been working extremely hard at the plan during the last six months, with the Premier League and BY&JL being the first to be reviewed. The racing calendar is currently being revamped and the cycle speedway coaching qualification is set to go ahead in December. Work has also begun with four of our clubs to produce a development project that we will all be able to use to grow our clubs.

Since the launch of the project in May work commitments and a heavy summer racing schedule as hampered progress so far but the important factor is that it is not a “Project 2015”, but an open ended and constantly developing plan to progress the sport. The work being done at present will provide a sound foundation for the future, and at the development conference everyone will be updated on its progress.

Whilst there is not much “above ground” yet, the foundations are well established, and good foundations are the essential part of constructing a solid and robust ongoing platform for the sport’s progression and development.

Question Two
Why has British Team Finals day been scheduled for 22 July, in the middle of the holiday season?

The end of July has been the home of the final round of the British Club Championship for a couple of years and the event was well supported last year when 10 clubs entered the Open final.

The Commission has received representation requesting the condensing of the British Team competition into a shorter time frame to create a bigger impact. Had the competition stayed on the same September date, the earlier rounds would have had to be run during the holiday season. The 22nd of July is just before the traditional holiday period begins and so provided a better solution for a shorter time frame.

At the same time it was felt that the conclusion of the British Club championship could provide just as big a finale to the season as the British team and of course would involve more clubs.

At present the fixture list is still in the planning stage, and there are provisional dates which the Commission has established. A full and final list will be published in the near future, once feedback has been received and it is possible that a few dates will move. 

Question One
Has splitting the Youth and Junior League been a success?

The British Youth and Junior League still remains our most successful competition ever and overall the split should be seen as a positive move. 

The main policy of the competition is to provide a vehicle that absolutely encourages clubs to find new riders and introduce them to the sport. The more riders they bring to race the better chance of success, which in turn produces sustainable club growth. It has been the main policy of the competition from the outset and should remain the top priority long after the sport has finished growing.

It is still the best competition the Commission can provide to grow the sport and the room for growth will become even more important once the development project takes effect.

We completely accept and acknowledge that the split has caused some difficulty for some parents, but under last year’s format the meeting duration (often over 10 hours) was such that it was imposing stresses on organisers, officials, parents and not least competitors. The long days generated many complaints from parents, riders and officials who believed that the one track format had reached its limit.

The competition management team and the Commission considered carefully every option available and decided to split the league to an under and over 12 age groups. This was to be run on separate tracks, as it caused the least impact on families and the sport. The start times for the two leagues were staggered to reduce the impact further by allowing more families to get to both circuits in time to see their children ride.

Whilst numbers overall have been a little down this season – 7% down at regional rounds and 15% down at national rounds – they still remain at the 2009 level. The split is likely to be one of many reasons for the fall in numbers but the rapidly escalating cost of travel is probably one of the main factors.

Mel Perkins and Ivan Pike have done a superb job with this competition, the commission will continue to support them, and expect 2012 to be equally as successful as recent years.