Committee Meeting Notes from 16th October 2003    Steve Watkins

The October committee meeting was held just after the AGM and so some of the items followed on from topics talked about there.  The AGM had a good turnout (32 members) and it had been a good opportunity for lots of member to discuss various issues relevant to the club. 

The issue of family entry fees had been raised at the AGM.  It was generally felt that it isn't worth offering savings of maybe 50p or £1 per family.  It is better to generally keep junior entry fees low.  This avoids a complex fee structure that would slow things down at event registration.

The Dales Weekend was reviewed - this was a very successful event but even so there are some lessons to be learned.  The costs of putting on such an event are very high (about £12,600 for the whole weekend).  Luckily the turnout was also high, however this meant that an awful lot of work was required to process the entries.   The club did receive the odd complaint regarding mix-ups in the pre-event information in BOF literature, and also our policy of not accepting entries after the closing date. 

An opportunity to buy a cheap generator has come up - we may be able to take this up if YHOA will buy the thermal printer we have requested.

There is to be a formal YHOA club summer picnic series of events in 2004 - this will comprise 4 events in total, incorporating the Aire picnic on 4^th July (guess the theme).  Also next year will see a Sprint O series, kicking off on 24^th April with an Aire event in Lister Park, Bradford.  The series will also include the regular York street race.  The format is intended to be for Saturday afternoon events, with starts around 5 o'clock.  There will be good spectator aspects (eg figure-of-8 courses crossing at spectator controls).  Apparently, the events will aim to test the skills of orienteering fast and 'not going the wrong direction to the next control'.

Other event news: Aire has dropped the well-known orienteering area of Meanwood & Adel.  Look out for an upcoming event at the exciting new area of Adel & Meanwood!  Unfortunately there will be no Vampire O event this year.  After several successful years we were unable to find an organiser for this event.

Looking further ahead, YHOA are already discussing areas to use for JK 2006.  The Dales areas were popular but the late April timing rules them out due to lambing.

Finally, there are some updates being made to the club website.  The front page has had some improvements and the event list should be kept more up to date.  The various AGM documents are available in the members' area.

Dates of next meetings:
20 November - Committee meeting at Dave Shelley's.
18 December - Social at the White Hart, Pool-in-Wharfedale.


Meetings are held on the 3^rd Thursday of each month.  All club members are welcome to all meetings.  Social meetings don't have the boring bits - they're saved for the Committee meetings.  Come along,  meet people, have a chat and see what makes your club tick.