Ealing Eagles Running Club – Annual General Meeting (AGM) Status Repor

Date: 24th May 2020 Time: N/A Venue: N/A 

Committee: Chair: David Carlin Coaching: Wei-Hei Kipling Communications: Sam Royle Membership: Terena De Abaitua-Hind & Phil Cairns Race: Kate Ward Social: Claudia Alviles Treasurer: Greg Fernandes-Lawes 

Chairman’s report 

It has been an extraordinary past three months with the Covid-19 pandemic causing us to cancel all our socials, the Eagles 10k event, face-to-face coaching and club runs. 

Firstly, a big thank you from The Committee to all club members for adhering to the ‘social distancing’ guidance, and your care and thoughtfulness when you have been running around Ealing or wherever you now live, as I am aware some members remain affiliated to the club even when they have left the local area. 

The Committee is aware that at the start of the escalation of the Covid-19, virus guidance as to how we should all change the way in which we live, exercise and keep safe, a few issues were raised by members. Thank you to those members, who for the Heath & Safety of fellow members, raised concerns through the correct channels, i.e. emailing or messaging the committee. The communications to cancel club activities took a little bit of time to permeate through to everyone on their chosen media. However, after a short period, we all pulled together to ensure all members ran safely and now we await further advice of when we can run as a club again. This appears to be some way off, but we won’t rush back into sessions without the recommendations from the both government and EA. 

It has been a challenging time for all of us all. Some of our members will have had family illnesses due to the virus, mental health challenges and some may have lost their businesses/jobs due to the economic knock on effects of the lockdown. Also, in our club we have many key workers and I am sure all members would want me to thank you for being there on the front line for our community. Thank you! 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all club members who may be dealing with the health side of the Covid-19 virus. 

Onto club business... the Annual General Meeting could not take place on Tuesday 28th April 2020. We had no option but to postpone this event, however, as soon as we are fully back up and running we will convene an AGM! 

However, the committee has two vacancies which I feel we can get on and fill. As last year, this does not preclude any member from applying for any post where the current committee member has agreed to renew their role and stay on for a further year. 

At the end of this report you will be reminded that two roles need to be filled, initially as co-opted on to the committee. As we cannot have our AGM The committee can co-opt committee members onto the committee which can be formally agreed at a later AGM. If we are able to hold an AGM in the Autumn, we will do so and then revert back to the first Tuesday after the VLM. The vacant committee positions are; 

o Communications role

o Race role 

I’d like to thank the current committee for their help and support to myself as Chairman but also for all their hard work and commitment to make sure our great club has run smoothly. 

I would like to raise the profile of the 10k committee. Ben and the 10k committee had this year’s proposed event up and ready, over 50% sold and they were just moving to final sign-off on medals etc. Regretfully, they had to take the decision to cancel the event. The event had been meticulously planned and I have no doubt this would have been another enjoyable race for the external runners and our own, including the army of Eagle volunteers. A big thank you from the club for your time and efforts to support the club and our charities. 

Last year we rolled out a new 10th Year Anniversary kit which was brilliantly managed by our wonderful Piers. We will move forward with additional kit over the summer for next winter, which I did promise to do last year. I apologise this didn’t happen, it will this year! 

Due to the SE Athletics Association proposal to increase their fees being rejected by the affiliated clubs and that we will lose approximately 3-6 months of organised club coaching and events we are reducing the membership fee back to £30 our 2020/2021 membership. We have reviewed the finances and don’t feel the drop in membership of £5 will affect us too much this year. This is mainly because our continual ability to take on new members should provide the financial gap from the reduction in the annual fee. There is a risk that new members may hold off for a while this year but we have funds in the club bank account so it wouldn’t cause us any cash flow issues. 

You may have seen a survey sent out by the Ealing Eagles Charitable Trust (EECT) asking about your feelings about a clubhouse and membership fees. This was purely a survey for the long term project where the EECT are looking for a base for our club and the Juniors of course. There is an update from this committee of their recent work as an Appendix to this letter. 

Terena and Phil will start sending the emails out next week to renew your membership, please action this as soon as possible as this makes it easier for us to collate and saves reminders. The Committee thank you in advance for your swift action and payment. 

Although we have not had a formal club runs the coaching team have been very proactive and arrange virtual events which have all been successful. The Rainbow shirt running, Strava Art, 1-mile event, Virtual Relay, Not The Green Belt Relay and soon we have the Not The Summer League and the XC races recently mentioned by Kieran on FB. Also Dan has raised the profile about Mental Health with some great tips over the past two weeks or so. A big thank you to the Coaching team and Dan for their work especially over the past 2-3 months. There is also Eagles Reboot for those injured or wanting to restart their running. 

Financial Accounts 2019/20 

The financial picture for last year was healthy with an in year profit of £3,934 leading to a £28,905 credit balance in our bank account. It’s wise to leave the accounts to be signed off until we have our AGM however, please be assured that Greg reports to the committee at each Committee meeting. In addition, this year two members with a financial background have reviewed the accounts. 

The independent reviewers are happy with the administration of the accounts and from their review they commented we have a good audit for our financial processes. As an example, a question was raised around payments to England athletics which was suitably answered and the reviewer was happy with the response. The financial report can be viewed here:

Ealing Eagles Financial Report 2020

If you have any questions about the accounts please email chair@ealingeagles.com so we have separation of duties and I’ll get the response(s) from Greg and include the two independent reviewers as well so our actions are transparent. I will then publish the Q&As to the club in my next report. 

To make all of the activities work for us we rely on good and clear communication with you all. We try to communicate with all members via our weekly newsletter, updating information on the website, Facebook and Twitter. Please read the weekly email and/or Facebook as the coaching team are developing innovative ideas to keep us motivated to run or walk depending on your fitness/injury levels. 

So 2020...what does this mean for the club, our community and the committee? 

1) Club: Until we know where we are with Covid-19 not much can be organised for group runs 

and events. However, the coaching team are using Facebook and the weekly email to suggest ways to encourage you all to be social. The next news release from the government is on May 28th so this may affect running clubs, although the club will be cautious before making any changes to the current Social Distancing guide. 

2) Community: Once we can arrange a Social we will do and this to be a great chance to renew 

the bonus of our club... we are sociable! 

3) Committee: The committee remain strong and with a couple of minor adjustments this year 

we will be able to ensure that the club is ready to ‘get back to normal’ immediately we are allowed to. This may be a gradual release of club runs and events with certain conditions but there is no point at the moment of making any fixed plans. 

Election of the committee 

Once again, I have enjoyed another year as Chairman and wish to stand again for another year. The stability in keeping most of the committee together last year made the operational side of the club work well. 

This year two committee members have stepped down, the other committee members have expressed a wish to stay on for another year. Under the current Covid-19 circumstances which stop us fulfilling the AGM voting rights of members, the committee members wishing to stand for election again should continue until we can hold an AGM and we fill the two vacancies if not filled at the AGM. As we can’t hold an AGM the committee want to use this process until such time we can 

hold an AGM. This is an exceptional decision for an exceptional turn of events we are currently having to deal with. 

These roles are: 

Committee: Chair: David Carlin Nominated to stand 2020-21 Coaching: Wei-Hei Kipling Nominated to stand 2020-21 Communications: Vacancy Vacancy 2020-21 Membership: Terena De Abaitua-Hind Nominated to stand 2020-21 Membership: Phil Cairns Nominated to stand 2020-21 Race: Vacancy Vacancy 2020-21 Social: Claudia Alves Nominated to stand 2020-21 Treasurer: Greg Fernandes-Lawes Nominated to stand 2020-21 

The outgoing committee members (Communications and Race) will support you through the role so don’t think you’ll be left to fend for yourself. We meet once a month for up to two hours. 

If you are interested in the two vacant positions or the other roles, please follow the timeline below. 

24 May 2020 Chairman’s update, Financial accounts 2019-20. 31 May 2020 Nominations for the Race and Communication Committee places should be sent membership@ealingeagles.com by 30th May 2020 (Please supply your name and which role you want to be elected for). If more than one member applies you will be requested to send a short personal statement to membership@ealingeagles.com In the near future. 2 June 2020 Nominations announced or if only one person per post applies the new committee role announced. 9 June 2020 Vote completed if required by an online survey. 

If you want to speak to me about the roles and expectations of a committee post and the amount of time you will have to invest, please do contact me at chair@ealingeagles.com Also, if you have any issues with the committee’s decision to roll over the current members until we can hold an AGM again, please contact me. I believe it’s the right decision at the current time. 

I look forward to seeing you via Facebook, Strava or in person while I’m out running/walking and in the longer term at a social or an event. 

David Carlin Chairman, Ealing Eagles Running Club 

Appendix 1 Ealing Eagles Charitable Foundation 

Registered Charity Number 1179283 

Our Vision: Enabling running and other sporting activities for better health and life chances for everyone in Ealing 

Our Mission: To secure the long-term provision of running and other sporting activities for the Ealing Eagles Running Club and the wider community 

Background

The idea of a ‘think tank’ to map out the longer term aims and objectives for Ealing Eagles was first mooted in late 2015 and at the Club’s AGM, in April 2016, it was agreed to appoint a sub- committee. The following year, the Club agreed that we should focus on finding better junior facilities as a priority and look at finding a permanent base for the club longer term. The Club then approved the formation of a Charitable Foundation, which was registered with the Charity Commission in July 2018. 

Trustees

The trustees of the Ealing Eagles Charitable Foundation are all club members: 

Chair & Trustee: Nigel Panton Trustee & Secretary: Heidi Vickery Trustee & Treasurer: Kelvin Walker Trustee: Rachel Job Trustee: Sarah Dhanda 

Committee Members: Lucy Rigg & Paul Thomas 

Progress

EECF meet at least six times a year. Over the last three years we have looked at around 15 potential locations within Ealing and held discussions with both schools and sports clubs about the joint use of their facilities. We have also inspected athletics facilities in Tonbridge, Hillingdon, Slough, Maidenhead, Paddington, Shepherds Bush, Lee Valley, Willesden and Perivale, to see what facilities are available in other boroughs and to give ideas of what is best for Ealing. 

We have also met with Ealing Council on a number of occasions (the Planning and Regeneration department, the Active Ealing team, and Julian Bell – leader of Ealing Council) to share information and discuss ideas and options. 

We had been very close to securing much improved Ealing Eagles Junior facilities at a Primary School in Ealing for September 2020. Unfortunately, Coronavirus has impacted on this and there will now be a delay, so we are reviewing other options to find a more suitable space and facilities for the Junior section going forwards. 

A survey will be distributed to the members of Ealing Eagles Running Club in May 2020 to gather information as to what its members would like from the club in the future. 

Contact

For further information, or to get in touch with the Ealing Eagles Charitable Foundation, please email us at chair@ealingeaglescf.org.uk