As there won’t be any tediously lengthy PowerPoint marathon for you to endure at this year’s cancelled AGM, you’ll have to scroll through this instead!
2019 In Review
Any review of 2019 would have to start with the astonishing success of the Confined TT series. Raced on the new B9000 route, with a couple of excursions to the 15 mile route from Kinharrachie, the Tuesday evening confined races saw record attendance. It was fantastic to see the races so well contested, especially the ladies race. The Youth race might have been a two-horse race from the beginning, but remained a nail-biter until the last couple of races.
Two confined related hopes for 2020:
- That we can actually have a confined series at all
- That everyone shows up again
There was a plan to run the series on more routes for 2020, including a return to Ardlethen and an outing to Lochters. But all of those plans are currently on ice until COVID-19 has passed; we’ll need to see what’s left of the season when everyone is allowed out to play again.
Also worth talking about (again) were the other Ythan hosted events in 2019. A successful road race, a couple of open TTs, the Lumpy Python audax, of course, the inimitable Ellon Crit all add up to Ythan punching considerably above our weight. Long may that continue!
Despite the corona virus knocking the stuffing out of the 2020 calendar, it is great to see some new Ythan event organisers stepping up. Here’s hoping we get to see enough of the scheduled events happening for them to see their efforts pay off! Sadly, we’ve already had to cancel the Lumpy Python and the latest guidance from BC means that the Confined TTs won’t start until July.
Membership
It’s been good to see the Club’s membership get back over the 100 mark, reaching 108. Still, there are over 30 memberships which expired at the end of 2019 and haven’t been renewed; which takes us straight to the “why?” question.
The bottom line seems to be that anyone relatively new to cycling thinks we’re too racey; while the racers think we’re not racey enough. I don’t see either of those views as valid, but it’s not remotely clear how we might square that circle. Any suggestions welcome!
Club Kit
There are two points to raise about Club Kit at this time…
- We will continue to use Champion Systems to supply Club kit, despite the byzantine ordering process. However, our current Club Kit Coordinator is withdrawing from the post, so we need someone else to step in to his shoes and ensure we all have tidy new kit for when we’re allowed to ride in groups again! If you might be interested in supporting the club in this capacity, please let me know.
- If you’re in the market for something slightly faster that the regular club-cut jerseys, Alan has set everything up with NoPinz so you too can have the fastest skinsuit around – in Ythan colours! That’s bound to make it even faster.
Get yours here.
Money
The club’s accounts for 2019 have been prepared and audited. A publicly available web page isn’t the best place to publish the numbers, but suffice to say that we’re still in the black. Overall, Ythan’s events generated a small surplus, despite the Ellon Crit running at a small loss. That’s largely because of the donation to the Rotary and the entry fee for the Pedal Car Race. It’d be nice to break even in 2020, especially as it now looks like we won’t have any buffer from the early season events.
Looking forward to 2020’s financials, we’ve already spent significantly on a refresh of the Club’s confined TT trophies (which look fabulous) and can look forward to further spend on a refresh of hi-viz gear for marshals, thanks to new BC rules requiring head-to-toe day-glo coverage. The hard part is going to be persuading anyone to wear it…
The Club Run
Engagement with the Club’s Sunday Social ride has somewhat dropped off in 2019, something widely attributed to a lack of pre-planned & published routes. As always, any club member can suggest a route in advance for the Sunday run.
It’s been suggested that routes are planned & shared via Strava, which is the nearest thing the Club has to a universal online platform… Everyone is reminded that popular routes are on this site already!
Quines & Loons
It’s been great to see a reinvigorated QL in 2019, so thanks are due to the Club’s coaches for making that happen. The pay-off is clear at events like the Haddo Dirt Crit, the famous Ellon Crit and in the healthy competition for first place in Confined TT Youth category!
Voting & stuff…
It wouldn’t be a proper AGM without having decisions to make and things to vote on. The key thing, I think, is the appointment of club officers and approval of the audited accounts. The only way we’re going to be able to vote on anything as a club is online and a suitable means of collecting and counting those votes will shortly be available soon.
In the meantime, if there is anyone who would like to contribute to the running of the club, feel free to nominate yourself (or someone else) as Quartermaster, Chairman, Secretary… I think Yvonne’s role as Treasurer is safe, but maybe she can’t bank on that? (see what I did there?). Crap jokes aside, let me know of any interest in these roles and we’ll organise the voting accordingly.