October 17, 2012 (Vancouver, BC) – Member interest in attending Cycling BC’s AGM, originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20, has soared in the wake of the controversial rumoured suspension of famed Cycling BC and Cycling Canada coach, Richard Wooles. Wooles holds the position of High Performance Director at the province’s cycling governing body, and according to a Cycling BC bulletin today the AGM has been rescheduled.
A Cycling BC email sent to members explains that the organization has recently estimated up to 250 planned attendees for the Oct. 20th meeting, whereas past AGM’s have seen an average of only 40-50 members attending. The conference room that was originally booked only has a capacity for 80 people – see Cycling BC AGM notice below.
While no specifics are given for the sudden influx of interest in the AGM, it’s likely that the news about Wooles has spurred interest. There have also been flare-ups regarding equal prize money for women and Vancouver Island feeling overlooked, particularly in the cyclo-cross discipline according to Norm Thibault, longtime cyclist and organizer of the popular Cross on the Rock Series.
In the series’ weekly newsletter, he made a call to members, encouraging them to attend the AGM and summed up his concerns: “Something has to change. I started racing bikes at the Tour De White Rock in 1988 and honestly I have never seen the state of cycling in the province at the administration/governing body level so bad.”
Two other race organizers contacted Pedal as well including Dwayne Kress, organizer of Just Another Bike Race, who writes, “I am an elder elite MTB XC racer, event organizer, and former club president of SORCA (Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association) which left Cycling BC along with WORCA (Whistler Offroad Cycling Association) some years ago due to conflicts over insurance and organizing procedures.
“Our local Squamish Cycling Club (SORCA), draws close to 200 racers to our bi-weekly toonie xc races on Wednesdays, Whistler’s club, WORCA, draws over 300 every week and most of these riders are not Cycling BC members. It’s been a long time since a full scale XC BC Cup Event has had that many racers. The only XC races in the province that continually draw 100+ racers are those organized by an association outside of Cycling BC,” Kress continued.
“Currently Cycling BC has one of the most expensive licenses in the country and yet the quality and quantity of races, and the number of racers attending these BC Cup events are deteriorating rapidly. The Provincial Championships had a total of 33 racers for all categories. Some current champions were atop the podium alone as they did not race anyone else in their category. I’m glad to see more interest from the membership in what’s going on – something needs to be done soon,” he added.
Cliff Miller, current SORCA president and organizer of the popular Test of Metal events, also hopes to see change for the better and sent the following comments. “Back in 2005-2006 we had some problems and Curtis Robbers, organizer of Gearjammer, and I left the race organizer meeting and formed GRMBA (Grass Roots Mountain Bike Association of BC). GRMBA folded because of insurance issues but we resolved them for both SORCA and Test of Metal Inc. without Cycling BC.
“I still believe we need a strong provincial body to represent cycling but unfortunately Cycling BC is severely fractured and I don’t feel much is being done here to promote or advocate for the mountain bike side of cycling. SORCA, WORCA, Test of Metal Inc. and the BC Bike Race have a total number of participants of somewhere close to 4,500 racers/riders, and all these people are not associated with Cycling BC. Something is missing or wrong with this picture,” added Miller.
BC boasts some of the country’s best riders, such as Ryder Hesjedal, and amidst the controversy there are success stories as well such as the return of Gastown to this year’s successful BC Superweek, along with the recent opening of new BMX Supercross track in Abbotsford. More updates as they become available.
Read the Cross on the Rock newsletter HERE.
Read the article about Wooles’ suspension HERE.
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Notice of Cycling BC 2012 Annual General Meeting
1pm Sunday, December 2nd, 2012 – Cadet Building, 32470 Haida Dr, Abbotsford
Dear Member,
For the past 6 years, the Cycling BC Annual General Meeting has been attended by approximately 40-50 people and was held in a meeting room capable of hosting approximately 80 people. Cycling BC has been advised that attendance at this year’s AGM will be an estimated 250 members, which will exceed the capacity of the intended meeting room by 190 people. As a result, Cycling BC has been forced to re-schedule and re-located the AGM in order to accommodate this level of attendance.
As mentioned in our previous notices, our Bylaws require that the 2012 AGM be held outside the GVRD. As well, the Societies Act and our own Bylaws require us provide adequate notice of the new AGM and as such we would like to notify all members that the 2012 AGM has been re-scheduled as follows:
Location: Cadet Building, Abbotsford Exhibition Park
Date: Sunday 2nd December
Time: 1:00pm.
Cycling BC regrets the need to re-schedule the meeting but we feel sure all our members will appreciate the need to accommodate all those members wishing to attend our Annual General Meeting.
Kindest Regards,
Keith Ryan
Chief Executive Officer
Agenda
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of 2011 AGM Minutes
3. Report from the President
4. Report from the Chief Executive Officer
5. Report from the Vice President Financial Oversight
– Approval of Financial Statements
– 2013 Membership Rates
– Appointment of Auditors
6. Report from the Vice President Road & Track
7. Report from the Vice President Mountain Bike
8. Report from the Vice President Cyclo-cross
9. Report from the Vice President BMX
10. Report from the Vice President Para Cycling
14. Report from the Vice President Randonneur
12. Bylaw Amendments
13. Elections
– Vice President Road & Track
– Vice President Cyclo-cross
– Vice President BMX
– Vice President Financial Oversight
14. New Business
Nominations
Cycling BC is accepting nominations for the following board positions:
1. Vice President Road & Track (2 year term)
2. Vice President Cyclo-cross (2 year term)
3. Vice President BMX (2 year term)
4. Vice President Financial Oversight (2 year term)
Election Bylaw
President, Vice-President Mountain Bike, Vice-President Para Cycling and Vice-President Randonneur being elected in odd-numbered years, while the offices of Vice-President Road & Track, Vice-President Cyclo-Cross, Vice-President BMX, and Vice-President Financial Oversight shall be elected in even-numbered years.
Cycling BC
Cycling British Columbia
604-737-3034