75th Conference & AGM: Friday wrap up

MotorSport New Zealand held its 75th Conference & AGM at the weekend in Auckland. Below is a summary of Friday’s Conference and Saturday’s AGM.

Friday’s Conference is summarised below:

Rally Advisory Commission:
Outgoing Rally Advisory Commission chairperson David Loughlin summarised the discussions held during the commission’s seminars. The commission held discussions around allowing safety notes for all Rally events, including Clubmans Rally as well as raising the 50 entrant limit on this event permit type. Recent initiatives to the rally scene such as Dual-Stage Rally Sprints, Driving Code of Conduct and the Junior Rally Licence were all well received by clubs. The commission also began starting the conversation about how to be more environmentally conscious when planning rally events. There were also calls for there to be closer ties between ClubSport Advisory Commission and Rally Advisory Commission.

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Race Advisory Commission:
Chairperson Mark Mallard delivered a high-energy summary of the Race Commission’s day. Discussions were held around how the Accredited Series system could be tweaked to deliver better outcomes for a wider range of classes. The introduction of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles into racing was discussed and how this may be integrated into the sport. Promotion of racing was also discussed including some cost-effective live streaming options.

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ClubSport Advisory Commission:
Commission member Alana McIsaac held a series of interactive seminars focusing on the ClubSport Championships and the promotion of ClubSport. There were some clear trends among those brainstorms which will help direct the commission in those areas.

Some challenges were also identified in the ClubSport scene, particularly around road closures, rising costs and difficulty getting venues for events. The commission will look into ways to mitigate these challenges.

She also thanked the outgoing commission members Donna Elder, Warren Shepherd and Malcolm Mitchell,

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Historic Advisory Commission:
Bruce Dyer, Commission Chairperson, spoke to the constructive seminars held about historic motorsport. Whilst the historic regulations overall are in a good place, it was agreed some tweaks should be made to better accommodate the production racing era which is beginning to be considered historic in some instances. Once again communication and promotion were highlighted as areas to improve on.

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Women in Motorsport Advisory Commission:
Andrea Bourhill, Commission Chairperson, spoke to the work the Women in Motorsport Commission is doing on the culture of the sport. Whilst acknowledging there is generally a good culture within the sport, the commission is looking to establish some inclusion principles and integrate these into the sport’s policies, procedures and practices.

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Volunteers Advisory Commission:
Commission chairperson Steve Collier shared the SWOT analysis that was done over the commission’s seminars during the day. He also spoke about the commission’s work around building an aspirational pathway for volunteer officials. The commission is working on an overall volunteers strategy, including the recruitment of volunteers.

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Technical Department:
MotorSport New Zealand’s Technical Manager shared some developments from the Technical Department. With the introduction of Electric and Hybrid vehicles to motorsport, MotorSport New Zealand’s new EV Safety Kits were demonstrated and feedback was received about training programs for volunteers to understand the different safety requirements for EVs.

A briefing on MotorSport New Zealand’s fuel handling and fuel safety requirements was also given to help drive improvements at events. The incoming changes to Frontal Head Restraints were also discussed in detail.

MotorSport New Zealand office update:
Digital & Media Manager Jordie Peters delivered a presentation on MotorSport New Zealand’s Media Accreditation program and Crisis Communications Plan. Clubs were explained the details around media accreditation and what it entails and were encouraged to push photographers and other media known to them to become accredited. Attendees were also walked through the Crisis Communications Plan which will be sent to clubs in due course.

Trainer & Educator Aaron Johnston presented the new volunteer officials’ training program and the recent training statistics to member clubs. The uptake of online volunteer officials training has been very good and there has been a noticeable improvement in volunteer officials at events. Johnston also shared the training plan for the next 12 months.

CEO Elton Goonan explained to attendees the importance of the additional information now required on Participation Levy Declarations (PLDs). This demographic data, such as age, gender and race are used to help secure funding from government agencies and other funding bodies.

Goonan provided an update on the progress of the recently completed Health & Safety review and the steps moving forward. A brief presentation was also done around the ever-increasing issue of road closures and the formation of the Traffic Management Working Group which will help provide input into a solution.

This session ended with a recap of the Member Benefits available to all licence holders.

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Saturday’s AGM is summarised below:
Future of MotorSport Online Update:
MotorSport New Zealand’s Digital & Media Manager Jordie Peters and Sports Ground Ltd Project Manager Roger Nelson delivered an update on the new MotorSport Online system. The project is still in the early phase of discovery and preparation however attendees were presented with some of the system’s key features the system will have. Concept screenshots of the new MotorSport New Zealand mobile application were also shown. The feedback from the attendees was encouraging and there is a willingness from many to help make the project a success.

Structure of the Sport Working Group:
Prior to the AGM, the findings of the Structure of the Sport Working Group were presented. The group was formed after the 74th AGM where members agreed to a review of the membership structure of MotorSport New Zealand. A robust discussion was held following this presentation, there was general agreement that this work should continue in the direction of the working group’s proposal, however, more a detailed proposal was requested before any decisions could be considered. The detail will now be worked out and presented again at the 76th AGM.

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Elections:

• Mark Mallard was elected to the vacant position on the Board.
• Jeff Braid & Adam Simmons were elected to the vacant positions on the Race Advisory Commission.
• Chris Ramsey & Brian Budd were elected to the vacant position on the Rally Advisory Commission.
• Glen Howden was elected to the vacant position on the ClubSport Advisory Commission.
• Wayne Perkins and Leon Hallett were elected to the vacant positions on the Historic Advisory Commission.

There are still vacant positions on the ClubSport Commission as well as a now vacant position on the Race Commission following Mark Mallard’s election to the Board. If you feel you have the skills for either of these commissions, please email elton@motorsport.org.nz. Receipt of applications will close on 21 August.

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Remits:

Three remits were put forward at the 75th AGM and all three were successfully carried. These remits are summarised below.

Remit 1: Alter the constitution to allow for the AGM to be held via interactive internet technology should a face-to-face meeting not be possible, such as those conditions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Remit 2: Alter the constitution to allow secure virtual voting if an online meeting is held.

Remit 3: Alter the constitution to change the quorum to 32 or 40% (whichever is lower) Member Clubs.

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76th AGM:

It was confirmed that the 76th AGM will take place in Wellington on Saturday 20th May 2023.