The North West region’s new committee was formed at their recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was the first to be held virtually due to Covid-19 restrictions. In addition to establishing who would sit on the committee for 2020/2021, this meeting set out the region’s goals for the next year.
Lee Mathison, committee secretary said: “The purpose of the AGM is two-fold, firstly to report on the year which has just passed and then to elect your regional committee for 2020/2021 as well as to vote on the Resolution to change our Regional Constitution.
“The AGM was well attended with a clear message that we must improve how we engage and communicate with members. A new Constitution was also passed aligning with Triathlon England’s to provide improved clarity, governance, and stability for the Regional Committee.
Following the AGM, the North West committee is now made up of the following members, with a new Communications Officer role to improve member engagement:
Chair Lee Mathison, Treasurer Jonathan Grundy, Secretary Brad Lincoln, Vice Chair Brett Connolly, Club Liaison Lauren Munro-Bennett, Coach Development Terry Bates, Junior Series Paul Ekgren, IRC Manager Andy Rawley, Senior Series Ian Mostyn, Communications Officer Zac Christie and Race Officials Coordination Eric Brooks.
Regional committees are restricted to no more than 33% of members being from the same club as well as ensuring that at least 25% of the committee identifies as male and 25% as female. This is part of a growing commitment for regional committees to achieve both gender parity and diverse representation going forward.
The committee itself serves two primary functions in the region. The first is to promote and develop multisport in the region in alignment with the strategic goals of Triathlon England. The second is to represent members and support in delivering the goals and objectives of Triathlon England within the region.
Before Covid-19 interrupted much of the work within the region, the committee were working on increasing club and member engagement, developing an interclub event at Cholmondeley Castle and a beginning a reintroduction of the Senior Series among other initiatives.
The plans for the Senior Series continue into the new year, with the Senior Series Co-ordinator Report stating that the series aims to boost participation, provide a range of races across the region and integrate the junior 17-19 age group races into these events.
This year, the committee are hoping for even more progress, introducing a new role of communications officer at the AGM. The role is designed to “improve engagement with Members, Event Organisers, Officials, Clubs and Coaches,” said Mathison, as the committee aim to further understand the needs of members in the area and align the committee’s strategy to support those desires.
“During these challenging times, we need to support each other and we have seen some great virtual and non-virtual events so far,” said Mathison.
“The committee will be engaging members via a number of forums to see what support and initiatives can be provided. This may include more use of Zoom to bring Coaches, Clubs and Officials together and use of Zwift.”
The committee will meet several times over the next year, discussing the adoption of new policies that affect the organisation of the North West region.
