As you may be aware, the MTBA AGM is this weekend. At the AGM, MTBA are seeking to have their organisational structure changed from that of an association, to that of a Company Limited By Guarantee (CLBG). In the interests of the long term future of mountainbiking, we are asking for your support to defeat this motion. A full explanation and background is below my name, should you wish to read it.
Time is short and we need your support; if you agree with our statement below then please firstly vote for Richard Ovesen on the MTBA website, and then forward your proxies to the CORC VP who will be at the meeting prior to 10am Friday morning, Matt’s email is [email protected]
We already have a groundswell of support from the mountain biking community, so if you or someone you know is around the Gold Coast area at 11am on Saturday and can attend the meeting at MTBA HQ in Varsity Lakes, we would love to have your support, especially if you might be able to carry some proxies at the meeting!
Thanks!
Brendon Mulloy
President
Canberra Off-Road Cyclists
For some time now a group of mountain biking club members, administrators and private promoters have been becoming increasingly concerned about the national management of our sport. It is our view that the management practices currently being pursued by MTBA are not in the best interests of the sport, and we are further concerned that the move to a Company Limited by Guarantee will not in itself resolve these issues.
Our major concerns are centred around the lack of consultation, the lack of transparent and robust financial management and a concern that much of MTBA’s efforts are focused at the elite level, leaving little to no support for ‘grass roots activities by clubs the development and growth of the next crop of athletes and no viable pathway for them to move from club riding, to national and then international racing.
In 2015 a plan to reform MTBA was developed and put to the board, where it was unanimously accepted, but no further action was taken at the time. The plan is adopted piecemeal in the guidance for the CLBG, but a number of key elements have been removed, changing the intent and ultimate outcome of this plan.
As a group, we believe that the move to a Company Limited by Guarantee is a positive move and should be in the best interests of the sport. However, the current practices of the MTBA Board would likely continue under a CLBG and we believe that the long term viability of Mountain biking will be put at risk.
To this end, we have nominated Richard Ovesen for the elected Directors position on what will be the new MTBA Board if the CLBG passes. We encourage you to read Richard’s bio on the MTBA voting page and support his nomination.
Ultimately however, we feel that defeating the CLBG motion is the best course of action; we would then be able to have the entire proposal restructured to something that we believe will support the long term sustainability of the sport. After the resulting MTBA AGM that would be held in February, the new proposal to move to a CLBG and supporting business rules, would be delivered to you, the members, in a manner that would allow all members adequate time to consider the change.
