Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society
JUNE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
Zoom Teleconference
June 14, 2021
Participants: Bruce Daykin President
Jurgen Harding Treasurer
George Zorn Hub & Spokes Director
Doris Maron Tour Director
Alex Laird IT Director
Jenni Lynnea Membership/Chapters Director
Maureen Weston Safe Cycling Director
Janet Whitehead Legacy Fund
Eamonn Ryan Member at Large
Regrets: Paul Hough Secretary
John Pringle Past President
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Summary of Motions and Action Items
Motion: to renew the Legacy Fund GIC with Oaken Financial for one year. Moved by Doris Maron, seconded by Alex Laird. Carried.
Action: Maureen to prepare a general message to the membership that the special waiver is no longer required, that weekly rides should be limited to small groups with six being a very manageable number, that guests not be allowed on weekly rides, and that registration be used for weekly rides to know who is participating on each ride. Chapters are responsible for following these guidelines in whatever way works best for them.
Action: George to discuss with an invited ride leader on his H&S the desire that he join CCCTS, emphasizing the benefits.
Action: George to discuss with Jean Macdonald the number of participants on her H&S in September, given the uncertainty about the extent to which things will be opened up.
Action: Doris, in collaboration with Bernie Phillion, to communicate with the two members in the US who are on the Alberta tour that their participation will depend on whether or not the border is open, and that if they cannot take part they will receive a refund minus the Stripe fees.
Call to Order: Meeting was called to order by Bruce Daykin at 9:03 am, Pacific Time.
Motion to Approve Agenda
Following a request from Maureen to add a discussion of the waiver to the Safety topic, a motion to approve the Agenda was moved by Janet Whitehead and seconded by Jenni Lynnea. Carried.
Motion to Approve the Minutes of May Meeting
A motion to approve these minutes was made by Jürgen Harding and seconded by Maureen Weston. Carried.
President’s Comments re Covid19 – Bruce Daykin
Bruce highlighted the recent discussions about vaccination requirements and how the reopening plan in BC will affect the club’s events. It is clear that things will be opening up and that that would allow the club to run its hub & spokes and tours. All the Chapters have started day rides with small groups as they follow the local public health guidelines.
Maureen summarized the guidelines as they have evolved, so that it is no longer a requirement to have groups of 10 or fewer while masking and distancing requirements still apply when people are in close proximity. The club has strongly recommended that members be vaccinated while a couple of Chapters have made it a requirement to participate in events. To this point the club has not been asking members to provide proof of vaccination, and discussion continues as to how to best proceed to ensure that members follow the advice to get vaccinated.
Doris noted that a member who is a tour leader has asked if the leader can ask the riders if they had been vaccinated. Maureen suggested that the club would have to support a leader who insisted that participants be vaccinated, but that she prefers to have a less restrictive approach. Alex voiced the opinion that since the club already supports leaders deciding if a rider can participate in an event based on inadequate fitness or unsafe riding habits it can insist on people being vaccinated. The bottom line is that the club should do what it can to help avoid a fourth wave.
Eamonn expressed the idea that anyone registering for future hub & spokes or tours be required to provide a declaration that they have been vaccinated. Asking for proof of vaccinated seems to be something the club does not want to do at this point and may not be needed as the sense is that most members are vaccinated.
Bruce noted that apart from the vaccine issue including the fact that not all people have been able to get the second shot yet, we all need to follow the public health restrictions re size of group outdoors and indoors. George noted that for his H&S he plans to maintain small groups of six riders, to communicate the public health guidelines to participants, to have gatherings outside only, and to be spaced apart inside the Sorrento Centre during meals. He will be seeking cooperation among the participants to ensure the safe conduct of the event.
With respect to Chapter organized day rides, Bruce noted that it would be best to maintain small groups of six riders not just for health reasons but for ride safety reasons. Eamonn agreed and raised the idea of not requiring the Covid special waiver. Maureen noted that Cycling BC has suggested continuing with pre-registration for contact tracing but has not said anything about a waiver. Comox has instituted a sign-up system that is available for those who have sent in their signed waiver, but most members, including those who have signed the waiver, are riding in their own groups and not on Chapter day rides. This waiver was developed as part of the CCCTS safety plan and Eamonn, noting the existence of several versions, suggested that the club use the standard version that we all sign when we renew and that it could include the Covid clause. Janet reported that Fraser Valley has been using the group waiver for contact tracing but she hopes they move to a Google sheets type of sign-in method for day rides which they are maintaining at six per group.
Maureen summarized the generally expressed sense that the club should have members sign the standard waiver when they renew and that it contain the clause about accepting the risk of contagion.
George noted that as per normal procedure, he will have the H&S group sign the group waiver form that is on the website and that it will be archived on the website.
It was decided to add the clause now about the risk of contagion to the current waiver that people sign when becoming a member or renewing and have it available from now on and to no longer require day rides to have separate waivers. Members who take part in day rides are assumed to have signed a waiver, and so day rides may continue using some means of registration for contact tracing purposes, and will continue to exclude guests. Maureen to prepare a general message to the membership that the special waiver is no longer required, that weekly rides should be limited to small groups with six being a very manageable number, that guests not be allowed on weekly rides, and that registration be used for weekly rides to know who is participating on each ride. Chapters are responsible for following these guidelines in whatever way works best for them. Action.
Treasurer’s Report – Jürgen Harding
Jürgen shared the different financial pages and noted the following:
- Little change since last month with memberships able to cover the budget;
- A Legacy Fund donation of $3,500 was made so that account is slightly down;
- Memberships continue to come in presumably with H&S and tour events going ahead;
- Operating costs are low, such as Stripe and communication, Zoom, charges;
- All H&S and tour financials are tracked separately from the operating side;
- The GIC is to be renewed shortly and suggested that it be renewed with Oaken Financial for one year. Motion: Doris moved that the GIC be renewed for one year, seconded by Alex. Carried.
Hub & Spoke Director’s Report – George Zorn
George highlighted the following:
- For the H&S next week there are 18 registered following a cancellation and some spots being opened up. The 18th person is not a member but has been asked to be a ride leader, so he asked for guidance on this. For insurance purposes he should be a member and George follow up on this Action;
- The two Victoria hub & spokes have 16 people registered for each and there is a small wait list. Following discussion with the leaders, George suggested that the total number of participants be increased slightly from 32 to 35 or 36;
- Jean McDonald’s H&S has a wait list of 8 and there is the commitment that a decision re increasing the number of participants will be made by August 1st. While 16 are on the go list, a total of 26 have registered and Jean was wondering if they could add the 8 to the go list and possibly go to 30 but Bruce noted that for now at least the club should stick with 16 as the maximum because of the ongoing Covid realities and due to optics of having 30 people at the Sorrento Centre. George will follow up with Jean on this and ensure that this event be run safely. Action.
Tour Director’s Report – Doris Maron
Doris noted that the two Alberta tours remain the only ones on the books. Both groups are at 16 or 17 and the leaders do not plan to add additional participants. She noted that the final payment was originally set for June 18th but given the possibility that the tour may still be cancelled, she wondered if this date could be pushed back to avoid having to do refunds. The latest date for collecting this would be July 9th as one hotel requires 60 days notice for cancellations without penalty but 14 days for the final payment, so it was decided to move the final payment to July 2nd.
She also raised the point that two people on the 2nd tour are from the US. If the border is not open they would not be able to participate and they would receive a refund minus any Stripe charge. This will be communicated to the two involved. Action.
Finally, the other leader has asked if he can exclude those who have not been vaccinated and the answer was no but he could strongly encourage that all be vaccinated. Having the expectation that people be vaccinated be included in the Safety Plan would help.
The tour company that did the Tanzania tour has asked if CCCTS is interested in doing a cycle tour there again. That was a very difficult mountain bike tour and with the vaccination rate in Africa being very low, it was thought that highlighting this possibility would be premature. A more general article on encouraging members to think about leading or planning future tours could go into the Newsbrief but not the next one.
Website Issues – Alex Laird
Alex noted the actions taken to take the User Manual out of circulation.
Bruce asked if the cost of recovering the website came in on budget or not and Jürgen noted that it was right on budget.
George asked about putting a couple of videos by Doug Glodek on using the ride library on the website and Alex said that could be done.
Membership Report – Jenni Lynnea
Jenni reported that membership had increased by 16 to 478 with the National Capital Region Chapter having a few more members than Fraser Valley and Victoria. A total of 99 do not have a Chapter affiliation. She also noted that the National Capital group is a significant portion of the membership so that when discussing BC protocols, thought should be given to the protocols in Ontario.
Legacy Fund – Janet Whitehead
Janet reported that a contribution had been made to the Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail and that they had raised more funds than what CCCTS had committed to matching for this project. A portion of the trail will be developed this year.
Janet also said she would send Alex the link to the petition for the safe passing legislation for members to sign.
Newsbrief – Alex Laird
Bruce confirmed that Janet is to prepare something on the Legacy Fund for the next issue.
There was some discussion about having something in the Newsbrief on the changes in public health recommendations and how they affect day rides. Maureen said she could put something together, noting that information on what Ontario recommends re cycling during Covid19 is hard to find and that the clubs seem to be doing things on their own.
Alex noted that he intends to produce a Newsbrief each month as things are changing and it offers a way of keeping members informed.
Janet suggested there could be photos from upcoming events, the Chapters and groups outside the Chapters included. George suggested that he and Doris collaborate on preparing something on encouraging members to think about future hub & spokes and tours for the September issue.
Next Meeting:
If all goes well there could be new guidelines that could be discussed, but with several people not available it was decided to assess things by July 5th.
Adjournment: 10:56 am, Pacific time