The new Club's Officers, Ian, Bob and Pete

Fifty Wingers turned out on a very cold Sunday morning at 9.30 am today, many arriving on their bikes, to hear about the latest independent UK GoldWing Club and the impending formation of a Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs, as an alternative national umbrella organisation.

At the new Club’s inaugural Meeting today, Bob Summers was confirmed as the new Club’s first Chairman, with Ian Duxbury as Club Secretary and Peter Rodgers as Treasurer.

Bob explained that the core idea behind the new Club, which is that Wingers in the North West, as everywhere in UK, should be free to associate in friendship, to organise whatever activities or events and to join forces with other GoldWing clubs to organise activities or events if they wish. Whilst there was a need for a club structure of some sort, for example in order to open a bank account, the aim would be to have the minimum of rules and the maximum friendliness.

He explained a proposal that the new Club would join with GoldWings North Wales and other independent GoldWing Clubs in UK to establish a Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs to provide a national umbrella organisation which is designed to provided useful support and shared services to GoldWing Clubs without in any way trying to control them or feed off them.

Coffee on arrival

After this introductory outline, Bob handed over to Stuart Ormerod to provide more detailed information about the idea of a national Federation, which would provide a context in which further discussion of GoldWings North West could then proceed.

Stuart explained that the idea of a Federation had also arisen out the need for freedom of choice.  The fundamental difference between a national Federation and a national Club was that there would be no national committee or council soaking up resources and telling regional (or any other sort of) Clubs what they can and cannot do.

He quoted a former Chairman of GWOCGB, Chris Easter, as saying that the strength of the UK GoldWing community had always been its regional clubs and a national committee has to keep this in mind.   Stuart also quoted Peter Ware, a former Chairman of GWEF who, writing in October’s Wingspan magazine, encouraged the setting aside of personal interest and the interests of the few in favour of a visionary approach to the future and acceptance of the need for change as inevitable, even to the extent of major restructuring.  Both France and Germany have made the transition from national club to national federation; it was time for UK to follow suit.

Bob, almost managing a smile

Stuart explained that there is real value to independent regional or special interest GoldWing clubs in acting together in some things and having a national umbrella organisation.  But it was important that Clubs retain their complete independence whenever they might wish to exercise it.

It therefore makes sense for UK Wingers to share facilities like a national events calendar.  Likewise to avoid re-inventing the wheel by making use of what other Clubs have already worked out successfully – like the minimalist approach to Club Rules which GoldWings North Wales have adopted.  But always with the proviso that these things would be a matter of choice for individual, independent Clubs. If Clubs want to draft their own rules, they can draft their own rules and make them as simple or as complicated as they like.

So an off-the-shelf set of draft club constitution and rules (sufficient to establish and open a bank account) would be desirable, as would an off-the-shelf easy way to establish and maintain a club website.  Shared web-hosting too – but always as a matter of choice.

A common approach to club insurance, especially public liability insurance (PLI) would make economic as well as pracical sense too,and Stuart explained why.

But it was of overriding importance that GoldWing Clubs would remain independent and free to do anything they wish.  If they were daft enough to try to organise an open event which conflicted with another Club’s efforts it would be to their own disadvantage, so Clubs would naturally try to avoid unnecessary conflict with their neighbours.  It is simply not necessary to have  ruling national body to tell Clubs what they can and cannot do – or to make a confusing black art of granting or withholding PLI cover.

Stuart explained that the corporate form which the Federation will take is still being investigated but GoldWings North Wales are already keen on the idea of the Federation and other Clubs are actively considering it – including of course GoldWings North West.  The Federation will hopefully be a Charitable Trust, so it will be governed by a number of Trustees rather than an elected committee or council.  Ideally the Trustees will be drawn from all over UK and they will be elder statesmen (or women) of the UK GoldWing Community rather than current activists – the idea being to avoid any one Club or group or area of Clubs dominating things.  The Trustees’ purpose would not be to run the Federation’s facilities in the day to day sense, because that would be done by other volunteers, but they will be there to exercise overall governance as necessary and, above all, to stop anyone ever turning the Federation into a ruling national body.

In due course there might well advantage in having some sort of UK Council (for example of Chairmen of Affiliated Clubs) which could meet to liaise and improve cooperation.  But the core principle of the Federation is that it must never seek to impose anything; the individual Clubs which make up the Federation remain in all respects independent.

Likewise the Federation might provide a useful banner under which large scale events (such as the Blackpool Light Parade) would be organised, and indeed the 2009 Light Parade was already being planned as a cooperative effort under the Federation’s banner.  If there is demand and cooperative support there might a National GoldWing Rally in 2010 as well as a Blackpool Light Parade.

The latest and most favoured design for the new Club's logo

But cooperation to organise such events would be a matter for agreement between independent GoldWing Clubs.  For 2009 (and maybe for the foreseeable future) GoldWings North West would be the Lead Organising Club for the Blackpool Light Parade.  But arrangements might well be made for a cooperative effort with GoldWings North Wales and any other independent GoldWing Clubs which were interested in helping.

The cost of operating the Federation and providing PLI cover and other facilities for affiliated Clubs would be modest.  PLI cover costs the equivalent of about £3 per member and if this was rounded up to a Federation subscription equivalent to £5 per member per year, that would be all the subscription income Federation would need.  The Federation would be developed and maintained as a low cost facility.  Since the Federation would also draw some revenue from things like regalia sales, it might be possible to reduce this subscription rather than increase it in future years.  There was no plan to build up substantial financial reserves which might then lead to, as they have in other clubs, possessiveness and contention.

Stuart finished off by expressing his gratitude to Nigel Mackintosh of GoldWings North Wales for his unstinting and expert help with the Light Parade website and his Blog, and fro his work so far on a prototype Off-the-Shelf Club Website, which would be used as GoldWings North West ‘s Club website soon.  Nigel was not at the Meeting but his efforts were loudly applauded anyway.

Bob Summers then led discussion about some of the detailed aspects of how GoldWings North West would shape up as an independent Club. Since the new Club would be completely independent, it could change anything it wanted to at any time – so there was no need for elaborate consideration before carving things in stone.

On this basis the Meeting had no difficulty in agreeing that:

• the Club would be called GoldWings North West
• its founding Officers would be Bob, Ian and Pete
• the annual subscription would be £12 per year (reduced pro-rata for joining part way into the year)
• the subscription would be per membership (whether single rider or a family)
• if anything ever comes to a formal vote it will be on the basis of one vote per membership
• members of a family can join individually if they prefer, and so be entitled to individual votes
• the subscription includes the £5 per membership Federation contribution, so no extras
• anyone who  has an interest in GoldWings can apply to join, even if they haven’t yet got one
• one of the proposed Club logos was favoured and would be used provisionally
• a uniform Club Colour for regalia etc might be desirable, but postpone any decision for the time being
• the favoured design for the Club Logo shows Blackpool Tower behind a gold GL1800
• the logo will be used with a border on patches and without a border for embroidering on garments.

The meeting was conducted in a relaxed and entirely friendly atmosphere and ideas were exchanged freely and openly.   There was general support for the concept of minimum rules and costs, maximum fun and friendship and the wind of change which is blowing through the UK GoldWing Community was made very welcome indeed!

If anyone wishes to contact Bob Summers please use the email button on this Blog’s Newsdesk caption, top right, and your email will be forwarded to him.  Doing it this way rather than publishing Bob’s email address protects him from spam.

A new website is being developed for GoldWings North West and will be available soon; you can check on progress by clicking on this link.