Hey. I’d planned on doing this post to stimulate discussion around involvement at the AGM and in the SPR Committee for the upcoming year. I thought I’d missed the boat, but some discussion online encouraged me to finish it off and put it up. And this is 2019 – social media will mean everyone will have read it by 11am.

I want to put the invitation out again for people to put their hand up and get involved in the running of the club. The AGM is tomorrow.

I have several slants on this:

1. We have nominations, as it stands now, for most of the positions, and in particular, the key positions. This means that if you step up, you are NOT taking on something huge without support. The club has a solid foundation, but also space for your ideas and contributions.
2. Having said that, we do not have nominations for every possible position on the committee. This means that as it stands, if you nominate, you will be welcomed and there is space and room for your input, hard work and contributions.
3. Not having all positions filled, as it stands now, also means that the AGM is not likely to need votes as popularity contests to choose the star team from dozens of nominations. That would be nice (maybe) but for community clubs like ours this is often not the case – for varying reasons, but often because people are generally happy and don’t want to presume to take over or change what is working.
4. The final slant I’ll mention is one that elPrez mentions specifically. Even for positions where we have nominations (existing members such as elPrez or myself – and I am seeking to continue on the committee), the positions are open to a vote. If members of our community want to see change, they (you) have a voice, a vote and a responsibility to show up at the AGM and make that voice heard.

So feel free to nominate. You are invited. You will be welcome. And even for the fact that we have some things in our club sorted and with some history (did anyone say 10 years?!), we want and need new ideas, new contributors and new leaders. Change is inevitable.

And let me say one last thing, which is a big one for me personally. As a committee we have to be able to work together, but if you see things differently (or think you do) to me (or anyone else on the committee) do not let that discourage your getting involved. I strongly believe that diversity of opinion and thought can be constructive and is essential to growth and progress. And I think that in most cases, SPR does that really well.

So what’s involved you ask?

The key parts of being on the committee:

1. Meet. A committee meeting of 1.5 hours every 6-8 weeks. We’re working hard to run these meetings effectively so we get things done but don’t waste people’s time. And still manage to get up a 4:30am the following morning to get a ride in (OK, 5 for people who live closer to South Perth than I do :)).
2. Slack. Be a part of the SPR Committee Slack. For those that don’t know, Slack is like Facebook Groups and we have “Slack channels” for most aspects of club life e.g. #club_rides (if we have a win or a problem on a morning ride, you will hear about it here first, almost guaranteed). This enables committee members to be involved, make decisions, etc online between meetings. And when you’re at work you can set it to silent (or not – your choice on managing boundaries).
3. Contribute. We are looking for people that are prepared to contribute. Events, races and programs don’t happen by themselves – you get the idea. And this stuff is fulfilling – we have lots of achievements that SPR as a club has achieved, but also things that individuals have contributed to – think Tour of Margaret River, The Beverley, Ride Leader Program, hundreds of people wanting to show up on group rides, club coaches, club mentors, social events, club kit. We have an honour roll of contributions for which people have worked hard and for which they are and should be proud.
4. Communicate. Everyone has a life, a family, a training program and a job (that order right?). And these things can go in waves. We all get that. A key for us is to try to communicate about what we can and can’t do. Some things take longer than we want or intend – this is true for all of us (me definitely!) – our objective is to aim to communicate expectations and boundaries clearly. Just part of being an effective (100% volunteer) team.
5. Question. Most of the great things SPR has achieved happen because someone asks a really good “what if?” or “how can we do this better?” question. Things like: How safe are our rides? What can be improved? How can we better support women taking up riding? Racing? How can our group rides meet members needs better? How can we support and encourage more racing? (If people are keen but unsure) What does it mean to have “racing teams” associated with the club? How can we get the best out of that whilst keeping a level playing field? How can we communicate more effectively?

Now. People often want to help and will “dip the toe” in small roles before stepping into bigger roles once they are comfortable. Have we got a subcommittee for you. These vary from year-to-year, may meet more or less frequently than the committee and are topic-focussed. Examples include Social, Kit, Race and Training and Development.

Each of these are typically a smaller and more focussed version of the committee. The beauty of this can being that you get to be involved in a way that you get to set the boundaries and parameters. If you are keen on one particular aspect of SPR club life, putting your hand up for a subcommittee could be the thing.

So please. If you have ideas or interest – speak up.

Official nominations are through an email to elPrez – admin@southperthrouleurs.com.au.

And you’re invited to ask any of the committee members questions. I personally can be reached at treasurer@southperthrouleurs.com.au or just message me on social media.

See you on the bike.

Daniel