Minutes of Meeting Wednesday the 9^th of June

Apologies

Glen and Julie, Bec, Luc, Kylie

Attending

Tim, Wes, Tony, Adam, Nathan, David

Presidents Report

Our round of the RAMBO Interclub Cross Country Series was run on Sunday the 23^rd of May. As a point to point there was more organizing than usual and a greater need for volunteers. The Albury/Wodonga club helped out by supplying a large number of volunteers which was greatly appreciated. The feedback was good and the numbers participating was high which shows the popularity of point to point races. We should look at next years Chain Gang RAMBO round being a point to point again, maybe from Beechworth to Stanley.The next club meeting on August the 11^th and is our Annual General Meeting. All positions will be vacated and Wes and Tim will not re-nominate therefore we’ll need some new people to step up to be office bearers. The feeling is that the club will benefit from some new directions from new office bearers. Please start thinking about what you can do to drive the club to the next level and think about putting your hat in the ring for a position.

Membership Report

We have 57 MTBA registered members. The new social only membership form will be on the web soon to provide low cost membership for those just interested in club social riding without personal insurance.

Downhill Report

The Victorian Down Hill Series is over. Dean Lucas scored the Under 17 number one spot and Katelyn Humphris came 3^rd in Elite Women, a fantastic effort. Other club members that rode well were Jacob Hunter, Matt Dwyer, Elijah Marinov, Oliver Zwar, Dean White, Jackson Langdon, Cal McKinley, Jake Lucas, Craig Penglase and Tony Pincan.The all clubs meeting is to be held next month. Due to the popularity of the Yack race an application will be put in to run this event again at the end of April or early May. This race will more than likely be a shared event between The Chain Gang and the Albury/Wodonga Club due to the work involved and the number of volunteers required.Tony Pincan will be doing a Commissaire course with MTBA in the near future to facilitate event management. 

Advocacy

The Wang crew are reapplying for money to rehabilitate the Friends Track in the Warby Range.The first sections of the Beechworth/Everton Railtrail “Flame Trees” cross country track have been completed by Glenn Jacobs crew with help from volunteers and Dept of Corrections. This completed section is a 5.5km loop down below Baarmutha Station which will be lengthened to the full 30 odd km’s as time progresses. This is an easy graded track and is a great ride already and promises to one of “the” rides of the area when completed.With a lot of trail building going on it has been noted that the club needs to purchase some track building tools. Quotes will be gained for tools to keep 10 people busy at working bees and we may have to look at a heavy duty or ride on mower to keep the grass at bay along Flame Trees track in particular as some areas may become “snake heaven” as grass grows. The mountain bike map needs updating. Most of the tracks are now in place with minor work on the green loop and the bottom section of the short course downhill to be re-routed and eroded areas to be rehabilitated.

General Business

We are in the final throws of our name change, The suggested name is Chain Gang MTB Club to more broadly encompass the region that members come from. Maybe we could incorporate our location as “Kelly Country – Victoria”. This needs to be finalized before the jersey design is done. If anyone has any comment on this they need to tackle this now. The jersey design is not off the ground yet. It has been suggested that a friendly graphic designer may need to be involved and we look at our logo at the same time, this will be followed up.

Next Meeting

Wednesday the 11^th of August – Annual General Meeting. It is important that you attend this meeting, it is your club and if you want certain directions taken you will have to get involved, make the time to attend.