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Articles.
“All we want are the facts!”- Dragnet
Chapter 7.
Chapter 7.
Any aspirations the BICC might have had about being the British International Championship Club have been blown out of the water over the past few months. Its point blank refusal to even contemplate some assistance to “national” marking stations relegates it to what many have always considered it to be, a Southern Club for Southerners and perhaps only middle and eastern southerners at that. Southern isn’t National let alone British. Then it jettisoned the Marseilles race and with it the Europa Cup, the very heart of Western European International racing, and so it has dismissed itself from belonging to the core of International racing. Then, in the highly likely event that the BBC and NFC send a majority of UK entries to Barcelona and Tarbes, what sort of Championship does that leave the BICC to offer? Finally when a Committee consistently ignores its members wishes how can it any longer be considered a Club.
The recent history of the BICC is simple and stark. It began with a few enthusiasts who set out with good intent. Subsequently due to management failures the venture floundered and would have failed altogether had it not been for Brian Long who rescued, resuscitated and put it onto a very healthy footing. Brian Long knew how to make things work and gathered round him a group who responded to his leadership and helped him to make it work. Brian Long’s untimely death denied the group further guidance and, left to their own devices, things started to go astray remarkably quickly. The beginning of that process, at least the first public view of that process, was the Committee meeting of 26th October 2008 that I reported on. Three significant changes to the path that the Club had been following were made at that meeting:-
1.They decided to reduce the programme by one National Race
2.They decided to change the ferry route and consequent pick up times
3.They decide to increase birdage prices significantly.
There may be good reasons for making any one or all of these changes but not without considerable thought and planning. I will pose you a simple question, if any of those changes were advantageous or necessary why had Brian Long, the man who really knew how to make things work, not made them before? A comment made at the time, by someone I have heard described as a highly respected pigeon journalist, was “What I will say is that I would bet that if it had not been for the unfortunate death of Brian Long this unnecessary upset would never have happened.” He of course was referring to some of the consequence arising from that meeting rather than the meeting or decisions themselves but it is a remarkably accurate summary of the meeting itself. Can you imagine precisely what the reply would have been if it had been put to Brian Long “Unless you reduce one of the races we will not continue.” It is from this decision, or really the lack of any decision, that this downward spiral began.
At the hearing before Council Mr. Deacon stated, in an effort to show that there had been planning, that it had all worked out correctly as could be seen from the yearly figures. Well Mr Deacon may have had a plan, who knows, but if there was a plan what could it have been and how well did it work? If you look at the BICC figures, which won’t take long due to the paucity of information presented for “members” view, you will see that the total birds sent in 2009 are approximately 7,000 down on 2008. That is a loss of considerably more than that one race, the one National race, races that earn income for the Club. This is clearly reflected in the Race Income which for 2008 was £105,898.32 and in 2009 was only £87,654.24 despite the enormous hike in prices. The Race expenditure meanwhile remains remarkably similar £75,515.49 in 2008 and £75,235.59 in 2009. The Clubs earnings from racing have therefore been radically reduced from approx £30,383 to £12,419 in one year. At the same time the more fixed expenses, like vehicle insurance and maintenance, have remained similar overall but the cost per mile and cost per race will have risen because of more limited use. Now it seems membership has started to fall as well so if the plan was to cut down on entries, reduce the profitability of racing and reduce membership then the plan has worked well. When you combine that with the reduced workload for central administration, with the lost race and more work being pushed out to marking stations, it must seem very satisfying as the only thing that has risen is the Secretary’s wages going from £14,112 in 2008 to £15,000 in 2009. Good plan?
There are two things from these figures that I would like to comment on. First the race costs which are similar in total but with one race less indicate an increase. Some increase must be expected and while it is not entirely clear where this has actually arisen it does not appear to be from higher ferry charges, which is surprising. You would expect, and I am reliably informed, that ferry charges from Portsmouth are significantly higher than those from Dover, if only because the journey time is considerably longer, so if the current charges are correct it would suggest that earlier charges were excessive. Where was this Committee then?
The final point concerns dwindling membership. A number of resignations each year must be considered normal but the total thus far seems excessive. This is a dangerous trend and one which I hope is reversed very soon. The real danger however comes not so much from those who take the effort to resign but from those who just do not bother to send. Quite a few of these resignations have been made on principal, several have called to tell me so, and while it is not for me to judge whether individuals should or should not resign it is not something I would seek or encourage. The BICC is going through an uncomfortable phase but it is not to late yet to put things right, although there is no time for delay. As all I have ever wanted and worked for is to encourage International Racing within the UK, for the BICC to truly become the British International Championship Club and for its members to have the choice about its future, I would encourage members to remain and work towards that end. It is too easy to resign or do nothing and if you feel that way please remember “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
In conclusion all I have to say is that I tried in various ways to help and encourage as well as put forward alternatives and choices that could be made. At all times I have told the truth. While clearly I have failed miserably it is perhaps significant that they had to stoop so low to stop me trying.
I wish you all, and the B.I.C.C., a very successful future.
Nigel Lane
The recent history of the BICC is simple and stark. It began with a few enthusiasts who set out with good intent. Subsequently due to management failures the venture floundered and would have failed altogether had it not been for Brian Long who rescued, resuscitated and put it onto a very healthy footing. Brian Long knew how to make things work and gathered round him a group who responded to his leadership and helped him to make it work. Brian Long’s untimely death denied the group further guidance and, left to their own devices, things started to go astray remarkably quickly. The beginning of that process, at least the first public view of that process, was the Committee meeting of 26th October 2008 that I reported on. Three significant changes to the path that the Club had been following were made at that meeting:-
1.They decided to reduce the programme by one National Race
2.They decided to change the ferry route and consequent pick up times
3.They decide to increase birdage prices significantly.
There may be good reasons for making any one or all of these changes but not without considerable thought and planning. I will pose you a simple question, if any of those changes were advantageous or necessary why had Brian Long, the man who really knew how to make things work, not made them before? A comment made at the time, by someone I have heard described as a highly respected pigeon journalist, was “What I will say is that I would bet that if it had not been for the unfortunate death of Brian Long this unnecessary upset would never have happened.” He of course was referring to some of the consequence arising from that meeting rather than the meeting or decisions themselves but it is a remarkably accurate summary of the meeting itself. Can you imagine precisely what the reply would have been if it had been put to Brian Long “Unless you reduce one of the races we will not continue.” It is from this decision, or really the lack of any decision, that this downward spiral began.
At the hearing before Council Mr. Deacon stated, in an effort to show that there had been planning, that it had all worked out correctly as could be seen from the yearly figures. Well Mr Deacon may have had a plan, who knows, but if there was a plan what could it have been and how well did it work? If you look at the BICC figures, which won’t take long due to the paucity of information presented for “members” view, you will see that the total birds sent in 2009 are approximately 7,000 down on 2008. That is a loss of considerably more than that one race, the one National race, races that earn income for the Club. This is clearly reflected in the Race Income which for 2008 was £105,898.32 and in 2009 was only £87,654.24 despite the enormous hike in prices. The Race expenditure meanwhile remains remarkably similar £75,515.49 in 2008 and £75,235.59 in 2009. The Clubs earnings from racing have therefore been radically reduced from approx £30,383 to £12,419 in one year. At the same time the more fixed expenses, like vehicle insurance and maintenance, have remained similar overall but the cost per mile and cost per race will have risen because of more limited use. Now it seems membership has started to fall as well so if the plan was to cut down on entries, reduce the profitability of racing and reduce membership then the plan has worked well. When you combine that with the reduced workload for central administration, with the lost race and more work being pushed out to marking stations, it must seem very satisfying as the only thing that has risen is the Secretary’s wages going from £14,112 in 2008 to £15,000 in 2009. Good plan?
There are two things from these figures that I would like to comment on. First the race costs which are similar in total but with one race less indicate an increase. Some increase must be expected and while it is not entirely clear where this has actually arisen it does not appear to be from higher ferry charges, which is surprising. You would expect, and I am reliably informed, that ferry charges from Portsmouth are significantly higher than those from Dover, if only because the journey time is considerably longer, so if the current charges are correct it would suggest that earlier charges were excessive. Where was this Committee then?
The final point concerns dwindling membership. A number of resignations each year must be considered normal but the total thus far seems excessive. This is a dangerous trend and one which I hope is reversed very soon. The real danger however comes not so much from those who take the effort to resign but from those who just do not bother to send. Quite a few of these resignations have been made on principal, several have called to tell me so, and while it is not for me to judge whether individuals should or should not resign it is not something I would seek or encourage. The BICC is going through an uncomfortable phase but it is not to late yet to put things right, although there is no time for delay. As all I have ever wanted and worked for is to encourage International Racing within the UK, for the BICC to truly become the British International Championship Club and for its members to have the choice about its future, I would encourage members to remain and work towards that end. It is too easy to resign or do nothing and if you feel that way please remember “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
In conclusion all I have to say is that I tried in various ways to help and encourage as well as put forward alternatives and choices that could be made. At all times I have told the truth. While clearly I have failed miserably it is perhaps significant that they had to stoop so low to stop me trying.
I wish you all, and the B.I.C.C., a very successful future.
Nigel Lane