1. The Traction Engine Rally was established to try and provide funding for Launceston RFC
2. The Traction Engine Rally provided healthy income streams to Launceston RFC whilst Colin Venton was Chairman of Launceston RFC. In fact had it not done so, the parlous state of the club's finances when Colin stepped down as Chairman of the senior club, would have been dramatically worse.
3. However, there were
E.g. 1994 on behalf of the Traction Engine Rally, Colin Venton expressed concern on behalf of his committee about the lack of help for stewarding the car parks. (Please note that I was not involved with Launceston RFC in any shape or form in 1994, so this one wasn't down to me!)
June 2000, on behalf of the Traction Engine Rally, Colin Venton expressed concern on behalf of his committee about
- help with cleaning up afterwards
- bar / food not available in the clubhouse for 2 hours
- changing rooms were filthy
(Please note that I wasn't involved with any committee business in 2000, so these points weren't down to me).
4. Adrian Cameron takes over from Colin Venton as Chairman of Launceston RFC, having been proposed by Colin Venton to take on the role.
5. At the AGM, Adrian Cameron expresses deep concerns about the levels of governance and the cavalier financial approach from the previous committee chaired by Colin Venton.
Colin takes personal umbridge at this assumed public attack on his period of stewardship of the club. Interestingly Colin is now Chairman of the Traction Engine Rally and within 4 years the Traction Engine Rally, which was established to provide a source of funds for the rugby club, reduces it's cash contribution to the club, cites further disenchantment at the lack of club support and breaks completely from the rugby club. Clearly, I am guilty by association for this course of events, although I was relatively powerless to prevent them. A classic tactic in trying to show how dangerous these young types, with their new fangled ideas can be, is to try and associate them directly with damaging an institution that is entrenched within the club. I hadn't realised what a dirty fight this was going to be!
5. Adrian Cameron gets summoned by Colin Venton to the Traction Engine Committee - Retribution Day
Here are my notes on my first summons from Colin and his traction engine cohorts,
" Evening time I was due for a Traction Engine Rally Court Summons. The letter that the TER Chairman had given me suggested that my presence was needed to deal with some concerns. I pretty much new what those concerns would be and thought I’d turn up in full listening / enthusiastic mode.
The starting point for discussions was a vote from the TER of absolute confidence in their Chairman, a statement of the fantastic deeds that he had done and a request that he stay at the helm to do the job again moving forward. There was then a period of silence as the TER secretary asked me if I had any problem with that???? To some extent I supposed that these people had been the focus of misinformation and supposed I would shout down any such proposal and move forward in my own apparently dictatorial manner. Quite the opposite. Quite a few people at this club seem to maintain and propel the myth of my autonomy and absolute power to an extent that it is beyond my control. As far as I and any reasonable individual is and would be concerned, the TER had had an excellent year, their Chairman had obviously got the full support of the TER and must have done an excellent job in their eyes. Why would anyone wish to change that????
I only wished that the same principles could be understood by TER Chairman when he attempts to influence the running of the main club’s affairs. In truth, I’m not sure whether the TER Chairman really wanted to do the job again, but he’d got himself into it, so he'd have to deal with it. Colin then chaired the rest of the meeting (it must have been great for him to be back in the chair) and threw various issues (sorry concerns) at me. Those concerns were as follows;
Apparently, 300 letters had been sent to people asking for support, 6 people had responded positively, only between 4-6 people actually turned up to help??? (It would seem to me that the communication medium was obviously ineffectual and needs to be addressed. I can of course reinforce the message, but quite how much more leverage I can exert over and above armlocks I was unsure.)
Apparently, the bar failed to open on time, could have opened for longer and we ran out of food. (Again, quite how I should have known this, I am not too sure? Perhaps the individual who was Chairman of the senior club at the time (Colin) should have asked himself? I wondered who had liased with whom in terms of bar and food and whether there were any written requests and why these had not been met. Was this down to communication or planning? Someone must be responsible for this I thought. I wonder why the TER thought it was me?)
The final summary was that the TER had a fantastic year, but needed more support. I promised to endeavour to provide this, but explained that it was proving more and more difficult to get volunteers. I’m sure that from their own experience, the TER knew this to be true. I was perplexed that historical issues and complaints were raised, since this was my first year as Chairman and the first complaints / discussion I had ever received from the TER. I wondered why the Chairman from the previoue 3 years, namely Colin, couldn’t have dealt with these historical issues since he was in a far better position than me to answer these questions. The club must try and maximise the revenue opportunity of the TER, but I was amazed that there was no outside bar. At least I was available to answer or attempt to answer those queries, although I’m not sure whether myths were dispelled or extended.
Again of course, the issue of professionalism at the club was the real issue and some TER members had forgotten perhaps why the TER had been first established, namely to provide another stream of funding for LRFC. Getting professional players to contribute voluntary support when many of them are not local and their commitment level during the season is so high, is difficlut. It’s always a bit of an empty argument when you’ve got a room full of volunteers. Oh well…..
TBC