Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 11th November 2014

Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh  EH12 9DQ at 1600 hours

Attendees:

Janice Eaglesham, Chair
Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
Dave Rhoney, Director
Claire Morrison, Director
Iain Smith, Director
Gavin Macleod, CEO
Ailien Pallot, Finance Manager
Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies:

Anna Tizzard, Director
Sandra Proudfoot, Director
Gerry Milne, Director
John Reid OBE, Director

Welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  Reference was made to the recent Board away days which would impact on the mechanics of the meeting, e.g. format, information, sub-committees and agenda structure.

Conflicts of Interest

No conflicts of interest.

Minutes of previous meeting – 18th August 2014

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

Matters Arising

The CEO indicated the AGM had gone well but following a recent staff meeting it was suggested the 2015 AGM be held at Stirling Court Hotel, and to amalgamate the AGM and Branch Conference in 2016.  This was agreed in principle.

Documents had been received for the forthcoming Fit for Purpose Audit.  The CEO, Chair, Finance Manager, Education & Development Manager and the Opportunities & Events Manager were working on the submission for 5 December, with the auditors’ visit due to commence on 15 December.

Finance papers had previously been circulated (attached).  In the half-yearly review the Association was broadly on target for anticipated income and expenditure had been allocated.

Considerations for the potential hosting of the SDS server by Glasgow Caledonian  University were the cost of the line and bandwith but these could be offset against savings on support.  Confirmation of the terms would be needed in writing.

Potential savings on hardware with the University’s discount would need to be compared against current savings made on software due to charitable status.

The Finance Manager should contact Gerry Milne to arrange a meeting before the end of November, requesting Glasgow Caledonian University to draft the requirements and Gerry Milne to sign off.

The stakeholder pension scheme has ceased and auto-enrolment would be phased in by 2017.  Communications have been made to the staff affected but the staff required to make their own interim arrangements.  A cut-off date was required and should be put in writing to the relevant staff.  It was proposed to write to all affected staff giving them until the end of March 2015 to make a decision.  The Finance Manager would draft a letter for the staff and Iain Smith would check this prior to sending.

Reports

CEO Report: Operational Plan

The operational plan (attached) had been circulated by the CEO and key points were highlighted.  The Board noted that many positive aspects were included.

Sub Groups

Discussion of sub groups had taken place at the Board away days and would be covered later.

Governance

The audit and the memorandum and articles of association had been covered earlier.

The risk register (attached) had been circulated by the CEO and was presented annually to the Board.  A risk policy may be needed.  It was agreed this should be reviewed quarterly by the Board.

IT/Hardware:  The sub group can consider reports or discuss as a Board.  It was suggested this should be pursued with Gerry Milne for advice and guidance then brought to the Board.

It was agreed this should remain an agenda item under Governance, HR and Finance.

Coaching & Education

This had been updated under the operational plan.

Communications

At present the sub group comprises the CEO, Pathways Manager, Performance Manager and Chair.  Policies were given to the Board and an action plan was in place during the Commonwealth Games.  Burt Greener had begun the media campaign.  The action plan would now be reviewed for a longer term view with a meeting scheduled for 16 November, and would then be submitted to the Board.

HR/Staffing

The sub-committee had not met.  The Performance Manager would be taking maternity leave from March 2015 with a planned duration of six months.  A timeline was presented by the CEO for maternity cover beginning on 28 November.  The aim would be to overlap with the Performance Manager and if filled internally then to backfill the vacant post.

Sub-committee Discussion

The Board had reviewed the criteria at the away days: sub-committees should have strategic input, be useful to staff and allow input from non-Board members with expertise.  The existing sub-committees had been reviewed:

• Performance Sport
• HR, Finance and Governance
• Safguarding and Equality
• Coaching and Education
• Branches and MOR
• Communication
• Athlete Panel (linking to young persons’ sports panel and the Blaze cultural exchange group)

Discussions were held around each sub-committee and the following was agreed:

• HR, Finance and Governance would be retained, with the current group size adequate but Iain Smith to either join or function as an advisor. Meetings would be scheduled around finance reports and as required.  Members to be Chair/Vice Chair, Iain Smith, Finance Manager, CEO, Gerry Milne (Finance Director).
• Safeguarding would become a working group rather than sub-committee.
• Coaching and Education would become an operational group with a Board member attending the larger group meetings.
• Communication would retain the existing staff and meet six monthly. A skilled Board member or external adviser would be useful.  A communication plan would come to the Board for ratification and skills needed in the future should be considered.  The existing staff working group would identify external representation to advise.
• An Athlete Panel would meet six monthly and report through the Board or Anna Tizzard. A Young Persons’ Sports Panel was suggested which the Opportunities & Equality Manager could lead after March 2015.  The Chair would discuss with Anna Tizzard.
• The MOR group would meet as required to ratify portfolios and Board members would attend Branch meetings. A list of meetings was circulated (attached) by the Opportunities & Events Manager and Board members were asked to indicate which they could attend and feed back to CL.
• The Boccia sub-committee contains a Board member, Claire Morrison. Reporting would be a standard agenda item.

Partners’ Update

Key partners where SDS has representation were identified as UKSA, National Paralympic Committee of the British Paralympic Association, GB Boccia, GB Disability Football Association and CPISRA.  The mapping previously circulated would be revised.

The next BPA meeting would be the following week with an amendment previously proposed to the voting structure meaning home nations would be non-voting.  Correspondence had been received in October indicating this would not go ahead.

The Chair and CEO are on the Board of UKSA and the AGM would be held the following week.

The CEO had held a meeting with Peter Drysdale regarding CPISRA where he indicated he would be happy to feed back on behalf of SDS.

Events

Domestic/Regional

These were covered in the operational plan.

The learning disability junior swimming championships would be held the following week and were the last event of the year.  The Opportunities & Events Manager was commended for the reports submitted to the Board.

International

The next international event would be the curlers attending the World Championships.

The CP World Games were to be held in 2015 with around 16 athletes in the team.  The Pathways Manager had agreed to be team manager and a job description would be formulated for assistant team managers.  Volunteers for sport specific posts would be selected by the sports.

The team manager advert for the IBD World Championships would be closing on Friday with five applications received to date.

Proposed Changes to Board Agendas

• Time to be allocated to discussion and decision.
• Reports would be discussed as and when arising and a heading should be on the agenda for reports.
• All papers for meetings should be issues together as far as possible and a list of attachments to be detailed in the body of the covering email.
• The date, time, venue and length of meetings would be considered under the next agenda.

AOB

The Opportunities & Events Manager will circulate a database of events for Board attendance.

The Commonwealth Games Scotland half yearly meeting would be held on 27 November.  As the CEO was unable to attend interest was invited from Board members.

Date of Next Meeting

19 January 2015.

 

Minutes of the fifty first annual general meeting of Scottish Disability Sport held on Wednesday 24th September 2014 at the Windlestrae Hotel, Kinross at 1930 hours.

Attendees and Apologies

A list is attached.

Welcome and Apologies

The Chair Gordon McCormack OBE welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Adoption of Minutes

The minutes of the previous AGM were adopted as previously circulated.

Presentation of Audited Accounts

The audited accounts were presented by Gerry Milne.  The accounts had been circulated in advance of the AGM and a copy was available to view at the registration table.  Thanks were given to the Finance Manager for diligence in the preparation of the accounts.  They had been agreed with the auditors and there were no comments.

Report by Gavin Macleod, Chief Executive Officer

North Ayrshire Branch had rescinded membership during the course of the year and had formed part of a new pan-Ayrshire Branch, Ayrshire Sportsability.

The Branch Conference had been held in November 2013 with 55 delegates attending representing 11 Branches.  The next Branch Conference was scheduled for 16th November 2014 at Dewar’s in Perth.

PVG training had been offered to Branches during the year with a good take-up.

International events had included the CPISRA European Football Championships where Scotland had ranked 5th, the UCI World Cycling Championships in Mexico, the IPC European Swimming Championships in the Netherlands, the IPC European Athletics Championships in Swansea and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  Michael Cavanagh would be joining the meeting later in the evening.

Education and Training

Support continued to be received from Education Scotland and sportscotland.  Congratulations were given to Heather Lowden, Claire Morrison and Lynne Glen for their work with GB Boccia on boccia coach education.  The Coaching Matters Performance Coaches’ Conference had been held in December 2013 at Stirling Management Centre.

Governance

The Memorandum and Articles of Association had been reviewed and Iain Smith, Board legal advisor, would speak during the evening.

The Opportunities & Equality Manager was leading on working towards the Equality Standard Intermediate Level with the aim of completion by March 2015.

Tina Gordon was welcomed as Regional Consultant for Tayside and Disability Sport Fife recognised as fulfilling the remit for Fife.

Dave Rhoney was now in post as RAT with Help for Heroes Personnel Recovery Unit.

Communication and Leadership

Web statistics were given and it was noted that the facebook and twitter audiences were growing.  Sport specific fact sheets had been produced for priority and Commonwealth Games sports.

Thanks were given to:

• The SDS Management Board, particularly the outgoing Chair;
• Branches and volunteers;
• Sport specific officers and coaches;
• Colleagues in Fife and Edinburgh;
• Local authorities, leisure trusts and sport governing bodies;
• sportscotland, in particular the Partnership Manager Jo Bell;
• Sponsors and key partners; and
• Athletes.

Election of Directors

In accordance with the new Articles of Association, Board members would be elected for an initial term of one year.

One nomination had been received for Chair – Janice Eaglesham.

Proposed: Richard Vallis

Seconded: Anna Tizzard

One nomination had been received for Vice Chair – Catherine Goodfellow.

Proposed: Angus Whyte

Seconded: Millar Stoddart

Seven nominations had been received for Directors – Anna Tizzard, David Rhoney, Gerry Milne, Iain Smith, Sandra Proudfoot, John Reid and Claire Morrison.

Proposed: Gordon Quinton

Seconded: Alan Oliver

Re-appointment of Honorary Auditors

Geoghegans were re-appointed as honorary auditors with particular thanks to Mike Crerar and Denise Meikle.

Proposed: Sandra Proudfoot

Seconded: Dave Rhoney

Membership Subscriptions

Membership subscriptions would remain the same as the previous year, at £200 for branches and £50 for associate members.

Proposed: Michelle Philip

Seconded: Paul Noble MBE

Company Matters

Iain Smith had been asked to review the Memorandum and Articles of Association.  It was considered good practice to review them and the revised Articles of Association had been circulated to the membership.  No comments had been received.

Briefly, the aims of the new Articles were:

• To amalgamate several documents into one place;
• To contain specific objects relating to the charitable status of Scottish Disability Sport;
• To condense the objects into a more concise document.

The most substantial change related to the election of the Board of Directors.  It was recognised that it was not best practice to have the whole Board standing down at the same time and therefore a rolling programme would be introduced with a three year rotation.

Ten votes were received for the Articles to be adopted and there were no votes against and no abstentions.  The resolution was therefore carried and the new Articles of Association adopted.

The Chair thanked Iain Smith for his explanation and support.

AOCB

There was no other competent business.

With the official business completed, it was noted that the AGM was well attended and all were thanked for coming.

Guest Speaker: Aileen Neilson

The CEO welcomed Aileen Neilson as guest speaker.  Aileen thanked SDS for inviting her and gave a presentation (attached) on her sporting career to date, culminating in the Winter Paralympics in Sochi 2014.

Presentation of Awards

The SDS Awards were presented by Aileen Neilson.

• David McCrae Bursary: Scott Meenagh
• Archie Cameron Bursary: Joanne Butterfield and Laura Cluxton
• Special Award – Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland
• Special Olympics Trophy: Ruairidh Brown
• Capability Scotland Salver for Most Promising Newcomer: Maria Lyle
• Glasgow Trophy for Service to Sport: Pauline Stirling
• Elspeth Watson Trophy for person outwith SDS contributing to disability sport in Scotland: Terry McLernon MBE
• Russell Hogg Trophy for Development Coach of the Year: Stephen Somerville
• Fife Trophy for Coach of the Year: Tony Zummack
• Dedication to Football Award: Gordon McCormack OBE
• Findlay Calder Trophy for Athlete of the Year: Libby Clegg
• Brian Dolan Memorial Trophy for Swimmer of the Year: Andrew Mullen
• Angus Trophy for Sportsperson of the Year excluding athletes and swimmers: Neil Fachie MBE
• Gordon Brown Memorial Trophy for Athletes’ Athlete of the Year: Andrew Mullen
• Special Presentation: Gordon McCormack OBE

Gordon McCormack OBE was presented with an award by Janice Eaglesham in recognition of his eight years as Chair of SDS, from 2006 to 2014, during which it had been an honour and a privilege to work with him.  Janice commented that she had worked with Gordon for 26 years in total and that he had been a volunteer with SDS for more than 35 years.  Everyone knew Gordon in a variety of ways – SDS Chair, West of Scotland, as a colleague or volunteer or as cameraman at events.  During this time many changes have taken place in disability sport and SDS has expanded from six paid staff to 18 at the present time.  Of the three Commonwealth Games during which Gordon has been Chair, the most special was the most recent in his home city of Glasgow.  Tonight Gordon was leaving his position but not the organisation, but would remain involved in grassroots disability sport and in tutoring, and it was hoped he would be present as a mentor to others.

Gordon McCormack thanked all for making his time at SDS wonderful, and also gave credit to the staff for achievements.

The CEO thanked Aileen Neilson for her presentation and introduced Michael Cavanagh, Chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland.

Closing Remarks: Michael Cavanagh, Chair, Commonwealth Games Scotland

Michael Cavanagh gave a presentation (attached).

Gavin Macleod, CEO, Scottish Disability Sport

The CEO thanked Michael Cavanagh for his remarks and congratulated him on the success of the Games and the inclusiveness of Glasgow 2014.  Thanks were also given to Julie and Brooke Hogg for presentation of the Russell Hogg Trophy.

Date of Next AGM

Wednesday 23rd September 2015

Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 18th August 2014 at sportscotland, Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh  EH12 9DQ at 1600 hours.

Attendees:

Gordon McCormack OBE, Chair
Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
Gerry Milne, Director
Dave Rhoney, Director
Janice Eaglesham, Director
John Reid OBE, Director
Iain Smith, Director
Sandra Proudfoot, Director
Gavin Macleod, CEO
Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies:

Anna Tizzard, Director
Claire Morrison, Director
Jo Bell, sportscotland Partnership Manager

Welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and congratulated Dave Rhoney on starting his new job with Battle Back.

Conflicts of Interest

Vice Chair – Commonwealth Games Scotland.

Action

Minutes of previous meeting – 16th June 2014

Page 5 – Eliza Watson is now moving abroad and will not be available to help at the AGM.

Matters Arising

AGM

• Aileen Neilson has agreed to be the guest speaker and Jon Doig, CEO of Commonwealth Games Scotland, to provide the closing remarks.
• The award winners have been selected and trophies are being returned to head office.
• David McCrae has donated the bursary and Capability Scotland have confirmed they will continue with their bursay.
• The annual report is with the printers and a first draft is awaited.
• Sound & Vision have been contracted to look after AV.
• The BBC and sportscotland have been asked for footage and photos which can be used.
• Board nominations have been submitted by two Branches and all existing Board members have received nominations.
• Janice Eaglesham has agreed to stand as Chair and Catherine Goodfellow to continue if elected as Vice Chair.
• The revised Articles of Association are complete and it was suggested that the final item on the AGM agenda be the approval of these.
• Revised Articles to be circulated to Board for consideration within ten days then to all Branches by 3rd September.
• The main points are:
  • All governance documents are now in one place;
  • Updated from 2006 Companies Act;
  • The appointment of new directors is formalised;
  • Board members will stand for three years;
  • One third of the Board will resign each year;
  • Individual Board members can serve two consecutive terms and thereafter be elected year by year.

Sub Groups

Finance

Finance sub groups dates to be set.

The accounts are complete.

An additional funding bid for £50,000 has been submitted to sportscotland.  A verbal indication of success has been given but confirmation is required.

There may be another opportunity for additional investment, and a submission has been prepared and sent to Calum Wood and Jo Bell regarding funding the sports for which SDS has responsibility: boccia, bowls and football.  The submission deadline is 26th September 2014.

MOR

The sub group has met and four Branches have been put forward as meeting the criteria.  Following review all will be awarded certificates at the AGM subject to Board agreement.  The Opportunities & Equality and Opportunities & Events Managers were commended on their work in this respect, resulting in more professional and robust relationships with Branches.  Nine of the 13 Branches have now achieved the MOR and in future this will be a requirement for insurance.

It was agreed to award the certificates to the four Branches under consideration.

Governance

Arrangements have been in place covering Tayside & Fife from 1st August.  Tina Gordon is covering Tayside on a consultancy basis for an interim period of one year and funding and targets have been agreed with Disability Sport Fife.

Coaching and Education

Education Scotland have agreed to provide further DIT funding to augment current provision as well as funding to develop a course covering severe and complex needs and autism.  An e-learning resource may be required.

Communications

A plan for the communications programme has been drafted by consultants including a media kit and campaign.  This has been sent to sportscotland for confirmation of £4,500 funding.  Once this is confirmed the CEO will circulate it to the Board.

Development Sports

A meeting will take place with Bowls Scotland tomorrow and on 28th August with Scottish Athletics to develop inclusion and enhance working relationships.  The aim is an inclusive structure within sport governing bodies.

Partners’ Update

With regard to the new para sports facility planned for Inverclyde.  SDS’ agenda is inclusion and that all facilities should be inclusive through governing bodies, particularly with regard to high performance sport.  Inverclyde have invited SDS to meet to ensure the centre is fully accessible and a group is being reconvened with John Gheel of sportscotland.

The CEO and Janice Eaglesham had attended the UKSA Board meeting in June.

Events

International

Scotland had come fifth equal with England in the CP European Championships.

Michael Kerr had captained the GB wheelchair rugby team and finished fifth in the World Championships.

In the IPC European Swimming Championships Andrew Mullen won gold medals in the S5 200m freestyle, SM5 200m medley, S5 50m backstroke 50m and S5 50m butterfly, and silver in the S5 100m freestyle and the S5 50m freestyle.  Scott Quin won silver medal in the SB14 100m breaststroke.

The IPC Athletic European Championships will start tomorrow in Swansea with five Scottish athletes taking part: Samantha Kinghorn (T53), Jo Butterfield (F51), Maria Lyle (T35), Libby Clegg (T12) and Stef Reid (T44).

The Boccia World Championships will take place in Beijing next month with six Scots selected to the squad.

At the IWAS World Junior Championships in Stoke Mandeville Meggan Dawson Farrell won gold in the T54 1500m and seven gold medals and one silver were won in race running.

Commonwealth Games

Scotland had 22 athletes, guides, directors and pilots in the Games.  Medals won comprised three gold, three silver and one bronze, achieving SDS’ target of more medals and more athletes than at previous Games.  It was considered that the inclusion was seamless, including coverage and the portrayal of classification.

Letters had been sent out to all partners and athletes congratulating them on the successes.

SDS website usage had increased from 100+ visits per day to a total of 22,000 visits during the games with a peak on 27th July of 15,630 visits when Erraid Davies won gold.

AOCB

Board training will take place at Stirling Management Centre on 31st October and 1st November, with the CEO and current Chair attending on the Friday afternoon.  John Bull will be facilitating.

The AGM is on 24th September 2014 at 7pm at the Windlestrae Hotel in Kinross.  It was suggested and agreed that the first subsequent Board meeting be held on Tuesday 11th November.

John de Courcy has been asked to deliver Disability Inclusion Training at Edinburgh University.

A meeting had been held with the Malaysian sports minister during the Commonwealth Games.  The forthcoming project would be funded jointly by the Malaysian government and Maybank.

A toolkit for the self assessment audit would be received from sportscotland on 3rd October with a deadline for submission of 1st December.

The CP World Games are being held next year in England.  A working group will begin next month, and initial numbers have been submitted to CP ISRA.

A National Paralympic Day is being held at Braehead on Sunday 31st August.

Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 11th November 2014

Minutes of the 142nd management meeting held on Monday 16th June 2014 at sportscotland, Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh  EH12 9DQ at 1600 hours.

Attendees:

Gordon McCormack OBE, Chair
Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
Janice Eaglesham, Director
John Reid OBE, Director
Claire Morrison, Director
Dave Rhoney, Director
Gavin Macleod, CEO
Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies:

Gerry Milne, Director
Anna Tizzard, Director
Sandra Proudfoot, Director
Iain Smith, Director
Jo Bell, sportscotland Partnership Manager

Welcome

Conflicts of Interest

Vice Chair – Commonwealth Games Scotland

Minutes of previous meeting: 29th April 2014

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

Matters Arising

• The Finance sub group is still awaiting pensions advice therefore no paper has yet been circulated by the Finance Manager.
• The CEO group met last week.
• National Working Groups: the coaching and volunteering regional managers had been recruiting and were now all in place. The Pathways Manager was re-establishing contact.
• A Governance and Infrastructure paper had been circulated by the Chair and replies were awaited.
• There was no further new on potential sportscotland funding. A sportscotland Board meeting will be held next week and a Board member, George Walker, had been allocated to Scottish Disability Sport.
• 13 hospitality places were available at the event on 24th July sponsored by A G Barr.
• Guidelines for communication required to be circulated.
• An initial meeting regarding the Cerebral Palsy World Games had taken place and Scottish Disability Sport had submitted an initial payment.
• The Finance sub group had met with Mike Crerar, who indicated that the auditors were satisfied with the accounts. The accounts are being printed ready for signing and a draft copy was duly signed by the Board.
• It was requested that the limit for payments signed off on the sole authority of the CEO be raised from £500 to £1,000 on the recommendation of the auditors. This was agreed by the Board.
• The notes from the Finance sub group meeting will be circulated.

CEO Report

• Good work had taken place within the Branches and four were expected to be awarded MOR certificates at the AGM in September.
• The date for the Branch conference was set as 16th November and all Branches had been notified. The venue is to be confirmed but is likely to be Perth.
• A good response had been received for the summer sports camp and a waiting list had been started. Funding has been received from Celtic FC Foundation, Wheelpower and Better Breaks.
• The Regional Managers had met with the Scottish Athletics Regional team and were working on joint plans. An initial meeting had also been held with the Scottish Cycling Regional team and meeting were ongoing with Scottish Swimming.
• The Regional Performance Gala had taken place the previous day. 28 swimmers were in attendance and performances had been good.
• The next Regional Boccia competition will take place in August with the venue still to be confirmed.
• The UK DIT had been delivered to all final year PE students at Glasgow University. Appreciation was expressed for the efforts of Theresa Campbell and Sharon MacKechnie for organising this.
• Team Scotland has been selected for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. There are 22 athletes, pilots, directors and guides in the team of whom 21 are Scots.  This was successful in terms of the goal for number of athletes selected.  Scottish para athletes are represented across all five sports and have medal prospects in arguably four or five sports.
• Bowls Squad training is ongoing and two more sessions will be held before the squad is integrated with the mainstream bowlers.
• Numbers attending events are increasing although numbers for the Senior Learning Disability Gala were down due to Lothian Branch not attending this year.
• The sub group had met to discuss Athlete Academy applications, selecting 21 athletes of whom 11 were new to the Academy.
• The GB Boccia and Cheshire International Boccia Competitions had been held in Wigan and the young players in particular performed well. A team of coaches was in place who did a good job.
• Education and Training opportunities were decreasing towards the summer. 23 courses had been held with 271 candidates, most of whom (228) were on the 19 UK DIT mainly education courses.  Numbers overall attending courses were dropping therefore a review should be carried out for the next two years’ funding received.  Very good feedback continued to be received.
• The e-learning resource had been piloted and results were awaited.
• The Boccia Level 2 course had been endorsed, the pilot course completed and the next course is to be held in November. The majority of candidates attending the pilot had been from Scotland.
• A meeting had been held with SGB Professional Officers with a development or coaching remit, sharing good practice and learning. This had been well received and will be held annually or bi-annually.
• Work continued with sport specific governing bodies and this reflected the increasingly inclusive nature of how governing bodies are working.
• Best & Randak have produced case studies relating to the UK DIT and the Education and Development Manager will circulate these.
• A draft anti-corruption policy had been received from sportscotland with reference to betting. Prior to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games all associated governing bodies must have such a policy in place.  This has been modified and circulated to the Board and the CEO will distribute to staff, sports and branches and arrange to have it added to the website.  There was discussion on the detail of the policy and it was highlighted that it could be amended in the future.  It was agreed that the responsible person should be the CEO.
• The recruitment and selection policy required to be updated in line with the revised Equality Policy. Advice had been taken from Lucy Faulkner and a draft policy produced.
• The equal opportunities monitoring form required amendment. Previously monitoring had not taken place in recruitment but in future this will be done on an optional basis.  This was agreed by the Board.
• The Classification paper previously distributed had been amended and highlighted as discussed.
• Interviews were held for the Tayside & Fife Regional Manager post on 22nd May, initially with two candidates scheduled to attend, of whom one withdrew for personal reasons prior to the interview and one was not considered suitable. A meeting was held with sportscotland and the regional partnership, with the result that a part time consultancy would be offered for the Tayside area and a partnership agreement would be put in place for Fife, both for an initial period of one year.  Having invited tenders for the consultancy, two replies had been received and both parties would be interviewed.  It was agreed that Disability Sport Fife would deliver the agreed outcomes in the Fife area.
• The Battle Back position recruitment was ongoing and it was hoped that following interviews 12 weeks ago a candidate would be in place by the end of July.
• SDS is working with sportscotland as the recognition period as lead body for boccia was finishing and it was intended to extend this to 2020. Terms of Reference had been circulated and agreed.
• Lyndon Williams is working on sport specific information sheets and these will be used as a source of information post-Games.
• The CEO and Pathways Manager had met sportscotland regarding a potential marketing campaign, with the result that £4,500 would be available following the Commonwealth Games around the filming of athletes, local press and targeting around disability and corporates.
• The Malaysia project is ongoing and a meeting via Skype would be held on the following Friday.
• A presentation would be made to US military veterans on 26th June to tie in with the recovery unit exchange.

Sub Groups

Governance and Infrastructure: Memorandum and Articles

Iain Smith was unable to attend the meeting.  The sub group had met regarding the revisions and held discussions taking into account feedback received.  Iain Smith will have the definitive statement but the proposals agreed were primarily:

• Board members would serve a term of three years;
• Board members would serve a maximum of two terms and thereafter could be invited onto the Board but a gap of one year should be left;
• Consideration should be given to continuity. The preferred number of Board members is 10 but others could be co-opted;
• A quorum for Board meetings should be four Board members;
• For the next three years a rolling programme should be in place whereby one third of the Board resign each year after the first year.

Iain Smith is writing up the agreed statement and checking that it could be presented at this year’s AGM.  If agreed it will be circulated to Branches to submit nominations.  Consideration required to be given to the nomination process, but it was proposed that nominations should be given to the CEO, who would request a resume from each nominee.  Following this all names received would be circulated to Branches and the voting member from each Branch would record their vote on or before the evening of the AGM, allowing the CEO to announce the result.

Board assessments should be carried out and all Board members asked whether they are willing to stand again for election.

Communications

The sub group had met and work was ongoing.  Preparations were being made for the Commonwealth Games and the implications for SDS.

Partners’ Update

British Paralympic Association

Minutes and a letter from Tim Reddish had been circulated regarding changes to the memorandum and articles and voting rights.  The CEO and Chair had been unable to attend the Home Nations meeting due to delayed flights, but the case for membership were put on Scotland’s behalf.  A letter had been received in reply and a vote would take place in November.

CPISRA

The general assembly will be held in Barcelona in October at a cost of €860 per person plus flights.  SDS has not previously attended and it was not considered necessary to attend this year.

Events

• SDS/SFA 5 a side Football – 28th May at Ravenscraig
• Senior Championships for Swimmers with a Learning Disability – 17th May at Scotstoun
• National Performance Gala – 15th June in Aberdeen
• National Junior Track & FIeld Championships – 4th June at Grangemouth

International

Six Scots are competing in Boccia in Portugal: Joshua Rowe, Scott McCowan and Patrick Wilson (BC3) and Kieran Steer and Stephen McGuire (BC4).

Reports are on the website about Portugal and Barcelona.

Commonwealth Games

SDS has verbally been advised that tickets will be allocated and require to be collected from Stirling.  Allocation should be considered and it was suggested that the CEO, Chair and Performance Manager meet to discuss.

AOCB

• An invitation had been received from Bowls Scotland.
• Nomination forms have been sent to Branches for the annual awards. Board members can nominate through Branches or individually.
• The Czech BC4s have been invited to the Peak in Stirling in July for training matches.
• The Cerebral Palsy European Championships will be held this summer in Barcelona.
• The Blind Bowls Championships will take place next week at Kelvingrove in Glasgow.
• Michael Kerr is leaving today with the GB Wheelchair Rugby team for the Canada Cup in British Columbia.
• Josh Manson, Scotland Under 15 and now Under 19 wheelchair basketball player, is participating tomorrow in the City to City relay, which sees high school students taking a message to Glasgow by running, canoeing and cycling.
• Jo Butterfield is in Berlin for international classification.
• Replies to requests for AGM funding are being received and Aileen Neilson has agreed to be guest speaker. The photographer is booked, diaries ordered, hotel booked and work has begun on the annual report.  Eliza Watson has confirmed availability.  Recommendations for subscriptions should be submitted at the next Board meeting.

Date of Next Meeting

18th August 2014

 

Minutes of the one hundred and forty first management meeting held on Tuesday 29th April 2014 at sportscotland, Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh  EH12 9DQ at 1800 hours.

Attendees:

Gordon McCormack OBE, Chair
Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
Janice Eaglesham, Director
Sandra Proudfoot, Director
Anna Tizzard, Director
John Reid OBE, Director
Iain Smith, Director
Gavin Macleod, CEO
Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies:

Gerry Milne, Director
Claire Morrison, Director
Dave Rhoney, Director
Jo Bell, sportscotland Partnership Manager

Welcome

Lucy Faulkner was thanked for the Equality Training provided prior to the management meeting.

Conflicts of Interest

Vice Chair – Commonwealth Games Scotland

Strategic plan 2012-2017.

Page 3: Amend to show deficit is being managed and indicating agreement.

Matters Arising

• The pensions paper previously mentioned has not yet been circulated.
• The CEO gave an update on the Help for Heroes post outlining the interview process which is ongoing.
• The draft accounts will be emailed to board members.  An initial meeting had been held last Monday with the auditors who would be in the office the following week to conduct the audit.  The accounts should be approved at the June meeting.

CEO Report

• The 2013/14 plan had been circulated.
• Local to Regional: one branch has achieved MOR and three more are very close to completion.  A sub group meeting was held before April to present evidence and it is hoped to sign off and present a certificate at the AGM.
• Professional Officers’ Group/Active Schools: This remained marked as amber because it had been decided not to use the national model in order to concentrate on national issues reflected at regional level.  Three meetings have taken place and more are under way.
• National Working Groups: have not been held with sportscotland due to recruitment and re-structuring.  Work is taking place individually with Regional Development Managers.
• Branches: North Ayrshire has rescinded their membership in order that Ayrshire Sportsability could notify interest in becoming a pan-Ayrshire branch.  This was discussed and agreed.  The Vice Chair confirmed that the number of branches is not paramount but rather coverage.
• Talent and Performance: the para bowls team for Glasgow 2014 had been announced.
• There has been a 5% increase in participation and the majority of sports have a positive figure.  There has been a drop in boccia numbers but this is due to re-structuring.  Carpet bowls figures are of most concern but the number of entries is restricted by the pathway.  It was agreed that monitoring of figures was good.
• In the Winter Paralympics the curling team had won a bronze medal.  40% of the GB team had been Scots.
• International, World and European events: there is pressure on performance budgets.  The number of athletes has risen from 20 to 57 and there is an active calendar with a broad range of sports.
• Education and Coaching: A presentation had recently been given.  It was considered that new PE posts in schools will make a difference with communication and an increase in the numbers attending courses.
• Boccia: The Education & Development Manager, supported by Claire Morrison, had put in a huge amount of work and UKCC Levels 1 and 2 have received endorsement.
• Support for coaches is allowing athletes to transition into coach development.
• Recognition – Claire Morrison had been awarded sportscotland Performance Coach of the Year, the first disability coach to receive this award.  John Szaranek and Andrinne Craig had also been recognised.
• Governance and Infrastructure: A review of the board performance should be considered.  Almost all staff positions were full with interviews for the Tayside & Fife Regional Manager post to take place on 1st May.
• Funding: sportscotland have requested a paper to be prepared for potential funding available from the physical sport and recreation fund.  A proposal had been submitted and a presentation may be made to the senior management team.
• Commonwealth Games commercial opportunities: A G Barr had offered a hospitality event on 24th July with 30 places available at Scotland House, with tickets and transport to the badminton.  Invitations should mix commercial and athletes and six wheelchair spaces were available.
• BT had offered a funding evening at their business centre at Atlantic Quay on 3rd June.  The invite list would be drawn up by the CEO and the Marketing & Commercial Manager.
• Communication and Leadership: Mention was made of the recent article in the Herald regarding Atos protesters.  A response had been shared with sportscotland, Glasgow 2014 and the government prior to being submitted.
• Guidelines would be issued to the board, branches and key people.  These should be designed by the board, indicating the main point of contact to be the CEO then Marketing & Commercial Manager.  Comments on the draft communication and strategy plan should be submitted to the CEO.  Discussions are ongoing with sportscotland regarding marketing support and a PR agency is drafting press releases.

Sub Groups

Governance and Infrastructure

Iain Smith circulated a draft document following a meeting held in February to discuss revising the memorandum and articles.  Main points were the board membership including the process of nominations to the board, the appointment of further directors and the tenure of directors.  Discussions were held and it was stressed that the recommendations were very open at this stage.  The sub-committee would meet and take recommendations from board members, which should be submitted to the Company Secretary by 16th May.

Thanks were given to Iain Smith for the work entailed in the recommendations.

The Fit for Purpose audit and self-assessment were coming up.

Development Sports

The Performance Manager had reviewed the learning disability classification policy and a paper was circulated at the meeting.  Minimal changes had been made including terminology and the main changes were regarding the swimming pathway.  The changes would not impede the speed of the classification process.

A request was made that changes be highlighted on papers circulated for clarity.  The CEO would ask the Performance Manager to highlight and re-issue this paper.

Communications

The communications sub group had met and drafted a communication and leadership action plan and a communications policy.  This has been emailed to board members and feedback should be directed to the CEO.

Staff

The only position outstanding was the Tayside & Fife Regional Manager.

Staff appraisals were ongoing.

It was proposed that the Chair would write to board members asking them to complete a self-assessment.  John Bull had been asked to deliver board training and a suggested date was 31st October to 1st December.

Boccia

A group had been established with a new committee and Andrinne Craig as Chair.

Partners’ Update

There was a BPA meeting the following day.  BPA propose a change to the membership system with sports taking control of governance.  The voting membership would become the sports and home nations would not be eligible to vote.  A meeting had been requested between SDS and the Chair and CEO of the BPA which would take place on 30th April.

Events

The events calendar had been busy recently.  It was considered that the reports submitted by the Opportunities & Events Manager were very helpful and informative.

International

Selection for the Commonwealth Games was ongoing.  Two swimmers had qualified.

Gavin Drysdale and Hannah Dines were attending the IWAS World Junior Championships in August.

A meeting would be held on 8th May regarding the CP World Games which would be held in Nottingham.  800 athletes in total have expressed interest.  The Games will be held mainly at Nottingham University with only the bowls off site.

AOCB

The notes of the finance committee had been drafted and a date required to be confirmed.  Mike Crerar was to be invited for the annual meeting prior to the June management meeting where a detailed budget would be presented.

Date of Next Meeting

16th June 2014

Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 10th March 2014 at sportscotland, Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh  EH12 9DQ at 1600 hours.

Attendees:

Gordon McCormack OBE, Chair
Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
Gerry Milne, Director
Dave Rhoney, Director
Anna Tizzard, Director
Janice Eaglesham, Director
John Reid OBE, Director
Gavin Macleod, CEO
Heather Lowden, Education & Development Manager
Jen Livingstone, Opportunities & Equality Manager
Mark Gaffney, Opportunities & Events Manager
Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies:

Sandra Proudfoot, Director
Iain Smith, Director
Claire Morrison, Director
Jo Bell, sportscotland Partnership Manager

Welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Conflicts of Interest

Vice Chair – Commonwealth Games Scotland.

Minutes of previous meeting – 3rd February 2014

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

Matters Arising

sportscotland is offering an 18 month consultancy contract focussed on diversity within the coaching workforce.  This is currently being advertised and is part funded by Sports Coach UK and sportscotland.  The focus is on research and encouraging diversity, which is one of four key themes in the new Sports Coach UK plan.

Presentation

A presentation was given by the Opportunities and Events Manager and the Opportunities and Equality Manager on developing sports opportunities with a paper circulated.  The Managers introduced themselves and outlined their different roles and responsibilities.  A Branch overview had been circulated prior to the meeting and an update was given on other aspects of the positions.

Minimum Operating Requirements

Currently five Branches have achieved MOR with two on track to complete this year.  Every Branch should aim to achieve MOR by the end of the current strategic plan in 2015.  It was noted that an improvement could be seen from having the Opportunities Managers in post, and that they had been made very welcome by the Branches.  The next stage of the MOR is currently in discussion.

The Board members were invited to the next Branch conference, provisionally booked for 16th November 2014.

Perth & Kinross Branch have been appointed one of the official Ryder Cup charities and have been given tickets to distribute.  It was suggested a silent auction could be held to raise funds for the Branch and the Board was in favour of this.

The updated Equality Policy had recently been approved, with the main changes being from Equity to Equality and the addition of three protected characteristics.  The Equality Action Plan has also been updated and is available on the company website.  Four meetings were being held with Lucy Faulkner and staff and Board training will be held prior to the April Board meeting.

PVG training was compulsory for Branches with some already complete and another day being scheduled to cover any Branches missing.

The Intermediate Equality Standard requires to be achieved by March 2015 as this links in to the level of funding.

Events

The summer sports camp is being held from 6th-8th August 2014 at Inverclyde.

There has been a decrease in the participation level in bowls, with the trend toward indoor rather than carpet bowls.

A wall planner proof was circulated for distribution to Branches, containing key dates.  This had been well received at Branch meetings and the aim is to roll out for the calendar year from December on a one year pilot.

Facility costs are currently the biggest outlay.  Entry fee increases were proposed for Board discussion and approval.  It was agreed to increase individual events fees from £3 to £4 for one year and £5 thereafter.  For group events it was agreed there should be no charge for Sportshall Athletics, National 5s fees would increase from £10 to £15 and National 7s to increase from £10 to £25, all taking effect from from 1st June 2015 on all application forms circulated after 1st April 2014.

It was proposed to change event names from Regional to National Performance, and from National to National Championships, to better reflect the entries on swimming and boccia events only.  This was agreed by the Board.

Memorandum and Articles

An overview was given by the Vice Chair, who had met with Iain Smith to look at revising the Memorandum and Articles of Association.  These were under review and comments were expected by next week.  The process of changing could be carried out on the same date as the AGM and changes would be circulated prior to the next Board meeting.  The major change is the manner of voting for Directors.

Sub Groups

Finance

The finance sub-committee had met recently, led by Gerry Milne.  The Finance Manager gave an overview of costings, with the current known income and the estimated costs.  These tied into the detailed operational plan submitted to the Board and sportscotland.  The plan as submitted had a deficit of £103,000 and the aim was to decrease this to a deficit of £50,000.  The immediate target was to reduce costs.  Income generation is dependent on programmes run but it was hoped that funds could be raised.

Funding for performance would be reviewed and discussed with other governing bodies.  Some major events are taking place in the coming year and most staff vacancies have been filled therefore there is no surplus.

A meeting had been held with the pensions advisor regarding options.  The Finance Manager and Gerry Milne were asked to report back to the finance committee and thereafter to the Board with a timescale of 7-10 days.  The Finance Manager would circulate a paper to the sub-committee.

Coaching & Education

The sub-committee had met today.  Funding had been offered from Education Scotland with proposed spending elements of £75,000 then £85,000 for the next two years.  This would also mean extending the contract for the Coaching & Education Administrator.

Communications

A meeting of the sub-committee would be held on Thursday, with the members being the CEO, Performance Manager, Pathways Manager and Opportunities & Equality Manager.  A communications strategy had been drafted with a one year action plan.

Partners

The UKSA Board meeting had been postponed due to their office move.

No BPA meeting had been held.

There would be a CEOs’ meeting in Cardiff on Wednesday and BPA membership going forward would be considered.

Commonwealth Games accreditation had been confirmed for Chairpersons and CEOs of all governing bodies as well as the Performance Manager.  The Chair and CEO require to submit paperwork.

Events

Domestic/Regional

Most had been covered by the presentation earlier.

The West of Scotland Para Sport Festival would be held the following day with 111 participants registered at present although five local authorities were not attending.  This had been supported by the Celtic FC Foundation and would be held at Ravenscraig.  The Board were invited to attend.

The East of Scotland Para Sport Festival would be held at Forrester High School, Edinburgh on 28th March, with 40 participants currently registered.

International

The Winter Paralympics would take place in Sochi.

The Fazaa and Sharjah events in Dubai had gone very well in terms of results and classifications.

AOCB

The Battle Back post had moved on with 15 applications sent to the CEO which had been shortlisted to five.  The interview panel would comprise the CEO, Martin Colclough and the centre manager but no date had been set as yet.

Wheelchair rugby: Jo Sounie picked for Girls for Gold programme at the weekend.

Michael Kerr was now GB Captain.

The issue of Directors’ personal information being available through Companies House was raised.  Correspondence addresses had all been changed to Caledonia House but the information would still be available through other websites using historical data.

Date of Next Meeting

29th April 2014 preceded by Equality training.

Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 3rd February 2014 at sportscotland, Caledonia House, South Gyle, Edinburgh  EH12 9DQ at 1600 hours.

Attendees:

Gordon McCormack OBE, Chair
Catherine Goodfellow, Vice Chair
Dave Rhoney, Director
Janice Eaglesham, Director
Gavin Macleod, CEO
Claire Morrison
John Reid OBE
Iain Smith
Caroline Lyon, Company Secretary

Apologies:

Sandra Proudfoot, Director
Anna Tizzard, Director
Gerry Milne, Director
Jo Bell, sportscotland Partnership Manager

Welcome

The Chair welcomed and introduced Claire Morrison, John Reid OBE and Iain Smith, potential co-opted Board members with a view to standing for election to the Board at the September AGM.

Conflicts of Interest

An overview was given by the Chair of conflicts of interests for the benefit of new attendees.

Vice Chair – Commonwealth Games Scotland

Action

Minutes of previous meeting – 16th December 2013

Alex Freeborn should be described as CEO of Recovery Unit.

Matters Arising

The Pathways Manager gave a presentation on the impact of the Regional structure including an introduction to the structure.  The presentation covered the impact of the regional structure on athletes, coaches and clubs, SDS Academy athletes, developing opportunities and the role of the Regional Managers.

Athlete case studies were presented on Martin Perry and Meggan Dawson Farrell.  Also covered were the performance pathway, challenges ahead, future developments, tracking of athletes, community sports hubs and the Board were invited to attend para-sports days held regionally.

A copy of the presentation would be circulated to all Board members.

Reports

Operational Plan

The CEO gave an update to the existing operational plan and outlined the draft plan for the year ahead.

The professional officers’ group would move away from a national format to regional covering the six regions.  This could be re-assessed if there is a demand for national.

The Branch conference will provisionally be held on 16th November, probably at Dewar’s in Perth.

The regional development gala had been held in Prestonpans – events required review as the regional events were attracting a higher calibre of entrant than the national events.

The bowlers would be attending an outdoor training camp in Portugal in March.  On return from the camp selection for the Commonwealth Games would take place.  The selection panel would be held on 26th March comprising Bob Dick – Head Coach, Becky Bisland – Performance Manager and Celia Smith – Assistant Head Coach.  Five bowlers and two directors would be selected.  The appeals policy had been drafted and was circulated.

Five wheelchair curlers had been selected for the Winter Paralympics in Sochi.  Channel 4 would be covering the Games.

The CEO had attended an extraordinary general meeting of the GB Disability Football Association on 30th January which would be moving to a company limited by guarantee.  The Board would be dissolved and a new one established of which Scottish Disability Sport would be an official member and the CEO a Trustee.

A letter had been sent to the IPC supporting the inclusion of race running in the T31/32 category, taking into account equipment, under the existing athletics classification.

Gordon Reid had won the men’s singles and doubles at the Sydney Open beating the world’s no. 1 twice.

Five athletes were attending the Fazaa and Sharjah Athletics competitions in Dubai including Lewis Clow and Jason Maclean for classification.

Danielle Joyce had competed in the deaf international short course in the USA, winning five gold medals, two bronze and setting two world records.

The SDS Athlete Academy had 20 members including seven new members across five sports.  Seven had moved onto world class performance programmes.

Education & Training

Course statistics were available.  The UK Disability Inclusion Training was on target, and targets were being met regarding overall numbers, including sport specific courses which were nearly at the target.  A monitoring and evaluation report had been submitted to Education Scotland and feedback was now awaited.  A report had also been submitted to Sainsburys.

The Boccia UKCC Level 2 pilot had been delivered and endorsement was expected shortly, with the final assessment taking place at the beginning of April.

Recognition

Claire Morrison was congratulated on receiving the sportscotland Performance Coach of the Year award.  Andrinne Craig had won the Grampian regional award.

Governance and Infrastructure

Equality training would take place on 29th April delivered by Lucy Faulkner regarding the next level of the Equality Standard.  This would be attended by all Board and staff.

Branch training on Safeguarding in Sport and PVG would take place on 12th March.  SDS would not be the intermediary body.  Training would be given to the Branches followed up by support from the Opportunities and Equality Manager and the Opportunities and Events Manager as part of the MOR.

Tayside and Fife Post

The Tayside and Fife post remains vacant and the timeline agreed with sportscotland was to re-advertise on 28th March, with interviews taking place on 2nd May and a proposed start time of June 2014.

Help for Heroes

A job description was live on the website.

Communication and Leadership

Written and verbal evidence had been given at the parliamentary enquiry into community sport with the SSA, sportscotland and others.   A debate had taken place in parliament last week but with minimal mention of disability sport.

The CEO had attended a meeting with Mike Whittingham and SIS staff and had been asked to prepare a paper highlighting successes and challenges moving forward.  This had been submitted via Calum Wood and feedback is awaited.

A presentation had been given to the Working Group on Scottish Sport in December.

Queen’s Baton Relay Selections

SDS has had a heavy involvement.  There had been a high level of applicants with a large number of nominations from disability sport.

Forward Planning

The investment date had been brought forward the panel meet on 6th February.  A plan had been pulled together and previously circulated by the CEO.

Admin support for the Branches had been requested at the Branch conference.  There was no source of funding for this at present and would have to come from grants and trusts.

Regional sport non-residential camps would be piloted.

Talent

Ten athletes with four medals was a realistic target for the Commonwealth Games.  27 athletes are in consideration at this time.

A realistic budgeting process was in place but had not considered support in kind or contributions.  For the bowlers attending the IBD World Championships in New Zealand funding of £60K+ would require to be found.

Following the investment decision, costs would need to be considered seriously.

The SDS Athlete Academy is not funded by sportscotland, but originally by the Youth Sport Games, Capability Scotland and the Sportsman’s Charity and funding had ceased last year.

A request had been made to sportscotland to use the Tayside & Fife post underspend to upgrade IT equipment, but this was not agreed.  £15K could be carried over to support the Athlete Academy over the next year.

A decision is awaited from Education Scotland regarding a funding decision for UK Disability Inclusion Training but a quick response is hoped for.

A finance sub committee date would be set in February once the outcome of the investment is known.

Board Members

The potential co-opted Board members introduced themselves.

John Reid OBE: Retired after 40 years in the civil service.  One of his roles had been creating a new £345m pension programme.  He had a responsibility to prepare the Board for skills to deliver new business.  Referee development advisor with the Scottish FA.  Recently resigned as Chair of the West Lothian Child Advisory Committee.  Skills include management experience, corporate governance strategic management and a passion for sport.

Claire Morrison: Previously worked with SDS for 11 years, leaving last May for GB Boccia.  Very keen to stay involved with SDS and continue making a contribution.  Still volunteers in the Scottish Boccia programme and the Boccia Working Group.  The Chair noted that Claire would bring an international dimension to SDS.

Iain Smith: Previously fenced for Scotland and GB in the Commonwealth Games and Europeans.  Worked for Stirling Council followed by 15 years with the Sports Council, Sport 21 and had been seconded to SALSC last year.  Left sportscotland after taking a law degree and now has responsibility for managing a sports law team.

The Chair indicated that an aspiration was to have a more diverse Board membership, and directors and guests were requested to come back with their thoughts within the next week.

Sub Groups

Governance

The group had not met since the last Board but a meeting was planned to discuss revision of the Memorandum and Articles.  Iain Smith had prepared a draft following a meeting with the Chair and Vice Chair last year.  In summary there was nothing actually wrong with the current Memorandum and Articles, in that they are legal, functional and the governance was adequate.  It would be useful to make them easier to read and Iain Smith was happy to revise and work with Board members.

Nominations for Board members could be modernised.  A rigid system was required for electing Directors because of the legal responsibilities involved.  Recommendations would be made for the next Board.  Iain Smith would compile a training pack for directors’ duties.

The approaching fit for purpose audit would be self-assessment.  A rolling review of policies and procedures was required.

Coaching & Education

Good feedback had been received from the Coaching and Education e-learning trial.  Two teachers were currently piloting.

The Performance Coaches’ Conference would be held on 7th December in Stirling.

Communications

The governance group would look into the communications sub group.

HR & Staffing

The Marketing & Commercial Manager was off work for the time being.

Tayside & Fife post: a timeline is in place.

Maternity cover would not be in place for the absence of Lynn Allison.  Lori Ure would be supported by the Pathways Manager.

Partners

The BPA NPC and AGM had taken place with an all party group held last week in Westminster.

The CP-ISRA General Assembly would be held later this year in Barcelona.  The 2015 summer games would be held in Nottingham.

No UKSA Board meeting had been held.  A £300K Lottery project has been secured based around using athletes with a learning disability to run workshops and promote awareness.  Scotland was keen to play a role in the steering group and would probably have athletes taking part.  The Board is currently being re-structured.

Disability Sport Wales are running an information day on 11th March around the In Sport programme.  This is an award scheme for governing bodies linked to investment from sports councils.  The CEO and Education & Development Manager would attend the day in Cardiff and had invited the sportscotland Partnership Manager.

Events

Domestic

The Carpet Bowls National Championships had taken place at the weekend although Highland were unable to attend due to snow.  Approximately 170 people had attended.  Congratulations were extended to Dundee who had four very good juniors.

The regional swimming gala had taken place in Prestonpans.  An event report would follow.

International

Winter Paralympmics 7th-16th March 2014.

GB Rugby team had returned from Canada.

A significant amount of travel would be taking place for Boccia players including Barcelona, Montreal, Prague, Portugal and Hong Kong or Taipei.

AOCB

A new wheelchair group had been established in East Lothian with John de Courcy leading the sessions at Woodlands school.  It was planned to run until June with local sports delivering.

The regional Sportshall athletics was taking place this week with a huge increase to 160 entries.

The CEO updated the Board on the Malaysia project.  Discussions had taken place between Maybank and the National Sports Council and were very positive.  It was hoped that a paper prepared following a telephone conference would go to the Maybank Board in April.

Discussions were ongoing with four companies at varying levels of support.

Barclays had raised £1,000 from fundraising and although not sponsoring SDS are supportive.

Glasgow 2014 had nominated SDS as their in-house charity in the final three month lead in to the Games.

Date of Next Meeting

10th March 2014