AGM & Accounts 2018
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the FOURTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the members of the above-named Company will be held virtually at 6pm on Monday 10th December 2018 to transact the following business.
The link for the virtual meeting is HERE
1. To receive and adopt the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 28th September 2017.
2. To receive the Chief Executive’s Annual Report on Activities in the year.
3. To receive Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet
4. To report the results of Nomination Elections to the Board of Directors
5. Appointment of Accountants/Auditors and Solicitors for the year
6. Any Other Business
By Order of the Board of Directors
J.P. HOPE-GILL, Company Secretary
25 November 201
Report of Activities since October 2017
The biggest challenge faced over the last year has again been the lack of resources and thus staff capacity. This has affected the amount of work we have been able to do which has been frustrating.
With specific funding support from Sport England we created a business model for Skateboard England which shows we can become a sustainable governing body without relying on long term public funding. However, it was confirmed in January 2018 that we would not be receiving any funding to enable us to employ the necessary staff in order to progress with the business model. Following that decision, we had protracted discussions with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to see if there was central government funding which we could access. Disappointingly it was confirmed in September 2018 that funding was not available. As a result of this decision, we have had to consider how the organisation moves forward as a voluntary-led organisation, which in the short term will impact the amount of work we can achieve.
Within all the work we have carried out this year, we are very conscious that our role is to support and facilitate the growth of skateboarding. This is the key message to the skateboarding community and its pleasing to see that this is generally accepted and welcomed. Although it has been frustrating that our reach has been limited due to lack of capacity.
Governance of the company is an area we have worked to improve so that we conform to Sport England’s governance code. This has included appointing Catherine Eastham, an Independent Non-Executive Director with responsibility for communication and PR activities. We will shortly be looking to replace Dave Holt in his role as INED with responsibility for commercial and sponsorship activities. Dave resigned earlier in the year due to relocating from the UK to Holland.
During the year, Jerome Campbell resigned as an elected director. We want to place on record our thanks to Jerome for his commitment and dedication to Skateboard England and the sport in the country. This gives the opportunity to elect another director at the 2018 Annual General Meeting.
Following the decision to include skateboarding in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, we have been working with UK Sport to identify medal potential and see how skaters can be supported. Discussions are still ongoing regarding funding which will give the opportunity to support skaters as well as creating a performance pathway and talent identification programmes in the future. We have recently applied for some Aspiration Funding to support the skaters who are deemed to have the potential to qualify for the Olympic Games.
We have been instrumental in creating Skateboard GB which is the governing body that represents the home nations for Olympic skateboarding. Lucy Adams is the chair of Skateboard GB which is operated and administered by Skateboard England. We have spent a lot of time this year in discussions with World Skate about recognition from the International Federation. It is important that skateboarding decisions are made by skateboarders and so we are seeking recognition in our own right as opposed to going through the British Roller Sports Federation. Discussions are ongoing, but we are resolute in our position based on this principle.
During the year we set up a new website and launched various membership schemes, which include some fantastic insurance savings for skaters, coaches, parks and schools. We are actively looking to increase the tangible benefits for all these categories.
Sport England have recently awarded us a grant to create a Digital Content Hub including a member of staff to deliver the project. This will give us the capacity to increase our profile on social media and engage with the skateboarding community, in addition to promoting the membership schemes. The Digital Content Hub will be an App that provides a service to the skateboarding community and will be a tool to help increase participation.
The Board agreed to create the National Championships for Park and Street which form part of the qualification process for the 2020 Olympic Games. These events were to be held in 2018 but had to be postponed due to lack of finances. It is hoped that the national championships will be held in the first quarter of 2019, if we can secure the necessary sponsorship.
We supported the hosting of an SLS event at the Copper Box in May 2018 which showcased the world’s best street skateboarders. The event will also take place in May 2019 and it is hoped that the Street World Championships will be held in London in May 2020. The event gave us the opportunity to hold discussions with the London Legacy Development Corporation and the London Mayor’s Office about providing skateparks and other skateable areas within the Olympic Park. Those positive discussions are ongoing.
We’ve had several meetings regarding facilities, including with Sport England, and started to look at how we look to be strategic and offer support as skateparks are being built or refurbished. This is a long term piece of work but one that is essential if we are to increase the number and quality of parks across the country.
We have supported and given advice to a growing number of different skateparks who are in the process of applying for funding.
StreetGames took over the delivery of the Level 1 coaching course at the beginning of 2018 and have delivered the course to 103 candidates. The total number of qualified coaches now stands at approximately 230. The qualification is essential to see skateboarding grow, especially if we want to introduce coaching into schools and other organisations. We are currently working with StreetGames to review the course and to see if there is demand for Level 2 and Activator courses.
There are a number of partnerships we have created and others we are developing and continuing to work with. We are very conscious that we need to work with other organisations in order to increase participation and can use existing programmes such as StreetGames, UK Active ParkLives and the Premier Football League. We are in discussions with them and others about various pilots that will be delivered in due course, using coaches that have qualified through the coaching course.
Following discussions, it is encouraging that at least three cities (Hull, Sheffield and Nottingham) are keen to engage with skateboarding and have committed to resourcing and supporting their local skateboarding communities with support from Skateboard England.
There has then been general daily correspondence with answering queries from individuals, CSP’s, local authorities, skate parks, etc and writing letters of support for funding.