WindsurfingSA news

At last months Annual General Meeting, Western Australia requested that:
“Affiliation fees be reduced from $3 to $1 per member with a maximum of $200, to allow the states to put more back into the sport at a state level.”

The members at the meeting felt that this change wasn’t appropriate. The ongoing funds surplus is chiefly generated by insurance payments for more members than quoted for the policy. We need to keep that surplus in case the insurer decides to recover an additional levy for that insurance period.

But, there are some surplus funds and they will be re-distributed in the form of a grant for national events.

Strategic Plan/Budget for AWA Expenditure
the AWA Committee generally agreed that

• the AWA was more involved/effective at improvements driven from top (National) down, and that efforts /expenditure direct from AWA was similarly more effective focused on these Top and middle level activities

• grass roots/entry level activities and expenditure were more effectively/efficiently handled at state and local level

• the AWA should target/budget/plan for some modest income (either fee or insurance based) ~ around $3,000/year at current rates/levels

• this money should be re-used to develop/improve the “National” impetus, through support of supplementary funding to (certain specified) expenses within a defined range of National Championships (etc)

General discussion on that was 3-4 classes or disciplines per year, with a general cap on funding of (say) $1,000 per event/discipline, which in turn would be made up of (capped) funding of certain specified individual sub expenses (eg : race officer or director travel expenses, say capped to $300 per event). General underlying principle being this AWA funding to ONLY be available for use in defined expenses aimed at the goal of ongoing improvement in a National event quality (etc) – rather than simply provided as “general expenses” income to local organisers of National events.

Based on this discussion and WA’s question re expenditure or cost cutting to improve entry level activity by state/s

• AWA revenue NOT allocated under the Nationals allocations could be made available (perhaps on an annual end of year basis or similar) for States to apply to AWA for funding for use (by states) in State driven “development of sport program/s”.

• That’s to say, a national pool of “surplus” income may exist at the end of each AWA year. Rather than simply continue to stockpile further “profits”, that revenue is made available for EQUITABLE distribution to those states who wish to commit to structured “development of sport” program/s – and are prepared to commit to match the AWA funding with funding from within their home state/s.

A very simple definition/qualification/application/approval process would suffice, and the key factor would/could be that any AWA funding to the states under this program MUST be matched by the (applying) state/s on (say ) a ” 1 for 1 ” basis.

• i.e. $1 from AWA towards program MUST be matched by $1 contributed by state to same program/event

• a $1 AWA contribution : $2 State contribution might be even better ratio This initiative may be much easier in practice than it may sound at first. It clears the way to reasonable (re) use of funding in all respects, removes (implied) stigma of AWA “profiteering”. Most importantly, opens the resource for (equitable) use by those States WHO ACTUALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING.

Constructive feedback welcome…

Full Minutes of AWA Annual General Meeting 2009