Representation at worlds

Leon
you have been missing for a little a while will you be going to the meeting and putting your thoughts forward?
are you still active in terms of the sport?

I am not at all surprised by Neils decision, i spoke to him yesterday evening to let him know about the thread I started.

I want to make it crystal clear that this was about starting a dialogue where everyone could offer suggestions and ideas that could be taken forward for the benefit of the sport, what was NOT intended was to provide a platform for a few misinformed individuals to accuse Neil of taking our money and lining his pockets.

Those of us who know Neil all know that he has done more for armwrestling in the UK and infact globally in his time as president of the BAF than we have all done collectively. And with the exception of a few people, I have not seen anyone help him set up/ offer to ref or stay behind a comp to help him pack stuff away, or to even thank him for all of his effort.

Frankly i'm astounded that there is the beleif that money raised from events goes to line the pockets of the chosen few who get to jet off around the world, first of all, who are the chosen few that are referred to, and second, why, if all this money is being given to the few, are they all having to pay for their flights/hotel/registration fees/team kit etc:?:  

I have said it previously, and I know this sentiment is backed by Paul and Keith, that I will back Neil to the hilt should he wish to nominate himself for federation President.

paul maiden wrote:

Leon
you have been missing for a little a while will you be going to the meeting and putting your thoughts forward?
are you still active in terms of the sport?

Hey Paul.

Well I don't suppose I've been out that long in the grand scheme of things - I missed the british this year (the only one in 5 years I missed) as I was overseeing a stall at a music festival for work on that weekend which had to be prioritised given I hadn't trained to enter. I did pull Bradley at Rossendale 6 this year and put on the Judgement Day comp in Feb as you know but since then I've been unusually busy with other stuff, though I have done a bit of training with the Militia as well as Craig and the Bullets.

Regarding the meeting, I am considering attending yeah but it'll depend on a few things, including how things go down on here in the interim. I've made my thoughts pretty plain (that we need a democratic structure with chairman/president, secretary and treasurer plus committee at the least) so this can be raised at the meeting if I can't make it. What time is the meeting going to be, before or after the british novice?

We can not use Dan has the leading light in this debate,has tho he has done something so very wrong,myself and Neil have had lots of near blow arguments over the years over such topics,has years ago i suggested a english fed aswel to help supplement the BAF a few people liked the topic others didnt and the rest is history.

its unfortunate that to voice a concearn or positive criticism seems to cause a mass debate on things we have no need to go over,if Neil steps down we are in the blind has the last person to be in the chair was chaz brooks or dave shead in 1998 i think, we need somebody to work with or to learn the roll if he decides to step away or stand for the vote,now myself personally think that if Leon,Neil could put past diffrences to aside they could work awesome together has i see those guys with the most potential and intelligence to help the sport move forward.
Neil has the contacts to help promote the shows at the seni etc invaluable,rod is also doing this now with great backing,Waf refs David,Keith,Richard need to be utilised as they are world level and the only 3 guys with Waf approval.
We have alot of people with advanced knowledge of other sports with licenses,subs,fees,
we have potential sponsors,we have salesman builders,ironmongers,all these trades can be utilised to help in there own way,fact is we are never going to all agree thats the way of life and its a shame that showing points of views are sometimes taken wrong but again thats the way it is,so what will be will be lets just hope for once we can move forward together instead of dividing.

no order
1.British to be help in birmingham for equal travel
2.2x members from north south midlands to be on committee
3.Neil president,Leon Sec,Jason Kelham treasurer
4.license to be bought for £20 photo id badge given in return,with 12month validity on it from time of purchase no license no armwrestling for anybody
5.BAF membership bought for £10 gives you a free pic disk of each BAF comp, reduced comp rates and the chance if selected to represent team GB also email updates
6.£2.50 a month for pullers wishing to be selected for team GB for shirts entrance fees etc,if decide not to partake you lose the right to compete for your country in that year
7.1 masters class to be added
8.medals and certificates to be used instead of cups to keep running costs down
9.All persons wishing to hold a private contest must pay a fee of £20 to the BAF
10.dvds sold and taken only by a chosen member of the BAF to sell in the BAF shop to help fund BAF

that would be my start please copy and paste Dan ready for the British Novice

Most suggestions and observations are in some way or another linked to money.

The facts are that we already have federation joining fees and we already pay to enter federation comps. Therefore; you have to accept that people are entitled to question where that money goes. This is not personal slander, but more human nature.

The solution is to have transparency - If federation accounts were public, there would be no question of how the funds were being used. Neil himself said the he would welcome such legitimacy. I believe having a committee structure to support (treasurer, secretary etc) would help massively.

Its a shame that Neil feels he needs to step down and he has indeed done a lot for the sport, but as I've said before, debate is necessary in order to have progression.

Regarding the supporting structure, we may have missed the point, as positions such as Treasurer already exist in the federation (as listed on BAF website). Therefore; there is not change as such, but more of a return to a format that was clearly agreed in the past, all be it with new appointments.

I for one would vote for Neil should he wish to stand for president, assuming the positions of Treasurer and Secretary were also appointed.

I don't know if I speak for all novices competing at the British Noviced this year, but my day will consist if supporting my team mates, concentrating on my matches and watching the guys in my weight class. So I won't have any time to contribute to the meeting on the day.

I'll have a read through this and the other thread and talk to my team so that we can get our opinions across beforehand. Cheers.