Malpas wrote:Given that the term DA is disallowed by the CTC what's happened/happening to them?
The
Policy Handbook for CTC Member Groups and Organising Committees is a little like the Highway Code in that it has equivalents to MUST and SHOULD
Terms used in this handbook
Must/Mandatory
An essential requirement for Groups to conform with the policies of CTC Council or other regulation.
Recommend
This has been used to describe a way of operating that is considered most effective but is not mandatory. If Groups do not adopt recommendations Group committees should at minimum be aware of the recommendation and their reasons for not adopting them.
Guidelines
Guidelines are to help Groups in their day to day operating and their use is optional. There will be a much wider range of guidance to complement the Policy handbook in the supporting toolkit we are developing.
May
Offers Groups a choice whether a policy is adopted or not.
....
Group Title or Area
....
Titles
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d) Council recommends that groups no longer use the titles “District Association” or “Section”.
I was coming to the end of my dablings in "DA" politics around the time that the "DA/Section" to "Formal/Informal" Member Group changes came about and my recollection is that at the time this was very much presented as the terms "DA" and "Section"
MUST not be used. However it would appear that
technically a member group could still be a "DA" so long as it's full name also conforms to all the other naming criteria in the Policy Handbook.
Malpas wrote:Are they just disbanding as they would seem to serve no purpose with the new CTC organization or are some reinventing themselves with a new title and changed/refocused functions?
Again, as I became much less active in my own "DA" (West Kent) around the time, my knowledge of what happened may be a little shaky.
West Kent "DA" ran a series of medal events, socials, BAR contest, rallies, clubroom and all manner of other things. It had a dozen or more "Sections", some geographical, some by mileage/pace. The "DA" produced and circulated a bi-monthly Runs List covering the activities of all it's sections, events, etc. To my knowledge at least one (perhaps two) of the geographical Sections held their own funds in their own bank accounts and a few others had a nominal "kitty".
Initially the "Section" that had it's own funds may/may not have decided to become a Formal sub-Group (I have heard conflicting reports second-hand). The last time I could access the information on the National Office website with regard to "Sections", there were no "Formal" sub-groups within West Kent "DA" and it appeared on the "Informal" group list. The "DA"'s 2012 AGM report confirms that there are no "Formal" sub groups. Nevertheless that particular section continues to have a Treasurer, hold an AGM, produce a Runs List, host events, and has no named Welfare Officer on it's committee. Every other "Section" definitely went "Infomal" from the outset.
Another geographic "Section" decided a few years after the changes that it would become "Formal" and left the DA (AFAIK amicably) in the process.
Malpas wrote:I ask as the CTC CEO is strangely attending our "DA " (sorry, that's what it calls itself) agm. So some wider information/insights from others would be handy. I guess he might tell us to go home ,we're wasting our time,whilst that might be fun and educational for some if not most of the "membership", I suspect he wont.
So in summary IMO my "DA" no longer uses the term "DA" externally but it remains commonplace internally. It continues to provide the "Formal" Member Group committee structure. The various "Informal" Member Groups report in, almost all being too small to organise their own committees. I think it is largely (and almost certainly incorrectly) seen as "business as usual" at both levels. It continues to run a series of medal events, socials, BAR contest, rallies, clubroom and all manner of other things.
This years AGM report reads pretty much the same as those from the last 25 years or so.
Whilst saying largely it would be fair to add that the "DA" committee has adopted the relevant structure and slimmed down considerably. AFAIK membership data is treated appropriately and not made available to "Informal" member group secretaries.