Secretary’s Weekly Report
Can I wish everyone a happy New Year, good health and a prosperous racing season which will be upon us in no time at all. Blackpool is just around the corner which is followed quickly by the Club Messac Show Race.
Blog: still hoping that someone will step up to the plate and take on this responsibility.
NFC Business
The AGM is scheduled for next Saturday. I hope all of you have taken the time to consider the proposals and placed your vote. There are some critical issues which if passed will have a slightly negative impact on Section N arrangements. Don’t ignore your vote.
I have asked Phil Curtis to clarify the Management Committee thoughts on a marking station for Section N. I have been exploring the possibility of Ferryhill CIU Club which is only a couple of minutes from the A1 and could be a strong contender if the issue of crates and their transportation to Sheffield can be agreed. We will just have to wait and see what happens because there may have to be some tightening of the criteria allowing Marking Station requests. If we were given the green light then “volunteer helpers would be a must”.
2016 Rings
If you ordered these through the NFC then you should have received them by now. Give Sid Barkel a call if there is a problem. There is an issue with NFC and MNFC rings numbers. This concerns them having 6 digits the first being 0 which is not compatible with ETS systems. This is currently being discussed with the RPRA. Watch this space for the resolution.
RPRA Business
The AGM is scheduled for late February. I have spoken to Dave Higgins about the possibility of a levy on non GB rings for racing. He is fairly confident that this proposal will now fail.
Avian Flu
This is unquestionably the big worry with no signs of the problem abating. Cases have now been confirmed in Yorkshire. There is no ban on exercising your birds but be vigilant and make sure wild birds do not have access to your stock and in particular drinking water.
BICC
I am aware that one or two members are members of the BICC. There is talk of a possible couple of new marking stations at Runcorn and Hull. The 2017 BICC race programme is on their website so if anyone is interested give Jeff/me a call to discuss.
Jeff Walton/Bob Mckie
