2021 Rule Change discussion

Nevets

EMRA Executive Member
Following on from Trevor's post, I think it is important that the Bylaws clearly define what is a conflict of interest.
I propose to add a new line to the bylaws with the following definition:
Definition of Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when personal interests or relationships interfere with the duties owed to the EMRA.
A member of the board of directors is in a conflict of interest when his or her duties provide an opportunity to further his or her private interests or those of his or her relatives or friends or to improperly further another person’s private interests.

This is nearly word for word from the Canada Conflict of Interest Act, which is publicly available here:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-36.65/page-2.html#h-92089
I made minor adjustments to make it more applicable to the EMRA.
 

skeri

New Member
Can there be qualifying times to get out of novice? The year before I did race school, some of the Ducati guys told me that it was a 1:40 at Castrol to get out of novice. I thought that was a great idea. When I got to race school, apparently a minimum requirement wasn't a thing.

When I had a mechanical and Brian had a talk with me, he brought up the safety issue of me going slower. This is also true for too slow of riders in intermediate. When I did girls n gears track day last year, there was a girl who asked if she should do race school after the event: I was lapping her multiple times a session. This can become very dangerous as more slower novice complete 4 clean races.

This also gives novice a training goal, on top of safety.
 

skeri

New Member
Current Rule:
Lightweight
Superbike
• Open to all intermediate and expert racers
• 3 or more cylinder motorcycles up to 420cc
• 2-cylinder motorcycles up to 680cc
• Single-cylinder motorcycles of unlimited displacement
• Yamaha FZ-07/MT-07
• Motorcycles must comply with 5.4 Technical Specifications - Superbike

Proposed Change:
• 2-cylinder motorcycles up to 699cc

Reasoning: I brought this up last year. You made an exception for Steve's bike, but did not accommodate my baby Monster. This rule change accommodates all of the same bike type, instead of being inclusive/exclusive.
 

411ninja

Member
Can there be qualifying times to get out of novice? The year before I did race school, some of the Ducati guys told me that it was a 1:40 at Castrol to get out of novice. I thought that was a great idea. When I got to race school, apparently a minimum requirement wasn't a thing.

When I had a mechanical and Brian had a talk with me, he brought up the safety issue of me going slower. This is also true for too slow of riders in intermediate. When I did girls n gears track day last year, there was a girl who asked if she should do race school after the event: I was lapping her multiple times a session. This can become very dangerous as more slower novice complete 4 clean races.

This also gives novice a training goal, on top of safety.
The system is set up to help novices learn racing procedures and race safely. Racing is not just about speed it is about racing responsibly and in a controlled manner. If a racer is having trouble getting out of novice they need to look at the amount of times they are crashing or having mechanical issues.
 

Fabian Hryniewicz

New Member
After last years round 2.5 some riders missed out on points. This was a surprise round and people than plan their race weekends for the summer can’t change at short notice. Some executives where saying the points will not count. And then there was talk about using your best points. After all said and done there needs to be a rule for late notice date changes and how points will be allocated.
 

Nevets

EMRA Executive Member
After last years round 2.5 some riders missed out on points. This was a surprise round and people than plan their race weekends for the summer can’t change at short notice. Some executives where saying the points will not count. And then there was talk about using your best points. After all said and done there needs to be a rule for late notice date changes and how points will be allocated.
What do you propose for this rule change?

Stating that there needs to be a rule, but not offering a suggestion is not constructive. You're basically just complaining... politely.
 
Current Rule:
Lightweight
Superbike
• Open to all intermediate and expert racers
• 3 or more cylinder motorcycles up to 420cc
• 2-cylinder motorcycles up to 680cc
• Single-cylinder motorcycles of unlimited displacement
• Yamaha FZ-07/MT-07
• Motorcycles must comply with 5.4 Technical Specifications - Superbike

Proposed Change:
• 2-cylinder motorcycles up to 699cc

Reasoning: I brought this up last year. You made an exception for Steve's bike, but did not accommodate my baby Monster. This rule change accommodates all of the same bike type, instead of being inclusive/exclusive.

why dont we just remove the fz07 from lightweight and bring the class back down to 599cc for 2 cylinder motorcycles and both urself and steve can go into middleweight...... we have enough lightweight bikes so whats stopping you guys from moving up ? Moto america runs fz and sv together.
 

Botts

New Member
Following on from Trevor's post, I think it is important that the Bylaws clearly define what is a conflict of interest.
I propose to add a new line to the bylaws with the following definition:
Definition of Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when personal interests or relationships interfere with the duties owed to the EMRA.
A member of the board of directors is in a conflict of interest when his or her duties provide an opportunity to further his or her private interests or those of his or her relatives or friends or to improperly further another person’s private interests.
This is nearly word for word from the Canada Conflict of Interest Act, which is publicly available here:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-36.65/page-2.html#h-92089
I made minor adjustments to make it more applicable to the EMRA.

Our bylaws cannot have a conflict of interest provision that can only be reduced to "I'll know it when I see it." -- We do not have a Justice Stewart to rely on.

Conflict of interest provisions are incredibly tough to draft. They often teeter between enforceable but limited, or unenforceable and far-reaching.

An issue with pulling directly from the the Canada Conflict of Interest Act, is that the text relies on the Interpretation section of the act. Without the interpretation section, we cannot define relatives, friends, or even private interest. Further, extending any conflict provisions to friends and relatives in the general sense, is that it is nearly impossible to define either group cleanly.

For example, the definition of family and spouse under section 169 of Alberta's Municipal Government Act is quite prescriptive:
(b) “councillor’s family” means the councillor’s spouse or adult interdependent partner, the councillor’s children, the parents of the councillor and the parents of the councillor’s spouse or adult interdependent partner;
(c) “spouse” means the spouse of a married person but does not include a spouse who is living separate and apart from the person if the person and spouse have separated pursuant to a written separation agreement or if their support obligations and family property have been dealt with by a court order.

Government conflict of interest laws are designed for public office holders, not volunteer boards. Our board is, and likely will always be a board of volunteers. Our volunteer board members will have a natural tendency to gravitate to racing, motorsport, and vehicle related interests outside of their EMRA responsibilities. This can and does provide tangible benefits to the EMRA membership, including, but certainly not limited to: time away from work for board members, in-kind support, and donations.

Any bylaw amendment of this sort also has to consider, what does the EMRA membership consider a conflict? Is a perceived conflict a conflict in our eyes? Are we concerned about all conflicts, or only pecuniary ones? What standard should a board member choose to determine when to recuse? How will we define family from a conflict perspective?

For paid board members, it is reasonable to expect them to arrange their private affairs to limit potential conflict, but not so for volunteers.

It would be extremely disappointing if a potential conflict of interest provision reduced the opportunities for business support to the EMRA, or, more importantly, prevented quality individuals from considering running for a position on the board.

We have a board election annually, where the membership can endorse board members behaviour through re-election, or disapprove by electing different boards. I do not know if there is a black and white conflict of interest provision that as a member, I would support at an AGM.
 

Botts

New Member
Under Board of Directors I would like to suggest we add a couple points:
  • 5.a - A member cannot be a member of the Board of Directors for more than 6 consecutive years.
  • 5.b - The general membership may approve and vote on an extension to the 6 year maximum Board Membership term at the AGM, if there are no other candidates available for said position.

I'd rather not have term limits. Many of the strongest non-profits have long time board members who are an encyclopedia of institutional knowledge, and usually tireless volunteers and advocates. If the membership wants a change, they can always elect new board members.
Amend, clean up point 6:
  • 6. The Board shall, subject to the bylaws or directions given it by majority vote at any meeting properly called and constituted, have full control and management of the affairs of the society, and meetings of the Board shall be held as often as may be required.

The remainder of section 6 is important as it helps to ensure that all board members are apprised as to meeting dates with a reasonable opportunity to schedule around them:

This last sentence of six should be discussed though, some business transactions will not be able to be nullified without significant implications. Perhaps a provision for a duly-called emergency meeting is more useful.
Any seven members shall constitute a quorum and meetings shall be held without notice if a quorum of the Board is present, provided however, that any business transaction at such meeting shall be ratified at the next regularly called meeting of the Board; otherwise they shall be null and void.

Strike to remove the following from the By Laws:
  • 2010 The number of directors voted in each year changed from 3 to 7.
Add the following to the By Laws:
  • 2020 The number of directors required for the following year is to be decided at the AGM by the exiting Board and General Membership.
This is challenging for members to contemplate candidacy and for future planning. This might also lead to costs and administrative headaches as I believe changes of this sort need to be filed with Service Alberta.
Amendment to Line 16:
  • Seven members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at any meeting.
  • New line 16:
  • When 75% or greater of the Board of Directors in good standing, with no conflicts are present, then this shall constitute a quorum at any meeting.
I think some of the confusion here may be related to the fact there is not a clear definition of meeting in the bylaws.
Amendment to Line 17:
  • Voting

    Any member who has not withdrawn from membership nor has been suspended nor expelled shall have the right to vote at any meeting of the society. Such votes must be made in person and not by proxy or otherwise.

  • New Line 17:
  • Voting

    Any member who has not withdrawn from membership nor has been suspended nor expelled shall have the right to vote at any meeting of the society. Such votes must be made in person and/or through if any on-line meeting held by a Board of Director in good standing. Votes may not be made by proxy alone.
Laudable change -- this will need to come along with text defining the methodology for calling and hosting online meetings.
 

Logan

Member
Proposed rule change for Supersport. As we are pretty damn relaxed to the Supersport tech I would like to make the suggestion to add a second class during the race. SuperSport/Sprint. As we currently run Formula 112 and Women's Open in the same race could we add a "Sprint" class to the SuperSport race. This allows guys with more modified bikes to still legally without contention continue to race. We could still grid 600 Supersport/Sprint intermediate and 600 Supersport/Sprint expert and pending what your registered for would categorize your points. This is a clear deified solution to advantages of the over "stock" modifications during that race that still allows more riders track time without penalization.

I Second the proposed age limit change of Seniors open to 40. I feel that at 35 guys are still in their prime at our club level, this allows more seasoned members to further enjoy that class.

I also Second the proposed change to bring lightweight SB to 599cc. An FZ07 should be racing in the middleweight class, not a personal attack Steve just my honest opinion.

Thanks.
 

Botts

New Member
Housekeeping changes:
Director/Board Member/Executive -
The bylaws state:
Board of directors, Executive Committee or Board, shall mean the Board of Directors of the society.
This leads to confusion throughout the bylaws. We should endeavour to use the same terminology throughout. There are some places in the bylaws where it can be confusing as to whether we are speaking of EMRA members, or board members.
Perhaps using the term Board of Directors, and using "Directors" to define those, and "members" to define all EMRA members is the best course of action here.
Board Composition - It may be worth defining all officers as directors for clarity sake. The board of directors could likely be more clearly defined as consisting of 10 directors inclusive of elected officers. This also makes sense, as the bylaws contemplate a possibility for the Treasurer and Secretary to be the same individual.
Meetings - The bylaws do not cleanly differentiate between general meetings, and board meetings. Quorum for example, is set to 7 members, which would make sense for an AGM, but likely not a board meeting.
Membership - Any person residing in Alberta, and being of the full age of 18 years, may become a member by favourable vote passed by a majority of the members at a regular meeting of the society, and upon payment of the fee. I joined mid-year, right before a track day, would I have been a member? If I wasn't, then there were likely implications for insurance as well as other club policies.

Substantive Thoughts:
Board Elections - The bylaws are silent on the process for nomination, as well as the voting process at AGMs. The nomination process should be clear, as well as the voting system. Is it a preferential ballot, ranked choice, use a runoff, or simply first past the post until 7 directors are selected?
Director / Officer Terms - The bylaws are silent on the term of directors and officers, it is implied in the bylaws, but not immediately clear. Clarifying that the terms are for one-year would make it more clear.
Indemnification - There is no requirement in the bylaws for the society to hold adequate insurance to indemnify board members.
 

Fabian Hryniewicz

New Member
What do you propose for this rule change?

Stating that there needs to be a rule, but not offering a suggestion is not constructive. You're basically just complaining... politely.
What do you propose for this rule change?

Stating that there needs to be a rule, but not offering a suggestion is not constructive. You're basically just complaining... politely.
Sorry if you think I was complaining, I am simply stating the fact there needs to be a rule and is agreed on. Which I was starting a conversation on. As which I stated there was lots of talk about points last year on this subject. There was no vote or brought up formally.

I would agree with the purposed rule that it should be an exhibition round. Or as some said before you would pick your best rounds and drop one. It’s something that would be set in the rules going forward and needs to be discussed and voted on.
 

Nevets

EMRA Executive Member
Sorry if you think I was complaining, I am simply stating the fact there needs to be a rule and is agreed on. Which I was starting a conversation on. As which I stated there was lots of talk about points last year on this subject. There was no vote or brought up formally.

I would agree with the purposed rule that it should be an exhibition round. Or as some said before you would pick your best rounds and drop one. It’s something that would be set in the rules going forward and needs to be discussed and voted on.
Hi Fabian. I wasn't trying to attack you, only to remind people to keep things constructive.

I encourage anyone with proposals to quote the current rule, and then propose a revised version. For cases where these is no rule covering the issue in question, propose a new rule, and a place in the rule book or bylaws where such a rule should be.
 

skeri

New Member
The system is set up to help novices learn racing procedures and race safely. Racing is not just about speed it is about racing responsibly and in a controlled manner. If a racer is having trouble getting out of novice they need to look at the amount of times they are crashing or having mechanical issues.[/QUOTE
The system is set up to help novices learn racing procedures and race safely. Racing is not just about speed it is about racing responsibly and in a controlled manner. If a racer is having trouble getting out of novice they need to look at the amount of times they are crashing or having mechanical issues.

I agree that everything currently in place is there for good reason. Perhaps, after the 4 clean races, then a min time is required for promotion. Once the rider has 4 clean races, they should be ready for a new/next challenge.

I'm worried about very slow riders doing race school: they can pass on paper and they don't crash, so they get the license. They do 4 slow but clean races in novice, then they are promoted to intermediate. I'm slow to a lot of people out there, but imagine 3x slower than me. In a large race, such as Seniors Open, it's not safe for a group of 20+ people to have to dodge around someone every lap they do.
 

skeri

New Member
why dont we just remove the fz07 from lightweight and bring the class back down to 599cc for 2 cylinder motorcycles and both urself and steve can go into middleweight...... we have enough lightweight bikes so whats stopping you guys from moving up ? Moto america runs fz and sv together.
I'm ok with this fair proposal.
 

Nevets

EMRA Executive Member
Thank you Brian for your well thought out reply.

Our bylaws cannot have a conflict of interest provision that can only be reduced to "I'll know it when I see it." -- We do not have a Justice Stewart to rely on.

Conflict of interest provisions are incredibly tough to draft. They often teeter between enforceable but limited, or unenforceable and far-reaching.
I see your point about the definition I have provided lacking specifics. But I disagree with your assertion that it is as simple as "I'll know it when I see it." Just because we don't have a formal Justice Stewart doesn't mean we should not define conflict of interest or have any provisions for it in our bylaws. Having something to point to is better than saying nothing at all. Would you be willing to help modify my proposed definition to teeter closer to a balance?

An issue with pulling directly from the the Canada Conflict of Interest Act, is that the text relies on the Interpretation section of the act. Without the interpretation section, we cannot define relatives, friends, or even private interest. Further, extending any conflict provisions to friends and relatives in the general sense, is that it is nearly impossible to define either group cleanly.
Our bylaws are not meant to be as comprehensive as Canadian law and legislation. They are intended to be the operating rules for the club, to be interpreted by a normal member. They require the application of reasonableness. I believe the definition of family, or friends, can be easily interpreted by a reasonable member of the club.

Government conflict of interest laws are designed for public office holders, not volunteer boards. Our board is, and likely will always be a board of volunteers. Our volunteer board members will have a natural tendency to gravitate to racing, motorsport, and vehicle related interests outside of their EMRA responsibilities. This can and does provide tangible benefits to the EMRA membership, including, but certainly not limited to: time away from work for board members, in-kind support, and donations.
Conflict of interest provisions are not unique to public offices. Nearly every private corporation will have a charter of ethics or some equivalent, and have provisions for conflicts of interest and how to manage it. Nor are they excluded from non-profit organizations. The Alberta government template for Articles of Association for a Public Non-Profit even go so far as to prohibit any pecuniary conflict of interest whatsoever:
Disqualification of Directors
32. The office of director shall be vacated if the director
...
e. is concerned or participates in the profits of any contract with the Company
Source: https://cfr.forms.gov.ab.ca/Form/REG11330.pdf
Now this is only a template, and not a formal requirement. I am not suggesting we take such a rigid stance.

I agree that EMRA members, including executive members, being involved in for profit companies associated with motorsports can be a benefit to the EMRA as a whole. But that doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye when there is a conflict of interest because they "only want what is best for the club". That is only true until it isn't.
The best way to handle a conflict of interest is transparency so that everyone involved is aware of the conflict. Decisions can be made with complete information, and members with a conflict can be recused from decision making.

Any bylaw amendment of this sort also has to consider, what does the EMRA membership consider a conflict? Is a perceived conflict a conflict in our eyes? Are we concerned about all conflicts, or only pecuniary ones? What standard should a board member choose to determine when to recuse? How will we define family from a conflict perspective?
This is exactly my goal with the proposed addition to the bylaws. To create a definition of what the EMRA considers to be a conflict of interest so that we can more easily answer these questions. I will again point out that a standard of reasonableness can be applied so that we don't have to have the same prescriptiveness of Canadian law.

For paid board members, it is reasonable to expect them to arrange their private affairs to limit potential conflict, but not so for volunteers.
It would be extremely disappointing if a potential conflict of interest provision reduced the opportunities for business support to the EMRA, or, more importantly, prevented quality individuals from considering running for a position on the board.
As I stated earlier, I am not proposing that all EMRA members, or exec, arrange their affairs to avoid all conflict of interest. I am merely proposing a definition to help us manage situations when they arise.

We have a board election annually, where the membership can endorse board members behaviour through re-election, or disapprove by electing different boards. I do not know if there is a black and white conflict of interest provision that as a member, I would support at an AGM.
I am going to attempt to paraphrase, please accept my apology now if I misinterpret, and please correct me.

You would prefer the bylaws say nothing about conflict of interest, and wait for the membership to vote out any board member who is profiting personally from their position on the EMRA board.


Brian, thank you again for your detailed reply, and taking the time to read through the proposals and the bylaws. It is clear you have knowledge in this area. Clearly we disagree on this topic, but I see that as all the more reason for us to work together to find a common ground that will benefit the club. Would you be willing to meet with me so that we can go over this in more detail? You can email me at [email protected] to get in touch, as I'm sure you don't want to share your personal information here.
 
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